Posted by jared on March 15, 2000, at 16:20:44
I started taking Effexor xr for anxiety about a 2 months ago. The plan was to make a gradual increase to 225mg. I have not got there yet however, because of hesitation. Since I began taking the drug, I had these strange episodes where I would feel like things were unreal and almost as if I were dreaming. This feeling usually happend towards the end of the day after having takin it in the morning. I would also feel a bloated feeling in my head, kind of like the feeling you get when you stand on your head and you have a rush of blood. I slowly upped the dose to 150mg, thinking that these feeling would eventually go away. I went up and down a couple times, being afraid of the feeling continuing. I finally decided to stop taking it and have been slowly decreasing the dosage weekly. I have not spoken with my psychiatrist about any of this as I feel she would not understand, and would try to just throw in another medication. I really don't feel I can express my fears and feelings to her and every time I
try I just lock up and can't say anything. I'm afraid she'll think I'm crazy or something. I suffer from anxiety, depression, and add. Has anyone had a similiar experience with Effexor. Also, coming on and off drugs can be really taxing, right now I feel as if I am in this fog and I'm not sure if there is a way out. I'm afraid that somehow I have damaged my brain because of my going up and down with medication, unable to find a stable point that I can stick with. Is it possible for ssri's to cause permanent damage. I have heard horror stories, but I'm not so sure I believe them all the much. I just want to find something I can stick with. Any thoughts? You're comments would be appreciated.
poster:jared
thread:27136
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000312/msgs/27136.html