Posted by PennyLane on December 16, 2003, at 0:46:39
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
Hey everyone!
I started effexor xr about a month and a half ago. It's been really good for me so far, very effective. I've improved a lot, especially my anxiety although i still suffer from waves of depression - no where as severe as it was before.
My story is a little different from everyone else's experiences, I think. Up until three months ago, I've always been pretty happy. I had my down moments like mostly everyone does but I was satisfied with my life in general. I'm a university student and I experimented with recreational drugs... nothing major, just pot and occassionally mushrooms. So three months ago, I went to my friend's cottage and we all did some shrooms. I had an extremely bad trip and suffered from a severe anxiety attack. i had never had one before so I thought i was going crazy. The world completely changed for me, it was the scariest thing I had ever experienced. it felt like my brain was getting squeezed and just crazy was coming out. And I was scared of everything! I was paralyzed with fear even though there was no logical reason to be afraid. After that night, I vowed never to do anything like that ever again.
But unfortunately it wasn't over. For weeks after, I started getting anxiety attacks. I would walk down the street and this terrible sensation that the world was just different now would wash over me. I started getting chest pains all the time and it became increasingly difficult to be around my roomates. I had trouble going to class because large crowds made me nervous. I stopped eating because everything made me feel nauseous. i couldn't enjoy any of the things I used to like. I was scared to do anything, basically and I just didn't feel like myself. I was trying to keep it together but after a while I just broke down. I had to leave school and go home. I told my parents everything. They're amazing people and they completely supported me through everything. I told my dad all of my symptoms... he suffered from a bout of depression about ten years ago and he said what i was describing was very similar to how he felt. it was so great to have someone understand what I was going through but I was still crying constantly and feeling the lowest of low possible.
I tried st. John's wort for a while but my depression was growing worse... I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, cried constantly. I knew I might need something stronger and I wanted results right away. one night i was lying in bed thinking of ways to commit suicide. it was terrifying but I just wanted to end this pain I was feeling. My whole world had flipped upside down in just one month. I still felt like I was going slowly insane and I was so scared of what the world was turning into. Mornings were the worst. I would wake up crying and wanting to die. I didn't understand what was happening to me. I knew I needed to give antidepressants a try.
I started the effexor xr and noticed the results in about a week, and each week I started feeling better. It took time. The first week I had trouble going to a restaurant with my parents because the crowds of people made me anxious. But three weeks into it, I was able to go back to school and resume my life but it was still extremely hard.
I'm doing a lot better now, but I still find some things hard... I thought i would get increasingly better but I've been on the same level for a few weeks now. I'm wondering if maybe I should up my dosage? I'm on the 75 mg dosage now. I've never taken any drugs like this before so I'm not certain how it all works. I just want to feel like me again, and I'm having difficulty enjoying all the same activities I used to. And I used to have big dreams and now I feel like they're not important anymore and that makes me feel bad. I've tried to talk to a counselor but I didn't find that very effective. Just looking for advice from people with experience! I'd appreciate any advice, thanks so much!
poster:PennyLane
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031213/msgs/290361.html