Hi Stu,
Welcome to the forum,now then i have never had venaflaxine(effexor) but I know some close friends who have and although it seemed to work OK according to them I was not so sure,my son's girlfriend was on it for three years,she'd visit us talk for one day and then you wouldn't see her for a week,and she is now being wened off it and she has had a hard time apparently,sweats,high anxiety,phobias etc.
I have been through a terrible three years,lost my dad,lost my job,two knee replacements and nearly lost my wife due to one of my impulsive periods,my doctor prescribed mirtazapene but it upset me and by pure chance on one of my visits to see my dad when he was ill,I had forgotten my pain-killers and my brother gave me one of his 300mg pregabilin and boy after a dizzy start I felt great,confident and pain-free.
So on returning home I asked my doctor for it and have been on it ever since and it is wonderful,but stick to the dosage,I took 600mg one day and suffered double vision,incoherence but felt on top of the world despite that.
I noticed someone else also takes this,ask for it mate,you won't regret it after the first dose.
Unfortunately my doctor limits me to 400mg per day,which is adequate,but my depression and anxiety worsened and now I may be put on carbamazepam,an anti-psychotic,200mg of pregabilin would probably fix it but my prescription would only last 3 weeks instead of four and my doctor would know I've exceeded the dosage.
Anyway Stu,give it a try,it may be the answer.
By the way are you bi-polar?
Regards Malc