Posted by justjustine on February 2, 2004, at 8:42:19
In reply to your opinion appreciated, posted by meiko on February 2, 2004, at 4:55:45
effexor does come in 37mg dosages, but anyway you need to split those 75mg doses up. (75mg doses are cheaper, so don't even try to get the smaller ones, it's a waste) if they are capsules you can open, just pour some out - you can set it aside to save $$ later. if you've got tablets (i've never seen em, but have heard of them) get a sharp razor and cut them up. start with a smaller amount, taken at the same time every day. very gradually reduce this - but do it daily, do not skip days. effexor has such a short half life that the every other day plan doesn't work very well - you just end up with withdrawal symptoms every other day!
call that dr. back and let him know what is going on with you. he needs to know the trouble you are having, please don't miss an opportunity to educate him about effexor withdrawal! you might save other patients the trouble of coming off it, if doctors would think twice and be more informed before they prescribed it in the first place. even if he doesn't help you, even if he never calls you back, please inform him so at least the next time he can't say he wasn't aware of the possiblity of horrible withdrawals from effexor.
thank you and best of luck.
> I just found this message board tonight and I'm very grateful for all of you sharing your experiences with effexor xr. I have been on it for about 7 months or so but now believe my depression is over with and I would like to get off of it. I also just lost insurance coverage through my parents and as a student/pt. employee I cannot afford the $100 a month to pay for effexor xr.
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> My dilemma is that my dr. wants me to come in and talk about my decision to quit. I told him I can't afford to come for a visit and could he half my current dosage (75mg) and wean me off. He never got back to me and so when I ran out and had no more pills for two days and experienced the usual symptoms we're all so familiar with (nausea, brain shivers, vertigo), I went to the pharmacist. She told me it doesn't come in a capsule and there was not a smaller dose. I must be going to one uninformed pharm. if what y'all say is accurate. I don't know what to do now because my pharmacist told me to take 75mg every other day and then every third day for approximately two weeks.
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> Yet, according to others, I shouldn't be missing a dose...and would this do anything to help wean me off? I am now experiencing insomnia and occasional brain shivers...have done this every other day routine for a week now. has anyone found this to be effective?
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> thanks for your time.
>
poster:justjustine
thread:307317
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040131/msgs/308442.html