[OT] Effexor

CatNipped wrote:
"Cheryl Perkins" wrote in message
...
CatNipped wrote:

True, but what do you do when you're suddenly out of work and have no
more
insurance and can't afford the *VERY* high price of the drug? I
understand
that discontinuing some drugs can be dangerous - especially when symptoms
come back that the drug was controlling. But when a drug has such
*SEVERE*
withdrawal effects - *NOT* from physical symptoms resuming that the drug
was
controlling, but simply because of the drug itself - I would be *VERY,
VERY,
VERY* hesitant about prescribing that drug to *ANYONE* who wasn't
absolutely
dying by not taking it.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have stopped taking it. I'm saying anyone who
wants to stop should reduce the dosage *extremely slowly* - probably
over a period of months.

True, but I was losing my job in *two weeks*, and my insurance along with
it, which meant I would have to pay the full price for the Effexor - over
$400 for 30 pills, and I was taking 3 a day, so $1,200 per month that we
just didn't have! What happens then? In a perfect world this wouldn't
happen, but then in a perfect world nobody would need Effexor.

I just think one of the things a doctor should consider, *BEFORE*
prescribing a drug, is what will happen if a patient, for *WHATEVER* reason,
needs to stop taking that drug suddenly.

--

Hugs,

CatNipped

Effexor has a program that enables people to get the drug for free if
they can't afford it. I'm not sure whether it's strictly a program for
seniors, though. The person I referred to does not have to pay a penny
for it. He gets a 6-month supply at a time, for free, in the mail from
Effexor.

Sherry

Christina Websell wrote:
"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
I know Fil wrote here about the hard time she had with Effexor. And
I've written many times about the *HORRIBLE* experience I had with
the withdrawals from it. Well...

Is Effexor the same drug as Seroxasat? Or similar name? My cousin
is on it on it and functions well, running a business and a huge
family. She came off it and got depressed again so went back to it.
Although she worried about the long term effects she said to me
"Look, would I rather live ten years feeling great, or 30 feeling how
I did before?"

Do you guys remember the Andréa Yates case (she drowned her five
children) here in Houston? She is being retried because and expert
witness lied on the stand the first time. A big part of her defense
is post-partum depression and discontinuing the medication she was
on for depression. Anyone want to take a guess what medication she
was on and had stopped taking??? You got it in one - Effexor. That
stuff is literally deadly!

I would not like to say if withdrawal from Effexor made her murder her
children. My cousin didn't murder any of her 8 when she came off it.
I would be more likely to guess that after coming off the drug this
woman's underlying mental illness - now not treated - may have caused
this tragedy. I've been involved peripherally in child protection
since 1989. We don't guess. To find out the facts in this case we
would be in touch with the psychiatrist to see what is/is not
possible to happen from Effexor withdrawal.
I think you are making assumptions, Lori, because of your bad
experience with this drug.
I would agree that it maybe not the best because of horrible
withdrawal symptoms - and maybe it should be phased out because of
this but I would be surprised if it caused this woman to drown her 5
children. A mix of social circumstances and mental illness, surely?

Tweed

I believe the generic name for Efexor is Venlafaxine, at least in the UK.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

That's great to hear. You hear a lot of negative stuff about these drugs,
but the truth is, a lot of people are helped, perhaps their lives are even
saved, because of them.

I still worry about whether Effexor is deteriorating my memory, though.


I personaly believe it's why my memory is not what it used to be. I
can't remember orders of numbers any more (phone numbers, dates,
classroom numbers). If I don't write them down, they're gone.

My ability to photographically remember pages of written text has
mercifully gone unchanged.

However, I will also say that Effexor turned /me/ from a danger to
myself and my family, to mostly harmless, within a week. So I'm not
sorry I took it. I just wonder if there was another antidepressant
that could've dealt with my symptoms without these side effects.

My doctor is on Effexor himself.

--Fil

Enfilade wrote:

I personaly believe it's why my memory is not what it used to be. I
can't remember orders of numbers any more (phone numbers, dates,
classroom numbers). If I don't write them down, they're gone.

