"i have weened off of effexor 150mg and 75 mg over the past 3 weeks. i started cymbalta 30 mg 2 days ago and was still have horrible adverse effects coming off of the effexor. effexor worked great for my anxiety and severe pmdd, but was making me extremely sluggish. i have also had chronic back pain for the past 7 years and my doctor wanted to switch me to cymbalta. well, the transition/withdrawal has been terrible. a lot if crying and panicking for no reason, crawling skin, etc. i took one vistaril, and found it very helpful.  my dr. has prescribed vistaril 25-50 mg every 6 hours as needed. has been a god send to help my anxiety during this transition. it also has been very helpful for my sons anxiety as well."