Posted by dancingstar on February 26, 2006, at 20:03:09
In reply to Re: Suicide on Effexor, posted by Devastated Mother on February 26, 2006, at 18:50:19
Devastated Mother,
Thank you for your kind words. I took Effexor from sometime in approximately 2000 to September of 2004, and it was prescribed by a family practice doctor that has had his license revoked, though that had nothing whatsoever to do with me.
If you look back to late September of 2004 and forward from there on this board, you can see that I was pretty wiped out by the withdrawal from Effexor. I found the link to this site, like most, on Google and shared my thoughts about Effexor and the damage that it does perhaps all too freely at that time. I was so very sick for far too long.
Because I was on a mission that no one else be hurt by Effexor, I posted the FDA link many times, and I think it might be as a result of so many people complaining about the drug that there are now the warnings on the label that there are as they didn't exist when I first took it.
In fact, unfortunately, a good percentage of the prescritpions for Effexor are for minor depression from things like menopause or an injury or even the symptoms of menopause themselves, including hot flashes; and in these cases it is gynecologists, family practitioners, internists, etc. rather than psychs. that are doing the prescribing. Wyeth has been pushing its use instead of hormone replacement therapy and for women that have had breast cancer. Many people, like me, don't have a clue that the reason that they feel so bad is as a side effect of taking a drug that doesn't at all agree with them because the changes in your body come out very slowly.
I truly believe that our reporting these problems has helped cause there were no warnings when I began to take Effexor. I remember asking my doctor at the time outright if there were any side effects, and I was assured that there were none except that some people had some sexual problems when they took it, but the doctor assured me that I would not have even that problem. There were no warnings about any other dangers nor that many -- if not most people cannot stop taking it, ever, without switching to a similar drug, or they would suffer debilitating withdrawal symptoms.
I've worked for nearly two years since I stopped taking E to get my health back to what it once was...but that doesn't compare in the least to what you and Simon have been through. I cannot begin to tell you how horrible I feel that you both have had to go through all that you have if there was any way on earth that this could have been prevented.
I agree with what Simon said about teenagers and their impulsiveness, the lack of awareness about the finality of suicide. Someone needs to really reign in the prescribing of this drug. It is very potent and potentially damaging to too many. ...no matter that some are doing well on it.
Have you read what people have said about Effexor on the online petition? If you click on the numbers, you can read what each person has to say. I believe around 8,000 people have signed it, but I haven't looked lately.
> back pain and fatigue??
>
> dancingstar,
> Your information is amazing and quite sad. How can the same medication help with back pain, fatigue and depression? The ease with which this drug is prescribed is truly incredible. Only your own vigilance saved you. I had already reported to the FDA, but I am not sure how much good it will do. I believe the doctors tried to deceive us on the cause of my son's death by asking what the precipitating factor was, as if we could have known what was in his head. If we had not had further incidents, we might have remained ignorant of the true cause of his death. I am sure Simon joins me in being grateful that this same thing did not happen to you. I wish doctors would be more careful in prescribing this deadly drug. We have heard from people here who have been helped by effexor. I am happy for them. They were fortunate. We were not. Our loved ones paid with their lives for the recklessness of a doctor.
>
> --DM
poster:dancingstar
thread:601406
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060219/msgs/613596.html