Posted by CEK on February 20, 2006, at 5:33:48
In reply to Re: My non-success on Effexor XR » Graceneeded, posted by demon_child_cin-666 on February 18, 2006, at 12:43:31
I too took Effexor for five years and had to stop because of side effects.( weight gain, loss of emotion, and still depressed.) I tried several times to taper off but the side effects of tapering off were unbearable, I felt like i was loosing my mind. My doctor got me off of Effexor by putting me on Cymbalta at the same time. I took both for ten days, until the Cymbalta was fully in my system, then began to taper the Effexor until I was off of it. Took about three weeks. I got off of the Effexor without withdrawl, but the Cymbalta is worse. Now I suffer from anxiety, aggitation, major depression and manic episodes, decreased urine output, swelling, excessive night sweats, touble swallowing, and suicidal thoughts that sent me into the hospital. Some web sites that might help, www.bipolarworld (they get to the bottom of what all of these meds are really doing to us),www.neurofeedback.com( this is very promising.) I'm starting my first session next week. Neurofeedback also called biofeedback with lifecoaching is supose to cure the problems in our brains causing us to take these meds.All these antidepressants do is enable us to deal with our lives, not live them to our full extent. Do any of you on antidepressants feel like your brain works anymore? I live in a fog and until the Cymbalta, when i was on the Effexor, I lived with the "oh well, whatever" attitude. Whatever people did to me, it more or less rolled off my back. Good? Maybe sometimes. But in the end we all end up being dumped on a treated unfairly and don't even have the ability to stand up for our selves because of our drugged state. This situation going on and on,keeps getting pushed down inside ourselves until eventually meds of no meds we snap. That's what happened to me. It's not a bad thing to get angry sometimes. It's not a bad thing to stand up for ourselves. And even depression sometimes is a normal response to issues in our lives. But without being able to feel these things (because of being highly medicated) we are not able to change the contributing factors that may be causing us to feel this way. When these changes don't take place, the depression goes on and on and we feel like we are flawed for good. Imagine waking up one day and finding out that you lived your life with a lot of excess b.s. thinking good was good enough, and just then realizing that it wasn't and that if you wouldv'e changed some contributing factors in your life, your life would have indead been happier. I do believe that the meds at times are useful, but at others, restrictive. Keep researching. Find out all you can. Don't just depend on what your doctor tells you. It helps to be well informed. Also, I have found that a true psychologist is much more helpful than a councilor or psychiatrist. Psychologist try to get to the root of the problem and enable you to learn to to forward. They spend more time with you and don't just write out prescriptions like pyschatrists do. Fifteen minutes with a patient, and they think they know how to fix you. Councilors don't have the education that a psychologist has, seems like they just listen,don't offer any solutions. Also, go to the lifecoach health group on Yahoo. There are so many inspirational stories and quotes that would give even the person in the deepest despair hope. There is hope. There are other alternatives to medicine. Make sure you check them out. As for those on their last rope, ALWAYS talk to someone. Your husband, mother, father, sister, brother, your preacher, your primary care doctor. So many people love you and when at your darkest moment, the sun is still there, maybe behind a cloud, but still there. We can all get through this! It just takes one day at a time, but we will. Love and caring from one sufferer to the next, CEK
poster:CEK
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060219/msgs/611314.html