"i started taking effexor in 1995. i had gad with some depression. for some reason, i let the dr continue prescribing for 12 years, i was only on 75mg and since it worked, i did not want to temp fate. last year i started to have worse anxiety and went to one of the highly regarded md&#039;s in nyc. he prescribed remeron and effexor. eventually the dose was increased from 75 mg to 300mg. it had no beneficial effects. worse is getting off of it. i&#039;m now down to 37.5 mgs over the last two weeks. the brain zaps and anxiety are tough. i think this drug should be illegal, the withdrawal effects are awful. i recommend trying something else unless this is your last resort."