Posted by zinya on November 23, 2003, at 12:28:01
In reply to Re: Day 2 of No Effexor XR - to Samadhi and » Chellie, posted by zinya on November 20, 2003, at 17:49:47
Greetings, all,
(first of all i'm po'd -- i just wrote this whole post and then this website totally swallowed it up, sending me to a screen saying i hadn't entered my name on my post -- something that is *supposed* to be done automatically when you enter a reply post or at least has been done automatically ever since i started here -- so it told me to go back and add my name but when i then back-page to the screen, it was TOTALLY blank, message gone - and even this new usually-annoying extra screen we now get that says it has preserved our unsent message was ALSO blank -- so here i go again - once more with now a po'd feeling atop the one i started off here with 15 min. ago -- So i'm warning you all to make sure you see your name and password in the reply boxes before you start posting or you might be posting in vain as i was -- and SOMEBODY from p-b ought to check out this new glitch!)
okay, so once more with feeling (aaargh):
A friend of mine (who i met via this website) is reading a book -- at the same time she's starting Paxil -- which she's told me enough about that i looked for it on amazon last night ... After getting a bunch of extra info on the book, i decided to try amazon's new (AMAZING) feature where you can search for any word in any book they sell (they've apparently scanned in every page of every book!?!?!!!) ... So i typed in Effexor and got the following ref from pg 178-179 of the book:
1. on Page 178:
"... replete with the above facts and references. I recommend them to you for the sake of your own mental health. Effexor, the newest antidepressant drug, blocks the reuptake of not just serotonin but norepinephine as well. Effexor was described in Psychiatric News, on February 4, 1994, as "Prozac with a Punch" – but Dr. Breggin [author of Talking Back to Prozac] notes that cocaine and amphetamine also block serotonin and norepinephine. In addition, he reminds us that they block the reuptake of domamine, so cocaine and amphetamine could well be marketed simply as "Prozac with a Double Punch!The next page – 179 – goes on to elaborate how to instead take amino acid supplements – either for tryptophan or phenylalinine or tyrosine – and goes on apparently to explain how you can decide which one is linked to your symptoms ...
You can go there for yourself (and this new system allows you to read 5 pages surrounding the word you search for) and it offered some real insights to me about what we're dealing with here regarding Effexor and the brain chemistry it's supposed to "fix") by pasting in the following URL (or by going to the book for yourself there - see below - and then doing the word search for yourself off of the amazon book site):
The book itself (and some of the amazon info about it for those of you who might not be feeling up to the energy to even go to amazon right now):
"Depression-Free, Naturally: 7 Weeks to Eliminating Anxiety, Despair, Fatigue, and Anger from Your Life"
by Joan Mathews-Larson, Joan Mathews LarsonList Price: $14.95
Price: $10.47 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details.
You Save: $4.48 (30%) Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours14 used & new from $8.28
Edition: Paperback
Other Editions: List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover $24.00 $16.80 13 used & new from $7.70
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Customers who bought this book also bought:* Nutrition and Mental Illness: An Orthomolecular Approach to Balancing Body Chemistry by Carl Curt Pfeiffer (Paperback)
* Natural Antidepressants by Syd Baumel (Paperback)
* The Brain Chemistry Diet : The Personalized Prescription for Balancing Mood, Relieving Stress, and Conquering Depression, Based on Your Personality Profile by Michael, Md Lesser, et al (Hardcover)
* Dealing with Depression Naturally : Alternatives and Complementary Therapies for Restoring Emotional Health by Syd Baumel (Paperback)
* The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Rebalance Your Emotional Chemistry and Rediscover Your Natural Sense of Well-Being by Julia Ross (Hardcover)
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Product Details* Paperback: 384 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.86 x 8.22 x 5.58
* Publisher: Ballantine Books; (January 2, 2001)
* ISBN: 0345435176
* In-Print Editions: Hardcover | All Editions
* Average Customer Review: Based on 10 reviews. Write a review.
