Posted by trishagni on January 11, 2004, at 15:38:23
In reply to Effexor Symptoms, posted by sick of being sick on January 4, 2004, at 21:01:22
Hi there,
I too got those symptoms of tremors when i was put on a dose of effexor that i felt was too high for me.
Fortunately, I live in Seattle and have access to Bastyr university's natural health clinic. Bastyr University conducts research on alternaitve medicine. I consulted a naturopathic doctor at the university's clinic who informed me that the tremors were because effexor depletes minerals from the body. I was sent home with mineral supplements and haven't had that horrible experience again.Around a month ago i also began the process of getting off effexor with the help of doctors at the clinic. I started accupunture to help me with the anxiety that i have always felt, that even effexor was unable to help with beyond a point. I feel that effexor helped contain anxiety by dulling me out... the anxiety was gone but then so was positive constructive life energy. I feel that accupuncture has helped me lessen the anxiety without making me feel like a dulled out moronic vegetable. Accupuncture also helped contain the effexor withdrawl symptoms as i went about tapering off effexor. Oooh! i feel so relieved and so reassured that i have placed my trust in a system that is so non intrusive, is millenia old instead of being decades old and helps me work with my body instead of taking it over.
Of course it will be good to check out the credentials of any alternative health practitioner one visits, but after reading the posts here i feel that even 'conventional' medicine is not without its hiccups.
Take care everybody! Hope my post is of help.
> > I started taking 20mg of Sarafem two years ago for my PMDD. It was increased last year to 40mg (same as Prozac). The Sarafem didn't seem to be helping so the doctor's assistant put me on 150mg of Effexor. After about a week I started having electrical shock-like sensations in my head. The sensations were so bad I thought I was having a stroke and went to the hospital. I told the doctors I was on Effexor, but they didn't correlate the two. Was told they couldn't find anything wrong and sent me home.
> I was then taken off of Effexor over a two week period and put on some other drug that only works on your seretonin levels. I was on it for about 3 weeks but still had my original symptoms of PMDD. So the doctor put me back on Effexor starting at 37.5mg for 2 weeks then up to 75mg. I was on the 75mg for 3 weeks and starting having the electrical shock-like sensations in my head, hands and feet again. I started having panic attacks and horrible, realistic, "no body likes me" nightmares. My thoughts started racing and I felt overwhelmed with all the things I needed to do! I felt like I was loosing my mind! I couldn't stop crying, couldn't sleep - but was tired and just felt plain rotten. So I called the doctors and they told me to just STOP taking the Effexor and wanted to see me. But I couldn't drive, so they told me I just had to "wait it out"
>
> It's been six days since I've taken the Effexor and I'm still experiencing these awful syptoms! I went to see the genius doctor yesterday and he said, "Oh you probably have an inner ear infection." I can't seem to get anybody to understand how bad I'm feeling, or how scary these electrical shock-like sensations feel! What should I do?! Don't the doctor's know?!
poster:trishagni
thread:3670
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040109/msgs/299480.html