"i was one effexor for almost 4 weeks to treat dissociation/derealization that was caused from too high of dosages of zoloft and celexa. i went from 12.5mg twice a day to 37.5mg twice a day over 3 weeks. i had horrible headaches and blurry vision the entire time. by the third week, the dissociation was mostly gone, but then i was having random panic episodes where i thought i was losing my mind and just didn&#039;t want to live anymore. the psychiatrist thought the extended release would ease that symptom, and it made it worse. i went from not wanting to live with dissociation, to not wanting to live at all. i&#039;ve been tapering off over the past few days, and i was awaken at 5am this morning with horrible anxiety and suicidal thoughts, and my husband tried calming me down but i barely felt like i knew or recognized him. 
both my psychologist and the head of psychiatry at mayo clinic agreed i need to stop taking it immediately (take 1/2 of 25mg if i experience &quot;brain zaps&quot; or any horrible side effects) but this medication is not for me, and they&#039;re thinking no ssri or ssni chemically reacts well with me after trying 3 and having worse side effects than what i was taking it for.

i haven&#039;t been out to eat with my husband in 4 months. everything in the world now looks different, and i still have anxiety and blurry vision, and as this medication leaves my system in the next few days, i pray my mind will get back to the way it was 4 months ago. 
thank you and i hope everyone going through anything horrible with effexor finds relief soon."