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Re: February is Effexor month at PBabble

Posted by Erika on February 4, 2001, at 20:43:08

In reply to February is Effexor month at PBabble, posted by danf on February 4, 2001, at 7:17:04


> First topic is Effexor... Points wanted both good & bad
>
> Dx effexor taken for ?

> Depression (Dsthymia)
>
>did you like it or not, why ?
> Liked it because didn't feel dizzy on it or loss of libido (initially) as I did with Celexa.
Also, felt very calm and even throughout treatment.

> which version effexor or effexor XR
>Effexor XR

> how it helped or did not, time of day taken

> Helped relieve all symptoms of anxiety and depression. Life is very calm-no definite highs or los. Overall relatively peaceful. Found it useful for getting myself in control and giving my family/boyfriend a break from my mood swings, panic, etc. Towards the end though, this turned into apathy.

> side effects starting & what helped
No inital side effects, save some sleepiness which was relieved by taking a single 150 mg dose in morning versus initial 75mg 2x daily.

> side effects on the med & what helped
Gained 20 lbs in 1.5 years. Nothing really helped this. Became vegetarian-continued to gain absurd amount of weight. I don't know why they say that anorexia can occur on this drug. I know three women total on this drug, and we all gained tons of weight on it. This is a primary factor in deciding to quit this drug. I also had no libido to speak of. I recently began withdrawal process am couldn't believe how quickly my libido rebounded. I want to cry when I think of the loss of intimacy during the time I was on this drug, I was robbed and didn't even know it!

> side effects stopping & what helped
> I weaned myself off 150mg XR by taking 75mg for one week and then stopped medication altogether. This decision was made with my MD. I stopped seeing a psychiatrist about 2 years ago when I realized that my regular MD would dispense this med. The only Psychiatrist in Heath Plan (United Healthcare,a bunch of thugs) was a man whose practice mysteriously shut down a few months later. My MD didn't know what she was doing when letting me withdraw so quickly. Within 48 hours of getting off the Effexor I was experiencing:
-Nausea
-Vertigo
-Dizziness
-Clicking in my years
-Detailed nightmares that seemed to last all night
-Exhaustion
-Night Sweats
-Fever & Shaking
-Feeling of utter helplessness and desperation
-Lots of sobbing-real fear and panic while feeling these symptoms.
-Genuine sorrow at having lived the last 18 months in a cloud.

I can't recall ever feeling worse in my life. Thankfully I am currently umemployed, so didn't have to leave the house. I wasn't able to drive.
When I called my MD two days into the symptoms, the nurse told me "There are no withdrawal symptoms with Effexor. Stop crying and get off the phone and take your medicine. Come and see the doctor next week". I told her I wanted to go the ER since I was so freaked out- she sighed heavily and told me to take the meds again and then basically hung up on me. No one deserves to be treated this way! It's not like I have a history of hysterical behavior with this woman...

I tracked down a wonderful psychiatrist a few hours later, when I realized that I wasn't going to get any help elsewhere. I took great pains to find one who doesn't take my insurance, convinced that anyone who plays the managed care game isn't going to have time to really listen to their patients. This doctor assured me that my symptoms were definitely related to the withdrawl- and quickly called in a 37.5 mg prescription of Effexor for me. I took this and the symptoms receded entirely within 12 hours. I am going to work with this doctor to wean myself off the toxic stuff. Apparently, it can take up to 3 weeks to get off of this drug. I can only liken my experience to what a Heroin junkie must feel. Take the worst hangover/stomach flu of your life and multiply it by 10 and you have an idea of how I felt. Eww!

As a side note, I did find tremendous relief by going to an acupunturist (again, the managed care aversion guided me). My body & spirit took a real beating in that short period of time.
The acupunture really was very restorative and nurturing. Western medicine has burned me but it's utter lack of emotion. I am going to stick with Eastern & Holistic medicine for awhile. I really want to be healed-not treated for symptoms. I refuse to submit to cold indifference from MD's any more. Anyone who gives me the snake oil speech can go take a jump in a lake. Treatment by someone who wants to heal you versus process you is worth every unisured penny in my book.

> time on med ( days, weeks, months, etc)
18 months.

> if you took other meds & discontinued them before effexor, if so why ?

>I took Celexa, which made me drowsy and irritable and didn't really help with depression. Worked well with depression symptoms but overall didn't like this drug. My original Dr. Feelgood supplemented me with Wellbutrin which helped but had distinctive feeling of been really doped up, although it was subtle. Also, I had absolutely no libido.
I have some friends who were on Effexor and didn't have any side effects, which prompted me to request a change to Effexor.

> if you have stopped effexor ? why ?

I am at a stable point in my life and would prefer to try out clean livin'. I think that it is dangerous to continue with meds longer than necessary. It's okay to use it for a hand out of the dark and long enough to rest up for a while, but eventually you have have to have the courage to get back in the ring.

> any other info or anything that happened to you on effexor or that you know about effexor.

> an example...
> sexual side effects ?
-No libido
-Weight Gain
-Subtle form of apathy
All side effects crept up slowly and eventually overtook me. By this time I realized what was going on I didn't care. I wasn't sad-so why shake things up?

-what did you do /take that helped, & just as important did not help ?

I did nothing. I really think the apathy side effect took over.
-I didn't really cared about being emotionally asleep. When you are distressed enough to get on the meds, you accept that this may/will happen.

did these last ? time, etc ?
Side effects increase significantly over time.

> vision changes ?
None.

> If there are things you do not want posted on the BB, you can email them to me.


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Psycho-Babble Medication | Framed

poster:Erika thread:53280
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010131/msgs/53319.html