Definitely wait to see the psychiatrist before increasing, and don't increase too much if you do it without their guidance (please don't). I've also felt pretty irritable and not sure if it's depression or the meds, or both. I guess it took about 4 weeks to get down from 225 to 75mg venlafaxine. I have wondered about mood stabilisers too and you're right that it's reassuring to think there are other things that can be tried. Sometimes it just feels like nothing will work which is disheartening.