My bf hated venlafaxine (didn't work, gave him brain zaps) and the withdrawals were hard on him. I think he described the withdrawals as "hell", but later he said they weren't so bad and that he hadn't described them as hell. However, I still decided to give it a chance and asked my shrink for it, telling him that since it was a dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor it was supposed to make me pay attention better, wasn't it? I told him that I had trouble being vigilant when outside the house, paying attention to my surroundings as I walked down the street. He looked at me like I had insulted him and said (and I knew just by his tone of voice that I would be sectioned again if I didn't, and they might well have tested my blood to make sure I was taking it) "You need to get back on the loxapine!" I think he believed my wanting to be vigilant was the paranoid part of psychosis, and he wanted me back on my antipsychotic... understandable. I had stopped taking my loxapine because I hadn't needed it anymore (I just knew that I wouldn't see black holes anymore) and it was making me apathetic, even at 15 mg. I went back on the loxapine (for a while), but my vigilance problem was not solved. I really did want that Effexor, though. I don't know why I was so keen on the Effexor, but they kept insisting on giving me Celexa. But then I got Wellbutrin (150 mg) and it was a great motivator (one thing I was hoping Effexor would do for me) but didn't do anything else.
OMG I am SO off topic. Sorry!