Hello and welcome!
Effexor is one of those meds that is notoriously rough to come off for a lot of people, but that doesn't mean you'll have a terrible experience too. It sounds like you're tapering off, which is the right thing to do, so hopefully you'll be just fine. Just try not to convince yourself that you will have a bad experience, or psych yourself out about it.
My advice to you is to communicate with your doctor that you want a nice and gradual, slow taper. That's really the key with a taper off of a med like Effexor, that is commonly problematic upon discontinuation. The slower and more deliberate the taper, the better people seem to do. It's not unusual for a taper like this to take a few months. NO need to rush.
Hang in there...keep us updated as to how you're doing! So far so good!
Hi Sam , one of the best ways to handle withdrawal symptoms is to BE PREPARED. Spend some time on the net investigating common effects , so that you'll be able to recognize the symptoms as just that , withdrawal symptoms. These can include crying spells , feelings of hopelessness and depression , as well as physical symptoms. Google Venlafaxine Withdrawal Syndrome. You may be lucky and not have a severe reaction to continuing to decrease the dose. All the best.