I have just passed week #3 of completly being off Effexor XR. This is just hell, I cant stop crying, and when I am not crying I feel like it. I have this lump in my throat all time time. Is this common? how do I know if this is a withdrawal symptom and not something else? Please help, I can't keep feeling like this, its been off and on for 6 months now. (I had previously used different anti-depressants that did not work).