Posted by Sean9 on March 31, 2003, at 10:37:58
In reply to Re: How I Got Off Effexor XR, posted by skycladgrrl on January 24, 2003, at 1:27:47
Phil,
I respect your point of view, but take into consideration, we're talking how this effects society at large. Even if it was 1% of users experiencing half of what is reported, do you think its fair? How many people have to suffer before someone takes responsability? This is about degress of risk and informed consent. And in keeping with respecting viewpoints, here's mine:
It’s not fair. That’s how I feel. That a person in America could go to the doctor, get a prescription, take Effexor, and all of a sudden be unable to quit. That the doctor didn’t tell that person how difficult it would be to quit before they started medication. That the manufacturer didn’t fully disclose the degree of physical pain an average user will experience when discontinuing Effexor. That neither the doctor or the manufacturer acknowledge how serious the withdrawal symptoms are and therefore, offer no advice on treating the symptoms. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are always risks in taking drugs. But this is about being fully informed of the degree of risk associated with quitting Effexor (even gradually) and the degree of physical and emotional pain (i.e. discomfort) an average person will experience in quitting. Do you think people are being informed? Then let me ask you something:
Why are there so many people on Effexor who all claim they were not informed of the serious withdrawal and discontinuation symptoms? Why do so many people have the exact same symptoms of withdrawal, are told by their doctor that this is called “discontinuation symptoms”, and that there is nothing the doctor can do for them? And why is Effexor becoming the number one anti-depressant prescribed in America?
To ask this in another way: Would you start taking a drug knowing that many people (let’s say 20%) cannot stop taking this drug on a daily basis? Would you call such a drug non-addictive? Would such a drug become the number one prescribed anti-depressant if people were fully informed of how physically painful it is to try and quit, even if you slowly taper off? Does this sound fair to you?
I’ve done some research on the subject, and can offer opinion but not legal or medical advice on how to quit Effexor if you want to quit. Effexor is effective in treating depression, but it is very, very, very difficult to stop taking. I don’t think the makers of Effexor or the medical community have even begun to make this degree of risk of painful withdrawal apparent to the average consumer. So here’s how to quit:
First point: Don't quit cold turkey, make a tapering off plan with your doctor.
Second point: Take Benadryl to relieve your withdrawal / discontinuation symptoms. It apparently gets rid of most dizziness, nausea, brain flashes, and sensory overload feelings within an hour of taking it. I do not know if this is recommended by the medical community, rather I heard about this cure on a newsgroup. I've also read that other antihistamines (like Allegra), doctor prescribed anti-vertigo medication, and low dosages of doctor prescribed Prozac all help with withdrawal symptoms of Effexor.
Third: There is something you can do. File a report with the FDA. They regulate Effexor (which is made by Wyeth Laboratories Inc. in Philadelphia.). Help the next generation of Effexor users to be better informed by doctors and the manufacturer. You can submit a complaint to the FDA online at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/
The more people that report this problem, the better response we will get. You can also call in your complaint to an FDA state office (here are each state’s telephone number)
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html
You can also sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/effexor/petition.html
Finally: Note - This is not medical or legal advice, it is only my opinion based on experience and research. I do not take Effexor, but I know someone who does, and they were tricked into taking this without being fully informed how seriously difficult it would be to stop (even through slow tapering off). And that is not fair.
poster:Sean9
thread:107948
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030329/msgs/214703.html