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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by zander on April 15, 2005, at 22:11:25
It has been two months since I have stopped taking effexor (I tapered) - I still have brain zaps at least once a day (not as frequent or severe as when I was taking the effexor), and after being so shut down, it does not take much for me to burst into tears, still. I would think that there would be improvement here. My digestive system is totally whacked, I'm a walking spasm....everytime I get prescribed another med for symptoms, my body cannot tolerate it and it makes me sicker than I was...am frustrated - when will I ever feel like myself again? Or is that even a possibility? I sometimes think that the only way out for me is to take another antidepressant, which I am so strongly adverse to...
Used tramadol to help get through the taper period, but no longer seems to work the same - no real effect, does nothing for pain - but I think that my body would freak if I decided to stop.
I am getting depressed because I feel terrible pretty much all the time - am not able to cope very well.....I am very, very, very tired of the whole thing...
I have not been getting answers to my questions from the docs about the long term effects other than they just don't know.
Spring is here, and I longing look out at my back yard wanting to spend time in my garden...sometimes I can manage 1/2-1 hour of working in it (this act constitutes me sitting on the ground to pull weeds) but then I pay for it later...I feel crappy and tired, pained....I have not been able to gain back weight that I lost....
I don't normally feel sorry for myself - In the last 3-1/2 months, I get up in the morning and make my bed...act as if I am going to go off to work - then try to do the best I can to get through the day and at least get a few things productive done, stay positive...but now am played out and don't know what to do anymore - I am VERY VERY TIRED...
Posted by Readersleaders on April 17, 2005, at 20:19:47
In reply to Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by zander on April 15, 2005, at 22:11:25
Hi,
You say you tapered, but how fast did you do it? According to Dr. Ann Blake Tracy (she has worked with anti-depressant effects for the last 15 years, says if it was too fast you can suffer from withdrawal a lot worse and for a longer time. She also says figure tapering time by how long you've been on the medication and then cut that in half. I was on Effexor for 3 1/2 years before I began to taper, so it's going to take me at least 1 1/2 years and a bit more to taper slowly enough so that I don't send my body into tantrums!
Perhaps take a small dose of the Effexor again and taper down SLOWLY from there. Effexor does come in tablets so you can taper easier than with the capsules.
> It has been two months since I have stopped taking effexor (I tapered) - I still have brain zaps at least once a day (not as frequent or severe as when I was taking the effexor), and after being so shut down, it does not take much for me to burst into tears, still. I would think that there would be improvement here. My digestive system is totally whacked, I'm a walking spasm....everytime I get prescribed another med for symptoms, my body cannot tolerate it and it makes me sicker than I was...am frustrated - when will I ever feel like myself again? Or is that even a possibility? I sometimes think that the only way out for me is to take another antidepressant, which I am so strongly adverse to...
> Used tramadol to help get through the taper period, but no longer seems to work the same - no real effect, does nothing for pain - but I think that my body would freak if I decided to stop.
> I am getting depressed because I feel terrible pretty much all the time - am not able to cope very well.....I am very, very, very tired of the whole thing...
> I have not been getting answers to my questions from the docs about the long term effects other than they just don't know.
> Spring is here, and I longing look out at my back yard wanting to spend time in my garden...sometimes I can manage 1/2-1 hour of working in it (this act constitutes me sitting on the ground to pull weeds) but then I pay for it later...I feel crappy and tired, pained....I have not been able to gain back weight that I lost....
> I don't normally feel sorry for myself - In the last 3-1/2 months, I get up in the morning and make my bed...act as if I am going to go off to work - then try to do the best I can to get through the day and at least get a few things productive done, stay positive...but now am played out and don't know what to do anymore - I am VERY VERY TIRED...
Posted by canadiangirl3 on April 18, 2005, at 15:08:46
In reply to Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by zander on April 15, 2005, at 22:11:25
Hi,
I'm no doctor but have you thought about getting some blood work done. This may not be related to the tapering at all. Sounds like you could have a case of mono or chronic fatigue or anemia even. I don't know but I suggest you get a full physical check up, including a look at your digestive issues. Best of luck. I hope you can get out there soon and sit with your garden.
Posted by zander on April 18, 2005, at 18:15:27
In reply to Re: Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by Readersleaders on April 17, 2005, at 20:19:47
> You say you tapered, but how fast did you do it? According to Dr. Ann Blake Tracy (she has worked with anti-depressant effects for the last 15 years, says if it was too fast you can suffer from withdrawal a lot worse and for a longer time. She also says figure tapering time by how long you've been on the medication and then cut that in half. I was on Effexor for 3 1/2 years before I began to taper, so it's going to take me at least 1 1/2 years and a bit more to taper slowly enough so that I don't send my body into tantrums!
>
> Perhaps take a small dose of the Effexor again and taper down SLOWLY from there. Effexor does come in tablets so you can taper easier than with the capsules.
