Posted by Racer on August 15, 2005, at 12:35:47
In reply to Re: googled effexor and scared me so much...HELP!!!, posted by mellymel_d on August 12, 2005, at 13:37:33
It's true that Effexor is known to have a more intense discontinuation syndrome than many other anti-depressants, and there are certainly a lot of sites out there devoted to horror stories about Effexor -- but remember this:
There are few sites extolling the virtues of Effexor simply because those people who are finding it effective are living their lives, rather than putting up websites about their drugs.
I took Effexor for several years, discontinued it slowly, and lived to tell the tale. Would I take it again? No, because it wasn't effective enough for me -- but that's the only reason. If I thought that it would be more effective than it was, I'd take it again in a heartbeat -- it was much easier in terms of side effects than any other medication I had taken up to that point. It was helpful very quickly, and it was somewhat effective for me. Effective enough that I stayed on it for several years.
So, what does that mean for you? It probably means it's worth trying. Keeping in mind that those of us who frequent this board tend to be somewhat treatment resistant -- I certainly have trouble that way -- and that your mileage will vary, I'd say that it's worth giving it a try.
The realistic answer is that there is a discontinuation syndrome, but if you start on the drug and find that it's not working for you, you shouldn't have much trouble tapering down -- the longer you're on it, the worse it can be; the higher the dose, the worse it can be.
I hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:540658
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050811/msgs/541928.html