Hi it's jenapower (aka. Jen), I'd love to have some great input about Effexor, but I only had a brief experience with it. I was giving it to help prevent migraine headaches, not depression. So my experience was different. I'm one of the few people that it puts weight on, 30lbs in about 3-4 months. I'm a very small person normally, so this was very apparent. I don't remember tapering off of it, but I must have considering what everybody is saying. I really don't have any memory of having any problems getting off of it probably because no one told me I would. As soon as I stopped taking it, within another three months, 30lbs were gone. So I can't take any kind of antidepressant in that category. I think Prozac, Effexor, and now Cymbalta are all very similar. I was given Cymbalta recently for fibromyalgia and other pain. I immediately started putting on weight, told the doctor and I quit taking it. Again I'd taken it for a few months, just like the Effexor, but never had any withdrawals. They probably said to taper it down, but I was too ignorant to know anything could happen. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful with a withdrawl plan. Good luck, it seems like a difficult thing to do. Someone said it's as addictive as heroin, that surprises me. I thought all the strong opiates were like getting off heroin. I just stopped all opiates about two months ago. I had a few symptoms but not many. I hope it works out for everybody. I wish I could be more helpful. Jen