alt Hacker NewsI have recurrent severe depression and I credit serotonin-modulating antidepressants with saving my life several times.
I generally found withdrawal from high dose SSRIs to be painful without tapering, but tapering made the withdrawal symptoms negligible.
SNRIs (Venlafaxine specifically), by contrast, were a horror; I spent eight months with a microgram scale 'tailoring' capsules by tiny increments every week, and I still got well-nigh intolerable withdrawal symptoms.
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I was on venlafaxine for about 5 years and had always heard horror stories about the withdrawals. About 7 or 8 months ago I decided to ask my doctor to start tapering me off. Took about two weeks in total and the only side effect I had was when I would turn my head I could "feel" my brain moving around. It was a very strange sensation. I was on 150mg and then 75mg to nothing. I feel extremely fortunate I didn't have any of the issues most seem to have getting off the stuff.
I echo your experience. Effexor/Venlafaxine are absolute poison. I tapered off of it slowly over the last two months under doctor’s supervision. The day after I took my last dose — small thanks to the tapering — I’ve had constant brain zaps, wobbly vision, horrible perpetual nausea, cold sweats, and inability to sleep more than an hour at a time. It’s been two weeks so far of lying in a dark quiet room waiting for things to resolve so I can go back to my wife/kids/job/life. Still no noticeable improvement. On sick leave for the first time in my life.