Posted by HeatherH on July 30, 2006, at 22:08:31
In reply to Just started Effexor XR 7/26/06?, posted by MaggieATL on July 29, 2006, at 9:53:09
I was on effexor for 5 years. When i started taking it,i was on 75mg of effexorXR once a day. What a wonderful drug!! So i thought...It worked within a matter of days,I felt like I was untouchable,on top of the world,IN my own little world,free from mental anguish forever. After 2 and a half years,it stopped working and my doctor doubled it,I was then on 150mg of effexorXR. I gained a massive amount of weight. I was once very thin and very cute,I gained over 80 pounds. I didn't even care! I had no regrets of any decisions or actions I made. I got OCD something terrible collecting PETS of all things!! I had a zoo. I hurt and pushed away alot of good people in my life,and even the love of my life. I didn't even care,I had no conscience what so ever. I stopped taking it cold turkey back in January of this year,and OH MY GOD the side effects were of biblical proportions. I couldn't stand,I couldn't walk,I had severe tremors,cold sweats,hot flashes with severe sweating,nausea out of this world,diarrhea,I couldn't eat,when I talked my teeth chattered like one of those hop along wind up sets of plastic teeth. These lasted a week. A WHOLE 7 DAYS. I was given celexa 30mg to start taking after 3 days of effexor withdrawal,and by the grace of God,at day 8 the side effects went away. The physical ones,that is...I started hearing voices,people were calling my name from the corners of every room I was in. I got extremely violent,I talked to people like I was posessed. At work,a vendor had his stock in the aisle I just happened to be walking down,and all of the sudden I just thought he needed to be ran over with it,so I grabbed it and proceeded to run him over with a skid of his own stock. I could have been fired. I hated the world,I said ALOT of hurtful things and did alot of things I would never ever do in the sane frame of mind I am in now. I stopped taking celexa after two weeks of my own free will. Once it started wearing off,I stopped eating and stared at the floor in this room,not moving for two months. I wanted to die. I was going to kill myself. I sought professional help,and mounds of bills later,I am free and clean from antidepressants. Before effexor I was on paxil and prozac,ten years worth of trying drugs and experimenting,ending in nothing but a ruined life. When the drugs were out of my system,every feeling I pushed away in my head was still there,and it ALL came out at once. I would never wish that on my worst enemy. I encourage people to be strong,feel the hurt and sadness,and work to make it better. Sometimes you just have to do away with everything that makes you sad,even if you know it will be a hard decision and adjustment. It DOES get better. I had to learn the hard way,that covering up sadness and feeling depressed with drugs only makes things worse in the end. NOTHING will kill you,it will only make you a stronger person. I ruined my life trying to supress something I could have just made go away by not being afraid to make the leap and take a stand to make my life happy. I encourage everyone to learn from my mistakes. Be brave,make your life the way you want it to be,and you will feel like life is worth living.
poster:HeatherH
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060724/msgs/672158.html