Yeah, I used to be pretty good at that, too. I'm not horrible at it
now, but it's definitely harder for me than it used to be. I was a real
whiz at remembering dates - now, when I can remember which decade
something happened, I'm proud of myself.

But what really disturbs me is that I forget entire conversations.
Important conversations, with people I care about. I know I've hurt
some people's feelings on a few occasions when I have no recollection
of a discussion we'd had about something that mattered to them, and
pretty recently, too. It's embarrassing and I feel guilty about it,
but I really can't seem to help it. About the only way I can think of
to prevent this kind of forgetting would be to take notes during
conversations. Yeah, I'm sure that would go over great!

Interestingly, I remember the more distant past very well. It's only
the recent past that seems foggy. So I guess that means I'm having a
harder time *creating* memories to begin with, rather than with
recalling them. In other words, the record head is slightly damaged,
but the playback works fine.

I think this is also related to age. I mean, think about old people
who can tell you stories from their youth, which they remember clear
as a bell, but they have no idea what they just had for lunch.

My ability to photographically remember pages of written text has
mercifully gone unchanged.

That's pretty impressive! I've never had that gift, so I don't miss it.

Joyce

wrote:
Enfilade wrote:

I personaly believe it's why my memory is not what it used to be. I
can't remember orders of numbers any more (phone numbers, dates,
classroom numbers). If I don't write them down, they're gone.

Yeah, I used to be pretty good at that, too. I'm not horrible at it
now, but it's definitely harder for me than it used to be. I was a real
whiz at remembering dates - now, when I can remember which decade
something happened, I'm proud of myself.

But what really disturbs me is that I forget entire conversations.
Important conversations, with people I care about. I know I've hurt
some people's feelings on a few occasions when I have no recollection
of a discussion we'd had about something that mattered to them, and
pretty recently, too. It's embarrassing and I feel guilty about it,
but I really can't seem to help it. About the only way I can think of
to prevent this kind of forgetting would be to take notes during
conversations. Yeah, I'm sure that would go over great!

Interestingly, I remember the more distant past very well. It's only
the recent past that seems foggy. So I guess that means I'm having a
harder time *creating* memories to begin with, rather than with
recalling them. In other words, the record head is slightly damaged,
but the playback works fine.

I think this is also related to age. I mean, think about old people
who can tell you stories from their youth, which they remember clear
as a bell, but they have no idea what they just had for lunch.

My ability to photographically remember pages of written text has
mercifully gone unchanged.

That's pretty impressive! I've never had that gift, so I don't miss it.

Joyce

I have the same problem, only I've never taken an antidepressant of any
kind. I do take lots of other drugs, but they're BP drugs, assorted
heart-vascular stuff.
This is interesting. Because my problem began after multiple surgeries.
I blamed it on the anesthetic. I used to never write down a phone
number. Now I can hardly remember it long enough to find a pencil to
write it down! I tell the same things twice. (I'm sure I"ve done it
here too). Notepads and lists are my best friend now.
I guess there could be many other reasons for forgetfulness besides
anesthetic or drugs. I've lost self-discipline since I quit work. And
every day is much the same. There's not a lot of cerebral challenge to
my life these days. Menopause could be a factor, and so could hardening
of the arteries in the brain, which I think is very common as we age.

Sherry

wrote:
I have the same problem, only I've never taken an antidepressant of any
kind. I do take lots of other drugs, but they're BP drugs, assorted
heart-vascular stuff.
This is interesting. Because my problem began after multiple surgeries.
I blamed it on the anesthetic. I used to never write down a phone
number. Now I can hardly remember it long enough to find a pencil to
write it down! I tell the same things twice. (I'm sure I"ve done it
here too). Notepads and lists are my best friend now.
I guess there could be many other reasons for forgetfulness besides
anesthetic or drugs. I've lost self-discipline since I quit work. And
every day is much the same. There's not a lot of cerebral challenge to
my life these days. Menopause could be a factor, and so could hardening
of the arteries in the brain, which I think is very common as we age.

