Well, I have successfully made it through the first step down (75mg XR to 25mg twice per day). About 2:00p yesterday, the headache and other symptoms seemed to weaken, then disapear. Successfully drove to dinner, with my husband in the car, and actually had an appetite. Slept well last night, other than some very weird dreams, and very much feel human today. Still not very hungry, but the headache and other symptoms are gone. We are going to wait probably until the first weekend in October to step again. I have friends coming in to town this weekend, so I don't want to step again just yet.
The only two symptoms that are seeming to stick with me are a little pain in my ears and tingling feet.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
First Three Days
So I started going down on Sunday. Since I was on 75 mg XR, I have gone to taking 25mg twice a day. The drug instructions say do this for 2 weeks, then go down to 25 mg per day for two weeks, then no more. We will see. From my previous attempts, I also have some 37.5 mg tabs around, so I may go to those between 50mg and 25mg in a 24 hour period.
Sunday:
Was great - felt on top of the world. I had energy to burn (scrubbed the whole house, top to bottom) while watching football and movies. Sex drive is higher than it has been in years! Had some trouble getting to sleep Sunday night, and then was up for a good chunk of the night with a horrible headache and nausea. It had begun. Only slept 4 hours total.
Monday:
Slept in a bit (luckily work is flexible and only 10 minutes drive away). Headache still present, nausea is very intense, and I threw-up once before noon. About 10am, the "brain-zaps" and vertigo started. My fingers feel like there are pins in them, and my chair feels like it is flying around the room once an hour. Thank god my new workplace has offices and very little interaction with others. My mind is cutting off sentences, and I can't complete a conversation about dinner with my husband. Thankfully he is amazing, and supportive, and with me all the way. I try to move around a bit, but the headache gets too intense, and I vomit again. Then the diarrhea. I drank 100 ounces of water to stave off dehydration. I make it to the end of the work day, but my husband has to come pick me up from work. I don't feel safe driving.
We ate dinner, and after a benedryl and 3 advil, I am starting to feel human. My husband helps me up and down, because the vertigo is so bad. After a while, we go to pick up my car from work. BAD IDEA. Almost wreck a few times in the 2 miles home, no reaction time, fuzzy brain, and difficultly focusing my eyes, on top of the zaps. Called a friend to arrange a ride home from work tomorrow - sure a hell am not driving - but can't express whole thoughts, my husband finishes the conversation. What would I do without him?
Exhausted by 9:30p, and my husband helps me get to bed. I try and fall asleep, but the headache is so intense and the nausea is so bad. I have my first crying storm and want to give up. My husband holds me until I fall asleep.
Tuesday:
So far my thoughts are coming together a little better. The headache is still very intense - 3 advil isn't touching it. The nausea comes and goes, but seems worse when I am nearing an eating time. Zero appetite, nothing sounds good to eat. Brain zaps are a little less frequent than yesterday, but finger tingling continues as I type, and my legs go numb and then "wake-up" tingle often, cyclically. My husband calls hourly between classes to check on me, and assures me that we can get through this. He will move up the timeline on having the baby if I do (HUGE MOTIVATION!!) (Post ends mid-day)
Sunday:
Was great - felt on top of the world. I had energy to burn (scrubbed the whole house, top to bottom) while watching football and movies. Sex drive is higher than it has been in years! Had some trouble getting to sleep Sunday night, and then was up for a good chunk of the night with a horrible headache and nausea. It had begun. Only slept 4 hours total.
Monday:
Slept in a bit (luckily work is flexible and only 10 minutes drive away). Headache still present, nausea is very intense, and I threw-up once before noon. About 10am, the "brain-zaps" and vertigo started. My fingers feel like there are pins in them, and my chair feels like it is flying around the room once an hour. Thank god my new workplace has offices and very little interaction with others. My mind is cutting off sentences, and I can't complete a conversation about dinner with my husband. Thankfully he is amazing, and supportive, and with me all the way. I try to move around a bit, but the headache gets too intense, and I vomit again. Then the diarrhea. I drank 100 ounces of water to stave off dehydration. I make it to the end of the work day, but my husband has to come pick me up from work. I don't feel safe driving.
