"i took 225mg of effexor xr for about 6 years for mdd and was doing well until i started to notice a drop in it&#039;s effectiveness.  i then tried lexapro (terrible) and cymbalta.  the latter worked well for about a year-and-a-half, until, again, it&#039;s effectiveness waned.  my physician suggested that, since effexor xr had worked in the past, i give it another shot.  i&#039;ve been back on 150mg now for over a year-and-a-half and am doing well on it.  the medicine, along with talk therapy, has helped significantly.  the side effects i experience are:  increased sweating, dry mouth, and loss of libido.  also, missing a dose for more than a day is miserable, as it causes nausea, a &quot;disconnected head&quot; feeling and slight anxiety."