I could not take Effexor because it made me so sleepy I could not function, even at a 75mg dose. I have had some of this same memory loss symptoms recently. I don't know if it was the depression or side effects of the Topamax the doctors were giving me for migraines. Thank goodness they changed the Topamax to amitriptyline. I really felt like I was loosing my intelligence. I was in a situation where I could not remember what I was doing five minutes before. Not a good feeling. I would copy this post, talk to your doctor and see what the doc thinks. Best wishes.