Posted by esskay on July 1, 2004, at 21:49:41
In reply to Re: Going off of Effexor, posted by lorily on July 1, 2004, at 18:39:50
I'm day 5 coming off Effexor 75mg. I was on it for about a year-- I went on because I was trying to balance law school and wedding planning across state lines and family. My main problem was sleep, which was cured by 25mg of trazadone, but then the doctor wanted to put me on the Effexor as well, which didn't make any difference. I also have "fibromyalgia" which no one believes in, and I'm supposedly atypical because I push right through the pain and get on with things-- sleep is my main concern, which, if I don't get it, gives rise to anxiety about not sleeping. The trazadone has fixed this for me. I think maybe the doctor thought that the Effexor would help the pain, but it is not clear what links it has with helping the fibromyalgia [as an aside, I've found that good old exercise is a great help].
So: I've graduated from school a month ago and have been booted from the insurance and my doctor. I cannot afford the $100+ per month of the Effexor nor could I get a response from the doctor who put me on the med, since I was no longer a university patient. Also, being without insurance for the time being, I cannot afford to "get to know" a new doctor to come up with a new game plan that will include going off Effexor.
So I figured I'd take matters into my own hands and just didn't pick up my refill. I had been without for a few days at a time before and would feel dizzy, with upset stomach, electric shock sensations and a thrushing/wooshing sound in my ears. So, I bravely (stupidly? not sure) just quit to see if I could brave it and see how long the withdrawal lasts.
An aside: this is a terrible medication. It was improperly prescribed for me I'm sure becuase after 5 days I'm having no anxiety, no mood swings that worry me, no sleep problems. It is terrible to prescribe a drug to people that is so hard to come off of, especially in the university setting where people are transient and may not be able to have consistent monitoring because of breaks, graduation, etc.
Anyway, on day 5 I'm no longer sick to my stomach. I'm having great dreams (colorful) although I've read from others' postings that nightmares are common. I still have occasional thrushing in my ears and the electric shock sensataions are less frequent.
I've read that those who go off higher dosages have worse trouble, but those that prolong the tapering feel the withdrawal effects just as much.
Does anyone know of any clinical trials that have tracked this withdrawal? In terms of how long the weird side effects are "supposed to" last and/or how lng they actually do when coming off 75mg?
poster:esskay
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040627/msgs/362426.html