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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 2:06:15
Alright, the physical symptoms from Effexor Withdrawal are Hell, but I can deal with them. I know that they'll pass soon enough and that as long as I take it very easy, I can get through it. What I can't get through is the nights...When I fall asleep, I have those incredibly vivid dreams that everybody knows about who's taken any of these medications (like your own movie playing in your head) but the ones that I've had for the past 2 nights wake me up basically screaming and in tears. I see the most disturbing images as soon as I fall asleep that it's hard to even talk about them when I'm awake.
This is screwing up my whole sleep-wake cycle and is giving me VERY little sleep if any. I'm actually terrified right now of trying to go back to sleep.
Any of you Bi-Polars out there know how important our sleep is to us, and if we don't get it, how much that contributes towards pushing you towards having another episode. I don't know what to do at this point so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Mike
Posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 5:45:33
In reply to Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares), posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 2:06:15
I really feel for you. I'm going through Celexa (cimprimil in UK) withdrawal, and it aint nice, but is doesn't even touvh Effexor withdrawal.
I'm a vry vivid creamer at the best of time, real anxiety dreams and nightmares... but effexor withdrawal I was too scared to sleep cos of the images.
I smoke a fair amount of marajuana, which is meant to help block dreams... doesn't seem to work with me though!!
All i can say though, it does go away. It takes time, but it does go. I *know* that doesn't help right now.. but just know I'm thinking of you and rooting for you!
Nikki
Posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 10:28:19
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares), posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 5:45:33
Well, that's it, gives me an idea anyways... haven't been smoking anything since I've felt so horrible during the past few days. Tonight though, I'm going to smoke myself a nice big spliff before bed. That combined with the Clonazepam (Klonopin) that my Doctor suggested I take should work out... well, HOPEFULLY it will work out...Yep, Effexor Withdrawal is pure Hell. I've managed to get off addictions to street drugs in the past that were MUCH easier than this.
Posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 10:58:16
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares) » NikkiT2, posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 10:28:19
Are you int he UK?? Just my US friends never know what a spliff is!! *g*
I have to admit to smoking quite a bit extra during effexor withdrawal... it helped me sleep through it, and helped calm downt he shakes I was suffering from! It also helped ease the nausea strangely enough!! It didn't help the dizzyness or electric shocks, but it helped me stay still and nto move so they were kept to aminimum!!
You WILL get through this...
I am just so angry this week about ssri's... I will never ever take one again as long as I live...
Oh, and I came off Effexor in conjunction with a friend coming off a 5 year heroin addiction. he'd been maintaining on methadone for 4 weeks prior to our withdrawal... I don't want to sound like a drama queen, but effexor withdrawal seemed a lot harder in comparison.
Speed come downs are bad in me... but at least they only last a few days, not weeks like bloody Effexor!!!! And I haven't been near speed in quite a few years :o) And - the biggest point here... Effexor is PRESCRIBED BY A DOCTOR!!!!!Sorry... I'm in rant mode!!!
Nikki xx
Posted by tina on November 27, 2002, at 10:58:19
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares) » NikkiT2, posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 10:28:19
I've heard about drugs that can suppress REM cycles. Can you get a hold of something like that just for alittle while?
I am so sorry it's so hard for you. I rarely dream and sleep is pretty elusive most of the time but I do know what you mean about us BP needing it so badly.
I hope the bad dreams end soon for you Mike.
all the best
tina
Posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 12:00:40
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares) » Mr Cushing, posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 10:58:16
Hey, I'm not from the UK, Canada up in here... What do the American's call a spliff then? When is a spliff not a spliff??? lol...I'm not that pissed at SSRI's and honestly, I'm not that pissed at Effexor either. It worked really well while I was on it. It's just coming off of it that is soooooo painful. If only the people that made it could figure out what causes the withdrawal to be so bad and fix that, then Effexor would be like a miracle drug.
My PDoc, when I talked to her yesterday about the withdrawal, completely agreed with me... Effexor, she said, is probably the hardest prescription drug to come off of. She just recommended that I try to sleep a lot, don't do anything too strenuous (like she said if I just wanted to lie around and watch TV for a few days, don't feel guilty about it), and to take a reasonable amount of Clonazepam (Klonopin) during the day and night. She told me in the past that I shouldn't have to go over 1.5mg ever during a day, but yesterday she basically said, forget about that, just use as much as you need as long as you're not giving yourself an overdose.
