Good heavens! Your doctor has given you non-extended-release Effexor and having you take it all at once?

I have taken both non-extended-release (3 times a day) and extended release (once per day.)

I would highly recommend the extended-release version. When I took the other type, I started having withdrawal symptoms (head zaps, tingling lips and fingertips, confusion) between doses after a few months.

Your doctor may have an explanation for why he/she is prescribing the Effexor this way. I would definitely ask. Taking the extended release version might get rid of the hypergraphia side effect, since you wouldn't be getting a huge dose of the drug in your system at once.

I took Effexor XR for about 5-6 years. You're right, it can work extremely well. Unfortunately, I had anxiety and insomnia problems from it and ended up having to take meds for those.

Some people prefer Pristiq for that reason. It's the evolved version of Effexor and is supposed to have fewer side effects. Desvenlafaxine - "Desvenlafaxine is a synthetic form of the major active metabolite of venlafaxine (sold under the brand names Effexor and Efexor)."

As far as the "addicted for life" part, it's not that bad. It just requires a very slow taper to get off it (often several months.) This can be avoided if you stay on a drug in the SNRI family.

When I stopped taking Effexor, I went straight to Cymbalta without any noticeable side effects. Other people on PC have written about going to a combo like an SSRI + Wellbutrin with some side effects but not too much misery.

It's when you stop it suddenly and don't replace it with another antidepressant that all hell breaks loose.

I don't know your age. I hope that your pdoc and regular doc will monitor your blood pressure while you're on Effexor. It can definitely increase it. Mine went from 120/80 to 130/80 when I first started taking Effexor and stayed there until after I had been taking it for about 5 years and then it jumped to 180/?. I was in my mid-40s then.

In spite of all the "watch out for this" things I've said, I'm so happy to hear that Effexor is helping you. The SNRI family of meds help me a lot, too.