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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Cindy on May 6, 1999, at 9:33:00
I am new here and I am not even sure if I am posting this in the right place or even the right web site so please bear with me.
I was taking Effexor XR 150mg daily. Take note of was. I stopped last week without talking to my doctor and now I don't know if what I am experiencing is some sort of withdrawl or what. There is a flu going around so maybe this is it too, I don't know. I am sick to my stomack but not throwing up. I get little 'jolts' through me, not big ones but they are frequent. I was taking 75mg but it was increase in the fall after trying to stop living. After a while it felt like I was getting better but was still very tired and I have two little ones to care for so sleeping all the time is not an option for me. Anyhow, I got tired of being tired all the time. So, I stopped taking the pills. Let me say that I think they were not doing the job anymore or maybe its just me, at any rate, I don't feel 'well' anymore anyhow, so I don't see the point in taking them now. I have forgotten them on occasion and did feel sick before but should I still feel this queezy after a week? I havne't been in touch with my doctor, not sure if I will. Frankly, I think I am too much for her anyhow adn I find myself not telling her things that maybe I should. Not sure what this is supposed to mean. So, anyone go off Effexor on their own and did you have any effects like feeling sick? little jolts? I also feel ready to snap at any moment, just real moody and teary. Please don't ask me to seek my doc. I just want to know when I will stop feeling sick and the mood swings will stop? Thanks for any input on the medication.
Posted by mila on May 6, 1999, at 19:21:29
In reply to Abrupt stop of Effexor on my own...side effects?, posted by Cindy on May 6, 1999, at 9:33:00
I became very sick after i got off effexor. I experienced flu-like symptoms and gained weight. This lasted two weeks and then I was fine.
If you have trouble confiding in your doctor, perhaps you should look for another doctor -one with whom you feel more comfortable. It may give you renewed hope in recovering, and this in turn will only benefit your recovery. Good luck.
Posted by Cindy on May 7, 1999, at 15:40:03
In reply to Abrupt stop of Effexor on my own...side effects?, posted by Cindy on May 6, 1999, at 9:33:00
> Last night was the worst possible night I could have imagined. I felt so sick and these stupid little jolts or whatever were driving me crazy. My thumb was shaking but I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but it was just one more annoyance I had to deal with at the time. Sleep was rotten, kept feeling like I was falling and the nightmares were just like what I had a few months ago. To top it off my ever supportive husband (not) only had the "I told you so's" to say.
I feel awfully guilty about the suicidal thoughts I have been having these past couple weeks because I have a couple of kids. The whole mother thing makes me feel crappy when I think like that. But I don't feel as snappy today, thank goodness. Still queazy but I think I might live.
I think I might look for another therapist but at the same time this one is also my reg. physician so I feel very guilty about telling her and I just don't know how to handle being around her after that. I guess I am not very good and this sort of thing. Thanks for your response Mila.
Posted by Victoria on May 7, 1999, at 18:36:13
In reply to Re: Abrupt stop of Effexor on my own...side effects?, posted by Cindy on May 7, 1999, at 15:40:03
I second Mila's suggestion that you find a good psychiatrist to help you find a med that works and that you can trust to help you deal with these effects. If the doc you're seeing now is your internist or family doc, she may well be in over her head. But I bet if you told her you wanted to see a psychiatrist for a combination of meds and talk therapy and asked her for a referral, she wouldn't be offended and would probably feel good about helping you find the help you need. In the meantime, if the withdrawal symptoms aren't getting better, maybe you could try adding back a smaller dose of Effexor, up to the point it stops the withdrawal symptoms, until you get a doc who can help you adjust your meds. Good luck!
> > Last night was the worst possible night I could have imagined. I felt so sick and these stupid little jolts or whatever were driving me crazy. My thumb was shaking but I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but it was just one more annoyance I had to deal with at the time. Sleep was rotten, kept feeling like I was falling and the nightmares were just like what I had a few months ago. To top it off my ever supportive husband (not) only had the "I told you so's" to say.
> I feel awfully guilty about the suicidal thoughts I have been having these past couple weeks because I have a couple of kids. The whole mother thing makes me feel crappy when I think like that. But I don't feel as snappy today, thank goodness. Still queazy but I think I might live.
