I was on effexor so it's a step down as a weaning tool.the desvenlafaxine was no different to me than effexor, maybe less effective. To ME. with the help of desvenlafaxine and a benign ssri I will be done weaning off effexor. Thank goodness. I've heard horror stories of getting off effexor. This has been no picnic for sure!!!! Answer is desvenlafaxine did not help me at all except to help me off effexor. All snri are hell to come off.