in reply to @lolomahala Thank you for sharing this experience. I am tapering off of the Effexor XL, now down to 37.5mg. Since I was having such a difficult time "measuring" or weighing the beads in the capsules, my pharmacist recommended taking the regular 37.5 Effexor as a substitute, as she thought it might be easier to taper in this fashion. I have not started doing so yet because of the side effects I had when I began tapering off of the Effexor XL 37.5 capsules. I agree that this drug is not a good choice, and from my understanding, doctors are not required to take as many pharmacy course in medical school as they should, especially if they are prescribing antidepressants or other mood altering drugs. In any event, were you tapering off the regular Effexor or the XL? When tapering from the 37.5mg I did experience what I believed to be withdrawal symptoms, especially the nightmares. Since my doctor and I both agreed that I no longer need an antidepressant, I do want to get off of this "awful" drug as I am aware of its potentially harmful effects etc. It is my understanding that the Effexor XL takes about 5 half lifes to leave one's body, making it more difficult to get off of completely, per my pharmacist, who knows a lot more about the drug than my doctor, that is for sure. Thanks again.