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: 11,625
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Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers Weekly
Larson, author of the bestselling Seven Weeks to Sobriety, believes that many doctors misdiagnose nutritional imbalances as psychological disorders. She argues that most people who are depressed, fatigued or addicted to food, cigarettes or alcohol suffer from a deficiency of vitamins or amino acids that is only exacerbated by drugs like Xanax, Prozac and lithium. Larson provides checklists of symptoms, possible disorders and corrective formulas along with simple but thorough explanations of how the biochemistry works. She plausibly links biochemical emotional problems with the gradual shift in the American diet over the past 60 years toward sugary, carbohydrate-laden and processed foods, which disturb the body's insulin production and deprive the brain of much needed vitamins and nutrients. The author urges readers to seek out doctors to run lab tests in order to identify possible deficiencies, blood-sugar abnormalities and food allergies. Occasionally, Larson's advice gets lost in her sales pitch for her Health Recovery Center in Minnesota ("The nutrients used at Health Recovery Center are the best quality we can find"). Still, anyone who has suffered from mental lapses, mood swings and stress will find plenty to mull over here. Author tour. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.From Library Journal
Larson, a nutritionist and director of the Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis, contends that an imbalance of body chemicals often causes emotional problems and that making appropriate dietary changes will restore the brain's equilibrium. In addition to suggesting which foods to avoid or to eat, Larson provides lists of supplements to be taken on a daily basis and numerous questionnaires for detecting deficiencies. The long list of recommended supplements promotes extensive pill-popping, and there are regular reminders that those available from the Health Recovery Center at their 800-number are "the best quality." Larson's advice about the value of nutritional repair for depression and other emotional woes is sound, but with no clarification, her jargon is often confusing, e.g., "Symptoms indicating tyrosine or 1-phenylalanine is needed to increase norespinephine levels." The final chapter on anti-aging hormones seems somewhat out of place. Appropriate for larger public libraries.AIlse Heidmann, San Marcos, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.Book Description
Many of you who appear to have life under control are simply great actors. Underneath you live with inner tensions, anxiety or panic states, feelings of hopelessness or paranoia, racing thoughts, ongoing anger, bone-weary fatigue. . . . The good news is that all this is fixable.
What is the best treatment for ongoing depression, mood swings, exhaustion, and anxiety? Psychotherapy? Prescription drugs? Or is there a natural way that works better and is safer, faster, and cheaper? There is, and now Joan Mathews Larson, Ph.D., the brilliant nutritionist who founded Minnesota's esteemed Health Recovery Center, offers her revolutionary formulas for healing your emotions--biochemically. Twenty years of working with both addicted and nonaddicted patients has shown Larson that unhealthy and unstable moods are the result of the chemistry of our physical brains and are not psychological in origin. When you feed your imbalanced brain what it craves--the key essential fatty acids (EFAs), natural mind-body hormones, and the right amino acids--most mood swings, depressions, anxiety, and other upsets will disappear, even if they have a genetic basis.
Through proven all-natural formulas, Seven Weeks to Emotional Healing will help you find the emotional stability and well-being you've been missing your entire life. Inside you'll discover how to
- Screen yourself for emotional and behavioral symptoms
- Recognize the mental and physical clues that indicate biochemical imbalances
- Find an open-minded health practitioner
- Eat the right foods for optimal mental fitness
Dr. Larson also provides her unique anti-aging formula that restores sexual function, rejuvenates the immune system, elevates mood and energy levels, reduces stress, and expands your life span!
Seven Weeks to Emotional Healing is both responsible and effective--and gives you the tools you need to find lasting emotional health and contentment for the first time in your life.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
About the AuthorJoan Mathews Larson, Ph.D., is the author of the national bestseller Seven Weeks to Sobriety. She holds a doctorate in nutrition and is the founder and executive director of the highly esteemed Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis. It was the loss of her seventeen-year-old son to suicide that fueled her search for more effective solutions to emotional healing. Her clinic has now successfully treated several thousand people over a twenty-year period. She lives in Minneapolis..
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Spotlight Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:I'd Buy a Truckload, February 22, 2003
Reviewer: Geri Lennon from Dutch Flat, CA United States My nephew turned me onto this book. He said, "Aunt Geri, if I had the money, I'd buy a truckload of this book, stand on a corner, and give them away." After reading and re reading "Depression Free Naturally", I agree. This book could save many lives. With all the hype for dumbing down feel good prescriptions, what a fabulous alternative. Dr. Mathews-Larson has written an extremely important and helpful book for ANYONE who has ever felt depressed or any of the mood swings that accompany life as it is today. I have given several copies away, and will continue to do so. It is the GIF of a lifetime. AND, it is clearly written and interesting for the non medical person. It has changed my life and how I look at nutrition and moods. Thanks, Dr. Larson!9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Mis-Named, August 30, 2002
Reviewer: alice clark from Atlanta, Georgia United States This book offers some excellent nutritional advice in dealing with physical illnesses that mimic the symptoms of depression. It also addresses dietary factors that would lead your body to exibit depressive symptoms.
This book however does not live up to its title. It fails to throughly and accurately take into account the different types and degrees of depression.
This book gives great ideas of things to try and questions to ask you doctor in regards to things that might need to be ruled out however this is not a good resource as to how to manage depression. A book which was more helpful was The Feeling Good Handbook.
All Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review: 3-1/2 stars (out of 5)3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
From a depressive's standpoint, useful book., July 23, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from Oakton, VA United States As someone who has suffered from major depression for nearly 20 years, I read the book quickly and was excited and encouraged by the information therein. The author addresses in part the ramifications of long-term poor nutrition and eating habits and provides numerous screening tests for the reader to determine where he/she may be suffering. As I took the screening tests and read the chapters, I found myself identifying with nearly everything I read and could readily accept the fact that years of malnutrition may be at least partly to blame for my current severe state of depression.Yes, the book suggests megadoses of vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and that can be hard to swallow (literally)! And costly. But you have to go through the book and try to determine what might work best for you. The author also suggests some dietary changes based on how quickly you turn food into energy and your blood type, and of course she espouses regular, consistent exercise. After a short time following her guidelines (as best I can) and cutting out sugar, caffeine, and dairy, I feel better than I have in a long time. Am I cured of my depression? Of course not! That's going to take a long time and I have no doubt that in the future I will have to be ever-vigilant against future relapses. But as of today, at least, I feel less sad, hopeless and unfocused and I credit the book (and my therapy sessions and medications) with contributing to that improvement.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
May be helpful for mild depression, March 26, 2003
Reviewer: Dave from Washington, DC This book does have the feel of a late night infomercial, filled with statements to pep you up and get you going. I actually don't think that's such a bad attitude for the author to have, especially if the reader is depressed and trying to recover. When you get past the hype, what's left? Well, it does have a good deal of dietary and lifestyle adjustments that will be of use to many people. There is definitely substance here. However, if you suffer from moderate to severe depression or anxiety, I doubt that the suggestions in this book will be enough. Sometimes medication is necessary for complete recovery. Nonetheless, worth a read regardless of the severity of your depression or anxiety. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".2 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
The title tells all..., March 24, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from Oak Ridge, TN United States The pretentiousness and shoddiness of this book are made clear from the title. The very idea that we can become completely free of depression is itself problematic, given that we have so much trouble defining it. The textbook says depression begins when five of nine depressive symptoms are experienced. But what is magic about five from nine? Depression is hard to distinguish, moreover, from grief: persons are prescribed anti-depressants for such grief all the time. "Naturally" suggests another harmful implication of the book: that medications should have the stigma of "artificiality." Naturalness means little. Many things native to nature kill you, and we have the godgiven intelligence to alter the way our brains work. Again, depression cannot be eliminated, nor would we want to submit to the kind of mindless drabness that life would be like without ever feeling a bit of it. This book portends to be a crusade against the mindlessness of drug therapy. Whatever the excesses of anti-depressants may or may not be, this book substitutes a linguistic for a psychological mindlessness. More, it is complicit in the mindlessness of wanting to eliminate pain.
7 of 14 people found the following review helpful:Credibility suffers with style!, December 8, 2001
Reviewer: hkremer from Alexandria, VA USA I bought the book this week but I found that I could not get past all of the exclamation points!!! which made it seem like an infomercial hawking the Center and the book itself. There seems to be plenty of solid advice but the constant insult of exclamation points made it impossible for me to take seriously.19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
This book has something for EVERYONE!, August 2, 2001
Reviewer: Laura from Phoenix, AZ United States I highly recommend this book! First, it's a book that covers a lot of aspects of common problems (ie. hypoglycemia). It's set up with tests to see if an area is a problem for you. It explained in detail why it's so important to eat healthy (your sanity depends on it). In the last 5 weeks, my depression has improved considerably, I'm not nearly as tired as I was before and I feel better about myself overall. I've recommended it to many of my friends.17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
This book provides life giving information!, November 4, 2000
Reviewer: katetate524 from debary, florida United States I read this book and followed all the suggestions and it worked for me. It was simple and the book supplies you with a real live clinic and staff to help and get the vitamins to you! I also went to my Physician armed with the book and he took me off the anti-depression medicine and wrote a prescription for L-tryptophan. As the book says L-tryptophan is the only substance known to man that can increase serotonin or I should say replace lost serotonin. Read it and then live it. It really can change your life. I recommend it to many people and so does my Doctor. He is amazed!40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
Solutions for Restoring Emotional Stability, That Work, November 23, 1999
Reviewer: nancy tremewan from Minneapolis, MN I found it to be a well researched book with scientific, NON-DRUG solutions for depression, and anxiety that are working for me. I like the fact that the author developed and tested all of these formulas at a clinic in real life situations. If you have been disappointed with the effectiveness of drugs in solving your health problems, you will be delighted with the results from this logical approach.11 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
If you're into mega doses of vitamins, several times a day.., November 16, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Pittsburgh, PA USA I bought this book on Friday, read it over the weekend, andreturned it on Monday. I just can't see tying myself to takingmegadoses of expensive vitamins several times a day - just trying to remember when to take what would be stressful! There were a few goods points, which is why I gave the book one star, but for the most part I was totally unimpressed. Also, some of the recommendations were disturbing - tryptophan is available only by prescription for a reason. Save your money!
poster:zinya
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URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031121/msgs/282837.html