Posted by jujube on September 12, 2004, at 23:28:30
I have been lurking (I think that is what it is called) on this site looking for information to better understand what I have been going through for the past 6 months since I was given Effexor XR.
For months leading up to my Effexor experience, I had been suffering from fatigue, nausea and lethargy. I have a very good gp (have been going to her for over 8 years) and she tested my blood and found that I was significantly iron deficient (not yet anemic). She started iron supplementation and, after 5 months, I did not respond. Being the impatient person that I am, I decided to go another gp in the hopes that I could speed up my recovery and regain my energy and zest for life. This gp sat with her arms folded across her chest and told me that iron deficiency was not my problem, rather I was depressed and she prescribed Effexor XR. This surprised me, although I do suffer from anxiety. So, I agreed to take the Effexor, starting at 75 mg. A week later the dose was upped to 112.5 mg. I was having side effects (even after weeks on the medication), including no energy and almost convulsions when I was sleeping (Linda Blair would have been jealous of my special effects!). The gp said side effects were typical in the first weeks of treatment (mine actually never went away) and that I would have to deal with it. Although I did not feel depressed before going on Effexor, I was certainly starting to feel very low on it. I went back to my trusted gp. She was not comfortable playing around with the medication. Thankfully, she had an old family friend who happened to be a pdoc and I was able to see him to discuss the Effexor. He increased the dose to 150 mg. My anxiety, which had generally been in check, was getting worse, I was tired and becoming increasingly apathetic. So, another visit to the pdoc to discuss the meds, and the dose was upped yet again to 225 mg. I kept saying that the drug was making me feel terrible. I was becoming extremely apprehensive, didn't feel like doing a darn thing and found myself becoming somewhat agoraphobic. I had had one little anxiety attack in over 8 years (just before going on the Effexor), and I found myself in the "what if" state of mind (go figure). I forced myself to do things (groceries, etc.), but there was no real pleasure in anything (not even shopping. And, as a self-professed shopaholic, this was somewhat discouraging. I mean, even the 50% off the already reduced price sales did not get my blood and adrenaline going! Good lord, now I knew I was in bad shape!). I was like the walking dead - emotionless. So, I reduced my dose of Effexor back down to 150 mg (advised pdoc I was doing so). Didn't make a difference one way or another and luckily I didn't experience any withdrawal in the reduction. Finally, after 6 months on Effexor, I called the pdoc and sent him an e-mail with natural alternatives I wanted to try. I could not go on feeling like a shell of a human being. He wasn't keen on the natural alternatives (Sam-e, Rosavin), but agreed that Effexor was not for me. He prescribed Celexa and I was weaned off 150 mg of Effexor over a two week period (I am on day 4 of no Effexor). I have been exhausted, sick to my stomach, anxious, dizzy. But, at least I am starting to feel again. And, I am actually starting to have a real appetite (for the past 6 months, I really have been eating to survive and because that's what we humans do).
I feel like I have lost 6 months of my life to Effexor. 6 months in an emotionless, lethargic, anxious fog. I know others have had positive experiences on Effexor. For me, it was like being on increasingly higher doses of sedation with moderate doses of stimulants thrown in every now and then just to keep the anxiety levels up. I told the pdoc that I would try Celexa (if only to try to bring me to some sort of normalcy). But, I will not let anyone (gp or pdoc) convince me that I need to "give the drug a chance" for more than 4 weeks again! Sorry for the long-winded message. I just had to get this off my chest and would be intereted in knowing if others have had experiences like mine.
poster:jujube
thread:390160
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040909/msgs/390160.html