I am an ovarian cancer survivor (yay me!). At any rate... I was put into immediate, surgical menopause. Meaningt I went to sleep pre-menopausal and woke up post. Being I had cancer, my doctor will not treat me with hormone replacement. I am fine with that, and was put on Effexor 75 rx. When I first started taking it, I felt like a zombie, but convinced myself to continue longer, and hope the side effects would subside, as they did. So, for a while, the hot flashes subsided and my moods seemed to be consistent. However... it's been 2 months, and I talked with my doctor. I told her that it seemed to be ok, but the hot flashes are starting back up, and I'm finding myself (quite the social butterfly) wanting to be home, alone, more than out with my friends. I looked at my November calendar and I had cancelled most all my plans. NOT ME! She agreed, and said because of the short time I was on them, to just take it every other day, for a week, and then stop. Well, I have these jolts going on, in my brain. Like lil spasms, or electrical shortages, if you will. The pharmacist did confirm that this is a side effect, but for how long??? Any advice on what to do to ease them? My daughter, who is going to school for nursing suggested taking Advil just to see if it might interact with my brain waves. Nope, no help.