in reply to @njoys I am profoundly sorry to learn about your suffering, and agree that the doses of medication that were initially prescribed seem high. Can you consult with your pharmacist in this regard, or at least in terms of the Effexor. I too am tapering off of Effexor XR, now down to 37.5 mg capsules, making it difficult to measure out just the right amount without suffering any of the horrible side effects of doing so. I am fairly certain my pharmacist was correct when she told me that this particular medication is harder than heroin to get off of, and that it will take me at least 6 months to taper off of the 37.5 mg dosage that I have been on for at least 6 months. Everytime I try to taper down, I end up with horrific nightmares and an overall sense of feeling unwell. Your comment about your depression caught my attention because while recently talking to a psychologist we both concluded that my depression was situational and she did not think I had a chemical imbalance. She is also a MD by the way. In any event, I hope that you are able to recover from this affliction sooner rather than later.
Godspeed