Posted by SLS on September 26, 2006, at 14:18:32
In reply to Am I already addicted to Effexor after 3 months?, posted by shelby11 on September 25, 2006, at 19:43:18
This becomes silly after awhile, this addiction thing.
Effexor is what it is.
Should you have the biology that produces a withdrawal syndrome upon discontuation of Effexor, there are strategies to circumvent this phenomenon. This is one of the functions of the Withdrawal board here. The best thing to do is to first try a gradual taper; opening up capsules or getting the smaller tablets to use to be able to take very small doses as needed. You might be able to get off of it within a couple of weeks if you use a flexible-dosing strategy or cross-over to Prozac. Anyway, that's for Withdrawal. Now that you are on it, you might as well cross that bridge when you come to it later. It might make sense to use this drug for as much benefit as it can give you, both in terms of dosage and time.
You could come off of it now. 75mg for 3 months is low and medium-short. If you are a withdrawal-type person, it might be of only moderate intensity, but you probably will get it. If I were in your position, I would not let the withdrawal thing be my decision maker at this point. Notice that I said "I". Since I am not you, I cannot know everything that would go into making a decision regarding the continued use of Effexor. The other SRI drugs have similar withdrawal syndromes if you are a withdrawal-type person. People even have problems with Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. I think the longer you stay on the drug, the better your chances are of staying well once you come off of it. Do some more research and wait for more feedback. Ask your doctor questions. Go for second opinions. This is an important decision to make. As was already pointed out, if you discontinue a drug prematurely and return to it later, it might not work again.
Can you give a little more of your history? It helps to give an impression as to how long you might want to remain on the drug for.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:689186
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060919/msgs/689397.html