![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by zander on March 9, 2005, at 10:44:24
I have been reading this message board for quite a while now and have only today had the 'energy/fortitude' to post today. I thank everyone for sharing their experiences and for the information. Everytime I would read the messages, I would become greatly DISTRESSED!!! I have gone through alot of what people have described - in my situation I was headed for major disaster because I was having what people call 'withdrawal symptoms' while I was still taking the effexor. It scares me tremendously.... I started taking effexor in Aug 2001 and my last day was Feb 12, 2005. I had to go through the torment and at times thought I was going to die...I don't need to recount particulars, as I am sure that many of you are well aware of the experience. My diffculties started initially about two years ago - I began having what I call 'electrical shocky things' that started in my head and radiated down my arms to my hands, experienced a great deal of vertigo. In one instance, my arms became rigid, and my fingers had such an interesting 'curl' to them - my husband thought I was having a stroke! Anyway, I went down hill slowly from there on...I had poor response from my psychiatrist and family doctor - had many referrals to so many different specialists: Rheumatology (diagnosed with fibromyalgia), pulmonology (diagnosed with hypopnea & put on CPAP), otolaryngology (said my problems were neurological), and my most favorite NEUROLOGY. Over time I steadily declined in mental functioning (there is another story here as well, tested by NeuroPsych) and began having black outs...now would you not think that someone here would have had a clue!!!! I had even asked the doctors if it could be the medications - response - no....Instead, in their infinite (?) wisdom, neurology put me on neurontin and said see you later...again another visit, they said that they could still see no reason for my symptoms and increased the neurontin.
Needless, to say, I switched doctors, inlcuding my psychiatrist - insisted on going off the neurotin and effexor, which he supported. Has been four weeks since I stopped taking the meds...but still have side effects - alleviated by tramadol and clonazapam. I hate it- being dependent on other drugs. But I feel so terrible in the morning, and the only thing to get me through the day are more meds - the tramadol alleviates the zaps, terrible bone and muscle aches, my IB etc....
The thing that terrifies me the most is whether, my body has suffered irreversible effects from the effexor and neurontin - i.e., liver and or kidney damage, etc. I have parathesia (some days better than others). I cry because I am sad that I have 'lost' these two years, and that no is able to advise me as to what to expect now....
Thank you for listening...I must stop now as this is distressing and is tiring me out. If I told any of this to people I know they would think that I was making it all up, or worse yet, put me off because they don't know what to say.
My sincere best to everyone here.
Marie
Posted by Broken on March 9, 2005, at 11:41:35
In reply to Greetings!New to this board., posted by zander on March 9, 2005, at 10:44:24
Welcome to the board :)
I think I can pretty much assure you that no one here will be thinking you "made anything up". There is a wealth of knowledge and compassion here, and experience, which is worth it's weight in gold in some situations.
I'm very sorry to hear of all the problems you went through because of the meds. It amazes me sometimes that some Doctors never really "hear" the patient.
Might I suggest you drop in on the social board as well, and say hi. It gets a great deal of the traffic on this site, and will let others know you are here as well.
Nice to meet you, and take care
Chris
Posted by ed_uk on March 9, 2005, at 13:04:51
In reply to Greetings!New to this board., posted by zander on March 9, 2005, at 10:44:24
Hi Marie :-)
Welcome to babble!
>I was having what people call 'withdrawal symptoms' while I was still taking the effexor.
Were you taking the controlled-release Effexor XR? (Efexor XL)
How many times a day did you take your medication? Did you ever try taking a smaller dose more frequently? eg. 75mg twice daily instead of 150mg once daily.
>but still have side effects - alleviated by tramadol and clonazapam
Have you considered taking fluoxetine (Prozac) to help you withdraw. Prozac is generally easier to discontinue than tramadol or clonazepam. Perhaps you could discuss Prozac with your docotor, you would probably need to take it for a few weeks.
Regards,
Ed.
Posted by zander on March 9, 2005, at 14:36:56
In reply to Re: Greetings!New to this board. » zander, posted by ed_uk on March 9, 2005, at 13:04:51
Hi Ed!
> >I was having what people call 'withdrawal symptoms' while I was still taking the effexor.
>
> Were you taking the controlled-release Effexor XR? (Efexor XL) How many times a day did you take your medication? Did you ever try taking a smaller dose more frequently? eg. 75mg twice daily instead of 150mg once daily.I was taking 150mg Effexor XR once daily (in the morning). I worked my way up to 75 mg initially and stayed there for about 6 months. Was having personal difficulties at home and work, so was recommended that I go to 150. When I started exhibiting the side effects, my psych suggested my increasing the dose. This I tried, but it put me under the table!!!! So I stayed at 150. I am very slightly built with the blood pressure of a child, and am very drug sensitive.....
>
> >but still have side effects - alleviated by tramadol and clonazapamThe tramadol works for me because unlike most people, drugs in this class affect me differently - they engergize me, make me feel good. (Codeine and morphine make most people sleep - well, I could have both my legs and arms broken, take codeine, and then be ready to clean house!!!)
>
> Have you considered taking fluoxetine (Prozac) to help you withdraw. Prozac is generally easier to discontinue than tramadol or clonazepam. Perhaps you could discuss Prozac with your docotor, you would probably need to take it for a few weeks.I am very reluctant at this point to take any more meds...in fact more than reluctant!!!! I'd rather be outside on my hands and knees eating dirt!!
My doctor thinks at this point in time, because my body was so shut down, that it would be wise to see how I do in the next couple of months - maybe, hopefully, I will not need antidepressants. My life for the most part is stress free at this time (what I would normally consider stress any way....still am emotionally labile because of withdrawal)
I have been off and on depressants for over 35 years...I know that I have always had what I call 'bad body chemistry' and have needed assistance to keep my depression under control. But I look forward to finding out if that is necessarily true any longer....
Thank you for asking and taking an interest!
Ed, have you been on this board for very long? What brought you here?
Regards,
Marie
Posted by ed_uk on March 9, 2005, at 15:53:41
In reply to Re: Greetings!New to this board., posted by zander on March 9, 2005, at 14:36:56
Hi Marie,
>I was taking 150mg Effexor XR once daily (in the morning).
Perhaps you would have felt better if you took 75mg twice daily, morning and evening. Effexor XR is supposed to 'last' 24 hours but it might not last this long for everyone, this could account for the apperance of what seem to be withdrawal symptoms. I've known people take the XR twice daily.
>I am very reluctant at this point to take any more meds...in fact more than reluctant!!!! I'd rather be outside on my hands and knees eating dirt!!
I meant that you could take fluoxetine instead of tramadol and clonazepam, so that would be one less med!! Obviously, if you been on clonazepam long-term, you won't be able to withdraw it suddenly.
>Ed, have you been on this board for very long? What brought you here?
I've been reading the posts for years, I can't remember exactly, I think I first visited p-babble about five years ago. I've only been posting for about 6 months, I honestly don't know why I didn't post earlier, I just never got round to registering for some reason! I first visited p-babble because I was interested in treatments for anxiety, at the time I was taking Seroxat (Paxil). I was drawn to babble partly by the posts of Elizabeth, who doesn't post any more. It's a real shame because she was great, if you look in the archives you can read her posts.
Regards,
Ed.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Withdrawal | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.