Posted by dancingstar on February 18, 2005, at 14:35:45
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by elka on February 18, 2005, at 12:46:01
Elke,
I do worry about situations like yours when I write the things that I do. It is not that I have not been very sad, at times, myself. It is that I do not believe that these drugs are the answer to anyone's problems. People tend to think that I am insensitive to the plight of people that take antidepressants for depression because I was prescribed Effexor for back pain and a lack of energy -- it backfired, of course, and ultimately caused me more pain and less energy, but this process happened in a very slow way, and I wouldn't have known at all if I had not stopped taking it as I had come to believe that I had severe chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia; that I may not live much longer.
In September I decided to stop taking Effexor, and though I became more ill than I have ever been in my entire lifetime from doing so, I instantly regained my energy; and I can now do all of the things I was unable to do for three years. Two nights ago I took two classes at the gym; one boxing, my favorite as I used to teach kickboxing. And I was able to punch and kick until I was exhausted, go home, and wake up the next day without the debilitating pain and fatigue that I once had and thought had become a permanent part of my life.
I stopped taking Effexor, though, in September of last year, and I still have some residual effects in my nervous and gastrointestinal and possibly cardiovascular systems.
Three jobs...three jobs? Unless you love those jobs, Elke, that isn't an easy thing for anyone to cope with. Our hormones do not make the situation much easier. They become unbalanced quite easily, it is in some ways the nature of being women.
Now, please forgive me for going off the subject for a minute. Something you said struck me in a way that makes me say this, though I almost always keep my personal life to myself: I've been on my own since I was about 15 years old, and I know very well that there are many times and for long periods of time that life can be extremely trying. I've lost absolutely every single person that I've loved; so I know sadness as well as anyone, truly I do, but I do not think that sadness is a good enough reason to risk my health now that I know that these drugs can harm me.
And about sadness...for all people, if they give life a chance, I believe that sadness is fleeting; that if we wait a few weeks, we will feel better -- that is probably the time that antidepressants are said to work -- but there is a possibility that if we take antidepressants, that the sadness can become a permanent part of our lives, that they can damage our bodies in a way that can cause us to be sad, possibly, permanently.
Then there is love...and hope...and passion. Have you ever noticed how happy we are when there is something wonderful to look forward to? How the shadow of darkness lifts and the room is miraculously filled with light?
While I understand the problem, I just cannot tolerate a false "cure." I believe that the public has been sold a bill of goods that is untrue. But "beliefs" are nothing without proof, and I will continue on my journey to prove this to be true beyond any reasonable doubt.
Blessings,
Bebe
poster:dancingstar
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050217/msgs/460006.html