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Posted by gargurel on September 28, 2003, at 6:58:56
In reply to Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by Paul Mokeski on April 25, 2002, at 13:57:24
I am experiencing these types of symtoms too. I have been getting off Effexor XP gradually from 225mg all the way down to 37.5 mg. But, as soon as I was off completely, bang.
How long do these sysmtoms last. I have been on it only for 6 months. Do they ever go away? Is there something like herbal tea that can ease the withdrawal?.
Gar
Posted by Tracee on September 28, 2003, at 7:43:03
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by gargurel on September 28, 2003, at 6:58:56
Hi Gar,
I believe the symptoms will ease as time goes on.
I have been completely off effexor xr for two and a half weeks now.
If your looking for herbal teas, perhaps rosehip or something relaxing might be best. I might try it myself. My G.P. has put me on 5mg of valium twice a day to keep me going for a bit longer as the tension I have had building since I went off has been going into my back. (I have a broad base disc bulge).
It has been helping, but to be honest, I've had about enough of chemical answers to my problems.
Please let me know how the tea goes for you. :)
Posted by emilyd on September 28, 2003, at 10:15:26
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by Tracee on September 28, 2003, at 7:43:03
I only ever made it to 75 mg of Effexor XR and had a horriffic withdrawal. The first day of dropping to 37.5 I thought I had finally begun to go completely insane. My therapist and doc calmed me down. I think I made it back to work for a day or two before I woke up one morning knowing that if I got out of bed I would surely kill myself. I've been on disability ever since. Side effects included dizziness, confusion, loss of short-term memory, headache, nausea, anxiety ans of course suicidal ideation. The severity subsided over the course of weeks if not months. In fact, it's been more than 6 months now, we've tried 6 drugs or so in various combinations and dosages, but I'm still below 50%.
I know my case is extreme. We have concluded that perhaps the diagnosis was wrong and that I'm actually bipolar. I just want people to know that this can happen, and if it does to know that you're not alone.
Posted by gargurel on September 28, 2003, at 14:15:29
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by Tracee on September 28, 2003, at 7:43:03
Thanks Tracy,
I just wish I knew how long to expect these side effects. I didn't have any effexor on Friday, nor Saturday. I took some today just to be sure that effexor was the cause; I took 37.5 and withing 3 hours other than a head acte all the rest went away. This scares me. I know that medicine can be very helpful, but I should have stayed away from this one.
I have heard that vitamin B and a few other supplements can help the brain fonction properly, and this may be a better way out.
Thanks again.
NGB> Hi Gar,
> I believe the symptoms will ease as time goes on.
> I have been completely off effexor xr for two and a half weeks now.
> If your looking for herbal teas, perhaps rosehip or something relaxing might be best. I might try it myself. My G.P. has put me on 5mg of valium twice a day to keep me going for a bit longer as the tension I have had building since I went off has been going into my back. (I have a broad base disc bulge).
> It has been helping, but to be honest, I've had about enough of chemical answers to my problems.
> Please let me know how the tea goes for you. :)
Posted by Tracee on September 28, 2003, at 19:58:41
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by gargurel on September 28, 2003, at 14:15:29
When I first went off, against all advice I went off cold turkey. Big mistake. 3 days went by with the dizziness,dry mouth, nausea and other side-effects all increasing. The worst effect was a physical one. It's difficult to explain. My body was numb inside. I had elastic bands twanging under my skin and I couldn't focus my eyes or my brain properly. At the slightest bit of adrenalin my heart would begin to palpatate and felt like it was going to explode out of my arm.
I then took the smallest dose available to me which was 75mg, and this eased a lot of the symptoms. I then found that if I took one 75mg capsule every three days I could hold off the side effects just enought to keep sane.
My body hadn't figured out that it was supposed to make its own seratonin again and freaked out basically.
The only personal stress I've had coming off them, is that my anxiety attacks and social phobia symptoms are starting to appear again. The medication did help with these, but not with the depression itself.
