Posted by Medusa on October 9, 2002, at 23:45:08
In reply to Ravaged wrecked , posted by GABBI X2 on October 9, 2002, at 23:25:52
Girl, glad to hear from you. I've been in that post-Effexor hell. Well, you know all about that.
ECT was the next step the pdocs wanted to take with me, too. Risks include memory loss and I don't know what else, so it's not the first remedy they try. When I found out that it has to be repeated to maintain the effect, there was no way I was going to subject myself to that. I did consider it ... I was in a really, really bad place, and if there was help, I was willing.
I didn't have ECT ... although venlafaxine's half-life is short, it (in my experience) takes a long time for the body to really get rid of it and get back to pre-Effexor state. A few months, even.
I'm no doc, but ... is there any way you can wait this out without adding ECT or anything dramatic? you've just been through hell, you're still in hell, and ... maybe if you need something to calm you down, I dunno. Have you tried "self-hypnosis" exercises? If you can find a therapist who'll teach you how to do this, and if you can get yourself to do it, it might provide a lot of relief while you're riding out the Effexor madness.
Mostly just empathising,
M.
poster:Medusa
thread:30901
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020924/msgs/30995.html