Re: The “fun” of Effexor withdrawal

[ADDled]

I did the Effexor withdrawal thing recently. It was the worst two months of the worst year in my life.

Maybe Wyeth-Ayerst needs to develop an Effexor withdrawal kit containing capsules with ever diminishing doses and Omega compounds. But, then, we’re dealing (pun intended) with large pharmacuetical companies. For the most part they have produced amazing stuff to help us, but, it’s in their best interest to keep us hooked. And I suppose, in a weird way, hearing about withdrawal symptoms makes us afraid to want to stop, and, using the deterrence of not wanting to experience any of that makes for good sales.

For me, Effexor was losing its “effect” after about 5 years of use. You have to hand it to the drug companies, though, they think of everything. Your Effexor losing its punch? Well, we’ll increase the dosage! More profits for us! A perfect plan: engineer a medicine that loses effectivity during time, then we have to sell your more of the same to stop you from feeling depressed (caused you’ve heard all the stories about people trying to get off our meds…you don’t want to do that now, do you?). Where have we heard that tune before? Maybe cocaine, heroine?

I have been on most of the anti-depressants at one point or another during my attempt to feel “normal”. Imiprimine, Prozac, Paxil, Serzone (the ramping up symptoms were so bad, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what the withdrawal might be like). I don’t think Serzone is even on the market anymore…It was just that bad.

Then came Effexor. Stopping the other AD’s weren’t as bad as Effexor. As a veteran of switching AD’s I sorta knew what to expect. This was beyond my experience, though. Using the internet (I know, a bad place to get medical advice…) I found lots of Effexor related websites discussing the withdrawal effects. I was even considering opening the capsules and removing some of the medication using tweezers as some users have tried!

I’m now on Wellbutrin and from what I understand it’s a better match for people with ADD. So far, I have to agree. My wife recently experienced the Effexor meltdown when she was out of meds for a few days. Cold turkey, I was a horrible thing to watch.

Meds can and lose their efficacy. The only choices are, increasing the dose, or, change meds. But based on my experience with Effexor, if in the future I need to change ADs, I’ll take the time off from work for a few weeks to do the transition. Because my mind couldn’t handle all the demands the world puts on you during this time while changing brain chemistry.

DISCLAIMER: This posting is all my experience and opinion: not based on medical fact. If you are thinking about changing your meds, do so under trusted medical supervision. What works for one person may have a different outcome for someone else. Just be informed and this is all I wanted to do here.

Hope this helps….and good luck.

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