"i have been on effexor for the past 10 years - i started having panic attacks as a child although i didn&#039;t know at the time what was going on - when i was 17 the doctor prescribed valium that i took periodically when my anxiety got really bad - finally when i was 40 the doctor suggested i go on a very low dosage of effexor (37.5mg) because he was sure i had generalized anxiety disorder - what a difference this has made in my life - felt&quot;weird&quot; the first few weeks but now i have very little anxiety and really no side effects except maybe lower libido. i had no idea how much anxiety i had been living with all my life."