Posted by ColinHofmann on November 20, 2003, at 13:18:10
Hello all,
I'm new to the message board... Have a question, but first a short introduction:
I'm 25 years old, and have been grappling with depression since I was 12. At the time, I didnt have a name for what I was feeling, nor did I know it was something that the vast majority of people my age weren't feeling. It got progressively worse through middle school and into high school... My senior year of high school (age 18), I finally started seeking help. My first attempt was to the local family doctor -- he wanted to have me stay at a mental hospital for a few weeks because he could tell that I was on the verge of hurting myself. I left his office crying, thinking that not only was I a worthless human being that didnt deserve to live, but that I was also insane (why else would he want to have me committed to a mental hospital??)... Seemed logical at the time, but now I realise in retrospect that he was trying to protect me from myself... In any case, I gave it one last shot -- I figured that if I didnt get any help this next time, that I would just off myself and that would be the end of that... Luckily the next doctor had a different method to help me -- he immediately put me on Zoloft and forced me to take the pill before I left his office... I also started seeing a counsellor the next day...
After about six months, I couldnt tolerate the side effects of Zoloft any longer, and the doctor started searching for the next canidate for me... I've been on Prozac, Trazodone, Serzone, Remeron, and finally Effexor XR.
Fast forward five years after finding Effexor XR... I am still on it to this day... Started out at 75mg, which worked for a few months then pooped out. Was raised to 150mg and have been on that level for the past 4 1/2 years or so...
There was a point where my doctor tried to switch me off of Effexor XR and onto Serzone. Needless to say, it was a very painful event...
I had known of the 'discontinuation syndrome' for a long time -- if I miss one dose by a period of approximately 12 to 15 hours, I begin to feel the brain zaps... If I dont take it immediately, the symptoms get progressively worse until I might as well not be a part of the human race... And God forbid I forget to get a refill... Trying to rush around and get it filled, driving with brain zaps, etc... Wow...
In any case, my solution to the missed dose fiasco has been to try really hard not to miss it. I also carry a pill or two around with me in case I forget to take it before I leave my house.
Ok, so my doctor tried to take me from 150mg of Effexor XR to 0 in a day, and slam me on Serzone... I was TWISTED. I suspect most of my symptoms were due to Effexor withdrawl, but going onto Serzone probably played into it with some side effects of its own... I tried for a week and a half... At the end of the 10 days, I gave up. I felt like I was going insane... Horrible nightmares, brain zaps to the 10th degree, broken thought patterns, anxiety and panic attacks, derealization, shakes, the whole nine yards... I just figured "Well, I've finally gone completely loony and will have to live the rest of my life in a mental hospital..." I asked the doc to put me back on Effexor XR at my 150mg dosage, which he did... After about a month I was back to my 'normal' effexor-supportd self. I'm glad I wasnt permanently broken due to that event...
Recently, the doctor tried to cut my dosage from 150mg back to 75mg, thinking that I could handle it... Once again, within 10 days I was a wreck... Not nearly as bad as before, but enough that I was non-functional... So, back to 150mg I went!
On occasion I start looking around on the Internet for information about Effexor, its current issues, success stories, failure stories, etc... And last night I found this website...
Seems a lot of people here have been through both the Effexor Dream and the Effexor Nightmare... Figured I would jump on board...
Effexor has been a blessing to me... Sure, I am on 150mg of Effexor XR per day to keep me functional, 100mg of Trazodone at night to help me sleep, and 25mg of Toprol XL (a beta blocker) to lower my heart rate and blood pressure somewhat.. But in the scheme of things, if that's what it takes to make me function day to day, then so be it. Some people take a set of pills for allergies, others take a set of pills for depression, etc etc...
It has also been somewhat of a nightmare while trying to reduce the dosage or come off of it... And I'm sure that my two experiences were just the 'introduction course' into its withdrawl -- At some point I'm sure I will have to go off of Effexor XR and onto another medication... That's when the real nightmares (literally and figuratively) will start... But at least I've had some prolonged glimpses at what to expect...
I don't blame my doctor, nor do I blame the manufacturer... I don't blame myself either. I have always read all the monographs of every drug I've taken, as well as any online information I could find... Five years ago, the Internet wasnt full of horror stories... Five years ago, the doctors didnt realise the full extent of the withdrawl that Effexor and several other Anti-Depressants cause... Five years ago, the manufacturer probably understood it was possible but probably didnt realise how widespread it would be.
In the end, though, I believe this board will be a saviour when I do go off of it...
It's already wonderful to know that I WASNT going completely insane -- that it was an effect of the withdrawl of Effexor...
Anyway, I'm getting long winded here...
My question is -- where did the www.effexorfx.freeuk.com site go? When I got here, it says it doesnt exist... Did it move, or did it disappear? I'd like to read what the site has to offer if it still exists..
Thanks,
Colin
poster:ColinHofmann
thread:281693
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031116/msgs/281693.html