"i struggled with depression, mood swings, and incredibly severe anxiety at a very young. effexor is the only drug that worked for me. i went up to 150mg and that really helped me control my anxiety and depression. i became more outgoing and was able to enjoy life in a way i hadn&#039;t been able to before. the one con with this medication is the withdrawal, which is severe. if i miss a dose i experience fatigue, powerful electrical shocks throughout my body, and i become very withdrawn and &quot;out of it&quot;. i switched to taking 2 doses; one 75mg at night and morning. i switched recently to pristiq to see if it would &#039;t have this side effect, but it does (although, less severe) and it isn&#039;t as effective. i will be going back to effexor."