>
Thank you for your response...I had no idea, nor do most (including my psych), that it takes that long to taper!!!! I was on effexor xr for 3 years and 4 months - I took 2-1/2 months to taper off from 150 mg. Towards the end I did use the tablets and broke them in halves - qtrs as I needed... The problem was that I had the 'withdrawal' symptoms long before I even started to actually withdraw - my reason for going off the effexor. I had brain zaps, black outs, etc starting 1-1/2 yrs before. It appears that I am a poor metabolizer of this medication and some other meds that work in the same pathway (CYP2D6). So I have had problems
even with prevacid - go figure! Am feeling better today - I had a long conversation with my local pharmacist, who seems alot more informed of some of the other medications I was taking, and has been a big help...I like what you said -'body tantrums'- and that is what I've experienced and want no more of!!! I know I am not alone in my experience - I just get so tired, and then have a hard time coping with just the littlest of things.How or where do I find information from Dr. Tracy? Does she have any literature that she has written? I very much appreciate your telling me about her - I am definitely quite interested in learning more.
Again thank you for sharing with me!
Posted by zander on April 18, 2005, at 18:36:27
In reply to Re: Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by canadiangirl3 on April 18, 2005, at 15:08:46
> Hi,
> I'm no doctor but have you thought about getting some blood work done. This may not be related to the tapering at all. Sounds like you could have a case of mono or chronic fatigue or anemia even. I don't know but I suggest you get a full physical check up, including a look at your digestive issues. Best of luck. I hope you can get out there soon and sit with your garden.Thank you for your concern and suggestions. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and sleep hypopnea (shallow breathing) - so I use a CPAP at night (if I can tolerate the abominal thing!) The pulumonologist who did the sleep studies on me and prescribed the CPAP does believe that the hyponeas are CNS and more than likely brought on by my taking the effexor xr - time will tell...after I had been off the effexor for a month, she did another sleep test, but said I still had too many events so still need to use the CPAP. I hope that in a few more months of being off the effexor, with more testing, that this will be resolved.
The blood work is an issue I have considered, but more along the lines of liver function - given that I had such terrible side effects for almost two years that went undiagnosed, I wonder if there is/was permanent damage done...no one has been able to answer that question for me. I don't think that this is an unreasonable line of thinking; stating the obvious, for someone who has taken poison over a long period of time (alcohol/drugs being a obvious example) and it hasn't killed them, their body shows physical affects of the use. Could this not also be true of these types of drugs? I wish someone could point me in a direction to have this question answered (have not gotten satisfactory responses from my doctors). Do I ask for a liver function test? Or should it be something else? I just don't know, but am open to any substantial advice or others experience!
Thank you again for responding! I think having a direction at this point would help - good news or bad news - I just want truth, then I can decide how to deal with it. I have a very hard time tolerating the unknown....I have to add that I am going to water aerobics, which I absolutely LOVE - and probably was downhearted because I felt so CRAPPY and in pain that I could not even make it to PT...I considered going anyway despite how I physically felt (I have trouble setting limits, pacing myself - my philosophy is 'I know it's not going to kill me, so I go ahead and do it') but after talking with my PT we decided that it would tear down and not build up....in the long run though I think that this is what is going to help my body and spirits the most!
Posted by gardenia girl on April 18, 2005, at 21:32:41
In reply to Re: Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by zander on April 18, 2005, at 18:36:27
Regarding liver tests:
I thought I had gall bladder issues. GP sent me to gastro doctor. After many tests he finally did liver biopsy. Diagnosis (2 years into taking Effexor XR) was NASH disease (Non-Alcoholic Steato(pronounced stee-at-o) Hepatitis), also sometimes called "Fatty Liver". Some think it is non-reversable. Most think progression can be stopped through diet and exercise. They gave me a diet from the American Diabetes and American Heart Associations. I follow it when it is convenient, not nearly as much as I should. Exercise has been a major challenge while tapering off the Effexor. No energy. Major edema - hands, feet, arms. Exercising literally hurts. I know that at least stretching would help, but just not motivated at the moment. I truly understand where you are right now. I helped put mulch in the flower beds a couple of weekends ago. But I just can't get motivated enough to go out and pull the few weeds that are left!
Posted by SLS on April 19, 2005, at 9:08:43
In reply to Re: Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by Readersleaders on April 17, 2005, at 20:19:47
> Hi,
>
> You say you tapered, but how fast did you do it? According to Dr. Ann Blake Tracy (she has worked with anti-depressant effects for the last 15 years, says if it was too fast you can suffer from withdrawal a lot worse and for a longer time. She also says figure tapering time by how long you've been on the medication and then cut that in half. I was on Effexor for 3 1/2 years before I began to taper, so it's going to take me at least 1 1/2 years and a bit more to taper slowly enough so that I don't send my body into tantrums!I am having a difficult time accepting the formulation of this doctor for developing a taper schedule. I had been taking 300mg of Effexor for over a year, and was able to discontinue it in less than two weeks using a flexible-dosing strategy. I have been on and off Effexor several times. I am not invulnerable to the brain zaps and other nasty withdrawal effects that come with an ineffective taper strategy.
I don't know how to put it more tactfully than to say that I find a taper period to discontinue Effexor lasting more than six months to be unacceptable.
- Scott
Posted by ed_uk on April 20, 2005, at 8:13:17
In reply to Re: Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by SLS on April 19, 2005, at 9:08:43
Hi Scott!
>flexible....
You're absolutely right, a taper must be *flexible* - some people will be able to taper *much* more quickly than others.
>She also says figure tapering time by how long you've been on the medication and then cut that in half.
This is an extremely inflexible strategy!
Kind regards,
Ed.
This is the end of the thread.
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