Hello, I want to introduce myself and thank everyone for being here. I began tapering venlafaxine in September,from a dosage of 225 which is 3 capsules. I have been on the XR formula for many years, probably 20, and prior to that I took Prozac for about 15 years. I asked to switch to the venlafaxine when I began experiencing anxiety in addition to depression, after hearing it was an appropriate treatment for both. Like most people here, I have a long story, but I will keep my first posting short. I am happy to have found this forum. The information I was reading on a facebook group was, in my opinion, a bit extreme. Perhaps when I reach the later stages of my taper I will change my mind, but at this point I cannot see myself counting beads for years to the point of staying on ONE bead for months without being able to "jump". I am tapering faster than is probably recommended, but I am determined to be successful. I went from 225 to 150, stayed there for 6 weeks and then went to 75. Yes, I experience withdrawal symptoms, but not every day. I went through a cold turkey neurontin withdrawal complete with PAWS for 12 months, about two years ago. So far this has been easier although not a walk in the park. I hope to be able to participate in this forum on a regular basis.