I am down to the end of my taper and have realized that the effexor may have been the cause of several issues and may have masked others. Since I started tapering off (350 mg for many years) I have had bad headaches and increased blood pressure. I was always hot and sweating before and that seems to be reducing in severity. The bad part of getting off has been that I have had increasing symptoms of really bad joint pain all over my body. I read that effexor can mask pain and it is hitting me full force. It can also be hard on kidneys and liver. My kidneys are now scarred and I had fatty liver. I've never had kidney stones and a bladder infection a few times in my life. I'm 59 years old. I've also read that some people may have permanent increased blood pressure after getting off of effexor. My dr. asked me if I wanted to get back on the effexor for the increase in pain. I said NO! I'm wondering if my blood pressure and headaches may return to normal after I complete my taper? My rheumatologist thinks I may have drug induced lupus!