I'm not happy with the fact that effexor is a relatively new drug and therefore not tested long enough to note and understand all the the side effects and how long they will last.
We are guinea pigs in this particular laboratory and I'm not happy about it as noone offered me that choice.
I take a vitamin B and C supplement every day, I don't know whether it has any effects where the effexor is concerned though.
Good luck in coming off them. Personally I think the doctors/chemists should give us more information at the time of starting any new medication. I was given some, but nothing prepared me for what I would go through coming off this stuff.
I have my first psychiatrist appointment this Friday and I'm not sure whether I'm willing to try any more antidepressants after my experience with the effexor.
It's a rollercoaster ride that I'm not sure is worth getting on.
I wish you all the support you can get through this time. Any friends and family that offer you support, take it. Time out for yourself is very important and so is moral support. Good luck. :)Thanks Tracy,
>
> I just wish I knew how long to expect these side effects. I didn't have any effexor on Friday, nor Saturday. I took some today just to be sure that effexor was the cause; I took 37.5 and withing 3 hours other than a head acte all the rest went away. This scares me. I know that medicine can be very helpful, but I should have stayed away from this one.
>
> I have heard that vitamin B and a few other supplements can help the brain fonction properly, and this may be a better way out.
>
> Thanks again.
> NGB
>
> > Hi Gar,
> > I believe the symptoms will ease as time goes on.
> > I have been completely off effexor xr for two and a half weeks now.
> > If your looking for herbal teas, perhaps rosehip or something relaxing might be best. I might try it myself. My G.P. has put me on 5mg of valium twice a day to keep me going for a bit longer as the tension I have had building since I went off has been going into my back. (I have a broad base disc bulge).
> > It has been helping, but to be honest, I've had about enough of chemical answers to my problems.
> > Please let me know how the tea goes for you. :)
>
>
Posted by pixygoth on October 1, 2003, at 7:11:27
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else » gargurel, posted by Tracee on September 28, 2003, at 19:58:41
I'm at 75 down from 225, and at the moment *lots* of vitamin B (all kinds together) has helped me a surprising amount.
S
Posted by sallyjane on October 7, 2003, at 4:26:10
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by pixygoth on October 1, 2003, at 7:11:27
Im not feeling real good after reading all of this. I have been on efexor for 6 years dose varying from 37.5 to most recently 150 mg. Have cut back dose & now stopped for 3 days. Side effects horrendous with the vertigo & dizziness. Surely some people have not experienced the side effects to the lengths that the previous writers have? I need some hope that this will be gone and soon!!!
Posted by gargurel on October 7, 2003, at 4:48:34
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by sallyjane on October 7, 2003, at 4:26:10
Since my last message, I first killed all non-food medications espect for effexor. I have been taking 37.5 mg every second day. Bu the end of the second day, I start to feel the symtoms, but they are endurable.
I am now at the third day and the symtoms are simular to yesterday - the point is, they haven't gotten worse like my first try. The difference: I took Vitamin B last night before going to bed. I was taking it in the morning. I don't know if this is what's causing the comfort, but it is worth a try.
Gar
Posted by markwb on October 7, 2003, at 6:03:48
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by gargurel on October 7, 2003, at 4:48:34
Hi Gar
I am about to consider coming of Efexor again after many trys so far. I am taking half a 37.5 tab each morning and have also had the symptoms expressed in this thread. The drug is a pain and I feel I will need to take a few weeks off to do the withdrawal safely. My eyes play up and I get the electric sensations.
I would be interested in seeing how you go over the next few weeks.......your input will be invaluable in assisting me when I start my withdrawal.
Good luck :-)
MarkWB
Since my last message, I first killed all non-food medications espect for effexor. I have been taking 37.5 mg every second day. Bu the end of the second day, I start to feel the symtoms, but they are endurable.
>
> I am now at the third day and the symtoms are simular to yesterday - the point is, they haven't gotten worse like my first try. The difference: I took Vitamin B last night before going to bed. I was taking it in the morning. I don't know if this is what's causing the comfort, but it is worth a try.
