I took effexor (generic venlafaxine) to help me with depression that accelerated last winter. It didn't put me in a manic place, but it prevented my depression from sinking lower. It helped me the most in the anxiety area- where I have enough anxiety to affect my life but not enough where I need to be on a benzo. I've heard all over the place stories where it's really helped some people I know and other people got manic symptoms off of it. Doing two medication changes at once sounds really hard- keep us posted on how you're feeling.