Posted by SLS on February 28, 2005, at 7:07:04
In reply to Re: withdrawal » jeanette, posted by JessieMarie on February 27, 2005, at 21:35:36
> I'm going through the withdrawl now. I've been on this medication for over 2 years now. My doctor never said ANYTHING about withdrawl when I asked to go off. I was only on 75 mg. I asked to go off, he said fine. Gave me a sample packed of 37.5 mg for a week and said to take those then nothing. The week is over, I'm on day 3 and I just want to die. I cry constantly, I'm practically bed ridden, I get these shocks all through my body almost every second. I'm contintually hungry but want to vomit. My mouth won't stop watering and I have to spit all the time because swallowing makes me sick. I'm restless and can't sleep. Why are doctors so stupid. If something has side effects like this, they should not be giving it out. Please, if someone reads this, NEVER go on Effexor. I hate my doctor for this and will never go back to him.
Effexor is a very effective antidepressant that brings some people into remission whom had failed to respond to all other drugs. I don't think it is justified to recommend to people that they not take it simply because your doctor did not give you the proper instructions to discontinue it.Unfortunately, I have had the need to be on and off Effexor several times. I would never think to stop taking the drug abruptly from a dosage of 37.5mg. Some people have no problem doing so, but I do. If I were to do such a thing accidentally, I would restart the drug at 37.5mg and begin to taper down from there using a flexible dosing strategy.
I would divide the pill into quarters and take 1 three times a day. I would probably do this for a few days before reducing the dosage further. Perhaps twice a day will be sufficient to prevent the withdrawal symptoms from reappearing. Perhaps not. If not, I will take 1 dose every 8 hours. Then every 10 hours. Then every 12 hours. I adjust my dosing according to how long I can go between doses before the first signs of withdrawal appear. As I get down the home stretch, I will sometimes use even smaller amounts of drug. At some point, I discontinue taking it all together. I am left with withdrawal symptoms that appear quickly, are relatively mild, and pass quickly.
If you don't want to try the strategy that works for me, you can try taking an antihistamine like Benadryl (diphenhydramine). Most people describe it as being very helpful. A few people are now using Claritin D (loratidine + pseudoephidrine) instead of Benadryl. If this drug works as well as Benadryl, it has the advantage of not producing the sedation that usually accompanies Benadryl.
Lots and lots of good drugs from all fields of medicine must be discontinued gradually without which severe reactions can occur. Effexor is not unique in this regard.
Please keep us informed as to how you are doing. I would be interested to know what you decide to do.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:464240
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050228/msgs/464311.html