Posted by kcg33 on September 21, 2003, at 10:21:20
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
I am so relieved to have finally found this message board. I have been taking Effexor XR for about 8 months. (one 75 mg capsule a day) I tried to get off of it once and OMG I thought I was dying. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE withdrawal. I couldn't stand up without holding onto something, I did everything the doctor said to wean myself off. First it was one every other day, and then after a week or so, I was to go every 3rd day. Let me tell you, I never made it past that every third day, and by the time 6 weeks of absolute HELL went by trying just to get through that every third day, I was so tired of being sick and dizzy that I had to just refill my scrip and start taking it daily again. I am feeling more anxiety trying to lose this drug than I was before I began taking it~ I am very angry that the drug did not come with some kind of warning regarding it's physically addictive qualities. If I had known that this "short-term solution" to my anxiety attacks was going to ultimately make me worse, I would definitely have never used it to begin with. This is the first time I have ever seen this website and I have spent all morning reading through the postings from the past 3 years. What I am wondering, is with so many people experiencing the EXACT SAME THING that I am going through, after 3 years, why the hell is this product still on the market? I'm shocked there has not been some sort of class-action lawsuit started to make the pharmaceutical companies acknowledge the problems. Has anyone gained like a huge amount of weight while on this drug? I have gained 30 pounds in 8 months and I wonder if I will ever be able to kick the drug and lose the weight and get back to what actually was a much more normal existence for me than after I started taking this nightmare of a "solution" to anxiety. What about perm. long-term side effects? How long can I expect to feel like walking death after I kick this medicine? ANY information you could provide would be helpful. (By the way, I'm sure this medicine has its good points, it actually did begin to feel much better symptom-wise when I FIRST began taking it. But the subsequent nightmares and the weight gain got so bad, (not to mention it costs a dang fortune), I needed to quit taking it. - the withdrawal is so horrendous that I'm not sure that its effectiveness for anxiety is a good enough reason to put my body through this ever again!) Please share any thoughts or information which might be helpful! Thanks!
poster:kcg33
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030917/msgs/262166.html