SSRIs do not destroy your serotonin levels, they just simply make you gradually produce more serotonin.
I'd take the advice of your doctors, since you don't have a medical degree and are not a doctor or medical professional.
SSRI's do not make you produce more Serotonin. They limit the rate at which Serotonin is reabsorbed, increasing the levels of available serotonin at any given moment. I'm sorry to nitpick you Priest, I don't enjoy it one bit. Also, you're gonna hate me for this, I don't think there's any reason at this point to walk into a Doctor's office and have OP totally spill their guts regarding all of the drugs they use. There are times, when consequences can be quite serious, that there is no way around telling the truth, but we have to keep in mind that dealing with the medical establishment is not purely "black and white" like we would like it to be. Being a known addict can close a lot of doors to treatments that could indeed be quite effective.
Imagine having terrible Trigeminal Neuralgia for instance. Gabapentin (Neurontin) or Pregabalin (Lyrica) might be effective treatments for this condition and they are both known to be safe in nearly every sense of the word, but because OP is a "known drug addict", these "safe" drugs might now be off the table as the prescriber believes that OP will just abuse the drugs. You can see how this "honesty" can actually be a huge ball and chain for folks, so I really discourage telling your doctor that you're an Opioid addict unless you absolutely must.
Anyway, OP, you're right that SNRI's like Venlafaxine (Effexor) can be quite difficult to withdraw from. I don't have personal experience with them, but members of my family (Maternal Grandmother & aunt) as well as plenty of other BL'ers have expressed great difficulty when withdrawing from these medications. My grandmother was left completely unable to function for two weeks and she was a "farmer's wife" who woke up every morning at 4 to begin chores and went to sleep at 9. I'm not saying that anyone should exclude these treatments from the prospective treatment; if they work really well and will indeed have a positive effect on their life, then I believe you simply must do a cost/benefit analysis.
It's just like being in extreme pain and needing high dosages of Opioids to function. Of course, nobody wants to become a severe Opioid addict/dependent, but if the alternative is not getting out of bed and not working another day in your life, what choice do you have?
So, yes, I understand your apprehension OP, I've made the exact same decision for myself regarding SNRI's based upon the above-stated anecdotal evidence, but that doesn't mean that they won't work for your. You have to do the cost/benefit analysis for yourself and perhaps consider a "trial run" of said medications.
Also, I feel that it's definitely worth mentioning that for a lot of people, Gabapentin works amazingly, while Pregabalin causes intense side-effects and
vice-versa. I would venture to say that this is definitely out of the ordinary and that most people experience very similar effects and cross-tolerance between the two. This is totally opinion and totally out of left-field, but honest to god, most people I've met who have had an adverse reaction to one of the Gabapentinoids, does not experience the negative side effects with another Gabapentinoid. I'm on a futile quest to find references to back up my bullshit hearsay, but we'll see what comes of it. Take this last paragraph with a grain of salt for maximum effect.