Posted by Starwatcher on October 10, 2002, at 15:24:41
In reply to Re: uninsured withdrawal advice » marolync, posted by jannbeau on October 9, 2002, at 13:26:31
> > Hi, Marolync,
>
> Dividing worked for me. The dose doesn't have to be exact; if you just divide the little "balls" inside of the cap into two relatively similar piles, that seems to work.
>
> Thank you for your comments. Well said!
>
> Jannbeau
>
> I've read a few more of the earlier postings about people who tried dividing their 75 mg capsules into half doses with some success. I've decided to take half doses daily for a week, and then to try to go to every other day, and then to every third day. The postings on attempting to just ditch effexor with impunity look like exercises in humility, for the most part:)
> >
> > I don't know how useful it is to become so angry at the drug companies and even doctors. We are all pretty fallibly human, but in general, I've felt that people were doing their best all around me. If you are going through life without that feeling, I would think that would make a person really angry, and that anger is a great signpost for you to look into for your healing! Good luck, and don't sidetrack yourself projecting the same anger on yet another target--look at the anger itself!
> >
> > As far as self-care, there's no substitute for doing your best for yourself, and staying patient and humble when that process is time-consuming and confusing. I tried effexor after a period in which I was diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid gland, initiated a number of big life changes, and suffered some setbacks and losses. Effexor worked well for me during a period when I was very overwhelmed.
> >
> > It is clear that this complicated constellation of causes and effects is difficult even for me to stay patient with, much less for me to find someone else with expertise which would make my sifting through all of this a cakewalk. I did the "talking cure" for a number of months in addition to the medication, which was a big part of why I think I'm ready to come off it now. Also, this therapist was EXTREMELY supportive of my reconnecting with my Catholic faith during this process. My experiences of loss and change made me listen with new ears to the ideas of original sin (we are all striving to do our best, but we just necessarily fall short in this world), faith, and especially abandonment. I found that giving up on the things I am genuinely NOT in control of--and there are SO MANY of these things--yet maintaining the faithful posture that it's not just entropy out there, has given me peace. Also, because the effexor prescription coincided with the end of a relationship, I was able to enjoy an unfrustrating period of celibacy, which also had unexpected benefits, quiet, and gave me a lot of free time.
> >
> > While I am not wild about some of these withdrawal symptoms, they are far more tolerable than the abject sorrow which led me to explore a medication in the first place. I am looking forward to a peaceable, if somewhat dinosaur-brained, few weeks of exploring whether and how I can now be ok without the medicine in my system.
>
>I've read that Benadryl and St. John's Wort seem to help ease withdrawals, though I've never tried to withdraw myself. Benedryl is an over the counter antihistamine widely used for allergic reactions that you can get without prescription. It tends to make some people drowsy, though. St John's Wort I think also stimulates the production of serotonin in the brain, and is an herb you can buy almost anywhere. I've seen several postings that people have stated that these two relatively inexpensive, easily obtainable substances have helped them eliminate or decrease the side effects of Effexor withdrawal.
poster:Starwatcher
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021006/msgs/123093.html