The days are really rough, but man, it's the nights that are the worst I find. Stephen King couldn't do the dreams that i've had over the past 2 days justice. I've been off of Effexor now since Saturday night, and I'll admit to probably forcing myself off of it faster than most people (but not cold turkey) and God, the dreams that I had on Monday night I actually woke myself up by screaming.
I don't notice any of these "electrical shocks" though I'm not sure what to look for in those. Everything else though... I sound drunk when I try to speak, I have a constant headache, I go from either being boiling hot and sweating to freezing cold, I'm not sick to my stomach but it is tied in knots (if you eat enough I find that settles it down), extremely blurred vision, oh, and the shakes like crazy. The way my brother put it, I look like a crackhead since I'm shaking so much.
Anyways, I'm not done with SSRI's, I just want to see what Mood Stabilizers would be best for me, which one would keep me most stable, and I didn't think I would be giving it a fair trial while I still had Effexor in my system. But as for being DX'd with both Bi-Polar I with mixed states and Panic Disorder, Effexor did manage to keep me stable at a point where I was so off the wall that I was not only scaring everybody around me, but I was terrifying myself.
K, I'm done ranting for now....
Posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 12:20:04
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares) » Mr Cushing, posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 10:58:16
lol... this should probably be posted on the Social Board, but this just crossed my mind...Since the both of us have "experimented" with "illegal" drugs in the past, and I know I have developed quite a tolerance to a number of them, do you not find it weird that we are so sensitive to "legal" medications? Like I'm looking at my Disability Form right now (PDoc suggested that it would probably be a good idea to get on it for a few months since we're still going to be doing a bunch of tests in the near future) and even she noted in one of the major segments that "patient is extremely sensitive to just about every medication that we have tried so far, which is making this a longer process than I originally expected".
I just figured that with like 12 years of hardcore partying behind me, my body would be much more used to having different drugs in my system than what I'm currently dealing with lol...
Posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 17:40:24
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares), posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 12:00:40
Hi again...
I mentioned this all to my hubby (on my anto ssri rant... it will pass!!!)... he said when ever he stops smoking spliffs he dreams very vividly and heavily... maybe, if as you say you've stopped smoking for the past few days while feeling shitty, that could be adding to it??
Just another ponderence!!
Ah, canada... *grins* that explains your britishness!! *runs and ducks*
Take care
Nikki
Posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 17:42:01
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares) » NikkiT2, posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 12:20:04
Interesting though... Hmmm.... Yeah, in theory I should have quite a tolerence to ALL medication!!!
Its only SSRI's I'm sensitive to though.. never had problems with other meds really!
Will ponder this over night
Nikki x
Posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 17:51:58
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares) » Mr Cushing, posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 17:40:24
I don't think that could be adding to it because since I've started taking my medications, I've slowed down my herb smoking quite a bit. Like there was a time in my life where I could smoke about 2 ounces a week, now I'm down to "maybe" 2 grams a week. I smoke maybe 2 or 3 days a week, and the days that I smoke, I smoke maybe 3 joints a day; morning, afternoon, and night.But then, I'd be having screwed up dreams almost all my life because I started smoking pretty much daily when I was 12 years old. This is the first time that they've got VERY scary. Whenever I went on any SSRIs though, my dreams got very vivid. Before, I just wouldn't dream much at all, and if I did, I didn't remember them.
Posted by Mr Cushing on November 27, 2002, at 17:56:32
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal (Horrible Nightmares) » Mr Cushing, posted by NikkiT2 on November 27, 2002, at 17:42:01
See, I was laughing about that for a while with my PDoc. I've told her all the drugs I've done so far in my life, and the amounts of them that I could do. For example, I could easily drink all day, morning to night, for like 4 or 5 days in a row while I was smoking 4-5 grams a day personal during that time period, mixed with maybe an E pill here or there, maybe mushrooms, maybe some coke, etc.At one point I had so much stamina that I could just go from one party, back home, shower, then out to another party till like the next morning. Then maybe I'd sleep *shrugs* During my manic periods, I rarely slept at all. Just didn't need to.
So, why the Hell do I have so many difficulties on just about every medication that I take? The only medication that I've ever tried that helped me without horrible side effects was Clonazepam. Even the withdrawal wasn't all that bad when I went cold turkey off of it like 2 years ago. Other than that, every medication needs to be bumped up VERY sloooowwwly, or else I was like flipping out.
This is the end of the thread.
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