Posted by Atticus on July 13, 2004, at 16:55:24
In reply to Re: Does Effexor work, posted by lorily on July 13, 2004, at 13:46:46
> Tony, I agree with you on the asking yourself why get off it. I just stayed on it until I had a reason, I mean, I toyed with the idea of being free from the bondage of HAVING to take a pill(s) and being at the mercy of the psych being able or wanting to see me at refill time, like when she was going on vaca and decided to just refill scripts, no changes. Leaving me, who had a plan for withdrawal, in the "take control of my own well-being mode." Leaving someone else in the office in an awful state with meds that weren't working. Little things like that. I don't want to have to take meds, but I am ever so grateful that I had the opportunity and finally agreed to take them at all. They saved my life in ways I can't even get into here. As for the effexor, i'd never have started it if I knew about the withdrawal (so I'm glad I didn't know) Another thing for me was when the ob/gyn asked what I planned to do if I were to become pregnant. Was I aware of the damage the meds I was on has on a fetus? Well, they're just horrible!!!!!!!!!! That was a nice push for me. Also, I just found out I have celiac's disease. One of my meds had gluten in it, which I'm allergic to.
> And, for the coop-dee-gra (I know that's spelled horribly) The FDA has recently released information that ADs just may not be good for us after all. Not all of us anyway. My meds have served their purpose for me and I am happy to say that they have helped me get back to where I can help myself.
>
As an Effexor "newbie" (I've been taking it for about six weeks now following a depressive episode that culminated in a suicide attempt), I'm really glad I stumbled across this site. This is my first posting. During my hospitalization, I found the Effexor did an astonishing job of pulling me back from the edge of the abyss. I've spent eight long years struggling with every SSRI, tricyclic, and even anti-psychotic medication that my doctors could think of, but only the Effexor has really controlled that sense of having a black, bottomless pit in my gut. For a long time, I was in real denial about my clinical depression and the debilitating panic disorder that went hand-in-hand with it, and I desperately wanted to somehow get back to a state where I didn't need any meds at all. This led to a lot of noncompliance with med schedules, and this kind of behavior usually blew up in my face. So, to respond to lorily's statement, I understand what it's like to resent having to be so dependent on pharmaceuticals. But I guess at this point I've come to accept the fact that my mental illness isn't going to go away like a cold. It's more like having diabetes, I think; I can manage it, control it, but never be rid of it. That acceptance has gone a long way toward making me able to better deal with Effexor's side effects, and the other three meds I have to take just to keep the Effexor from running wild and creating new problems (Propanol, for the high blood pressure the Effexor has created; Klonopin, to take the edge off the powerful stimulant effects of the Effexor; and trazadone, to help me get some sleep while my body adjusts to this witch's brew of meds). I'm back at work and not lying on a mortuary slab somewhere, and there's a lot to be said for that. It's not a perfect solution, but it's the best I've come across since this depression really slammed me (and destroyed my marriage in the process) 8 years ago. I only discovered this site yesterday, but I've been poring over years of postings since then. I do have a question for anyone out there who might know: Is Effexor the only SNRI out there, or have other SNRIs (perhaps more refined ones) made it through FDA testing and to the market? Anyone know? Thanks for listening. Atticus
poster:Atticus
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040712/msgs/365744.html