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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 jimmyone on June 17, 2005, at 14:34:48
In reply to Re: effexor withdrawal symptoms, posted by tal on June 17, 2005, at 14:17:29
> hi,
>
> I ran out of effexor a few days ago & cannot get a refill until I see my doctor NEXT WEEK! I thought I was coming down with the flu the past two days..after reading the messages on this site, now I KNOW it is withdrawl!! I am dizzy, hot, cold, tired, nausious..in fact turning on my computer was a major undertaking. How long does this last?Good afternoon
Unfortunately this lasts until a couple hours after your next dose. My nightmares/sweeting got worse as the days went on. You should try calling another doctor for a few doses to get you through. All the doctors I spoke with showed concern for stopping the medication, and advised that I go to the hospital
Posted by apenname on June 17, 2005, at 14:56:12
In reply to Re: effexor withdrawal symptoms, posted by jimmyone on June 17, 2005, at 14:34:48
Two ways to get extended medication:
1) Some pharmacies, especially if you have filled your prescription before with them and have your prescription bottle in hand can give you small amounts of "holdover" medicine
2) I'm surprised your doctor cannot phone in the prescription to the pharmacy. Effexor should never be discountinued suddenly from what I understand of the pamphlet.Worst case: walk in medical center or hospital.
See if you can find someone else to help you get this sorted out (someone who can drive or make phone calls and deal with beaurocracy while you have withdrawal symptoms).Good luck! In my slow withdrawal experience (still going through it), if I had to go through what you were going through and weren't able to get any medicine, I would do my best to just sleep and sleep and sleep it off and stay as positive as possible to fend off anxiety.
Posted by tal on June 18, 2005, at 22:14:34
In reply to Re: effexor withdrawal symptoms, posted by apenname on June 17, 2005, at 14:56:12
Thank you for your suggestions for my withdrawal. I did manage to get some 'hold over pills'. I am SO THANKFULL that I lucked onto this site...it was a total fluke :)
Now, I am really angry with my Dr. He never told me that getting off Effexor would be so brutal!
So, now how do I stop this drug? It sounds like even if I taper off, I will still go through withdrawal?! Is there a good alternative I can switch to & then taper off of it & not suffer through these horrible withdrawal syptoms? How do I get this info? Shouldn't my Dr have a long-term plan in place so that I am not on this medication my whole life?
Posted by apenname on June 19, 2005, at 17:15:47
In reply to Re: effexor withdrawal symptoms, posted by tal on June 18, 2005, at 22:14:34
> Thank you for your suggestions for my withdrawal. I did manage to get some 'hold over pills'. I am SO THANKFULL that I lucked onto this site...it was a total fluke :)
> Now, I am really angry with my Dr. He never told me that getting off Effexor would be so brutal!Don't forget that results may vary. I do not know how many people "out there" have perfectly fine withdrawals, and thus do not come online to talk about it.
> So, now how do I stop this drug? It sounds like even if I taper off, I will still go through withdrawal?! Is there a good alternative I can switch to & then taper off of it & not suffer through these horrible withdrawal syptoms? How do I get this info? Shouldn't my Dr have a long-term plan in place so that I am not on this medication my whole life?
All good questions that your Dr. should theoretically be able to help you answer. If your doctor isn't helping, maybe you can seek out another one? A pharma-psychiatrist? (a psychiatrist who's specialized in medication and is often a lot more in touch with the latest research - I've seen one and had a good experience).
Tapering: The prescribing information that you can download from effexor.com says: " In clinical trials with Effexor XR, tapering was achieved by reducing the daily dose by
75 mg at 1 week intervals. Individualization of tapering may be necessary. " My pyschiatrist (a new one - I had to find one after moving) had me go down 75 mg every 3 weeks. I told him I'd prefer to drop more gradually, and went down 37.5 mg every 1.5 weeks. He gave me sample packs so I'd have the smaller doses, and I wrote up a schedule ahead of time of exactly what doses to take in case I got sick and had trouble keeping track. But again, this may vary, and you should consult your doctor.I've read here that other posters have had success with small doses of Prozac to help ease the withdrawal. In my previous experience, I was slowly ramping up Lexapro while ramping down Effexor XR.
Maybe I've been lucky, but I've tried Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, and Effexor XR, and had no problems worse than depression with the Zoloft (even though it worked great for my brother -- we are all different- so much for genetics), and the dizziness & high bp with Effexor.
As for being on medication long term, that's an entirely different question. Since starting been treated for depression 7 years ago, the psychiatrist and I had come to the conclusion that I would have to be on medication for the long term, and that's fine. That the benefits would outweigh the risks, although we revisit this question every couple of years, and I'm in therapy as well. There are a lot of different factors that go into answering this question, and don't be afraid to try and find a new doctor to help you answer these questions. Your current doctor may be able to write you a reference. I've been to 3 different psychiatrists and they've all been good about transferring information to the new doctors, etc. Check the non-withdrawal forums for more ideas.
In my case, I am going to try and see if I can fend off the depression and anxiety after everything I've learned in therapy (and hopefully have lower blood pressure and then be able to get pregnant as well), but I'm prepared to try a different medication if it doesn't work.
Just a note, in my own case, I've been slowly taking 18.5 mg 2 to 4 hours later every day (waiting until the diziness kicks in, with a capsule with reduced dose in a box with me in case I need it), and have gotten to almost 2 days without any Effexor and am doing much better. There's hope, but I have to keep reminding myself to have patience!
Good luck!
Posted by rabble_rouser on June 25, 2005, at 21:27:41
In reply to Re: effexor withdrawal symptoms, posted by apenname on June 17, 2005, at 14:56:12
if you actually want some advice on how to come off effexor without any side effects, read my post " effexor side effects and withdrawal- this might help"
the combo of vits im taking has ELIMINATED ALL THE SIDE EFFECTS EFFEXOR HAS TO OFFER WHEN IN THE PAST I GOT THEM ALL. I am not an employee of wyeth. i do not sell vitamins for a living. if you want to ignore my advice then go for it - but you are missing relief from pain you needn't experience.
rabble rouser
This is the end of the thread.
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