Is there any long term side effects from stopping venlafaxine?

My impression, both from personal experience as well as reading comments on forums, is that doctors don't tell patients about how difficult it is to quit taking antidepressants. I recently stopped cold turkey after 20 years on Effexor. My dose was pretty low (It had been reduced to 37.5 and coupled with Abilify; I stopped taking both on the same day). I braced myself for a return of depression (so far it's been dormant, but the day is coming...). What I didn't expect when I chose to step off the drugs was the physiological difficulty of doing so. I'd received no warnings. I was just given the pills and told to take them, and at the time I went on them, seeking relief from chronic and debilitating depression, I didn't ask questions. So when I decided I needed to step off of them for my own sake, I was unprepared for the struggle. And I stepped off of a low dosage, so my battle was nothing compared to what others have reported, but it was rough. Mostly it was the brain zaps that all but drove me back onto the drugs. Those have eased enough now (Day 11 of detox) that I feel I'm going to make it, but it hasn't been fun.

Those of us battling depression are in a struggle with our own minds. This leaves us vulnerable and willing to reach for whatever relief is offered. We should be fully informed about long term consequences of any drug before beginning treatment, not find out the hard way if and when that treatment fails and a decision is made to seek other options. Malpractice is too strong of a word for what is transpiring, but negligence is a factor. I keep reading people's accounts of taking years to get off this drug. It shouldn't take years to step off of a prescription medicine that is so freely handed out. I personally question the wisdom of prescribing something this powerful without fully informing the patient that the ramifications of accepting the prescription could be substantial and even lifelong. If I had known before I took it the first time, I likely would have said no. But I was in a bad place right then and was handed some pills without any further guidance, and seeking relief, I just started taking them. That's how people wind up in your position and the one I landed in. The treatment becomes the disease. This shouldn't be happening.

Amen,
I am convinced that this is the perfect prescription. Think of it like war and you must be the best soldier. Fight everyday for your freedom from these chemicals. After my 20 year usage, I feel so strong and thinking more clearly and naturally than ever. It was hell for a while but these tools got me through it...finally.

I was prescribed Effexor for 20 years. I was never told by any provider who maintained the prescription that getting off of it would be difficult. I accomplished it cold turkey, which, based on the various Effexor threads, appears to put me in a small group of people who successfully pulled this off, but man that process sucked. If I had understood what this particular drug does to people, there's no way I would have embarked on it.

I also stopped it cold turkey after 8 years. No physician ever mentioned anything! I had the brain zapping electrical impulses going thru my head for 2 years until they finally went away. Doctors have SOOOOO much to learn....