We ate dinner, and after a benedryl and 3 advil, I am starting to feel human. My husband helps me up and down, because the vertigo is so bad. After a while, we go to pick up my car from work. BAD IDEA. Almost wreck a few times in the 2 miles home, no reaction time, fuzzy brain, and difficultly focusing my eyes, on top of the zaps. Called a friend to arrange a ride home from work tomorrow - sure a hell am not driving - but can't express whole thoughts, my husband finishes the conversation. What would I do without him?
Exhausted by 9:30p, and my husband helps me get to bed. I try and fall asleep, but the headache is so intense and the nausea is so bad. I have my first crying storm and want to give up. My husband holds me until I fall asleep.
Tuesday:
So far my thoughts are coming together a little better. The headache is still very intense - 3 advil isn't touching it. The nausea comes and goes, but seems worse when I am nearing an eating time. Zero appetite, nothing sounds good to eat. Brain zaps are a little less frequent than yesterday, but finger tingling continues as I type, and my legs go numb and then "wake-up" tingle often, cyclically. My husband calls hourly between classes to check on me, and assures me that we can get through this. He will move up the timeline on having the baby if I do (HUGE MOTIVATION!!) (Post ends mid-day)
Why blog about hell
I want my first post to be a little about me and why I am writing this blog.
Goal: Through sharing my experiences of "Effexor Discontinuation Syndrome" and comments of support or questions on the site, I am hoping to get through this.
I have been on Effexor XR for 5 years. I started at 150mg, and jumped last summer to 225mg. Over the course of the past year I have tapered successfully down to 75 mg, without horrible effects, and have attempted unsuccessfully twice to get off the drug.
Last week, after a plague of bad health culminating in over a dozen blood tests and doctors throwing around words like cancer, lupus, auto-immune, but with no abnormal test results... I have decided (after much research) that the most likely cause is this damned drug.
I am a young female engineer, and recently married. My husband I would like to start our family soon, which is by far my largest motivation for getting off this stuff. The marriage and a small amount of counseling has gotten my major depression under control. A new job has seriously lowered my stress level enough to not need the pills. Now I just have to get through the end of the road and be free...
I want to list some of my "on-drug" symptoms they we are fairly sure is attributed to the effexor, so that if any others are concerned about the same things, they may know where they are coming from - I will try and continue blogging after getting off of effexor to ensure a record of if these symptoms did disapreer.
1) Itching - rashes: For the entirety of my effexor tenure, every night, like clockwork - itching in my legs and back side. These sometimes manifest into rash and petechiael bruising under the skin, and have worsened over time. The is exacerbated by a hot shower or bath.
2) Weight Gain: When I started on effexor, I was 5'10" and 160 lbs. Very health, and 19 years old. I exercise mild-to-moderately daily, for 30-90 minutes. I eat fairly healthy (but who can resist McD's fries? occasionally) and come from a very tall slender family. I am now 210 lbs. I will also put out there that this may be combined with effects from my birth control. I can diet, exercise constantly, and while I gain muscle tone, I do not lose a pound. My husband has tracked my eating and exercising with me (just because I thought I was going insane) and has seen the same.
3) Weakened Immune system: Over the past 2 years in particular - (raised dosages and discontinuation attempts) my Immune system has gone to crap. 4 ER visits with severe Influenza (yes I got the flu shot!), broncitus, and "sinus infections" every month like clock-work. I wash my hands, sit in a cube or office with a HEPA filter, spray antibacterial spray religiously... no dice. I had so much missed time in my last job that they considered getting rid of me at one point. I made up the time on my weekends and evenings, which only made me more sick. I have spent hundreds on antibiotics and still felt 60 years old. (Just for anyone counting, I turn 24 this week). Not only that, every bug that went around work, I would get without fail, and would have for twice as long.
4) False Positives (hopefully) on Allergy Tests: My research shows that this is an effexor peculiarity and I plan on checking these results about 6-8 months after being effexor free. Because of #3, we did allergy tests to try and find the immune weakener. I showed up as allergic to all meats. Yes, all of them, beef, pork, poultry, fish, and crustaceans. Now, if I really was allergic to something common in all of those, I would be allergic to myself... (Humans are mammals after all, and have common protein strands with all of the above). I have eaten meat all of my life, and under doctor suggestion, became a strict vegetarian. (Not easy for someone with mild anemia who lives in Colorado - where you need good blood to breath). After 5 months of being a vegetarian, my IBS symptoms that were 'cured' have returned, and all it seems to have changed with respect to everything else is that I am now more than mildly anemic and Iron deficient.
