[phelpss]

I was started on effexor by my internist following a bad time in my family. I stayed on it for 8 years because the doctor said I had a chemical imbalance and it would not be safe to stop taking it. Each time it started to lose it's effectiveness the doctor advised increasing the dosage.( I later learned this is a very common scenario ). Then , in the last year when i started to get tremors and shakes the doctor added xanax once a day. I had no idea at that time that the medical community was just beginning to hear stories of anti-depressants causing increased anxiety, depression.brain shivers, suicidal thoughts etc. Also that people withdrawing from anti-depressants and anxiety drugs were often going through extreme withdrawels.....In my 8th year ,while under some very difficult stress at work , things started to emotionally unravel.
visual distortion,shakiness, fear , inability to cope, extreme memory loss. I couldn't get it under control and went to the doctor who, as usual , blamed it on chemical imbalance. When she increased the Effexor I completely fell apart and stopped the increased dosage and went back to the previous level. I called the doctor and told her what had happened and said I felt the Effexor was messing me up and I needed to stop it. She wasn't happy with me and replied" fine, so stop it" and I did. NEVER NEVER DO THIS!
That was 2 years ago and I fight for my life every day.No drama..just truth..Because the withdrawel was like being eaten alive from the inside with absolutely nothing to make it easier. Sudden withdrawel can make all medications unable to work because the brain is completely fried.I wrote to some of the top medical communities asking for information to no avail and no response. I tried homiopathic solutions from "label me sane" and "the road back" only to discover that I couldn't tolerate any vitamin stimulation in my body without getting the same withdrawel symptoms I got from the overdose of the Effexor. These symptoms parallel the post traumatic stress disorders coming home with the soldiers.The doctors have all wanted to add more medications and cocktails including electric shock therapy which is why I don't go near them any more.The folks at "label me Sane" were incredibly kind and good hearted and completely understand this severe reaction but their product just didn't work for me.......I have just finished a bad " hit " of symptoms again after being very careful with diet, sleep, staying with low acid food , keeping stimulation as low as possible etc....i'M pretty afraid that I have come to the end of my ability to endure this after 2 years with no direction to hang some faith on...

[Robert_325]

So what is your plan then? You've got to have something in mind. What can we do to help? God bless.

[toosweet]

oh god man. I know exactly how you feel. I took Effexor for two years. I tried quitting Effexor so many times and always ended up going back to it because I couldn't deal with the awful shakes and nervous feeling and all of the other ******** from withdrawal. I thought it would be easier to slowly take it once every other day and reduce it gradually. But, I think because it stayed in my system still it just made the withdrawal symptoms worse and last longer. I found it easier just quitting cold turkey. I felt like absolute ******** for a week, but it eventually got better and better and I felt more normal. That was a few years ago. I found a way to feel better and alive without having to get your brain fried with electroshock. Have you ever heard of Scientology?