hi. i did a ton of research before going off effexor xr. while i didn't do this i think the easiest way is to get a prescription for prozac for a couple of weeks and it makes withdrawing quite painless. then you can easily go off the prozac without withdrawal problems. i chronicled my withdrawal on a thread here. it was not fun! one thing i've heard absolutely not to do is to take it one day and then skip a day and then take it the next day (i.e. taking it every other day). that is supposed to make the withdrawal symptoms much worse. it's better to just take it every day but at a lowered dose. also, taking benedryl (an antihistimine) during the withdrawal lessens the effects. i take benedryl to help me sleep anyway and the days i missed it i definitely saw a difference. good luck and let us know how it goes. some folks here have withdrawn from it and not had too hard a time. since you've been on it for a short while hopefully that will be the case for you as well.

oh, before you go off you might want to contact your pharmacy and/or the drug manufacturer for financial assistance as some do provide it. also, it's best to withdraw the med with your doc's help if you can.