effexor?

[sheshe]

effexor?

Don't forget those "brain zaps"!

[Flip]

effexor?

I've had some brain zaps when I've been 48 hours becuase I've missed a dose... felt really sick too... really awful feeling... like I'm going to throw up and my head is buzzing. Does it get worse than that?

[ducky]

effexor?

I was on it as well and found it quite helpful. However, the withdrawal was tough. I had the brain zaps for almost 6 weeks. I think I would try something else in the future...

[sheshe]

effexor?

Uh - yes, it surely can! I quit cold turkey - the only real side effect I remember were those brain zaps (I'm sure I probably had others, but being on the drugs was so absolutely terrible that I guess they just didn't compare!).

I do remember once when I ran out and missed a dose - ONE dose. I was sitting in the pharmacy and they didn't have enough to fill the script - they asked if I could wait and I told them "No Way" because I felt TERRIBLE (dizzy, nauseous, sweaty, "zappy" - you name it). They gave me 2 pills so that I could make it until they could fill the whole script. I had been on different AD's for years and NEVER experienced anything like that.

[Flip]

effexor?

It works well, no problems as long as I keep taking it. What did it do to you She?

[sheshe]

effexor?

Turned me into an absolute drunken lush and eventually led to a psychotic break where "people" were "chasing" me! There's more, but those are the highlights!:H

[Flip]

effexor?

Dog, that's awful. I can't blame the effexor for my drinking, I was a drunk when I started on them. They were supposed to help. but didn't, of course. i just kept drinking regardless. lol

[sheshe]

effexor?

Well - I too can't completely blame it for my drinking! But I do blame it for cravings for the first time in my life and needing to drink in the MORNING!!!! And every day!!! NEVER, EVER had that before the Effexor. I was just reading a study about that - I'll post a link to it if I can find it again. It has something to do with the rise in serotonin levels causing alcohol cravings. I think I was in the midst of serotonin syndrome and that goes a long way to explaining it all!

BTW - I have been off the meds for almost a year now, am only taking amino acid supps, herbs and vitamins and feel better than I have in YEARS!! I also am on a low carb diet (well, way of life at this point) no sugar, which I think has made a huge difference as well.

[sheshe]

effexor?

Ok - here's a link to a synopsis in easy to read form with some anecdotal stories! ICFDA Alcohol Cravings Induced via Serotonin

Here's a link to the actual study in almost impossible to read scientific language!! :H
Arch Gen Psychiatry -- Abstract: Specificity of ethanollike effects elicited by serotonergic and noradrenergic mechanisms, November 1994, Krystal et al. 51 (11): 898

Hope they work - it's the first time I've tried linking here.

[nancy]

effexor?

I think it may well be that there are side effects. but drugs affect people differently and you may not get the bad side effects. I guess you have to be alert to them. you can't base drug decisions on side effects you hear about anecdotally because that doesn't tell you how common they are. Now if the side effects are shown in clinical trials, that is a different story.

I think the discontinuation issues are more serious. personally, I would not want to take a drug that was hard to come off of. I stopped the anti-depressant Celexa a few months ago with no withdrawal issues, after a quick tapering down, half dose over one week then nothing. Well, i did feel depressed initially and I felt teary more often for a while, but seem to have rebounded. Is there a reason the doctor chose this drug over others? Maybe because it is good for combined anxiety and depression?

[sheshe]

effexor?

Nancy - I agree with you about basing decisions on anecdotal stories only. But there is research out there as well; admittedly much of it is contradictory. Besides, every description you read about these drugs includes phrases like "doctors (or researchers) aren't really sure how they work", "it is thought that", etc. I just don't think that the chemistry of the brain is understood at all at this point. Given that, it's no wonder that some people can go nuts on these things. I'm not denying that some people do just fine, nor that the drugs can help people. But for some it's a nightmare and the simple fact is that the doctors DON'T KNOW WHY! And instead of taking what they're patients say seriously, it's more common for them to prescribe more drugs to combat the negative side effects of the original ones! It can get to the point where people are on a cocktail of numerous psychotropic drugs, each piggy backing off of the other (ask Cap). By that point you're sure you're crazy and ready for the loony bin!

I'm not trying to start a fight here, I just know what happened to me over 8 years of being on several different anti-depressants, finally ending up psychotic and then being put on an anti-psychotic in addition to the Effexor (the side effect of THAT was the inability to breathe, plus WILD mood swings), until I finally said "Enough" and decided to take care of myself.

[sheshe]

effexor?

And before someone thinks I'm some kind of lone ranger I've found one link to this topic on this site:

https://www.mywayout.org/community/t1...hlight=effexor

[me145]

effexor?

Hey you. Effexor is one of the newer antidepressants. I have studied and read all the information you could about antidepressants, because I suffer from depression. Effexor and Cymbalta are in the newer category of antidepressant drugs. The ssri's are bad with withdrawels as it is. effexor and cymbalta? FORGET IT. they have a very short half life. they come out of your body very quickly when you stop them, versus zoloft or prozac which come out slower over a month. So because of this, effexor will cause such bad withdrawel symptoms, physical, and mental such as agitation, suicidal throughts, depression, anxiety, etc, as well as throwing up, fever, etc when you stop them. they have to be slithered when stopping, however peoplestill cannot escape the withdrawel. MOST people. and what happens often is they just have to stay on them for life because it becomes so impossible.... be careful, i would recommend prozac, celexa, lexapro, paxil, or zoloft instead....

[Flip]

effexor?

Thanks for your PM Capricorn, I can't reply as you've blocked emails....I really appreciate your offer!

[CAPRICORN1]

effexor?

I am trying to unblock myself...that sounds bad?! Cap