Posted by bleauberry on May 2, 2008, at 18:07:36
In reply to Emsam switching to Effexor question NEED HELP!, posted by satsumas on May 1, 2008, at 19:25:26
I am so sorry for the pain you are enduring. I know it. Every 5 minutes segment of a day is an excruciating journey. The good news is that it does lessen. It is not permanent. What I have noticed is that some meds can actually cause depression to slowly get worse, until one day it is just overwhelming and seems like it hit overnight, when in fact it had been sneaking up deceptively. To make it worse, when the offending drug is stopped, depression gets even worse. A double edged very sharp sword. But be assured, it passes. If you did absolutely nothing except endure it, you would be in better shape 3 weeks from now than you are today.
I like that you are focusing on the bible. Sometimes I wonder if God allows us to go through these painful things, as did some of his favorite men of the bible, in order to gain some special strength or insight that will be our gift in later life or beyond. Give glory to God in your prayers, even when you can't think of anything heartfelt to give glory for. He doesn't make mistakes. What is happening has a glorious purpose even though we cannot in our wildest imagination fathom what it might be.
Ensam takes a while to wash out and for the MAO mechanisms to begin refunctioning. Unlike other MAOIs, I do not believe Ensam is as strong on serotonin as the others. Though you need to google serotonin syndrome, type out a list of symptoms and keep it with you, and be very watchful for early signs, it is my best guess you could probably carefully cautiously respectfully begin effexor...BUT, at super low doses. You would have to empty a capsule onto a plate. Then with a razor blade or knife separate it into approximately equal piles of 4ths or 6ths. Dose it by swallowing on applesauce. No need to put it back in the capsule. I think you would be safe doing 5mg effexor to start, and increase it by maybe 1mg a day.
That being said, the comedown from ensam is still going to be painful until it has run its course. I doubt effexor is going to give any immediate relief, but at least you could get a headstart on things with tiny doses. I could be wrong and it might even help a lot right away. But you gotta do it very safe and smart with a lot of respect. 37.5mg is way too much at this point. I may be right and I may be wrong, but that is my best opinion based on being in your shoes several times.
poster:bleauberry
thread:826673
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080430/msgs/826872.html