Effexor, Lexapro.....Help

[emeraldeyes1646]

I have been on Effexor XR for the past 2 years.  I was taking 300 mg a day with Lamictal 200mg/day and Seroquel 100mg to sleep.  The Effexor wasn't working so my psychiatrist wanted to drop the Effexor and replace it with Lexapro 10mg/day.  He told me to "just" drop my Effexor dose by one 75 mg pill a day and I would be "off" of the Effexor in 4 days.  Yeah, right!!!  
Having once before attempted to "stop" Effexor, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.  A very close family member is a supervisor for the company that makes Effexor.  He gave me "advice" on how to "quit" by gradually decreasing the dose by 37.5mg over every 2 days.  The last week I should break open the 75 mg caps and take fewer and fewer granuales until I was "weaned".  I thought I had done everything to a T until yesterday when I had gone without my "fix" for 2 days and hurled all over my kitchen after staying in bed all day.  The only thing that made me feel better was taking a few granuales of Effexor.  I have almost a week off soon and plan on "detoxing" during my vacation.
I had been researching Lexapro to see the side effects and wonder if this drug is even worse that Effexor (which I would NEVER recommend to anyone)?  I read the testaments and have found several even going as far as saying they (or a loved one) were suicidal after taking Lexapro when they had never been before.  HELP...now what do I do.

[StupidMe]

I don

[emeraldeyes1646]

am thinking of just not taking anything for awhile....
1st.....are there any withdrwal effects from lamictal?
2nd.....am i making a mistake?  don't want to have same thing happen to me with lexapro.
3rd.....have been to a couple of therapists.  last one (only one covered by my insurance) stunk.  is insurance required to have more than one in an area?

[StupidMe]

Yes, you can step up Lexapro while taper off Effexor at the same time. That is most people do.

[emeraldeyes1646]

Will taking the Lexapro before I am completely off of the Effexor ease the withdrawls efects of the Effexor?

[emeraldeyes1646]

thanks for the advice.  i am just so scared of having to go this withdrawl again.  i have been on prozac and zoloft before but they didn't see to do much.  was also on wellbutrin but it made my blood pressure too high.  still felt crappy yesterday on about 37.5mg of effexor.  took about 50 last night.  let's see how this works.  i just hopre lexapro makes me feel more energy that effexor.  all i do now is work and sleep.  again, thanks for your advice.

[Try_to_be_social]

I quitted my Luvox (an SSRI) 50mg without any problem after 10 years. I reduced my Klonopin (an addictive Benzo) very slowly from 2mg to 1.25mg after 10 years. I read a lot about cognitive-behavioral therapy and its help me a lot. Why don