>
> Gar
Posted by gargurel on October 7, 2003, at 17:50:58
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else » gargurel, posted by markwb on October 7, 2003, at 6:03:48
I will keep posting my progress. At the present time, I am on 37.5 every two mornings, and I have been taking vitamin B once a day. I have been trying to eat as much fruit and vegies as possible, and a lot of exercise.
But, whem I here of people having side effect even a year after stopping, it scares me. I also can't wait to see my own outcome.
Gar
> Hi Gar
>
> I am about to consider coming of Efexor again after many trys so far. I am taking half a 37.5 tab each morning and have also had the symptoms expressed in this thread. The drug is a pain and I feel I will need to take a few weeks off to do the withdrawal safely. My eyes play up and I get the electric sensations.
>
> I would be interested in seeing how you go over the next few weeks.......your input will be invaluable in assisting me when I start my withdrawal.
>
> Good luck :-)
>
> MarkWB
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Since my last message, I first killed all non-food medications espect for effexor. I have been taking 37.5 mg every second day. Bu the end of the second day, I start to feel the symtoms, but they are endurable.
> >
> > I am now at the third day and the symtoms are simular to yesterday - the point is, they haven't gotten worse like my first try. The difference: I took Vitamin B last night before going to bed. I was taking it in the morning. I don't know if this is what's causing the comfort, but it is worth a try.
> >
> > Gar
>
>
Posted by Jane Austen on October 8, 2003, at 14:19:19
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else, posted by sallyjane on October 7, 2003, at 4:26:10
As far as I can tell from my own experience the only way to ease the withdrawals is by taking something else. Codeine helped me (but not with the nausea). Someone else took a small amount of Prozac (fluoxetine) and her results sounded good. Another person said they got rid of the dizziness with an anti-histamine (ask your doctor which one would be good to use).
Posted by Nutbar on November 5, 2003, at 2:30:42
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by Phil on April 27, 2002, at 7:28:08
I just started on Efexor-XR today. I came off Paxil (Aropax in Australia) a year ago and I am terrified after reading all your posts that I'm just about to put myself through all that again. I don't want to be on meds, and I don't want to go through withdrawal again. I feel like there's no point to meds if they're only going to ruin your life.
Posted by sallyjane on November 5, 2003, at 19:08:00
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by Nutbar on November 5, 2003, at 2:30:42
Nutbar - efexor does work. It did the job for me. But when its time to come off thats when it gets tough.
Ask your doctor about alternatives, e.g. cipramil has far fewer side-effects according to information I've read (though I don't believe everything I read anymore).
The doctors and psych. people I'm talking to have NO idea about the intensity of side effects we're talking of...they are bad so I would strongly recommend looking at all the alternatives first. Good luck
Posted by Tracee on November 7, 2003, at 20:30:02
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by sallyjane on November 5, 2003, at 19:08:00
Hi all, I haven't posted for a while, because I haven't been doing so good.
I made the mistake of coming off effexor XR 225mg cold turkey. It was awful! I freaked out and my body couldn't handle it. I was a mess. I ended up taking 75mg every three days, until I stopped altogether. I did this over a two week period. Still came off too quick though; but I was aware of the consequences and decided to do it.
About two weeks later, I had my first panic attack in months.
My anxiety & social phobia were back! It seems that the med. worked in that area, even though it didn't help with my depression as much.
About a month later, my DR put me on Avanza because I was spiralling downwards, fast.
I took 15mg for two days , then stopped.I was sleeping for 16 hours and then still groggy for another two hours.
When I saw my counsellor a couple of days later, I told her what had happened and she rang a chemist for advice.
He said that the medication I take for my back(tramadol), mixed with the Avanza and caused me to mini overdose.
By this time I was suffering from constant suicidal ideation, and was pretty flat all round.
My counsellor walked me up to the emergency room of our local hospital, where I was given the choice of staying voluntarily or ending up scheduled and in the psych. ward of our city hospital.
