Wyeth's "Dialogues" website

In a sample pack of Effexor XR that my doctor gave me, there was a website "http://www.mytime2talk.com/" given as a resource that led to a WebMD site:

Dialogues: Time to Talk

I signed up for it today, and it's really corny.

Notes about this site:
* Every single page has a long list of warnings at the bottom, including the warnings about prescribing to adolescents and the warnings about mood swings when upping or lowering the dose. Only the official Wyeth page seems to mention brain shocks/zaps, however.
* There is a "Commit to Success" contract, which is incredibly cheesy.
It states:

I will
* Educate myself about depression and the ways it can be treated
* Take my medication as prescribed by my doctor
* Consult with a health care professional when I have questions about any aspect of my treatment
- [your name here]

#2 of that list makes me a little uneasy, since it is a corporate-affiliated site that does stand to make a lot of money if you don't question taking your medication.
* They'll apparently be sending me things in the mail. It was unclear what they'll be sending. Hoping they are honest about keeping my information secure, though.
* Except for the list of psychology-related addresses and the links that go directly to the Wyeth site, the text on these pages is on a really low level.

I wouldn't really recommend it.

How many beads are in a capsule?

Day 7 : Kind of dizzy. A bit of a headache. No major problems.

I thought it would be a good resource to count the number of "beads" in a capsule of Effexor XR so that if I were to taper down to less than 37.5mg I could know how many beads to mix into food/drink.

I counted all the beads in one 150mg capsule, a 75mg capsule, and a 37.5mg capsule, and got this:

150mg Effexor XR capsule : 486 beads
75mg Effexor XR capsule : 228 beads
37.5mg Effexor XR capsule : 124 beads

The size of the beads varies by a little bit, and I counted all conjoined-twin beads as one bead.

So, from this:
Half of a 37.5mg capsule : about 60 beads
One quarter of a 37.5mg capsule : about 30 beads
...And so on.

If I had an accurate scale here, I'd compare the contents by mass as well.

Avoiding withdrawal

Day 2 : Still some headaches, but they are manageable.

I have some hope that, unlike time I tapered down from 375 --> 300 mg, I have better sources of information about how to remedy, and perhaps even avoid, some of the really negative withdrawal symptoms.

A lot of people on different forums seem to be suggesting that Benedryl, or other sinus headache medication, may alleviate some of the strange headaches and flu-like symptoms.

Some anecdotal comments suggest that taking in good levels of Omega-3 fatty acids does a lot of good during SSRI/SNRI withdrawal, and I luckily do have a diet that does have high levels of Omega-3s (both ALA and DHA).

Also, at least one report (found here) mentions a case where 50 mg/day of sertraline (Zoloft) lessened Effexor withdrawal problems. I have been taking 75 mg/day of sertraline myself since the last time I took down my dosage of Effexor.

So, anyway, I'm hopeful. But I also remember it takes a good two or three days for the withdrawal symptoms from tapering down to kick in, so I am also watchful.