Posted by Elizabeth on November 30, 2001, at 0:58:40
In reply to opening up effexor xr pills?, posted by keri on November 28, 2001, at 13:31:20
> I read in one of the posts that someone was opening up their effexor xr capsules and removing some of the little tiny balls inside. Does anyone know anything about this?
Sure. It'll still be Effexor, but not XR. You might find you need to take it several times a day as a result, but that might be worth it to avoid withdrawal symptoms. If I were doing this, I'd start out by figuring out how many times a day I would need to take it (without changing the dose). Otherwise, there is a possibility of withdrawal symptoms over the course of the day.(Venlafaxine is a pretty short-acting drug; there's a good reason they make a controlled-release formulation.)
> PCP is pretty much worthless. The only reason I went there was to help get on a med because my therapist couldn't prescribe it.
Sounds like you need a referral to a psychiatrist. (A non-physician therapist shouldn't be telling a doctor what to prescribe, BTW. You probably know that of course.)
> Now, this PCP, who barely knows my name doesn't want to take me off this med entirely (I think it has something to do with the drug company they support).
No, it has to do with avoiding withdrawal symptoms. I understand your cynicism, but in this case it's probably uncalled for.
> Anyhow, I want to wean myself off of it. I know not to go cold turkey because the effects of that could be really bad.
Well...it won't kill you. It might be pretty unpleasant for a while, though.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:85413
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85590.html