I chose to stay, although unwillingly. The doctor changed my back medication and put me on Zoloft. Also, she has put me on an anti psychotic Zyprexa, while I am getting settled on the Zoloft.
I am currently up to 150mg every morning, and so far so good.
My advice to anyone thinking of playing about with your meds, even if you think you know what you're doing just isn't worth it.
I had to stay in hospital away from my family, which upset my 2 yr old and 5 yr old very much.
I finally get my first psych. appointment on the 13th of this month.
Hoping to feel normal again soon. :)
Thanks for listening to me ramble on. I find it helps to share with others who understand.
Posted by ceecee on November 9, 2003, at 17:40:56
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by Tracee on November 7, 2003, at 20:30:02
wow!
it really helped me finding this page!!
i was on efexor for almost two years, last on 275mg/d.
it helped me a lot through tough times but times got more tough about a month ago.
so i had to choose between increasing the efexor again (with more side-effects like sweating and obstipation) or changing to something else. i agreed to change and therefore started to reduce the efexor.
i think i don't need to explain what started happening: a nice mixture of all side-effects you've been describing in your mails....
and me - thought i was running mad - untill i found this page. thank you everybody!
before i red this i thought of going back to efexor rather than trying another drug with other risk...the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know...
therefore: can anyone tell me anything about
cipralex(escitalopram)???
(it's the drug i wanted to change to)
i'm a bit confused on what to do
Posted by cassie74 on November 9, 2003, at 21:29:22
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by ceecee on November 9, 2003, at 17:40:56
I'm currently on medication that is called Cipramil, so I'm not sure if that's the same drug (cipralex)that you mentioned. I'm REALLY fortunate that i happened to find this site only a couple of days after starting Effexor so I went to the doctor & had my medication changed straight away. I have had absolutely no problems with the Cipramil. The only thing i did notice that around the same time each afternoon i would start to yawn a lot, but that has stopped now & it was never really a problem anyway. I had much worse side-effects with the Effexor & Avanza. Anyway, so far so good. I'm feeling a lot better, but I still have my rough periods but I'm sure that it would be a lot worse if I wasn't taking the Cipramil. Hopefully this will be the one that will work for me. All the best!
Posted by ceecee on November 10, 2003, at 13:58:36
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by cassie74 on November 9, 2003, at 21:29:22
thanx for answering quick!
i've checked online-informations about it.
seems i have almost the same med like yours.
something that might be intresting for you:
Lundbeck, the CNS specialists, launched Cipralex as a follow up to their first SSRI Cipramil. Cipralex differs from Cipramil in that 'Escitalopram is the therapeutically active component of Citalopram [and is said to] significantly improve symptoms and quality of life.' The data from pooled studies suggests that Cipralex leads to a greater improvement in depression symptoms over Cipramil and these differences were more significant in those patients suffering from severe depression.
(this info is from google)anyway. it gives me hope that this could finally help without lots of side-effects (after a three-years-research through hope and disapointment-stages with different kind of products...)
Posted by cassie74 on November 10, 2003, at 15:09:03
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else? » cassie74, posted by ceecee on November 10, 2003, at 13:58:36
Thanks for that info. I might ask my doctor about it & maybe change over. The Cipramil is working well & like I said, i have no side-effects at all, but the mood swings are still there although not as bad. I guess they can't work miracles though & I shouldn't rely totally on medication to try and fix that. I really do recommend it though as i have had a LOT of problems in the past with the side-effects from different tablets, but this one seems fine. :-)
Posted by ceecee on November 11, 2003, at 5:06:44
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by cassie74 on November 9, 2003, at 21:29:22
Cassie you are right!
I don't expect miracles again as well. All I want is to be able to cope with my upside-downs and to live a "normal" life.
Life is not all about enjoyment only. It's also about sorrow and grief.
But I don't want to be traped; defenceless like a pet...
The med is just to give me wings. I need to learn by myself how to fly.
The best is: I'm not alone. I have GOD by my side
and a few frieds who care.
