Posted by boatsie on July 28, 2004, at 22:14:38
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal symptoms!, posted by step on July 27, 2004, at 14:10:58
I just returned from my Dr. who has been supportive in my tapering off but very concerned about the wildfire which is now smoldering in my brain, under control through medication. I have been down to 150 mg. from 300, tapering to 225 then to 185 tyhen to 150. i have been extremely exhausted and today she indicated that under 225, the drugs ability to interact with the norepineprine receptors is nill. We have agreed to a compromise, since she will be out of country until mid august and I am going to take 185 1/2 mg. until she returns.
There are many who post to this board whe do not suffer from the severe psychotic depression and recurrent depressions which have plagued me through my life. Both my pharmacist and doctor are encouraging me to remain strong even if I find I cannot go all the way off effexor; to be content to have scaled it back so that i am no longer in the fugue, ....... i just keep researching, to find out if the damage done to my neural, endocrine et al systems IS irreperable. So many of these postings are from people who were on 75 mg or even less .... I walk a very thin line between functioning and disability and i am opting for functionality. I am hopeful , always hopeful, that this will be possible again without drugs.
Deborah> Well... I went to see my doctor, and big surprise she didn't believe I was suffering withdrawal. According to her I couldn't possibly have withdrawal since a) She had put me on a weaning off schedule and b) None of her other patients had ever suffered withdrawal before while weaning off Effexor.
>
> "Wha? Excuse me?" I felt like asking, "What the heck do I have then?"
>
> Here I was feeling comforted that it probably was withdrawal and I wasn't dying from some strange disease, but she was so sure it couldn't be that. Oh great!
>
> I showed her documentation I found online
> ( references to articles, petitions etc. ) She told me I couldn't trust the internet. When I showed her that one of the articles was from a medical journal, she told me that 'we can't trust all journals either".
>
> I strongly suspect she believes that I am imagining my symptoms because I took the time to educate myself online. *sigh*
>
> So apparently I'm to put all my faith in a doctor who has never before encountered a patient suffering Effxor withdrawal while weaning off, and therefore doesn't believe it's possible.
>
> Well fudge.
>
> she told me to come back and see her in a week, and if I get chest pains again to go to emergency rather than coming to see her. No way I'm doing that! Wait times for emergency are horrendous! Besides, if I was going to have a heart attack, I'd have probably experienced it shortly after the chest pains started on saturday!
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> I'm so frustrated right now. My brain is zapping all over the place, my chest still hurts, I'm tired and I'm cranky!
>
> Thank god I have peple here who can assure me this should go away eventually, or I'd sink into a horrid depression.
poster:boatsie
thread:12459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040724/msgs/371872.html