Posted by LynnPerley on July 10, 2002, at 20:52:52
In reply to Scary!, posted by Mykidsmom on July 10, 2002, at 10:47:17
Your problem wasn't necessarily a bad drug or bad dosage, it was a sudden stopping when you did not refill the prescription. The pharmacy information you got with your prescription certainly advised, and your doctor should have also, that you cannot suddenly stop taking Effexor XR without risking withdrawal symptoms like you described. I forgot to take my dose once and within 14 hours I started feeling bad, and by 18 hours I had an incapacitating headache. Effexor has a very short half life, in other words, your body does not store it for a long time like it does Paxil, Prozac, or other drugs.
Next time make sure you don't run out of it. If its due to insurance hassles tell your doc and they should have samples to tide you over between refills. It does not mean the drug will not work for you. When you do stop taking it with your doctor's approval, he/she will put you on a gradual decreased dosage to minimize the risk of these effects. You may have adverse effects despite tapering off slowly.
poster:LynnPerley
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020709/msgs/111975.html