I wish you the same. And a lot of courage and strenght too. :)
Posted by KatieUK on November 18, 2003, at 20:00:49
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by ceecee on November 11, 2003, at 5:06:44
hi. i've just found and read this entire thread, and i'm really upset.
i've resisted taking anti-depressants for so long (always), and gave in just over a year ago, so have been taking efexor since then. i was very unhappy at the thought of taking it, but tried to do a comprehensive look-up on the internet first, to find out all i could; wish i'd found this site then. most of the information that i found then was the same or similar to the copy on the leaflet enclosed with the efexor, except for one user group where everyone seemed to be taking/have taken everything known to man, and they were generally vague about them all (as in, they might help, and then they'd be good..). so i took them. i dealt with various side-effects, mostly the ones mentioned here already - lack of patience / increased aggression, itchiness, 'zapping' in the head (which i, not knowing whether it was important or not, spent ages trying to describe to my gp and psychiatrist - the latter not mentioning to me for ages, until i asked, that i wasn't the first and only wierdo to describe any such thing). there were other symptoms near the beginning as well, which went away (mostly my body couldn't cope with temperature change - thought it was that i was getting too hot generally until i realised that it was more a reaction to the cold winter weather - went to a hot country worried about overheating, but was fine).
aaanyway, the point is, i've accepted delays from the psychiatrist re. coming off the pills, and was finally doing it. i've always known that it had to be done gradually, but (stupidly, i guess) just didn't realise that there might be any physical side-effects of stopping taking them, or psychological ones if stopping so gradually. the psychatrist recommended 150/75mg every other day for 2 weeks, then 75mg every day for 2 weeks, then stop. i actually took 75mg every other day for a bit after that as well. no-one's ever mentioned to me that 37.5mg existed. the only side-effect that i had while phasing it out was loads of very vivid dreams - ones that i often couldn't tell from reality - but didn't make the connection because i had no idea that taking less could increase side-effects. other than that, everything was absolutely fine until i stopped taking them completely.
i took the last pill about 9-10 days ago. i've been thinking for most of that time that i've been ill with a stomach virus, due to the fact that i've been feeling very very sick all the time. now, having read this, it seems more likely that there was no virus, and that it was due to nausea from withdrawal of the medication. particularly since i had a massive overnight mood swing, and the first day that i felt queasy i also couldn't stop crying and felt absolutely awful. then a few days later started getting VERY itchy, especially at night. VERY VERY itchy - like ripping holes in my legs with fingernails and then resorting to my hairbrush 'cos it's safer (sorry for excessive information!). and the other thing is - the 'zapping' is back. (it is such a relief to have something to call it now (after reading thread) other than 'that thing in my head' as i have been.) but this time it's on overdrive, all the time, especially every time i change my visual focus. (has anyone else found that about it? - always was happening when i took my contact lenses out, too.) between the zapping and the itching and a bit of residual nausea, not to mention how i feel emotionally, i feel like i'm losing the plot, going round that twist, and generally becoming a full-time nutter at last.
staged a sit-in at the doctors today - a 'helpful' receptionist had been fielding me for days despite my being in floods of tears. saw gp, who seemed to think it as unlikely as i that it could be withdrawal (seemed so illogical to both of us). i really trust her. but then had to phone psychiatrist, who had seemed to take it as a personal insult that i never accepted the inevitability of the efficacy of the drugs, and who wrote a sarcastic letter to my gp mentioning my lack of 'appreciation'! anwyay, due to his assumptions about and attitude towards me i thought that he's assume this was such more evidence of my distrust of the pills; basically, i'd been sitting here thinking that i as going to sound like, and probably was being, a hypochondriac. he suggested taking one pill to see if it helps and then calling him tomorrow to tell him whether it helped. it did. so now what? i can only either take it or not, right? there's hardly a halfway measure - and nor was there with the after-effects.
then i read this and cried, partly with anger that i had no idea this could happen, and partly with fear that i could have lasting side/after-effects from these pills which i never wanted to take anyway and which may or may not have even worked.
