I’m a 54 yr old Mom of 3 mini adult (18,19,&21). I was prescribed Effexor about 18 months ago for hot flashes! I struggled going on it and the pharmacist encouraged me to open the capsules and put the beads in yogurt to help with the nausea and at one point even suggesting that I ask the dr for a higher dose! Of course, being a “good patient” I tried my best to take the pills even though I lost 15 pounds in the process. Now I’ve been trying to get off of it for 8 months because I still have the hot flashes and if I’m even an hour late on my dosage, the brain zaps are overwhelming. Today is my first 24 hours with out it and I’m having problems just moving my head without the zaps. I encourage everyone to research EVERYTHING your doctor prescribes before putting anything in your body !!! Especially now that google has taken over the world :0). I love my doc and know she didn’t mean to cause this. I also realize that this med had probably saved thousands of lives but for symptoms like mine, the effects are far worse than the cause!! I really appreciate everyone’s advice, support, helpful ideas. Many Blessings