Posted by Jana on March 18, 2001, at 20:54:55
In reply to Everyone's different, but..., posted by Racer on October 24, 1999, at 22:14:55
I've suffered from depression for about 10 years. My doctor has had me on everything from Prozac to Celexa without great success. Last summer i admitted myself to the hospital because the depression became overwhelming to the point where i was suicidal.
The doctor in charge of my case reduced the amount of Celexa i was on until i was free of the drug. He tried Paxil with no success and then put me on Effexor XR 75mg, .5 mg of Clonazepam as needed, 100mg og Trazodone at bedtime and 5-10mg of Nitrazadon when needed for sleep. Did i feel over drugged...you know it, but at the time my attitude changed, i slept through the night for the first time in years and i was actually social again. At the time i never asked and was never told about the effects of these drugs, especially the Effexor. Prior to being put on Effexor i had an accessment done by a psychologist and therapist and their feeling was that i needed therapy and not drugs. The doc agreed but still wanted my on the meds.
I don't anything but the Effexor unless absolutely needed.
A few weeks ago, due to a change in doctors i went for 11 days with the Effexor. I wouldn't wish those days on my worst enemy. Now i learn that even tho Effexor is not addictive, the side effects from withdrawl are horrendous (which i know) and the length of time to get off this med is longer than any other. Having read some of the posts on this board, i wish i had just suffered through the withdrawl and gotten the stuff out of my system, but when i did get a script and immediately started being in control again i shelved the idea of stopping.
Now i'm faced with a choice...do i want to be on Effexor forever (NO!) or do i want to be reliant on a drug that makes me incredibly tired, decreases my attention span to that of a 5 year old and has taken my libido and given it to someone else?I'm approaching my doctor this week with some of the information that i've learned here and on other sites, but i have a question for those who have been on Effexor.
Even with proper clinical checkups and reduction of the med, are the withdrawls still horrendous or is it worth going through them to have some control back in your life??HELP!
poster:Jana
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010310/msgs/56872.html