if you're STILL reading this - well, you certainly have stamina. i'm really sorry it's so very long and tedious; only it's very late right now, and i can't get hold of the only person i can phone who's in a different time zone (sister in l.a.) - and reading this thread just left a lot of stuff to unburden. it helped a lot, though, cos as well as discovering some frightening information i've discovered that i'm not going crazy and not alone.
so thank you all very much (and goodnight)
katie (uk)
Posted by ceecee on November 19, 2003, at 10:54:46
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by KatieUK on November 18, 2003, at 20:00:49
hi katie
It feels so good not beeing the only one who is "going crazy" but discovering that it's "just" a side-effect of the med...
You said you refused for a long time to take any med at all. I can just tell you: despite the fact that the withdrawl of efexor has not been easy - efexor has really helped me for a great while.
It all depends on your symptoms.
But if the depression is as severe as mine it is better to take a med at least to be able to survive it somehow...
Presently I am off efexor since two days. (I came down as fast as you and didn't take 37.5mg) I still have the withdrawl symptoms from time to time but it's getting less (expecially the most disturbing one: the aphasia)
what helped me to get the symptoms controlled is "Deanxit" and i am taking "Cipralex" as a new SSRI.
(I take the "Deanxit" only when i have symptoms. In the beginning it was about 5 times a day, now it has reduced to 1 time)
I just want to tell you one thing: the med does not cure the depression and it can never substitute a psychotherapy and the process of self-healing. It can only settle this "serotonin-thing" in your head. That means it makes you able to work on your situation and to change certain things in your life for better.
The main work is still left for you to do.
The med should also not change your pesonality - but change you back to whom you could be without the depression.
( sorry for my english - it's not my native tounge)
I really wish you good luck on your way- with or without med it is a hard job....
CeeCee.
Posted by leisha on November 19, 2003, at 14:55:21
In reply to Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by Paul Mokeski on April 25, 2002, at 13:57:24
Well, I can certainly pull rank on most of you! I've been on Efexor for 6 and a half years and am grateful for the help it has been - BUT! Boy is it impossible to get off without other medication ( Prozac?? That was fun before the efexor - the screaming habdabs after about 6 days.) I have tried every combination of gradual withdrawal and sudden too and have experienced nearly all you have felt (but NOT all -yet!) Yes, nightmares after even just the first half-dose, IBS that Colofac,loperamide and codeine together wouldn't touch, flu symptoms, no temperature control, headache, wobbliness etc etc.And that awful self awareness which is the opposite of carefree, the unwilling monitoring of how nasty I'm beginning to feel again.
But these in different combinations each time I dropped down. So angry I could tear myself apart or explode - this time so terribly miserable and as usual hypochondriacal.
And so you go back to flatlining emotionally and weary and not achieving just to feel physically healthy ( but oh! so constipated and farty!!)
And has the brain been changed chemically by the efexor so that it can't be happy or calm without it?
Thanks for listening - I hope you feel you're one of a very big normal group.
Posted by Tracee on November 19, 2003, at 18:19:27
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by KatieUK on November 18, 2003, at 20:00:49
Hiya Katie,
It's really good to find out you're not alone huh.
I'm over nearly all of the effexor side-effects now.
I came off them too fast and then my body went into 'seretonin crisis'. I ended up in hospital for a week because I got too low and couldn't gaurantee my own safety.
I'm now on 200mg of Zoloft. It seems to be helping.
Because of the anger side effects I had, I'm now also on Zyprexa(an anti-psychotic). Only for the short term though. Although I haven't let my doctor know that I don't want to stay on that one long term yet.
I send my love and prayers to everyone on this site. Don't forget, the meds are only part of the solution and not the answer.
The counselling is where the progress comes. I get a lot of great advice on how to deal with the different stresses of daily living.
