Posted by Leo on April 20, 2001, at 20:22:00
In reply to Leo It's Mercy! What woodwork? Huh? » Leo, posted by Mercy_M on April 20, 2001, at 14:37:49
Mercy,
I do apologize for my response to your post. I have, in the past, been the subject of "damage control" by others on this site that have more than just a users agenda. Quite honestly, I did not take your post seriously, hence my response. Those of us that have been posting here for a while have a better understanding of where I was coming from. I am sorry if I offended you.
Let's start over. First, my posts, as well as the others are not by any means focused on scaring anybody. The are ment to create awareness. We are all people who have had different experiences using the drug. The majority of the experiences have been unfavorable, many to the extreme. The posts speak for themselves. There are thousands of people around the world on this drug. In a minority of these patients the drug has a positive effect. It did for me when I first started taking it 5 years ago. However, this positive effect was short lived and other problems began to arise. The depression was abated for a short period of time. Then it started sneaking back into my daily routine. Now the doctor’s answer to this was to increase the dosage. I didn't take his advice and maintained the dose originally prescribed. I lived on the edge with depression. Some days were good, others bad. Along with this came some other "symptoms" that did not exist prior to taking effexor. Major fatigue, a nasty disposition, long periods of sleep followed by even longer periods of sleeplessness, severely aching muscles and a general apathetic approach to daily living. I didn't care if I got up and dressed. I didn't care if the bills didn't get paid and so on. And, as I'm on the drug, I seem to begin to further retreat into myself and from the outside world. Not good for what I do. I saw everything that was going on. I knew it and didn't care. And I had no viable reason to be this way. So I decided to make some changes to improve my life. One was to get off the effexor. You can read my previous posts concerning that experience. As I weaned off the drug, for what took almost an entire year, I started feeling much better. I was coming back to life. During the weaning process I was on and off the drug because of the severity of the withdrawal. And, quite honestly, the withdrawal scared the hell out of me. I had know idea what was going on. I thought that something else was wrong with me. I has no clue about the withdrawal effects that surrounded effexor. As I was on and off of the drug during the weaning process I noticed that the "depression" seemed more intense when taking the drug than when not, however, the lessoned depression was superceded by the severe withdrawal. Now that I am completely off the drug I feel fantastic. I'm having fun. No depression, no anxiety, no fear, no apathy, no nothing. And I see the same trend in hundreds of posts on the internet from people who have broken away from this drug.
Now lets talk about your concerns. First, I'm not a doctor and would not ever suggest a medication to replace something else.
Second, if the effexor has abated all the things you have expressed.........why change now?
What you need to be well aware of is the stealthiness of the drug. Reading these posts will help you recognize when the drug is hurting you more than helping you. This trend usually begins to be recognizable right around the six-month mark of taking the drug and then there appears to be a fast relapse back to the emotions that triggered the medication in the first place.
Again, the doctor’s response to this is to increase the dosage. More depression....more medication. This might be the answer with other meds out there but I don't think it applies to effexor.The third thing your are going to have to deal with are the short and long-term effects the drug has on your body. This, in all cases I have researched, is inescapable. The drug will have a negative effect on your physical body.
Finally, your will have withdrawal effects. To get an idea of what to expect, miss one or two doses of the medication and you'll get a good taste of the withdrawal.
If you are having problems with your doctor understanding your fear, print out a handful of these posts and take them to him. If he does not respond in a way that makes your feel better about the medication....find a new doctor. Do not attempt to stop taking this medication without medical supervision. There is a weaning process that must be planned and followed. And it's good to have a doctor you trust to call if
the withdrawal becomes frightening as it has with most of us.Again, I am heartily sorry for my original response to your post and hope that this has helped you in some way
Regards,
Leo
poster:Leo
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010417/msgs/60630.html