I can tell you a horror story about effexor xr and if you really look into it you can find many horror stories.

My partner was put on effexor xr five years ago. Her OBGYN put her on it "in case" she had depression due to menapause. During the first year she kept getting more and more depressed, therefore the doc kept uping her dose. She was sleeping more and more, she was only out of bed enough to work eight hours a day, on her days off she was only out of bed to use the bathroom and grab some food.

She started having high blood pressure and heart issues after eight months on effexor xr. She was put on high blood pressure medication and nitro pills. I told her doctor that I thought her problems were connected with the effexor, of course the doc said this was impossible. At 13 months the seizures began, the blood pressure got worse, she was let go from a job that she had been working for five years because of the seizures and medical problems, suicide became a daily thought, and her dosage was increased to the maximum amount. I fought with her dr. and finally convinced her that the effexor was causeing these problems.

Getting off the effexor was another hell in itself but after a year she was off all medications, her blood pressure was normal, the seizures stopped, the heart started doing much better, and she no longer thought of suicide.

She is now a very healthy person who holds a full time job that she loves. I could tell so much more but I think this is enough to give you an idea.