Good luck everyone.It wont last forever. Tracee. :)
Posted by KatieUK on November 19, 2003, at 18:54:23
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by ceecee on November 19, 2003, at 10:54:46
well, i took one 75mg pill last night as directed by psychiatrist, just to make sure that that was the cause. and, of course, it was. i'm so angry that nobody bothered to tell me that this might happen. and i feel so stupid and naive for not realising that it could. now having phonecall to psychiatrist when with gp on friday, and he did mention the possibility of another medication to cover symptoms. i really don't want to take anything else - and maybe have to deal with another set of side-effects from that.... he also (only after i brought them up, though) suggested 37.5mg tablets, and not using the extended release ones so that the dose can be reduced very gradually. my problem with that, though, is that things seem to work with me as with someone very early in this thread (paul?): though i tapered the dosage slowly, it was after taking the final pill that things started to get really bad - so what's halfway between something and nothing? i'm scared, 'specially have read the posts from those who said that their symptoms lasted a really long time. the idea, when it's come up, of taking anti-depressants for the rest of one's life to maintain 'normality' fills me with horror; so obviously there's that to the power of three with some irony thrown in that, in theory, i could be taking it just cos i can't stop; at that point i'm taking a drug, not as a 'cure' for a 'disease', but just as a cure for itself. hope that makes sense.
it is so outrageous and manipulative that i wasn't informed - surely it is part of the duty of care of any doctor to explain the possible ramifications of any medication which they prescribe to a patient, and i know that he would have not mentioned it because he didn't want to risk my refusing to take the medication.
i do know what you mean about taking the drug versus taking nothing - only i've had very bad episodes before and they've gone, eventually. and that's what's happened this time. and i'm not really sure that it was any less awful. though the timing and/or pattern may be different, you can never really know for sure that anything your body does is due to some specific cause (you can never know what would have happened otherwise) - and so i don't know for sure if the pills 'worked'. on the other hand, when experiencing bizarre symptoms which i've never encountered before, it's a pretty fair assumption to blame the drug. all of which makes it a lot easier to trust in the negative than the positive (as in most things in life). so, in conclusion, i don't know that the drugs did much good, but i do know about the bad (hopefully there's no more that i don't know about!), i don't know what would have happened if i hadn't taken it and i also don't know that there isn't another drug out there which really would help (and have fewer side-effects). this psychiatrist has never seen me through a bad one b4 (and wouldn't have if i'd persistently refused chemicals), so he can attribute every advance to the efexor (though it seems so unscientific to me). he seems to think that the fact that i am so much better than a year ago is proof that the pills worked; to me that's equivalent to a believer saying to a non-believer that the proof that god exists is in the world around you (when you have to already believe to consider that to be proof) - it's a completely circular argument.
anyway, sorry everyone (anyone) - seem to have bleated on and on again with out-loud musings and rantings. gonna go and take another pill now ;-)
katie
Posted by ceecee on November 20, 2003, at 12:15:05
In reply to Re: Efexor XR - Long Term Withdrawal - Anyone Else?, posted by KatieUK on November 19, 2003, at 18:54:23
Hi Katie
It seems you are one of the lucky people who don't need any med and you have - mistakenly not knowing about side-effects of course - started with the efexor.
I hope and pray for you that you will gradually reduce and then stop the med.
In your situation I would try first to wait for some hours more before taking the next dose untill you're able to maybe take it every second day or even less.
To take a med to cure the side-effects of itself and not because of the depression seems really insane.
In my own case the situation didn't give me any other option than to start a med. Before I started it I was suffering of depression for over 10 years and I can say I was fed up. To start the efexor was my last option before thinking of ending it all up.
In that kind of a situation I felt good with the decision of taking a med and the question was only: which one?
I think it would help you a lot if you acept that you started it and you kind of "forgive" yourself and the doctor for "not knowing it better".
I think finding peace with the situation will help the side-effects to vanish faster.
As I red the statements about efexor-withdrawl I said to myself: When you started it you had a reason. Now you have a reason to stop it. Ok just do it slowly and the side-effects will pass sooner or later.
As I accepted the situation it seemed the side-effects got a lot easier to take and they started to be rarer!
Just try that. Good luck!
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