Posted by Leo on March 21, 2001, at 8:27:59
In reply to Re: 7 WEEKS--EFFEXOR FREE, posted by kid47 on March 20, 2001, at 11:45:39
I am very happy to hear that the effexor you have been taking has offered some relief against your depression and anxiety. I, like you, felt the same way when I first started taking the drug. It is only now, 5 years later that I have come to realize that the effexor, my little dose of 37.5mg taken everyday, had stopped offering relief against the depression and had only helped to maintain its misery. And yes, there have been quite a few drugs throughout history that people have raved about only to find out later that the effects of the drug had harmed them. Lets consider Fin-Fin. Trial studies were incomplete. It was rushed to market. However, as the drug became more widely used by what would become victims of its use, was discovered that it damaged the heart....a life or death organ. The manufacturer had a heads up on what was going on with their drug long before they were FORCED to pull it from the pharmacy shelf and failed to issue the appropriate warnings. Maybe, had that information been disclosed to the medical community and the end user, EDUCATED decisions would have been made as to its use. And yes, you are correct when you say that the consumer of any medication should be responsible and diligent in checking out whatever information is available about the medication they are taking. Lets just hope that the manufacturers are responsible and diligent enough to supply ALL the information about the drug being prescribed so the Doctor and his patient aren’t broad sided by side effects that they weren’t aware of. If you don’t have all the facts and you don’t have all the information……..you can’t make an EDUCATED decision. If these posts that I write, as well as the other ones on this site, help to educate and inform someone who is considering the use of effexor, then I and others out there are posting vital information about the drug that is not being disclosed by the manufacturer. This is information that a potential user should have so they can make an EDUCATED decision about whether or not they should go forward with taking effexor. Had this information been available when I first started taking the drug, I and my doctor would have most likely, being the responsible and diligent people that we are, and most assuredly looked at all the alternative options available in the treatment of depressive disease. The brain is, without a doubt, the most uncharted territory within the human body, yet it is the place where depression and anxiety do the most damage. Drugs specifically developed to alter brain activity in hopes of relieving a major disease should be thoroughly tested before being unleashed on the vulnerable people that you speak of. These people need to have all the facts so that they know that they are taking exactly the right medication. A medication that will help them. In the MAJORITY of people taking the drug, it is exacerbating the problem and creating a whole new set of problems that have to be dealt with. A major one of these problems is addiction. If you suffer from drug withdrawal....you have an addiction. As more people discontinue its use, there will come a reality as to a whole new regime of the long-term, harmful effects and problems caused by the drug that will have to be dealt with. Good luck to you. I hope you continue a successful journey to overcoming your disease.
poster:Leo
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010319/msgs/57049.html