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From: Mrs. D - My Story
Date: 23/09/03
Time: 08:00:55
Remote Name: 64.12.96.135
Hello, this is my story that I posted last January. I took my last Effexor XR (37.5 mg) on 2/28/03 and I STILL have major anxiety and those awful brain zaps/shivers. I don't know if they will ever go away. Anyway, here is my story from when I began my wean off of Effexor XR. Feel free to email me [email protected] *********************************************** WITHDRAWAL HELL FROM EFFEXOR XR & ME From: Ms. D Date: 31/01/03 Time: 00:31:36 Remote Name: 205.188.209.20 Comments I really do feel for you, M. For years, I had chronic fatigue syndrome and headaches on a daily basis, ranging from slight to "can't be still" kind of pain in my head, along with had chronic neck pain. After much testing to see if there was any abnormalities in my brain/head (MRI, Mylogram, Xrays, etc)it was determined that I had two ruptured disks in my neck, C5 and C6 vertibrae. I had surgery to remove them, with bone plugs inserted and held by instrumentation. The surgery did elliviate the numbness in both arms and hand that I experienced before surgery, but did nothing for my headaches (which is why I had the surgery to begin with)! I was on all sorts of pain meds from many doctors in my search to find relief of any kind. I was so weary with the pain, day in and day out, my head pounded, my pre-surgey neck pain continued and both shoulders and all surrounding muscles burned CONSTANTLY, with NO let up. After years and years of this hell, I was so depressed, I did not want to live anymore, if it meant spending my whole life in pain. Nobody but the Lord and I know how "at the end" I was, I mean suicidal. I went to a new internal medicine doctor, and after listening to me, through my tears. he detected that I was very depressed. I cried almost the entire time I was there. He referred me to a psychiatrist. I went and he immediately prescribed Effexor XR for me. I began on 37.5 mg per day and increased it (building up to it by slowly increasing the dose). I was a bit better, after building up to around 500 mg. per day (HIGH DOSE)!. However, I was still on all of the pain meds for my headaches and neck/shoulder pain) that I grew weary and despondent and more depressed as time went on. I was like a dead woman walking around. I disassociated myself from everyone, my friends and my family. When Christmas came, I could not wait for it to be over, so I could go back to my quietness of my living room on the sofa and be left alone. I begin to beg God to just let me die.I cried constantly, at home and at work. Most times, I could not stop crying once I started. I was angry that I had to be alive at all. Then all of a sudden I remembered a different psychiatrist (a Christian and here in town)that I used to listen to on talk radio in the late 80'S and early 90's. so as a last ditch stand, I made an appt. with him. As he read my chart he just said, "You don't feel very good, do you?" He began to wean me one by one, from all of the many pain pills I had been taking for years. I went through withdrawal HELL for about a month. I had to get to know ME again, as I was pain-med free. Also, he had decreased my Effexor XR from that high dose, down to 300 mg a day, which I am currently on. I felt great for the first month. People at work even stopped me to comment on how different I looked. Then slowly, those "shock-like electrical sensations" began firing off in my brain and became extremely bothersome and annoying to the point that they were almost constant. I had read about these on the Effexor XR insert that came with the medication. So I immediately knew what it was. Also, I had very dry mouth, to the point to where I had to carry a bottled water with me everywhere, lest I could not talk. My mouth and throat became that dry. Additionally, my chin and hairline broke out in small red water-blister looking bumps. I have never had pimples or bumps on my face in my life, except for the occasional ones most get from too much chocolate or something. With these red ones that I was getting, I would get up each morning and there were fresh, new ones. The ones from the day before had formed scabs. I mentioned this to my psychiatrist (as I was still seeing him on a monthly basis for med evaluation). He believed it might be the Effexor XR, so he began to wean me off of it slowly, by decreasing the 300 mg dose down to 150 mg in a.m. and 75 mg in p.m. for a few days, then decreasing it by 37.5 mg every few days. Let me tell you, it was HORRIBLE. I can't put into words all of the symptoms I had while trying to discontinue Effexor XR. I had a headache that nothing I took helped.(ibuprophen, tylenol), at one point, the pain was so bad, I almost had someone take me to the hospital. I also experienced major anxiety, fatigue, ached all over, felt feverish, but no temp. I had upset stomach, flu-like symptoms that ranged from bad pain all over my body, every joint was screaming in pain, uncontrollable crying, sad, depressed, no appetite, anger, bad lags in memory. I can't explain it all, it was too horrible. So, I took a 37.5 mg. Effexor XR and felt no different. I took another 37.5 mg and still no change, another one, and a fourth. At that point I got a little relief from all of the symptoms, except the headache and chronic fatigue. Nothing I did would allleviate those two things. I called my doctor early one morning and went to see him. I was severely dehydrated, my pulse was 116 beats per minute, my blood pressure was high (it had always been low, all my life, prior to taking Effexor XR) I felt short-winded, like a ball was in the pit of my stomach. I thought I was losing it, I really did. I felt like a someone had beaten me up and thrown me under one of those steam rollers, which had run over me, time after time. I could NOT stop crying from the pain and the fact the I thought my chronic fatigue syndrome was back. My doctor started me back on Effexor XR again, because we thought the chronic fatigue was back. It was my choice to go back on it, I could not live with the achiness anymore (and all of the other discontinuation effects). At this point I had been Effexor free for 1 complete week. I began taking 37.5 mg again and building back up to 350 mg per day. He had taken me off of Zonegran (which is an anti-seizure med and Lexapro (anti-depressant, which for me, did nothing). I have been back on the Effexor XR 350 mg a day for the past weeek. For the most part, I am pain free, except for my headche and knees. THEN, last night, I went snooping on the internet for withdrawal effects of Effexor XR. I found that one of the main symptoms is that people got achy and had headaches. I called Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, a division of American Home Products Corporation that makes Effexor XR and spoke to a pharmacist for Wyeth. She told me that all of the symptoms that I was experiencing when I got off of Effexor XR are classic symptoms, right down the line. So I am going back to my doctor tomorrw and tell him what I found out from her. She also said that the maximum dose that the FDA would is 375 mg per day. Finally, she said that ALL withdrawal symptoms would subside....ALL OF THEM! Please say a prayer for me, as I go completely through withdrawal. In the end, it will all be worth it. Thanks for allowing me to share my story. See? I know exactly how you feel Ms.M and I will be praying for you as well. Ms. D