Posted by jujube on September 16, 2004, at 8:57:26
I am so glad to have found this board. It has helped me understand, to some degree, what I have been going through. I was prescribed Effexor XR six months ago. I had gone to another doctor, rather than my regular gp, at a time when I was suffering from significant iron deficient (not yet anemic, but very little iron in my body) for close to a year. This left me, over time, fatigued, apathetic and anxious. I have been in a high pressure job for 15 years, love it and have always thrived in it. I have been promoted four times, which has always surprised me, but I just go with the flow.
The temporary doctor said I was depressed and put me on Effexor XR, starting at 75 mg then up to 112.5 mg. I had nothing but side effects. After a month, I went back to my trusted and faithful gp who continued to treat the iron deficiency. I told her I had been put on Effexor and it was making me sick. She did not want to mess around with the medication, so she called a friend of hers who is a pdoc. He agreed to see me about dosing, etc. He increased the dose to 150 mg then to 225 mg. Even the increased dose did not help. I was beginning to have increasingly anxious thoughts (yes I am an anxious person by nature, but never to this degree), becoming increasingly apprehensive (nervous about going out to shop or out to dinner because I kept thinking I would have a dizzy spell - even though this had only happened once eight months ago). Finally, after another dosing session with the pdoc, I reduced to 150 mg (since, for me, there was no significant difference between 150 mg and 225 mg, with the exception of increased apathy (could not get jazzed about anything, anxiety and apprehension. Around the beginning of September, I called the pdoc and presented him with natural alternatives (since I knew I could not stay on Effexor and continue to grow increasingly apathetic and unmotivated). I had been on extended leave from work to deal with the fatigue, etc. caused by the iron deficiency (luckily I had well over 100 days of accumulated leave since I had probably only been sick three or four times with really bad colds in over 8 years). The pdoc was not familiar with the natural alternatives, so he decided to switch me to Celexa. Over two weeks, I reduced the dose of Effexor from 150 to 75 then to 0 and then started the Celexa. I have been sick since. Throwing up, weak, dizzy, anxious, exhausted. I was only ever on an antidepressant once before (Paxil), which I eventually stopped using after reducing my dose. I am generally I happy, enthusiastic and energetic person. These past 6 months on Effexor, I had been anything but those things. I just want to be me again. Please, someone, tell me how long I can expect to feel like crap after going off the Effexor?! And, have I made a mistake agreeing to try the Celexa? Sorry for the long message. I just needed to get this off my chest, and hopefully hear from someone who has, or is, going through what I am going through. Thanks for listening.
poster:jujube
thread:391446
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040915/msgs/391446.html