Posted by poppi on November 14, 2003, at 1:08:15
In reply to How much of SE's and WD effects are in our heads, posted by catachrest on November 12, 2003, at 11:08:55
> I'm just wondering how much of the side effects and withdrawal effects we feel from our medications are more power of suggestion and our own fear of side effects and withdrawal than actual physical symptoms.
>
> ***I am not trying to say that SEs and Withdrawal are not real and that some people experience very severe reactions, or that anyone's SEs and Withdrawal was not real.***
>
> In my personal experience, when I first started Effexor, I tried to learn all I could about it and wound up here almost immediately. I read some absolute horror stories, and some (many fewer) success stories, but decided to try it anyway, as I couldn’t handle the depression any more, and because I’m a good little patient and do what my doctor tells me. For the first few weeks I was miserable, but, as expected, after awhile the worst went away. But then I began to notice that the more I thought about how icky I felt physically, the worse I did feel, and when I was busier with other stuff, my side effects seemed for the most part to vanish.
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> I stopped reading the horror stories, and almost immediately much of my physical discomfort and difficulty concentrating vanished (except for the ‘normal’ parts of my depression that hadn’t gone away yet), and now the only things I still notice are some reduction in appetite and a lot of cool dreams.
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> One story I’ve often heard is that many people begin to feel withdrawal if they are late at all with their dose of effexor, that even a half day is enough to cause great discomfort. I have forgotten for well over a half day before feeling anything, and never felt any problems at all - until I realized I’d forgotten, and then immediately I started to feel ill.
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> Most of us who are on Effexor or the other drugs mentioned most on this board are very depressed, and hypersensitivity to bodily discomforts and anxiety about physical condition go hand in hand with that.
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> Everybody - every body is different, and will react differently to medicines, especially those which mess with the brain. But do you guys think that we sometimes allow our minds to blow physical things out of proportion when we get ourselves overly concerned with side effects and withdrawal?
>
> Susan
I think you have hit the nail on the head with a 10 lb. sledge hammer. I too have read the horror stories here and find it hard to believe soo many could be experiencing the adverse effects that are supposed to be rare. But then again I have not experienced the same type depression as most. Regardless, Effexor has been great for me. I know I don't want to take it forever but I really don't expect to experience the horror many have expressed when stopping it. The power of suggestion is really dynamic in some people! I don't mean for this to sound like a put down for anyone, those feelings hurt just as much whether they are real or percieved!poppi
poster:poppi
thread:279004
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031111/msgs/279613.html