Posted by jrbecker on May 9, 2003, at 14:02:28
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal again: hell to heaven back » MaxTex, posted by Snoozy on May 7, 2003, at 1:46:48
DHEA (low dose) has been helpful for me in withdrawal from both Effexor and Remeron.
this is a very cautionary recommendation though. One of DHEA's believed antidepressant effects comes from its antagonism of alpha-2 receptor, which results in more NE activity (and to a lesser extent dopamine), so this might help with daytime energy, motivation and mood lift, and possibly anxiety as well.
Why this reco is cautionary, however, is because it can backfire and cause anxiety, irritability, and dysphoria. If you have any suspected bipolar tendencies, be very very cautious, since it can induce hypomania, especially at a physically-fragile time when you're withdrawing. Start very low, maybe 1-3 mg in the morning. the effect might be subtle at first, but low doses are cumulative overtime so keep this in mind.
By the way, are you switching to another AD or going clean off everything? If you're going off all ADs, it's probably prudent to use Prozac as a step-down means to withdrawing from the Effexor. This works quite effectively for a lot of reasons, but the main one being is that its 2-3 day half-life is much less jarring as one withdraws from it, instead of the Effexor.
JB
poster:jrbecker
thread:224793
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030505/msgs/225422.html