{OT} Antidepressant Issues

This is my first vent here...

I want to get off the Effexor I've been taking for depression for
almost a year now. I've been more stable than DP's seen me to be in
the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last
6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get
this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble
thinking of words or figuring out just where I am...I'll wander and
then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the
time went.

The stuff's expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there's no
way I can do a master's thesis in September if I'm sleeping more than
I'm awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the
drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft.

So today I'm at the doctor's and he tells me that if I quit the stuff,
I'm almost guaranteed to relapse.

DP's afraid I will, sometime when no one's around to stop me from
cutting my throat--or someone else's.

I'm in my 20s. I don't want to be on this crap for the rest of my
life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big
reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to
people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well
enough--if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life
through a red rage haze, it's time to go back on the pills. I was
depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I
only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8
years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical
interference. At that rate, it'd be 2013 before I needed pills again.
That's a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years.

That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn't
in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of
thing until just now. I feel like I've gotten suckered into this
situation, and that ****es me off.

--Enfilade

"Enfilade" wrote in message
om...

That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn't
in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of
thing until just now. I feel like I've gotten suckered into this
situation, and that ****es me off.

--Enfilade

Aw Fil, I know *EXACTLY* how you feel. My doctor put me on Effexor because
it's supposed to help with the pain of Fibromyalgia. Not *ONCE* did he tell
me that the withdrawals from this drug are worse than the withdrawals from
heroine - and last longer. Please, *PLEASE*, don't quit taking this drug
cold turkey (that's what I did because my doctor wouldn't help me get off
them in a gradual way). I ended up in the emergency room and found out
later that I could have killed myself by doing this.

My daughter was also put on Effexor, but for depression. She wanted to get
off of them too, but couldn't, not even with a gradual withdrawal (as soon
as she missed one dose she would have horrible, severe flu-like symptoms.
Some other withdrawal symptoms of Effexor that I had are feeling like I was
being electrocuted with pulsing shock like feelings all through my body,
nausea, heart palpitations, cold sweats, insomnia, dizziness, headaches,
shakes, going into fugue states and not remembering where I was or what I
was doing (really scary when you're driving), crying jags and screaming
rages.

There is supposedly a class-action lawsuit against Wyeth-Ayerst Labs because
they knew all about these symptoms but still pushed this drug for all kinds
or medical problems besides depression. There are newsgroup and chat rooms
dedicated to nothing but the horrible side effects and withdrawal symptoms
of this drug.

Here is the result of a google search on Effexor withdrawal symptoms:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...or+withdrawals.

Again, please be very careful how you go about getting off this drug, if you
decide to. I've heard that ClaritinD helps somewhat with the withdrawals.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Enfilade" wrote in message
om...
This is my first vent here...

I want to get off the Effexor I've been taking for depression for
almost a year now. I've been more stable than DP's seen me to be in
the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last
6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get
this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble
thinking of words or figuring out just where I am...I'll wander and
then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the
time went.

The stuff's expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there's no
way I can do a master's thesis in September if I'm sleeping more than
I'm awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the
drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft.

So today I'm at the doctor's and he tells me that if I quit the stuff,
I'm almost guaranteed to relapse.

DP's afraid I will, sometime when no one's around to stop me from
cutting my throat--or someone else's.

I'm in my 20s. I don't want to be on this crap for the rest of my
life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big
reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to
people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well
enough--if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life
through a red rage haze, it's time to go back on the pills. I was
depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I
only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8
years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical
interference. At that rate, it'd be 2013 before I needed pills again.
That's a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years.

That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn't
in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of
thing until just now. I feel like I've gotten suckered into this
situation, and that ****es me off.

--Enfilade

Hi Fil,

I have been on Effexor for about 3 years, and am now in the process of
stepping down the dose in order to quit. I was having some of the same
symptoms as you - the feeling of 'not being there' is one major one, and the
just not caring about things. Plus, I am one of the 5 to 10% that develop
high blood pressure while taking it. :P I finally told my doc that I WAS
going to d/c this, with or without his help. He finally agreed, with the
proviso that if I become depressed again I would tell him. It hasn't been
completely easy, but at least I am able to feel again.

I hope you can get your dr. to take you off this, and that everything goes
ok!

Patti

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"Enfilade" wrote in message
om...

very gently snipped

My daughter was also put on Effexor, but for depression. She wanted to
get off of them too, but couldn't, not even with a gradual withdrawal (as
soon as she missed one dose she would have horrible, severe flu-like
symptoms.

