Welcome aboard Kay!

i too want to encourage you to see your doctor regarding possibilty of:

- stopping the Effexor, at least for now. it will probably have to be tapered. this drug is activating and could easily contribute to your state.

- adding a mood stabilizer/anti-manic agent. The Lamictal has antidepressant qualities and helps increase time between episodes but does not work against mania. can be, but doesn't have to be an antipsychotic - lithium and depakote are still used and both work pretty fast.

keep us posted!

~ waves ~