Blame it on menopause. I know what you mean by losing self-discipline
since stopping
work. I have the same problem. But it gets better now that I am doing
volunteering work,
and going to exercise classes. It gets me out of my home. Otherwise I
would just sit
home and sleep or watch TV. Now the challenge for me is how to help the
seniors I
work with. It is hard for some of them to learn to use the computer or
to exercise. I have
to be very patient with them. Things I took for granted are not easy
for them. Myabye you
can try volunteering at the Humane or cat shelter.

Winnie

Sherry

Interestingly, I remember the more distant past very well. It's only
the recent past that seems foggy. So I guess that means I'm having a
harder time *creating* memories to begin with, rather than with
recalling them. In other words, the record head is slightly damaged,
but the playback works fine.

Yes, me too.

I think this is also related to age. I mean, think about old people
who can tell you stories from their youth, which they remember clear
as a bell, but they have no idea what they just had for lunch.

But I'm not even 30. It's supposed to be another 20 years or so before
I find myself unable to remember numbers beyond a minute after I've
heard them.

And of the actual time I was on the stuff--it's like the year 2004
never happened for me. About the only things I do remember from that
time is taking a class, and going to a scifi convention. Dylan tells
me that I would go to class, come home exhausted 4 hours later, sleep
all afternoon, do an hour or two of homework in the evening, go to bed
and sleep all night.

That's why I finally stopped it...I was falling asleep at the store, on
the bus, at school, etc, sleeping 16 hours or more a day, every day.

--Fil

"Adrian A" wrote in message
om...
Christina Websell wrote:
"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
I know Fil wrote here about the hard time she had with Effexor. And
I've written many times about the *HORRIBLE* experience I had with
the withdrawals from it. Well...

Is Effexor the same drug as Seroxasat? Or similar name? My cousin
is on it on it and functions well, running a business and a huge
family. She came off it and got depressed again so went back to it.
Although she worried about the long term effects she said to me
"Look, would I rather live ten years feeling great, or 30 feeling how
I did before?"

Do you guys remember the Andréa Yates case (she drowned her five
children) here in Houston? She is being retried because and expert
witness lied on the stand the first time. A big part of her defense
is post-partum depression and discontinuing the medication she was
on for depression. Anyone want to take a guess what medication she
was on and had stopped taking??? You got it in one - Effexor. That
stuff is literally deadly!

I would not like to say if withdrawal from Effexor made her murder her
children. My cousin didn't murder any of her 8 when she came off it.
I would be more likely to guess that after coming off the drug this
woman's underlying mental illness - now not treated - may have caused
this tragedy. I've been involved peripherally in child protection
since 1989. We don't guess. To find out the facts in this case we
would be in touch with the psychiatrist to see what is/is not
possible to happen from Effexor withdrawal.
I think you are making assumptions, Lori, because of your bad
experience with this drug.
I would agree that it maybe not the best because of horrible
withdrawal symptoms - and maybe it should be phased out because of
this but I would be surprised if it caused this woman to drown her 5
children. A mix of social circumstances and mental illness, surely?

Tweed

I believe the generic name for Efexor is Venlafaxine, at least in the UK.

Ah, good. I googled Seroxat and it's also known as Paxil.

Tweed

Enfilade wrote:

And of the actual time I was on the stuff--it's like the year 2004
never happened for me. About the only things I do remember from that
time is taking a class, and going to a scifi convention. Dylan tells
me that I would go to class, come home exhausted 4 hours later, sleep
all afternoon, do an hour or two of homework in the evening, go to bed
and sleep all night.

That's why I finally stopped it...I was falling asleep at the store, on
the bus, at school, etc, sleeping 16 hours or more a day, every day.

Wow, that's pretty extreme. You evidently had a much stronger reaction to
it than I do. I do need more sleep on it than I do without it, but it's
9 hours as opposed to 8. Most of the time I don't even get 8 hours a night,
much less 9, and frankly, I'm clearer-headed when I've slept a little less.
I think sleeping all those hours really made me more groggy and fog-brained!

Joyce