Hi Nipped,

That is one of the symptoms I had when I first stepped down the dosage -
major flu like symptoms, and extremely exhausted. I am now over that, but it
took almost a month. My dr. said it was a Fibromyalgia flare, and it was
because the Effexor had been controlling the symptoms and it wasn't any
more. Honestly, I felt WORSE after this drug than I ever did before as far
as the fibro went. It is like it exacerbated it, rather than controlling it.

Thanks for the tip on ClaritinD - I will most certainly try it.

Patti

"Mishi" wrote in message
.. .
Hi Nipped,

That is one of the symptoms I had when I first stepped down the dosage -
major flu like symptoms, and extremely exhausted. I am now over that, but
it
took almost a month. My dr. said it was a Fibromyalgia flare, and it was
because the Effexor had been controlling the symptoms and it wasn't any
more. Honestly, I felt WORSE after this drug than I ever did before as far
as the fibro went. It is like it exacerbated it, rather than controlling
it.

Yeah, for me too. I really didn't feel any diminishment of pain from the
fibro while I was on the Effexor. It *did* help the depression that was
caused by the fibro (finding out that you're going to be in constant pain
for the rest of your life can be quite depressing). And you're right, the
pain during withdrawals was definitely worse than the pain I had before I
started taking it. I really don't know why they haven't taken this drug off
the market - there's beeen thousands of complaints to the FDA about it. I
think there's been some *marjor* payoffs regarding this golden goose of the
drug company that manufactures it.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Thanks for the tip on ClaritinD - I will most certainly try it.

Patti

"Enfilade" wrote in message
om...
This is my first vent here...

I want to get off the Effexor I've been taking for depression for
almost a year now. I've been more stable than DP's seen me to be in
the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last
6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get
this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble
thinking of words or figuring out just where I am...I'll wander and
then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the
time went.

The stuff's expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there's no
way I can do a master's thesis in September if I'm sleeping more than
I'm awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the
drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft.

So today I'm at the doctor's and he tells me that if I quit the stuff,
I'm almost guaranteed to relapse.

DP's afraid I will, sometime when no one's around to stop me from
cutting my throat--or someone else's.

I'm in my 20s. I don't want to be on this crap for the rest of my
life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big
reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to
people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well
enough--if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life
through a red rage haze, it's time to go back on the pills. I was
depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I
only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8
years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical
interference. At that rate, it'd be 2013 before I needed pills again.
That's a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years.

That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn't
in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of
thing until just now. I feel like I've gotten suckered into this
situation, and that ****es me off.

--Enfilade

Hi Enfilade,

Effexor is a big time drug to be on for depression - it is usually used for
major depression and even some psychotic disorders. I understand that you
want off of the medication because you feel good now - but remember, that is
the medication helping you to feel better and control your depression. If
you are wanting to try something that won't turn you into a zombie, ask your
doctor about weaning off of it, while being started on something else. If
you are taken off of medication completely and you begin to relapse, you
could spiral downward before a new drug takes effect (anti-depressants
usually take 3-4 weeks before full effect is reached). The consequesnces of
that far outweight the benefits of being "drug-free." Also, a relapse is
usually worse once being taken off of a medication because of the major
changes in the chemicals in your brain...

Please be careful :-) I know there is a stigma attached to being on
medication for depression, but it is an illness.... Really think of the
benefits of the medication vesus the possible results of being off of the
medication. Talk to your doc first about switching to a different kind, one
that still helps your symptoms, but with less side effects. Good luck :-)

CatNipped wrote:
"Mishi" wrote in message
.. .

Hi Nipped,

That is one of the symptoms I had when I first stepped down the dosage -
major flu like symptoms, and extremely exhausted. I am now over that, but

it

took almost a month. My dr. said it was a Fibromyalgia flare, and it was
because the Effexor had been controlling the symptoms and it wasn't any
more. Honestly, I felt WORSE after this drug than I ever did before as far
as the fibro went. It is like it exacerbated it, rather than controlling

it.

Yeah, for me too. I really didn't feel any diminishment of pain from the
fibro while I was on the Effexor. It *did* help the depression that was
caused by the fibro (finding out that you're going to be in constant pain
for the rest of your life can be quite depressing). And you're right, the
pain during withdrawals was definitely worse than the pain I had before I
started taking it. I really don't know why they haven't taken this drug off
the market - there's beeen thousands of complaints to the FDA about it. I
think there's been some *marjor* payoffs regarding this golden goose of the
drug company that manufactures it.