> I think I might look for another therapist but at the same time this one is also my reg. physician so I feel very guilty about telling her and I just don't know how to handle being around her after that. I guess I am not very good and this sort of thing. Thanks for your response Mila.
Posted by Victoria on May 7, 1999, at 18:48:19
In reply to Re: Abrupt stop of Effexor on my own...side effects?, posted by Cindy on May 7, 1999, at 15:40:03
The thread above on Effexor withdrawal has some suggestions, including using Benadryl which you cna get without a prescription. If you haven't yet, take a look at that thread.
> > Last night was the worst possible night I could have imagined. I felt so sick and these stupid little jolts or whatever were driving me crazy. My thumb was shaking but I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but it was just one more annoyance I had to deal with at the time. Sleep was rotten, kept feeling like I was falling and the nightmares were just like what I had a few months ago. To top it off my ever supportive husband (not) only had the "I told you so's" to say.
> I feel awfully guilty about the suicidal thoughts I have been having these past couple weeks because I have a couple of kids. The whole mother thing makes me feel crappy when I think like that. But I don't feel as snappy today, thank goodness. Still queazy but I think I might live.
> I think I might look for another therapist but at the same time this one is also my reg. physician so I feel very guilty about telling her and I just don't know how to handle being around her after that. I guess I am not very good and this sort of thing. Thanks for your response Mila.
Posted by Cindy on May 11, 1999, at 8:53:18
In reply to Abrupt stop of Effexor on my own...side effects?, posted by Cindy on May 6, 1999, at 9:33:00
> I am new here and I am not even sure if I am posting this in the right place or even the right web site so please bear with me.
> I was taking Effexor XR 150mg daily. Take note of was. I stopped last week without talking to my doctor and now I don't know if what I am experiencing is some sort of withdrawl or what. There is a flu going around so maybe this is it too, I don't know. I am sick to my stomack but not throwing up. I get little 'jolts' through me, not big ones but they are frequent. I was taking 75mg but it was increase in the fall after trying to stop living. After a while it felt like I was getting better but was still very tired and I have two little ones to care for so sleeping all the time is not an option for me. Anyhow, I got tired of being tired all the time. So, I stopped taking the pills. Let me say that I think they were not doing the job anymore or maybe its just me, at any rate, I don't feel 'well' anymore anyhow, so I don't see the point in taking them now. I have forgotten them on occasion and did feel sick before but should I still feel this queezy after a week? I havne't been in touch with my doctor, not sure if I will. Frankly, I think I am too much for her anyhow adn I find myself not telling her things that maybe I should. Not sure what this is supposed to mean. So, anyone go off Effexor on their own and did you have any effects like feeling sick? little jolts? I also feel ready to snap at any moment, just real moody and teary. Please don't ask me to seek my doc. I just want to know when I will stop feeling sick and the mood swings will stop? Thanks for any input on the medication.I finally called my doctor and she told me to restart the effexor at one a day for about 5 days then go to the two I was taking. Then we will gradually take me off and find something else. I am still feeling sick to my stomach and bawling and feeling a bit dizzy and she said some are from going off the effexor and some of that is the depression. so I guess I will have to try something else that doesn't make me so tired. What a pain in the butt! lol
Posted by Ann on May 12, 1999, at 11:31:23
In reply to Re: Abrupt stop of Effexor on my own...side effects?, posted by Cindy on May 11, 1999, at 8:53:18
Cindy,
I have taken Effexor for about 3 years, it is the only thing that helped my depression. Last winter I had stomach flu twice and couldn't take any meds, within two days I was suicidal, crying constantly, and making my family miserable. Both times I thought it was a depression relapse, and it did get better when I went back to my Effexor. I spoke to my doctor later, and he said it's a withdrawal reaction to Effexor--that if I taper off slowly I will NOT be suicidal, but it's fairly common when you stop taking Effexor suddenly to get a severe rebound depression. I felt reassured because I had concluded that the suicidal depression was my "Normal state of being" without the drug!
I hope you can find a doctor you like, my psychiatrist has been a life saver for me. No matter how bad I feel when I go in there, he makes me feel confident that we're going to beat this depression and get me feeling good.
Best of luck.
This is the end of the thread.
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