I have bought the book ‘ The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines’ by Mark Horowitz and David Taylor. It is not cheap; I paid
£ 40.00, but it is excellent, and worth every penny. It will tell you everything you need to know, and includes charts of decreasing doses and timelines, starting at various dosages. The Maudsley is a renowned hospital in London in the U.K., which specialises in mental health issues.

Before I bought this book, I had attempted to reduce from 300 mgs per day, having taken velafaxine, (effexor) for the previous 20 years+. I managed to lower my dose to 75 mgs per day. On reaching this level and having no smaller dosage tablet, I tried taking one 75 mg tablet on alternate days. This was it turned out, the worst thing I could have done. Instantly I was hit with appalling withdrawal effects. Unfortunately, my G.P. announced that she had no experience with this, and that I knew more than she did on this subject. Fortunately I discovered the Maudesley book. Nevertheless I ended up back on the full 300mgs of venlafaxine per day. Despite that I have had a severe skin problem over the entirety of my body, including for example, my ear canals. This was roughly one year ago. I have now, four weeks ago, started again to reduce my venlafaxine dosage. This time however using the guidance of the Maudsley book. The chart I am using is one which starts at
300 mgs daily. After my previous experience, I shall be deliberately taking the longest recommended times between doses. I do not want a repeat of what happened before. I will keep posting about this second experience as it continues. I hope it may help someone.

By the way, I have nothing whatsoever to do with either the Maudsley hospital, the authors of the book, or anyone else. I am recommending the book purely in a personal capacity.