"i was given effexor after lexapro stopped helping me.  i was on it approx 1 year.  but what i know now, that i wish i would have known then.....the withdrawals are horrible!!!  i am dizzy all the time, feel like the room is spinning.  pharmacist said this could last up to 3 months.  i went off of it very slowly!  i have been without it for about a month now.  i have never been an addict of any kind, but i feel like one with this.  i know that taking more will make these side effects go away, and i think about this pill all day every day.  please research before you start this medication.  i would not wish this on my worst enemy!!"