Posted by lorily on September 12, 2004, at 18:15:23
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal - very bad news, posted by Andrew Phelps on September 10, 2004, at 21:26:42
Andrew, Effexor saved my life. I was not able to get sober until I got the depression under control. I now have 1-1/2 years clean, I also discontinued effexor and depakote. I was frightened, too, but it is possible to get off of it, for me and many others it is tolerable as long as it's done very slowly, little at a time, I dumped granules out of the capsule too. Not very medically recommended but I didn't want to go through what I read people here going through.
I've been off since mid-July and feel good. If you're really concerned, perhaps you should talk to your doctor about trying another medication. I've read that cymbalta works like effexor without the side effects.
the reason the withdrawals are so severe is because of the short half life. Some people get them if they miss a dose or are late taking it. It wasn't like that for me though.
Good Luck to you, I hope you find relief. Do you belong to a fellowship? There are many people there who can help you although NA seems to frown upon psych meds as a "mood-altering substance" and you'd probably find most opposed to your taking meds at all. Remember, It's YOUR decision and YOUR mental well-being, NOT THEIRS.
poster:lorily
thread:1016
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040909/msgs/390066.html