Posted by bleauberry on January 7, 2009, at 16:48:21
In reply to Effexor Addict, posted by Homemommy on January 7, 2009, at 13:49:14
Effexor is well known for having the worst withdrawal symptoms of any antidepressant. It can be done in the ways SLS explained. That is, chopping immediate release tabs into custom size doses, and even taking small doses of prozac. Somehow prozac smooths things out. And eventually when you need off of prozac, it is a lot easier than effexor.
Do you know how many thousands of people suffer, not being able to find medications that work good for their depession and anxiety? So many it is a crushing heartbreak. You should consider yourself very very very fortunate. Concerns about liver, weight, vision, etc, are miniscule compared to your mental stability.
I never heard of anyone destroying a liver with effexor, especially such a low dose as you take. Weight gain can be managed. Reading glasses or prescription glasses might be in order. For any liver concerns, simply take capsules of the herb Milk Thistle everyday. It is one of the few herbs that actually has a ton of scientific evidence on it. It has been proven many times to be a liver protector and liver rejuvenator. It can even protect a liver from acute mushroom poison damage.
Most people get side effects or other concerns much worse than yours. Compared to them, yours are child's play.
All meds come with side effects. In a perfect world we could swallow a pill, be cured, and have no side effects. That rarely happens. To be well, managing side effects is the cost of doing business.
Thousands of people in your shoes discovered that after they deserted a good med, they fell back into the same depression as before, usually over weeks or months. Then when they finally give in and restart the med again, they find it doesn't work like it did before, and that a lot of things that should work don't.
If it aint broke, don't try to fix it. But if you must, wean down in very tiny steps over a period of 2 to 3 months, with some low prozac in the background. Personally I think you should stay with it and take on an easier challenge...becoming the boss of the side effects and managing them.
You know the saying, you don't know what you've got till it's gone? You and effexor have a pretty good thing going.
poster:bleauberry
thread:872605
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090104/msgs/872626.html