Posted by mvaureen on May 9, 2001, at 23:52:47
In reply to Re:Intractable Effexor Withdrawl , posted by wiley on September 2, 2000, at 19:22:01
Thanks to all of you who have submitted to this thread, I did not go to the emergency room today. I tapered the dosage, as instructed by my doctor, as I began to take Wellbutrin [I am up to 300 mgs of that]. Sunday, three days ago, I finished my last of the 37.5 mg doses of Effexor. Initially, the Wellbutrin made the trip down on Effexor easier. However, by last week I could hardly notice it working at all. I do believe that I could never have made it down to 37.5 mgs without it, though. I'm not sure that my doctor is up to date on the use of Zoloft or Prozac to assist tapering off of Effexor. My deeply traumatic depression of three years ago is still gone, even though I am experiencing ghastly withdrawal symptoms and have since two days ago when I had been off of Effexor for one day. Oddly, it is only after vomitting that the shock sensations and brain shivers are lessened to a tolerable level. While grateful that I am not in the mental and emotional state I was three years ago when I began Effexor, I had by this year developed an extraordinary lack of motivation, a need for 10-12 hours of sleep per day, a massive weight gain, and a general lethargy. I decided that the drug had sedated me too much for too long. Gone was the depression, but along came the stupor I lived in for two years. I knew that the symptoms of withdrawal were frightening and horrific, as I had missed a few doses over the last few years. I did not know, however, that without the last level of 37.5 mgs in my system, I would experience the symptoms you all have described here. My goal is to find an account of someone who has reported no withdrawal symptoms and find out how long it took for them to reach that state. If any of you know of someone like this, please post it. Like I said, I almost went to the ER tonight because I thought that I might die. Your notes helped me to realize that this might [I hope] be temporary. I have no doses of Effexor left. Strangely, I have no cravings for the drug itself -- only a desperate wish for this agony of withdrawal to be over. Much thanks, Maureen
poster:mvaureen
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010507/msgs/62327.html