5) IBS - worsened the entirety of my effexor tenure. Only kept in check by daily DanActive yogurts and ... well it is really not in check.
So, after all of that I have embarked on this hellish journey to get off this drug. Yes it helped the depression, but what good does that do me if I can't get off without hurting myself?
Goal: Through sharing my experiences of "Effexor Discontinuation Syndrome" and comments of support or questions on the site, I am hoping to get through this.
I have been on Effexor XR for 5 years. I started at 150mg, and jumped last summer to 225mg. Over the course of the past year I have tapered successfully down to 75 mg, without horrible effects, and have attempted unsuccessfully twice to get off the drug.
Last week, after a plague of bad health culminating in over a dozen blood tests and doctors throwing around words like cancer, lupus, auto-immune, but with no abnormal test results... I have decided (after much research) that the most likely cause is this damned drug.
I am a young female engineer, and recently married. My husband I would like to start our family soon, which is by far my largest motivation for getting off this stuff. The marriage and a small amount of counseling has gotten my major depression under control. A new job has seriously lowered my stress level enough to not need the pills. Now I just have to get through the end of the road and be free...
I want to list some of my "on-drug" symptoms they we are fairly sure is attributed to the effexor, so that if any others are concerned about the same things, they may know where they are coming from - I will try and continue blogging after getting off of effexor to ensure a record of if these symptoms did disapreer.
1) Itching - rashes: For the entirety of my effexor tenure, every night, like clockwork - itching in my legs and back side. These sometimes manifest into rash and petechiael bruising under the skin, and have worsened over time. The is exacerbated by a hot shower or bath.
2) Weight Gain: When I started on effexor, I was 5'10" and 160 lbs. Very health, and 19 years old. I exercise mild-to-moderately daily, for 30-90 minutes. I eat fairly healthy (but who can resist McD's fries? occasionally) and come from a very tall slender family. I am now 210 lbs. I will also put out there that this may be combined with effects from my birth control. I can diet, exercise constantly, and while I gain muscle tone, I do not lose a pound. My husband has tracked my eating and exercising with me (just because I thought I was going insane) and has seen the same.
3) Weakened Immune system: Over the past 2 years in particular - (raised dosages and discontinuation attempts) my Immune system has gone to crap. 4 ER visits with severe Influenza (yes I got the flu shot!), broncitus, and "sinus infections" every month like clock-work. I wash my hands, sit in a cube or office with a HEPA filter, spray antibacterial spray religiously... no dice. I had so much missed time in my last job that they considered getting rid of me at one point. I made up the time on my weekends and evenings, which only made me more sick. I have spent hundreds on antibiotics and still felt 60 years old. (Just for anyone counting, I turn 24 this week). Not only that, every bug that went around work, I would get without fail, and would have for twice as long.
4) False Positives (hopefully) on Allergy Tests: My research shows that this is an effexor peculiarity and I plan on checking these results about 6-8 months after being effexor free. Because of #3, we did allergy tests to try and find the immune weakener. I showed up as allergic to all meats. Yes, all of them, beef, pork, poultry, fish, and crustaceans. Now, if I really was allergic to something common in all of those, I would be allergic to myself... (Humans are mammals after all, and have common protein strands with all of the above). I have eaten meat all of my life, and under doctor suggestion, became a strict vegetarian. (Not easy for someone with mild anemia who lives in Colorado - where you need good blood to breath). After 5 months of being a vegetarian, my IBS symptoms that were 'cured' have returned, and all it seems to have changed with respect to everything else is that I am now more than mildly anemic and Iron deficient.
5) IBS - worsened the entirety of my effexor tenure. Only kept in check by daily DanActive yogurts and ... well it is really not in check.
So, after all of that I have embarked on this hellish journey to get off this drug. Yes it helped the depression, but what good does that do me if I can't get off without hurting myself?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
