Posted by dancingstar on December 30, 2004, at 13:33:46
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR...yes.(long), posted by FaithT on December 30, 2004, at 7:38:59
Hi Faith,
I am really sorry to hear that you have had such serious health problems at what should be the happiest time of your life, and my prayers are with you.
There are times when Effexor might be the right drug for some people. I have to wonder, though, why so many of us could possibly be allowed to take it on a whim? Why are internists and gynos handing this stuff out like candy in lieu of hormones as being a safer alternative when we know that it isn't the least bit safer?
In a case like yours, it seems as though you are missing something in your own body that E might honestly help you to replace. In someone like me, the drug itself literally put me to sleep and in pain for an entire three years. I would sleep for maybe -- oh, I don't know. Let's change that. I couldn't stay awake more than maybe 6 hours a day. Really. I can't believe what it feels like to be pain free and healthy again, except for my stomach, but essentially I'm fine. Last night I got out of bed to do some work at 4:30 in the morning, something I never could have done before.
My life is in a bit of shambles, though, because I let so much go fo so long and need to take care of it all now. Without a pdoctor no one was there to analyze whether this was truly the right choice or a potentially harmful drug, and the side effects went unnoticed because I had no idea that they even existed, even though I saw my internist regularly because I certainly knew that something was very wrong. No one could tell me what it was wrong, nothing showed up in my bloodwork, and I just thought I was getting old and probably wouldn't live.
I understand why you need Effexor and why others in a similar situation should have access to it, just like morphine or demerol, but I still feel that its use needs to be limited to prevent doctors from prescribing it to people like me. Right now it seems like the medical community, for the most part, thinks that Effexor is a perfectly safe drug that causes no harm whatsoever. They do not even realize that it causes weight gain. If they do, they don't really acknowledge it. The very serious side effects and withdrawal syndrome need to be brought into the spotlight and the use of Effexor needs to be restricted to use under special circumstances or by certain types of physicians. I feel very strongly about this. If Wyeth has such a big problem with this, then let them own up to the problems with Effexor and come up with blood test to find out who the drug is right for and who isn't. That will solve all of the problems. They even do that before people have collagen injections. I don't think that I'm out of line. I'm trying to spare millions of others from a lot of pain. The right people will still get the drug that they need.
God bless you and keep you safe...and happy!
Bebe
poster:dancingstar
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041228/msgs/435727.html