Posted by blueheron on December 16, 2002, at 20:01:04
In reply to Re:Withdrawl » zinya, posted by jmmrc2002 on December 16, 2002, at 5:02:39
Hi all...
I'm new to this thread, been on effexor for 10 months now, and thought I might as well add my thoughts on withdrawl... In July I decided I was sick and tired of the sexual side effects, (decreased libido due mainly to frustration with delayed orgasm) and unbeknownst to my doctor, I decided to see what these much feared withdrawl symptoms were all about... also, I wanted to know if I was going to be hooked forever, or if I could get off the stuff... so I quit cold turkey from 150/day.
The first symptoms I felt started two days later, every time I moved my eyes I heard a whooshing sound, sort of like driving in a car with the window down going past telephone poles. Then I started feeling the electric jolts everyone talks about. I must admit it was a little disconcerting, but nothing too dramatic, not as bad as I had been led to belive... I also experienced the depth perception issues, everything looked far away, and I felt a compulsion to mimic a sort of robotic movement... short crisp jerky movements felt "good"... could be I have a bit of experience in this area, I did inhale in my youth, so to speak, and I think anyone who has ever experimented with psycoactive drugs would recognize these symptoms...
Anyway... Much to my relief the sexual side effects went away just as my Doc had said they would, in fact they departed faster than I expected, within a few days. I started to go into a prolonged manic phase, lasting probably 2 weeks, even though I was still feeling the aforementioned side effects, (in fact they were increasing in severity, particularily the electric jolts, the eye movement/sound and the depth perception) I felt great, I started to wonder if my seratonin levels had somehow been kicked into high gear.
But... (there always is a but, isn't there)
After another couple of weeks I noticed the manic high was wearing off, in fact the depression was returning... the good news is, the side effects all went away, the whole withdrawl process lasted about 6-7 weeks... no more shocks, no more eye stuff... great sex!!!, but I could feel myself sliding into the pit. So I started to have second thoughts about my cold-turkey decision.
Bottom line... I went back on Effexor, 75/day for 3 days then 150/day... I figure my little experiment set me back 4-5 months, I started to feel and remember the first recovery, recognized the light at the end of the tunnel a lot faster, and can see the positive effect it is having on me.
Yes the sexual side effects are back, but not as bad this time, because I know they are transitory, and because I would rather feel like I do now then as I did. Depression sucks, and in my opinion effexor rules.
poster:blueheron
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021210/msgs/132071.html