I have been off Effexor for almost 2 months. I have good days and bad days like usual. Last night I had a bout of tremors, it only lasted about 20 minutes. It went from shaking in my chest, to all over my body. Then I got very light headed. I decided today to look up how long it will take for my body to get better. I have been experiencing wanting to cry all the time, being fatigued all the time and unmotivated. I am trying hard to not be negative but sometimes it is unbarable. I have been reading about protracted withdrawal today and that some people have been off of it for 2 years and still do not feel fully healed. This is how I got to this:
http://www.booktv.org/Watch/11502/Anatomy+of+an+Epidemic+Magic+Bullets+Psychiatric+Drugs+and+the+Astonishing+Rise+of+Mental+Illness+in+America.aspx
Please watch the video above, it is long but it is extremely interesting. Basically he is saying we take small problems and exaserbate them into much larger ones like bipolar and get on cocktails of drugs. Also more about children being prescribed SSRIs and given a career of mental illness from the doctor at an early age. He also talks about the "magic bullet" and the chemical imbalance HYPOTHESIS which is not actually TRUTH. It is backed by clinical studies and actual DATA. Everything we are told is just a selling method. We are being slapped in the face by our own doctors everyday.
I am going to purchase Robert Whitakers book today.
I didn't want to get on a rant about it, but sometimes it is so hard to understand and comprehend how human nature could take such a turn for the worst. It is sad and disheartening and hopefully we will rise out of this horrible state of mind which is labeling people falsely and giving them drugs which hurt more than help.
I am scared. I don't want to have these withdrawal symptoms 2 or even 5 years down the road. Even worse, can they be permanent?
I am going to try to be positive and maintain the thought that life is a test. This is a test so that I will have to overcome it. I will write later, for now, please watch the video. I started crying when he said that the "chemical imbalance" is just a myth, it was proven to be not true. It feels good to hear the truth.
I always wonder if I never got on prosac when I was 15, would I be in this situation? Of course I wouldn't. I wish the worst for every doctor that freely prescribes these drugs, which is most.
Last night I had a bout of tremors, it only lasted about 20 minutes. It went from shaking in my chest, to all over my body
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this!!!! I have these too since trying to withdraw from Effexor! I hate this! I am now down to 21 beads, has taken me 2 yrs. I tried to tell my Dr's about this but they won't listen! I have them in the morning and sometimes they last a few minutes and a couple of times an hour or more. I can't control it and people say "think positive when it happens" like it is my thoughts causing it. I've tried to find out if other people experienced this and haven't until reading your post. Is there anything that will stop them and how often did you have them. I have them everyday . I feel stuck between getting off Effexor or staying on it at this low dose cause if I drop down anymore I get these worse. How are you now?
I'm sorry you are experiencing this. I will tell you, at below 30mgs it was very VERY difficult. I couldn't seem to get below 30mgs without having severe withdrawals. I had one that put me in the hospital with vomiting and passing out. I don't mean to scare you but information is the only way for success. What I did was supplement with 10mgs of Prosac. You need to get some from your doctor. Prosac has a much longer half-life than Effexor and I'm afraid if I didn't wean off using Prosac then I wouldn't have been successful.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better everyday. I know what you are going through is hard. You have a long journey but you will see the light at the end of the tunnel! It is not all in your head, it is chemical. You will still have bad days once you are completely off, but they get better and better. I have been off everything completely for a year and a half and started the withdrawal 2 years ago. Life has been good, much better than I expected when experiencing the withdrawals. We actually just found out that we are having a baby!
So please stick to it, remember you can do it and someday it will be a thing of the past. Maybe try to find a Dr. that will listen to you more, there is no reason to not listen to you. If you need anything just write me and I will try to help!