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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by DerrangedAngel on July 10, 2002, at 18:53:08
My name is mandy, right now my friend laura is typing for me because my hands are shaking too badly from effexor xr withdrawl to type. i was taken off zoloft and put on effexor xr when i was put into mental health, my dose gradually increased to 375 and then went back down to 225 mg a day. Also after getting out of mental health i was put on 25 mg of welbutrin a day with the effexor xr. after leaving home because my parents are unstable and unwilling to benifit from the counceling we were receiving i began to wean myself off the antidepressants i never needed in the first place. yay! after weaning i have now been off the meds for two days and am experiencing severe withdrawl symptoms that include:
"jumping nerves"
nausea
stomach aches
dizziness
lightheadedness
blurred vision
shaking (as previously mentioned)
apathy
hot flashes
and just generally feeling like i have the flu from hell, i've actually considered going to the hospital because of it, once again "yay". after doing a bit of research i've found that its illegal to give effexor xr to a minor, which i am. now can i sue theses people who have severely impacted my life for it looks like at least two years, after looking at everyones else's horror stories. you'd think i could sue them and put these people out of business because the mental hospital gave it to me, my psychiatrist kept me on it and now i've been on it for over a year. any support, advice (health or legal) would be greatly appreciated
Posted by oracle on July 10, 2002, at 22:34:38
In reply to 16 yr old put on effexor by quack, posted by DerrangedAngel on July 10, 2002, at 18:53:08
after doing a bit of research i've found that its illegal to give
effexor xr to a minor, which i am.
Sorry, but in the States any doc can give
any drug to any age person. there are no
laws as to age, just reccomendations.
Posted by Bookgurl99 on July 11, 2002, at 8:43:52
In reply to 16 yr old put on effexor by quack, posted by DerrangedAngel on July 10, 2002, at 18:53:08
Mandy,
Did you wean off yourself without consulting a doctor?
I can't give you medical advice, but unless you are a proven threat to yourself, your parents and doctors can't force you to take meds. But what you can do is see the doc and learn how to withdraw safely.
When I came off an AD suddenly after being on it for 2 years, I felt terrible and had severe anxiety, plus nausea and muscle jerks.
Good luck, I hope you can a doctor and counselor that are good at working with you and your family.
bookgurl99
Posted by jane d on July 11, 2002, at 11:31:53
In reply to 16 yr old put on effexor by quack, posted by DerrangedAngel on July 10, 2002, at 18:53:08
Hi Mandy,
If you have read the posts in the archives here, you probably know by now that taking a few doses of Prozac can help with Effexor withdrawal symptoms. This is because each dose of Prozac that you take leaves your body very gradually over many days (has a long half life) compared to Effexor and Paxil which leave very quickly. The withdrawal symptoms are caused by how quickly the amount of medication in your body decreases. So, since Prozac is very similar to Effexor, taking a few doses when you stop taking the Effexor gives your body more time to adjust to the change. This is a good reason to get a doctor's help in stopping the Effexor. If you want a clearer explanation of how this works try searching the archives here on withdrawal or look up "SSRI discontinuation syndrome" someplace like Medline.
Oracle is right that it is not illegal to give Effexor to minors. Many people feel that the decision to use medication is more complicated for minors than for adults. Almost all teens have problems at that age and sometimes they resolve with time or moving away from home. Sometimes they don't. You don't tell us how you decided that you never needed the medication. You may be right, of course, but I wish like anything that I could go back to when I was 16 and take anti depressants. I think my life now would be very different and much better if I had. I'd hate to be a psychiatrist who had to predict which teens fell in which group.
I know that there are a lot of horror stories about various drugs to be found here but there are also accounts from people who have been made much better by the same drugs. They just are a little harder to find because happy people post less often.
I suspect this is not the kind of response that you were looking for. Even if you disagree with everything else I've said please consider getting help with the Effexor withdrawal. It is available and it does work. Don't suffer when you don't have to. Good luck and keep us posted.
Jane
Posted by rin on July 11, 2002, at 11:34:59
In reply to 16 yr old put on effexor by quack, posted by DerrangedAngel on July 10, 2002, at 18:53:08
> My name is mandy, right now my friend laura is typing for me because my hands are shaking too badly from effexor xr withdrawl to type. i was taken off zoloft and put on effexor xr when i was put into mental health, my dose gradually increased to 375 and then went back down to 225 mg a day. Also after getting out of mental health i was put on 25 mg of welbutrin a day with the effexor xr. after leaving home because my parents are unstable and unwilling to benifit from the counceling we were receiving i began to wean myself off the antidepressants i never needed in the first place. yay! after weaning i have now been off the meds for two days and am experiencing severe withdrawl symptoms that include:
> "jumping nerves"
> nausea
> stomach aches
> dizziness
> lightheadedness
> blurred vision
> shaking (as previously mentioned)
> apathy
> hot flashes
> and just generally feeling like i have the flu from hell, i've actually considered going to the hospital because of it, once again "yay". after doing a bit of research i've found that its illegal to give effexor xr to a minor, which i am. now can i sue theses people who have severely impacted my life for it looks like at least two years, after looking at everyones else's horror stories. you'd think i could sue them and put these people out of business because the mental hospital gave it to me, my psychiatrist kept me on it and now i've been on it for over a year. any support, advice (health or legal) would be greatly appreciatedMandy,
You have alot of issues to deal with here....
Just remember that the withdrawls are happening to others as well....not alone.
As for legal, can't help there but you may want to stay close to Laura...friends are a great support through these "dealings"
Good luck kiddo.
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