I had terrible problems with it, severe temporal lobe seizures. Getting
off of it was horrible because lowering the dose made it worse.

I was prescribed that when my Mother passed away. As far as an
anti-depressant goes it was great! The trouble started when my doctor
began to lower my dosage. I was taking 500m.g.of Dilantin and 2 grams
of Mysoline per day at the time. Eventually the lowered dosage of
Effexor precipitated a Manic depressive event where I was hospitalized
for five days. My neuroligist switched me to Depakote ER which I find
to be an excellent drug.My wife had a similar reaction when she was
taken off of Paxil, but she did not require hospitalization, but she
doesn't have a seizure disorder like I do.

BELIEVE me!

I took Effexor for 8 years (8/97 - 8/05).  It worked very, very good,
but getting on it gave seizures and high blood pressure.  I have never
had high blood pressure by other causes.  Since getting off of it in
August, it has been a world of s___.  I've had seizures, dizziness,
diarrhea, high blood pressure, and had been bed-ridden for 3 1/2 weeks.
I had to quit a part-time job because of it.  It is described by many
to be the worst anti-depressant to come off of, symptoms lasting
anywhere from 2 - 11 months.  I am now trying to get re-hired, but I
still got dizzy from pushing the lawn mower for the last time of the
year.

My advice: weigh your pros and cons and make the best decision.  If
there is something else that works, take it instead.  It was the only
thing that worked for me and saved my sorry a.s, so I would probably
take it again if I had to.

Hope the best for you,

E.B.