I was pretty fortunate in that I jumped off quite quickly and was over the side effects within six weeks. But reading this forum, there are a lot of threads regarding Effexor, the timing of getting off of it, the severity of the symptoms, and other complications, as well as what relieves them in a helpful manner. Reactions seem to vary all over the map. Some, like myself, do well all things considered, others struggle for months and even years. And there are reports from everywhere in between. So I feel that any answers you get to this question will depend on each individual's own experience. You probably want to factor this into your thinking. I wish I could offer something better, but this is what I've observed.

I will repeat my biggest complaint: I was not told prior to getting on the medication just how physically difficult it might be weaning myself off of it if it doesn't work (and in my case it amplified my depression severely; quite frighteningly so). I went on it some years go and stayed on it for quite a few years years, and I'm hoping standard procedure for offering warnings among providers has changed. People should know what they're getting into. My unscientific observation of this forum indicates that it's the most complained about psychotropic here, although this could be selection bias on my part since it's what brought me here originally. It's definitely one that a lot of people want to be off of. And again, for a wide range of reasons.

I hope you're able to find your way free of it.