I was given Venlafaxine XR 75 mg per day for hot flashes more than 15 years ago. I wish I had never started the drug because it has horrible side effects yet may be impossible for me to stop taking. Naively, I thought I might not experience the negative side effects, nor did I imagine I would be on the drug for this many years. It lessened my hot flashes (I think; how does one really know?), but did not end hot flashes. Twice, I have tried to stop the drug by decreasing the dose over a period of a few months; two months after stopping entirely, I was overwhelmed by crushing withdrawal symptoms, both mental and physical. My doctor didn't think that was possible; my extensive online research and reading shows that more than half of the persons who use this drug find it may be impossible to end. Before you begin this drug, please search on this site for posts from those who have been on the drug and are desperate to be rid of it. There is excellent information to be found here on the subject. I hope you can find alternative measures to alleviate your hot flashes. Don't take this drug without educating yourself first.