It really does work for some people - me for one. When I started it I
felt like I'd been woken up after years asleep. I'm not good at
describing this sort of thing, but on this drug I actually started to
feel like I could DO something - make choices and take actions - that
might have some sort of effect on my life. I'd been through the usual
list of other antidepressants - some didn't work at all, some worked for
a while, one worked well but I had an allergic reaction to it. I'm down
to a really low dose now, but am not keen to stop it altogether in case
I slide back into that old black hole again. So I can say it's been good
for me, but obviously it's not good for everyone and probably is
dangerous for some.

What gets to me about the antidepressant drug business is that it's very
well known that some drugs will work for some people while others will
work better for other people. But, the only way to find out which one's
right for you is the brute force approach - try 'em all until you find
one that works for you. There's very little research that examines which
antidepressants work best for which people out in the community and why.
cynic After all, drug manufacturers are probably doing quite well
out of the brute force approach... it wouldn't be in THEIR best
interests to sponsor research that might find a better way. would it?
/cynic

Hi Enfilade,
Just want to let you know I wrote you a private email on this subject. Let
me know if you don't get it.
regards,
Christine
"Enfilade" wrote in message
om...
This is my first vent here...

I want to get off the Effexor I've been taking for depression for
almost a year now. I've been more stable than DP's seen me to be in
the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last
6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get
this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble
thinking of words or figuring out just where I am...I'll wander and
then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the
time went.

The stuff's expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there's no
way I can do a master's thesis in September if I'm sleeping more than
I'm awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the
drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft.

So today I'm at the doctor's and he tells me that if I quit the stuff,
I'm almost guaranteed to relapse.

DP's afraid I will, sometime when no one's around to stop me from
cutting my throat--or someone else's.

I'm in my 20s. I don't want to be on this crap for the rest of my
life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big
reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to
people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well
enough--if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life
through a red rage haze, it's time to go back on the pills. I was
depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I
only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8
years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical
interference. At that rate, it'd be 2013 before I needed pills again.
That's a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years.

That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn't
in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of
thing until just now. I feel like I've gotten suckered into this
situation, and that ****es me off.

--Enfilade

Is there a different antidepressant, with fewer side effects, that your
doctor can help you switch over to?

Nobody wants to be on meds for the long haul. That goes double for a med
that's causing side effects that are as disruptive to daily living as the
problem the medicine is supposed to be relieving.

But some people, including me, would be in a permanent state of depression
without meds. In my case, even what I USED to think of as a normal state
was a low-level state of depression, and I've wavered between that and
flat-out clinical depression since I was 10. (Which means I've been
dealing with this for over 30 years.) But it was being downsized a few
years ago that brought on a really, REALLY severe and unrelenting case of
depression. Finally, I went to the doctor because the symptoms were not
only debilitating, they were showing no signs of lifting.

The prescription I'm on right now is Celexa (citalopram), and it has
helped a lot. It also doesn't have the side effects you were describing.
Maybe you can discuss switching over to that or to a different
prescription that will help the depression, minus the side effects you're
getting from the Effexor.

My husband is on thyroid medication, permanently, because his thyroid
doesn't produce enough hormone on its own. Friends and relatives of mine
take insulin or pills to regulate diabetes, since their bodies don't
produce enough insulin. And there's no difference between their permanent
need for meds, and the fact that my body needs some help getting the
serotonin level right. There's no shame in needing any of those meds, or
any other prescription, not even if it's necessary over the long haul.

It's not fun AT ALL to have to deal with these issues. ( But see if you
can work with your doctor to change to a different medication. And if this
doc won't work with you on that, it's time for a second opinion.

Keep us posted.

Donna

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:58:53 -0500, "Gabey8"
yodeled:

(Snip)
But some people, including me, would be in a permanent state of depression
without meds. In my case, even what I USED to think of as a normal state
was a low-level state of depression, and I've wavered between that and
flat-out clinical depression since I was 10. (Which means I've been
dealing with this for over 30 years.)

I have to second this. These days with managed care, a lot of
antidepressants are prescribed by general physicians who frankly don't
have the right pharmocological background. I've been very lucky-- in
a sense-- because my depressions have always been under a
psychiatrist's treatment. I'm not saying this is true of everyone,
but with my history, and my genetics, I have a very strong inclination
towards depression. I would no more try to "tough" out a depression
without medication than I would refuse insulin if I were diabetic.

I have had the experience of withdrawing off a very tough drug
(nardil), and while I never hope to repeat such a thing, it was
incredibly important that I do it. I am now stable on a low dose of
Wellbutrin, which seems to have little/no side effects for me.



Theresa
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My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com