Posted by Paul 1952 on October 25, 2002, at 23:28:07
In reply to Re: Can't Think, Brain Dumb, Inspiration Won't Come, posted by Ezzy on October 24, 2002, at 21:18:57
Hi- It's gratifying to me to see so many people sharing on these boards. Effexor is new enough- and still enough of an "unknown"- that it's helpful to be able to share information and experiences. My own experience with it has been different than most persons', and maybe the following will help someone:
I was prescribed Effexor not to treat depression or anxiety, but to treat the symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I had acquired IBS after a serious case of food poisoning which sent me to the hospital. I suffered chronic and debilitating abdominal pains for seven months after the bout of food poisoning, and it wasn't until I began taking Effexor that the pains started to diminish.
My MD said that Effexor- intended, as it is, to "balance" seratonin levels- is in some ways an ideal treatment for stomach problems, because most of the body's seratonin resides in the stomach. My IBS was the result of the confusion of my digestive system's own separate "nervous system" (which was caused by the trauma of the food poisoning), and only a resetting of the seratonin level would allow my digestive system to return to normal functioning. That it did.
After about 20 months of Effexor, wherein I was taking 150mg/day, I finally weaned myself off of it. I backed off to 75mg for several weeks, then 37.5 for several days (probably not long enough, in retrospect), and as of today it's been 7 days since my last dose.
It worked minor miracles for me. Granted, my situation was different and I wasn't taking it specifically to treat classic depression symptoms, but nevertheless it seems to have pretty well fixed my problem.
I did experience some difficulty when I first began taking Effexor. In fact, it made me so dizzy that I abandoned the effort altogether. It was only when my stomach persuaded me that I needed to try something that I made another attempt, and then I found that the initial difficulties subsided fairly quickly.
Getting off the meds was a minor adventure, although had I consulted these boards at the time I would have been better prepared for what my body was going to go through. I experienced a severe bout of melancholy that lasted about 12 hours, I found myself highly irritable, I experienced a day or so of flu-like body aches, and I experienced a worrisome degree of dizziness and brain "noise" when I shifted my visual focus. The first three of those symptoms- the melancholy, irritability and flu symptoms- passed just about as quickly as they had arrived. The dizziness is still present, although it has lessened measurably and I've learned from other posters that the dizziness is likely to subside completely within another week or so.
I've been sobered to read in this forum about the severe problems with this med that other posters have experienced. In retrospect I gather that I may be one of the lucky ones, and at no time did I ever take any additional meds to either assist or counteract the operations of the Effexor. It occurs to me that, since everyone's system is different, reactions to any med (especially fairly new and less-tested ones) figure to run the gamut. At the very least, it's helpful to educate yourself as much as possible. And that's especially true when dealing with a med with which your doctor/s may not be so familiar.
I hope this helps. Best wishes to all of you.
poster:Paul 1952
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021025/msgs/125266.html