Venlafaxine (Effexor XR) is an antidepressant that works well for some people. It unfortunately, also has a withdrawal syndrome that can be really alarming and leave people petrified about missing a dose. It causes intense dizziness and physical spatial disorientation. This also makes it hard when people want to taper it off. The tapers have to be done very slowly. People have reported open up the capsules and counting the beads inside and slowly reducing the number of beads they consume. They do this over months and sometimes years.

It is important to bring up and explain withdrawal symptoms (in addition to the usual list of side effects) whenever venlafaxine treatment is being considered. It is not potentially life threatening like alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal, but can be very scary.