Posted by pandareina on September 11, 2004, at 8:07:50
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal - very bad news, posted by Andrew Phelps on September 10, 2004, at 21:26:42
In Response to Andrew ...
I am sure many people will suggest differents paths to follow - I believe there is no right or wrong here, just degrees of healing and dependence! SO here is my 2 cents:
I have been diganosed as chornically depressed - that is, I would need to be in meds all my life. I been through many, many antidepressants which provided different levels of "normal" feelings. By far, for me, Effexor was the best of them all. Granted, at first, "the getting used to" symptoms were umpleasant - from diarrea to lack of sleep to sexual side effects ... But once that phase was over, I was in bliss and life truly became a pleasure, it remained so for years, without a relapse, without even remembering that I once was the suicidal type ...
I made the decision to stay with Effexor forever ... until I met my other half and decided to try for a baby ...Leaving Effexor behind was truly a nightmare, a lot harder that I thought it would be. It took me 4 months of trial an error until I got rid of it. Now I am clean and I am still happy (no depression) My withdrawal symptoms were purely physical, no emotional changes (Well ,I am a bit more snappy and more oppinionated, but that is it).
Should depression come back in the future I would go back to my doctor and ask him if there is a pill from the same family that creates less dependence. If the answer was no, I would go back to Effexor because this medicine saved my life and made it all better for many, many happy years. For me the price to pay to be happy was worth it - every tinny and huge withdrawal symptom was 100% worth it ... because life in Effexor is grand!
Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress and decisions.
V.
poster:pandareina
thread:1016
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040909/msgs/389571.html