Posted by Dr...Not! on November 13, 2003, at 17:53:46
In reply to Effexor almost killed me - now withdrawal, posted by responsiblek9 on November 13, 2003, at 4:43:36
I am taking Effexor XR, which comes in capsules of 37.5, 75, 112.5, 150 and 300 mg. I was taking 300 mg per day for about 8 years. I am now taking 75 mg per day, having accomplished withdrawl from the 300 mg over the past 5 months (part of which time I was holding steady on the Effexor and withdrawing from Klonopin and Serzone).
First of all, know that you will probably not get through this as quickly as you would like.
Second, start writing down what dosage you take at what time, so you don't forget when you decreased and by how much (trust me, you will forget).
Third, TAKE THE SAME DOSE EVERY DAY. Effexor is notorious for being picky, picky, picky within a 24-hour period. Halving the dose every other day will not help you reach your goal, it will just confuse your body and make the withdrawal worse!
The key for withdrawal, at least in my case, has been 1) to work with a psychiatrist who is supportive regarding withdrawal symptoms (none of that "it's all in your head" stuff), and 2) to give my body time to get used to a reduced dose before reducing the dose again. For example, I reduced the dose from 300 mg (2x150 capsule) to 262.5 mg (1x150, 1x75, 1x37.5 mg), had physical symptoms of nausea, palpitations, nightmares, sweating, light-headedness, whatever, and then continued on that dosage until the symptoms went away. Then, I stayed at that dosage for another week, with everything feeling OK. ONLY THEN was it time to reduce the 262.5 mg to 225 mg (1x150, 1x75 mg), and repeat the whole process.
Of course, we grow too soon old and too late smart. I'm referring to my stupidity in trying to "push" the process along instead of following what has been working all these months. So, instead of waiting for the last symptoms to work themselves out of my system at 75 mg, I dropped to 37.5, still had problems, and then stopped the 37.5 - and BAM ! Chills, shakes, nightmares extraordinaire, dizziness, nausea, crying - duh! Here I am, back at 75 mg, feeling OK (except for those palpitations) and planning to stay at 75 mg until at least after the New Year.
When I again start reducing the dosage, I will NOT be "splitting" the capsules, because Effexor is so PICKY, PICKY, PICKY. (I don't think counting the little white balls will work because the little white balls are not all the same size, and you can just forget about "eyeballing" how much is in each capsule half!! Not accurate enough!!) If I've let my body recover, that last 37.5 mg reduction should be do-able (I'll let you know).
The main point I'm trying to make is, whatever you do, DO NOT RUSH THE PROCESS. There is a tendency for people (myself included) to resent what we may see as the "wussy" way. We're tough, we tell ourselves. We'll bite the bullet and get this stuff out of our system. We don't like being dependent on a drug, because that means we're weak.
WRONG! If you have a headache, you take aspirin. If you don't, you're not "strong," you're stupid. You drive a car 20 miles to work, don't you? Why aren't you walking the 20 miles? Because the car is there, it is a tool, and you use it. You use a hammer to drive nails, you wear shoes to protect your feet from rocks . . . some of us need insulin to regulate our blood sugar and some of us need pills to keep our synapses synapping. If you are part of this group, you have no need to apologize to others - tell them to get a hobby and leave you alone.
In the meantime, you DON'T wear the shoes on your hands . . . which means, use tools appropriately, according to their instructions. With Effexor, this means taking your med at the same time every day, and decreasing your dose slowly and under the supervision of a doctor.
Gotta go - late for choir practice!
poster:Dr...Not!
thread:12459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031111/msgs/279495.html