Posted by lucy2005 on May 7, 2005, at 15:38:10
In reply to Re: New to Effexor - to take or not to take?, posted by Racer on May 7, 2005, at 12:53:48
Thank you very much, you have given me some good feed back that I will look into. Trouble with talking to the docs about this stuff is they claim to know nothing about the alternatives, and seem to want to push the psych drugs, I was even asked by one why I even went there knowing they used traditional approaches if I wasn't open to that. I told him it was because I wanted to know what was causing it and how to resolve it, not just how to mask it. The fact that a lot of this was brought on by the Hpyothyroidism just led me to believe maybe there was more to it. I had been sober once before for about 15 mos. and never had this degree of anxiety until my new (and final!) sobriety coincided with the thyroid thing. I understand what you are saying about natural not necessarily being safe, I know too much of a vitamin or herb, or the wrong combination can cause problems as well. Do you know anything about Gaba? I tried it briefly, but it was before I was on the Levoxyl - so I didn't really give it a fair chance. I guess that is supposed to help with transmitters in the brain or something to produce the chemical that keeps you from getting so anxious (I'm sorry I don't know the exact correct translation of what exactly it does, I just heard it's supposed to help).
I don't believe I will try the Effexor, I guess it just goes against what I believe is right for me and I am more afraid of the side effects and withdrawals even when managed. I had sleep deprevation, hallucenations, convulsions and seizures with the alcohol w/d and I don't want to get my body dependent on a drug again that may induce that - that is why I am extremely careful with the Zanax. I just wanted to hear feedback on it from "real" people who had experience with it rather than from a doctor who probably has never used it themselves - and to perhaps hear alternative ideas from those people, such as what you suggested to me. So, once again thank you - I appreciate the data you have given me and will definitely do some reseach on it - I guess I need to find a doctor who is open to holistic. Take care.
> I guess we have different ideas of what "holistic" means: to me, it doesn't necessarily mean going herbal.
>
> For one thing, herbs contain chemical compounds, and natural doesn't mean safe. (Arsenic is natural, after all. And Lithium is natural, too -- yet it's prescribed by doctors and purchased in a pharmacy.)
>
> Effexor can be a very effective medication for many people, and now that the withdrawal symptoms are known they are generally considered when it's time to discontinue. I guess I'd recommend that you consider other anti-depressants first, though, and I would also mention that many people find that Xanax can leave them more depressed and more sensitive to anxiety. It's a great drug to use as needed, but if you're sensitive to those effects, it may not be the best choice.
>
> As far as anxiety goes, beta blockers or calcium channel blockers can be very helpful for some people. You might want to discuss something like that with your doctor. Biofeedback might be helpful, too. Talk to your doctor about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, too. Maybe a short course of it would help a lot with anxiety, and wouldn't involve pills.
>
> Good luck.
poster:lucy2005
thread:494726
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050504/msgs/494910.html