Posted by olivier on March 17, 2002, at 17:02:30
In reply to Oops! I counted wrong, good brain, huh? » Sue Doe, posted by Sue Doe on March 16, 2002, at 10:07:48
> My first day off meds was March 3. I guess today is day fourteen.
>
> ...And the brain goes on!
>
Hi Sue,
This is my personal experience after going off of Effexor for 1 week now. So, this is personal and subjective, but at least it might give you some tracks to follow. And remember you're not alone ! Please note that I am french, i.e. forgive me about mistakes !After several years of cures of antidepressant (under deroxat, prozac, seropram), then under Effexor (amount 150mg) for 6 months, I had again felt (approximately 2 weeks ago) the very marked side effects which I had already observed at the beginning of the treatment: abatement, somnolence, nauseas, headaches, giddinesses, a true destruction!! The effects persisted even by reducing the amount with 100mg. With 50mg, I felt other effects, quite as marked. I finally saw my psychiatrist last Monday (March 11). Its opinion: in front of the resurgence of such symptoms, I must stop Effexor. Signs (loss weight, acceleration heart) even make him fear hepatitis (blood analyse in progress). He did not give me another AD. Lastly, and it has been most significant all the same, I 've been doing much better (psychologically) for one month approximately.
It thus makes a week that I stopped Effexor. First report: to stop Effexor is much more difficult than the other AD than I practised up to now (deroxat, prozac, seropram). Here is what I feel:
- furtive "unhookings" of the brain (as if I lost consciousness during a fraction of dryness)
- headaches (a little less since 2 days)
- other "headache": as if a soft ball in my cranium came to knock the walls, especially when I move the eyes (is there a name technqiue, I do not know?)
- diarrhoea
- pertubé sleep: nights of 4-6 hours, alarm clock at the end of one hour, then every hour
- electric discharges in the members, especially hands
Fortunately, there are also a few positive aspects!
- better mental and sexual energy (my libido is still alive!)
- return of the senses (taste, sense of smell)
- satisfied to be able "to make without it"; while knowing that a relapse is still possibleAccording to my psychiatrist, Effexor diffuses its antidepressant capacity during approximately 10 more days after starting going off. As for the effects related to the lack, they can be maintained much longer. There is quite a lot of "literature" on the subject on Internet, I am looking at that in this moment. In short, I must thus still wait before getting rid off of it.
poster:olivier
thread:97891
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020313/msgs/98488.html