"brilliant medication. i know venlafaxine is contraindicated in people who experience mania and i have had some issues with that but overall, with other medications that stabilise my mood, i have found venlafaxine to be a life saver. i am 23, been hospitalised before for a long time and it was the first med i agreed to go back on after a period of desperation following a year of refusal to take meds due to extreme anti-psychiatry views. now my anxiety is massively decreased, i feel much more on a level, less irritable, far less lethargic. this medication has done so much for me. no side effects apart from the initial week or two of starting it i got some insomnia and occasionally i get a very dry mouth. sometimes a bad tremor."