Posted by MomO3 on August 17, 2002, at 23:38:09
In reply to You people are scaring the hell out of me!, posted by sly on August 15, 2002, at 7:51:54
I have been taking SSRIs since 1989 and I have become an expert at dealing with different Drs, due to geographical and insurance changes over the years. Simply tell the Dr. :
"No. I don't want to go off of it right now. Write me a prescription for the next six months and we'll talk again then." If he wont do it, then find a new Dr. You can walk into any general practitioner in the world and say "I am here because I need a prescription for Effexor", and chances are they will ask you why you take it, for how long, and what dosage should they write it for...
Ultimately it is up to you to be your own advocate in the Dr.'s office. And don't worry about withdrawal symptoms until you are READY to go off of the medication. You may reach a point in the future where you don't WANT to be on Effexor anymore and the side effects of stopping wont matter.
If you would like humorous analogy... Withdrawal after medication is like childbirth after pregnancy. At 4 months pregnant, the idea of labor & delivery is a really frightening prospect. But, ask ANY woman who is past her due date if she STILL wants to be pregnant and you will get a resounding "NO!!!" Childbirth is no longer frightening because it is the lesser of two evils.
Regards,
Mom O'3
poster:MomO3
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020814/msgs/116762.html