Lester: How is the Effexor XR going? It takes time to work, maybe up to 3 or 4 months...but I found that it had less side effects for me than the Serzone and Paxil. Probably they all have side effects that could be dangerous to some people, however, personally, I would rather take something than do nothing at all. It's everyones free choice. Of course your doctor can advise you as to what to do and knows more about particular drugs than we do, however, we can tell you what we have experienced personally. Sometimes what we think are side effects are really results of other problems we are having that have not yet been diagnosed, but then how do we know? It is a personal choice that you have to make, not just the choice of your doctor. I know what you mean about trying health food store suggestions, which usually do not work in the long run. However, occassionally for some people, health alternatives do work on some things for some people. Right now, I know I need to be on something stronger. But occassionally when I wake up at 3pm in the morning, I am not going to just put up with it any longer and just stay awake. I also have a bottle of herbs that I have in my side table, and if I can't go back to sleep, I take them also. They are not the ones that contradict the drugs. You have to do your own research. They do work to get me back to sleep, however, depression is another story. And my panic attacks have pretty well stopped now after taking higher dosages of anti-anxiety meds with the anti-depression meds. So I hope you can find some solutions for yourself. I wish you all the best...