effexor worked fine for me, maybe not as well as zoloft did. but ...

I too had some moments of shifting personality behavior after effexor but I am now about 3 months off and I feel much better. My mind finally feels clear, less foggy, BUT, as soon as I was completely off, I started to feel joint pain and stiffness that HAS NOT gone away. Has anyone had any physical problms after effexor withdrawal? I am in menopause so I thought maybe the effexor was masking the effects of it and now I am feeling all of the menopause problems.

Effexor is being prescribed for menopause syptoms, so you are right, that is why you are now seeing the menopause syptoms, since you got off it.

Although I have only been on Effexor XR for 1 1/2 years, I started feeling the joint pain about 3 months after I got on it. I am currently weaning off of it because I do not like all the other side effects.

You said your joint pain did not occur until you got off of it. Does that mean you had no joint pain while on it? How long were you on it?

Thanks