![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Joey on October 29, 2001, at 18:32:19
I've now written this message twice because I got disconnected, so I'm going to cut to the chase:
1. I'm a twenty-six year old male.
2. My first psychiatrist diagnosed me with depression, due to my complaints about my attraction to alcohol, impulsivity, and my consistency in making small, stupid mistakes, and put me on 75 mg a day of Effexor.
3. I took this dose of Effexor for two years.
4. I saw a psychotherapist and completely stopped drinking (it's been a year and a half).
5. I complained to a new psychiatrist about a year ago about my lingering impulsivity, my being tired all of the time, and my seemingly inability to see reality. This has been normal throughout my whole life. I thought I needed more Effexor, he agreed, and so I went up to 150 mg for another year.
6. A month ago I began to do research into ADD. Made more sense than depression diagnosis. So, I consulted with a new psychiatrist.
7. She diagnoses me with ADD and tapers me off of Effexor. As suggested, I go down to 75 mg for three days, then take first dose of Wellbutrin SR, 150 mg, once a day for four days, then go up to 300 mg twice a day permanently.
8. Withdrawl from Effexor awful, especially when taking Wellbutrin. Extremely dizzy (electric impulses), sick to my stomach, moody, and attracted again alcohol or anything to make my symptoms better.
9. I decide to refuse to take more Wellbutrin. She then puts me on Adderall, a stimulant. Adderall, at a final 20 mg a day, does wonders for my attentional, daydreaming, and insatiability problems, but the withdrawl from Effexor still too much.
10. So, I keep sneaking in 50 mg of Effexor to get rid of the withdrawl symptoms but finally threw them away about nine days ago. Yesterday morning, though, I decide to start taking Wellbutrin again because the symptoms are so bad. It made it worse! Yesterday morning and today I'm extremely moody, dizzy, and a bit nauseous.
11. I threw the rest of my Wellbutrin away.I've decided that if I'm going to come off of Effexor, I'm just going to have to put up with the withdrawl symptoms. But how long is this going to take? I'm afraid of going nuts or something. And how will I know whether these are withdrawl symptoms and not just the fact that I really am depressed enough to need to be on them?
Any knowledge, advice, or suggestions will be appreciated. I did read one of the messages, which suggested small amounts of Prozac to treat the symptoms, but I don't want to take any more anti-deppressants.
Thanks a lot to those who read and responded to this messsage.
Posted by MB on October 31, 2001, at 13:43:31
In reply to ADD Diagnosis_EffexorWithdrawl_Wellbutrin Bad_ARG!, posted by Joey on October 29, 2001, at 18:32:19
That's cool that the Adderall is helping. I hate Effexor withdrawal...I think it's got the worst withdrawal than any of the other antidepressants I've tried...but it *does* eventually go away. Why was it that you refused to continue on the Wellbutrin...I mean, was it making you sick, anxious, etc? Your history sounds a lot like mine. I have a bad habit of tossing my meds down the toilet. They make me feel so rotton, that I promise never to take them again, then the withdrawal is so bad that I take a dose...then I feel like crap again from the medicine and I promise to quit. finally I just flush them down the toilet and force myself into withdrawal. I, too, had an alcohol problem. Right now I'm not on any meds. Eventually the withdrawal stopped and I feel better than I did on medication. That's wonderful that you've found the Adderall helpful. Just wait and the withdrawal effects of the Effexor should go away soon (I know it's easier said than done).
Posted by Joey on November 1, 2001, at 1:34:43
In reply to Re: ADD Diagnosis_EffexorWithdrawl_Wellbutrin Bad_ARG! » MB, posted by Joey on November 1, 2001, at 1:31:10
> > MB: I'm glad to hear that someone turned out okay and was able to withdraw from Effexor eventually. I've been okay. Still dizzy (Dramimine has helped a bit), and I'm feeling a bit anxious again. I don't know if it's the Adderall or the withdrawl symptoms. I think a little of both. So, you say you're feeling better. That's really good. Glad you finally got resolute about it. Mixing drugs or taking them off and on really does seem to exacerbate the withdrawl. So, how long have you been off of Effexor? Why did you decide to stop taking it anyway? Or did your psyc recommend it? How did you even know that your side effects were disappearing? Were they that noticeable to you, too? Sorry so many questions. You certainly don't have to answer them, of course. I've just become an expert at paying attention to the way drugs affect us over time. It's so weird--like, I heard taking Effexor over a long period of time will "train" or "re-train" the brain how to react to other chemicals or interceptors. I guess only time will tell for us now! Well, hope to hear from you again.
> That's cool that the Adderall is helping. I hate Effexor withdrawal...I think it's got the worst withdrawal than any of the other antidepressants I've tried...but it *does* eventually go away. Why was it that you refused to continue on the Wellbutrin...I mean, was it making you sick, anxious, etc? Your history sounds a lot like mine. I have a bad habit of tossing my meds down the toilet. They make me feel so rotton, that I promise never to take them again, then the withdrawal is so bad that I take a dose...then I feel like crap again from the medicine and I promise to quit. finally I just flush them down the toilet and force myself into withdrawal. I, too, had an alcohol problem. Right now I'm not on any meds. Eventually the withdrawal stopped and I feel better than I did on medication. That's wonderful that you've found the Adderall helpful. Just wait and the withdrawal effects of the Effexor should go away soon (I know it's easier said than done).
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.