Posted by Jerzy on July 29, 2000, at 0:50:40
In reply to REQUIRED READING --EFFEXOR XR!, posted by bj on April 26, 2000, at 1:31:04
> Two readings anyone on Effexor or anyone considering using Effexor MUST read:
> "Prozac Backlash" by Joseph Glenmullen, M.D.
> check out "www.washingtonian.com" July 97 issue on antidepressants!
> Effexor is VERY POWERFUL AND VERY DANGEROUS AND EXTREMELY DIFFICULT (or impossible?) to get off of!Effexor is a little trickier to get off of than many ADs, in part due to its short half life (especially with the
regular formulation). But it is by no means "impossible" -- I've done it twice, actually.
It didn't feel quite as bad as Zoloft for me (odd, considering the much longer half-life...) Anyway,
the trick is to *taper slowly*: from a maintenance dose of 150mg, I went to 75mg, then to 37.5mg
tablet a day for a couple of weeks, then I would take half a tablet (so 18.75mg) for a while,
then one half-tablet every other day (simply because the withdrawal effects were worse the second day),
then I just rode out the rest with minimal effects. The idea of taking an SSRI with a really long
half-life (i.e. Prozac) seems like a worthwhile option too. Of course, everyone's experience of these
drugs is different, so bear that in mind as well.A word about these drug-bashers like Glenmullen and Peter Breggin: while they are right on when they point out that
North American society is overmedicated, they're also rather alarmist and seem to have lost sight of the notion of
weighing a drug's negative effects vs. its benefits; they also seem to reason that just because there have been a
number of reports of really bad effects (akathisia, cognitve problems, etc.), everyone is *bound* to experience
these effects eventually. In fact, Breggin seems to imply that the majority of psychoactive drugs (ADs, stims,
benzos) are equivalent to chemical lobotomies and will have roughly the same effects as neuroleptics (i.e.
akathisia and tardive dyskinesia) in the long run. Bad science, if you ask me...
poster:Jerzy
thread:11244
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000717/msgs/41629.html