![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by dotah on June 16, 2000, at 21:15:55
I'm getting kinda scared. I've been taking 150mg (TR) Effexor for more than a year. On those few occasions that I've had (ok mostly through carelessness, I'm also ADD :) to stop taking it for more than a day I've expereinced two serious side effects that are well documented here: Extraordinaril vivid dreams, and light flashes similar to vertigo. These symptoms are real, and the cause is obvious!
My expereince has me frightened because several posters to this board are saying that some symptoms (e.g. the light flashes, leg pain) simply don't go away.So what are we doing to make sure the FDA is checking in and that the drug companies are actively working on this issue?
Posted by claire 7 on June 16, 2000, at 21:52:27
In reply to Effexor withdrwal, what are we doing about it?, posted by dotah on June 16, 2000, at 21:15:55
Though i've had some horrible side effects from Efexor Withdrawal, one thing I welcome is the renewed access to my dreams. I know this is atypical (well, I only know it from this forum, which I trust in these matters, anecdotal or not).
All my life I've had vivid and meaningful dreams, dreams that have enriched my life and have told me a great deal about what's going on with me. Suddenly, during withdrawal, I have begun to dream again, and for the first time I realize my dreaming has been severly curtailed by my drug consumption. (I can't pinpoint which drug, of course. I've been on 8 different AD's in the last few years....I know, hardly a record with this group, but it seems like a lot to me).
All I want to say is that blah blah blah. I don't know what I want to say. Good night.
Best wishes. Think and feel for yourself.
Posted by JohnL on June 17, 2000, at 5:36:00
In reply to Effexor withdrwal, what are we doing about it?, posted by dotah on June 16, 2000, at 21:15:55
> I'm getting kinda scared. I've been taking 150mg (TR) Effexor for more than a year. On those few occasions that I've had (ok mostly through carelessness, I'm also ADD :) to stop taking it for more than a day I've expereinced two serious side effects that are well documented here: Extraordinaril vivid dreams, and light flashes similar to vertigo. These symptoms are real, and the cause is obvious!
> My expereince has me frightened because several posters to this board are saying that some symptoms (e.g. the light flashes, leg pain) simply don't go away.
>
> So what are we doing to make sure the FDA is checking in and that the drug companies are actively working on this issue?Is this an FDA issue? I mean, even common household aspirin has risk. Every drug--OTC or prescrip--has risks. I think the FDA focuses on the ones that clearly have very dangerous risks for a large percentage of people.
Let's face it, the brain is a complex yet fragile organ. Can we really go messing with it with chemicals and stuff and not expect there might be some risk? Like everything else in life, it's a fine balance between risk and benefit. It's up to the patient and the doctor to assess the risks they are willing to accept and deal with. Personal responsibility is very important. We have to remember to take our doses as prescribed, and we have to follow prudent weening schedules when discontinuing a med. Otherwise the risks are increased by negligence.
I never had tinnitus before antidepressant meds. Now I do. It varies in intensity, but never goes away. But it's a risk/benefit factor. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? In my case, yeah. Though I have this moderate ringing in my ear that wasn't there before, I can look forward to a normal undepressed life. The real risk as I see it is not tinnitus or vertigo or light flashes or whatever, but rather death. When depression goes untreated, it almost surely sentences the patient to death row--either by suicide or by a torturous erosion of the soul. You might want to reassess your own risk/benefit scenario and leave the FDA out of it.
It's no secret that Effexor is hard to come off of. Again, risk/benefit. If it caused light flashes with a majority of people, it might be a concern. But even then I doubt the FDA would remove it. At most they would probably want med companies and doctors to be sure patients are aware of that risk. But to put the whole issue in perspective, did you know that aspirin causes more deaths each year than antidepressants? That's right. Deaths. Not light flashes and vertigo and stuff. Actual death. Aspirin. Now that's something to think about. Aspirin also causes ulcers, tinnitus, and a host of other things. Risk/benefit. Personal responsibility for one's own life and one's own actions.
Posted by Theresa Pye on June 17, 2000, at 7:47:38
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrwal, what are we doing about it?, posted by JohnL on June 17, 2000, at 5:36:00
The problem with Effexor vs. aspirin is that the long term side effects of aspirin are known. The long term side effects of Effexor is not known. In 10 or 15 years what kind of problems are people going to have from taking this medication? When I decided to take Effexor, I didn't agree to have leg pain the rest of my life. In addition, the withdrawal syndrome wasn't known about this medication when I first started taking it. I weaned off the med much more slowly than even recommended and still had withdrawal symptoms. I was on the med for 3 years, that were full of the "rare" side effects as reported by the drug company. I wasn't even on a very high dose, the highest dose I was on was 150mg XR.
Theresa Pye
> > I'm getting kinda scared. I've been taking 150mg (TR) Effexor for more than a year. On those few occasions that I've had (ok mostly through carelessness, I'm also ADD :) to stop taking it for more than a day I've expereinced two serious side effects that are well documented here: Extraordinaril vivid dreams, and light flashes similar to vertigo. These symptoms are real, and the cause is obvious!
> > My expereince has me frightened because several posters to this board are saying that some symptoms (e.g. the light flashes, leg pain) simply don't go away.
> >
> > So what are we doing to make sure the FDA is checking in and that the drug companies are actively working on this issue?
>
>
>
> Is this an FDA issue? I mean, even common household aspirin has risk. Every drug--OTC or prescrip--has risks. I think the FDA focuses on the ones that clearly have very dangerous risks for a large percentage of people.
>
> Let's face it, the brain is a complex yet fragile organ. Can we really go messing with it with chemicals and stuff and not expect there might be some risk? Like everything else in life, it's a fine balance between risk and benefit. It's up to the patient and the doctor to assess the risks they are willing to accept and deal with. Personal responsibility is very important. We have to remember to take our doses as prescribed, and we have to follow prudent weening schedules when discontinuing a med. Otherwise the risks are increased by negligence.
>
> I never had tinnitus before antidepressant meds. Now I do. It varies in intensity, but never goes away. But it's a risk/benefit factor. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? In my case, yeah. Though I have this moderate ringing in my ear that wasn't there before, I can look forward to a normal undepressed life. The real risk as I see it is not tinnitus or vertigo or light flashes or whatever, but rather death. When depression goes untreated, it almost surely sentences the patient to death row--either by suicide or by a torturous erosion of the soul. You might want to reassess your own risk/benefit scenario and leave the FDA out of it.
>
> It's no secret that Effexor is hard to come off of. Again, risk/benefit. If it caused light flashes with a majority of people, it might be a concern. But even then I doubt the FDA would remove it. At most they would probably want med companies and doctors to be sure patients are aware of that risk. But to put the whole issue in perspective, did you know that aspirin causes more deaths each year than antidepressants? That's right. Deaths. Not light flashes and vertigo and stuff. Actual death. Aspirin. Now that's something to think about. Aspirin also causes ulcers, tinnitus, and a host of other things. Risk/benefit. Personal responsibility for one's own life and one's own actions.
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.