it varies. some people go thru hell tapering effexor. some people drop it, they're fine, that's it.

i did read that once the dose is low enough, some doctors will put people on prozac. the prozac has a very long half life, so once that's stable, one could possibly drop the prozac and it is supposed to do a sort of self-taper.

mad in america and a number of other websites have information on tapering psych drugs. some people find that supplements help during tapers, and you can find information on such 'alternative' approaches online. some websites have provider directories, if you want to try a doctor with a different approach.