Posted by Joey Catch on June 8, 2004, at 20:35:03
In reply to Re: STOPPING Effexor made easy, posted by Zarry on May 21, 2004, at 10:18:36
I've been on Effexor for about five months now, and am considering getting off of it. I'm planning to study abroad in Russia in the fall, and have no idea about Effexor's availability there, and don't want to get stuck in a foreign country with no supply of medication, and be forced to go through the miserable withdrawal experience while I'm there. My current dosage is 75 mg, which is what I've been at since starting out the first two weeks at 37.5 mg. I've read here that Prozac is helpful with eliminating the withdrawal symptoms of Effexor, as are antihistamines (Benadryl, Claritin, etc.) and drugs that reduce motion sickness (Dramamine, Bonine, etc.). A few questions:
1. When switching from Effexor to Prozac, should one still taper one's dosage of Effexor, or simply quit it altogether and begin taking Prozac in its place?
2. At 75 mg of Effexor, what dosage of Prozac should I be on for it to offset the withdrawal symptoms?
3. Do these drugs (Prozac, antihistamines and motion sickness pills) effectively help avoid the "brain zaps" that comes with going off of Effexor? To be honest, this is the only side effect I really care about avoiding. Knowing how bad this SE is after missing even a single day's dose, I don't want to go through the hell of two weeks (or longer!) of brain zaps. I've gone out of town and forgotten my medicine for only a weekend, and by the end of it I was so miserable from the brain zaps, and I had light sensitivity so bad that I could hardly stand to be outdoors or even in a well-lit room. Please tell me that Prozac, Benadryl or Dramamine will do something about this.
Thanks for any assistance that you may be able to provide; I've learned a lot from reading this board and want to get off of this stuff while I can still control it, rather than wait and see what surprises the Russian medical system has in store for me regarding prescription drug availability.
- Joe
poster:Joey Catch
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040608/msgs/354906.html