At the beginning of last year, I was on 300mg a day, and i was really in outer space. I could barely pay attention to a television, let alone perform in school. When I realized that a lot of my problems were coming from effexor, I cut my dosage from 300mg to 150mg immediately, and saw a marked improvement in my ability to concentrate, without many side effects. I have since weened myself to 37.5mg every 2 to 3 days. I have gotten past the anxiety that led me to take effexor - the only reason I encounter anxiety these days is as a direct effect of the withdrawal symptoms of effexor. And that is the only reason I take the drug - to ward off side effects.

Anyway, I am seriously interested in pursuing a class action lawsuit against Wyeth. I was never informed of any of the side effects of this drug when it was prescribed, and the doctor was very happy to ramp up the dosage to a ridiculous level. Effexor is a chemically addictive drug, and it should not legally be dispersed without any sort of clear warning about what the patient is getting into. Wyeth is just this side of an illegal drug dealer - providing an expensive, addictive drug and profiting when people cannot get off of it and need to keep buying their drug to keep from going crazy. Please contact me with any information regarding a lawsuit.

On a side note, it is interesting to see that caffeine has helped people with side effects. I have found that I have been craving Coca Cola when I go a couple of days without taking effexor, and it has really helped take the edge off.