Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 128 of 140}

Hi Kelly,

wow...hang in there. your commitment to your self is very strong!

Are you doing anything supplement wise to replace the drug? And are you doing and yoga or meditation to help balance the nervous system? or exercise?

All these things will help. as for the incintinenace I have not heard of this... Like many symptoms it may have a purely biochemical connection or maybe also emotional.. who knows? only you in the end.. you are amazing for dealing with these side effects and refusing to go back to the drug...!!!!


AMINO ACID REPLACEMENT:

I tried unsuccessfully twice over the years until finding 2 doctors and their books: my favorite is Joan Larson, PhD and her book, 'THe Mood CUre.' In it she has an amino acid profile test (with symptoms listing if you are more seratonin or norepiniphrine or essential fatty acid deficient - and then what to take to replace effexor with)..

I cannot underestimate this importance of being exacting with this process. I am finally doing it right after 2 failed attempts...

Also a note on tryptophan and seratonin / melatonin. Its still converted into seratonin at night. And take either 5HTP or seratonin, not both.. 5htp is the precursor to seratonin.. choose one and take th etherapeutic dose.

Warmly
Marty

Marty,

I am also reading the Mood Cur. I got half way throught the book. I had some symptoms in all the 4 types. I was already taking the Tryptophan. Then I tried a couple of the recommended aminos (one by one), and none worked for me. So, I sort of put the book aside and stopped reading it.
Which ones are you taking that works best for you?
How long have you been on them?

Marty, Kat,Toggletoo, Kelly,
Just checking in after the weekend. Two days without any booze. I was having a lot of migraines last week, so that helped the motivation! This weekend I had a bit of the withdrawal spins, but very brief. I have lots going on this week, so I think I will stay with my 1.5/10ths of the 37.5 twice a day, plus 10 of Prozac before reducing again. Maybe the boozelessness will fortify my brain for the next dose drop.

Oh yeah - I wanted to tell you another wierd thing that has helped me. Craniosacral therapy...the premise sounds completely bizarre to me, but I have found it very calming. It seems like a combination of body/energy work, psychotherapy, and listening prayer to me (at least with the lady that I see.)

I am writing from bed. Must...go...to...exercise...class! And grocery shop (hate doing that). I'll reward myself with a trip to the library to look for the Mood Cure.

Courage,
AnneT

Hi kat,

SInce you have symptoms in all four categories:

If you have more symptoms in one category or two = take the recommended supplement and cofactors at the higher recommended dose. ANd take the other supplements for the other categories just at a lower therapeutic dose. make sense?

I am on Ltryptophan, tyrosine, Fish oils, vit C, calcium, D3, B complex.

Also: Anything with an 'L' like L tyrosine must be taken on an empty stomach.

Courage to you

yes cranial sacral therapy works wonders!!

Bodyworker,

Thank you for the information. Actually, I took the lowest dose of those couple additional Tyrosine and Gaba and had side effects with both.
I have been going through continuous 2 months of sever back pain (which slowly worsened since a year ago), which agitates the heck out of me. In addition, have been doing MRIs with no specific answer as to why I am having this constant mid back pain. Since I have disc issues, the doctor is baffled as to why the pain is hitting me on both sides of mid upper back. I got another MRI of mid back yesterday and am awaiting the results. It doesn’t help that I have 3 people in my life with stage 4 cancer that has reached their bones in their back.

The doctor (Orthopedic) prescribed me Lyrica, telling me that I may have Fibromylagia. And explained that when we can not figure out the cause of the pain we stamp it with Fibromylagia as the cause. I read the information on it and decided, it is better to stand the pain, than to go on another brain altering med, with a ton of side effects.

So the book (Mood Cure) talks about DLPA (pg106). But, when I Goggled it, I found just a bit of information of people having taken it. And, I am so fed up with having to experiment on myself.

In a way I am praying the MRI shows something repairable and on the other hand I am very scared of the cancer (since my cancer friend tell me that may pain is so much like hers).

Kat1999,
Argh! to the orthopedic doc. I get what he's saying, but Fibromyalgia is NOT just a catch-all diagnosis. It has specific diagnostic criteria. I think people with depression are at higher risk of Fibromyalgia, and vague pains can be part of the depression picture. Do you have any pain below your waist (butt, legs, etc)? If not, it is unlikely to be Fibromyalgia. I am glad you are getting an MRI; I hope it provides peace of mind, and/or something helpful (but not nasty!) Let us know when you find out.

Anne,

No pain below the waist at all. just lower back and sever mid back, dull pain, but, continous.

Thank you for asking.
I will keep you posted.

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

I am a bodyworker and massage therapist. Check out this link below: its about a common trigger point in the abs that refer pain in the midback: You will know by looking at the image if its it or not almost immediately. If it is let me know and I will tell you how to self treat.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cartage.or...

Marty,

Thank you so much for the information.

So, do I just press on that spot? Would you please give me more information on that?

Regards,
Kathy

Oh, today I also have pain about 3-4 inches higher, which reflects to the bottom of my neck. If you also know something to to help with tha, I would greatly appreciate it.

By the way, I got the results of MRI faxed to me (will not get to discuss it with the doctor for another 2 weeks). It seems to me more of the same disc dedesiccation and protrusion.

Thank god its nothing worse.

I have physical therapy scheduled this Friday. It has not helped with lower back pain in the past. We will see.
I hope your technique help me out of this tiring pain.

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

I would look for a neuromuscular therapist with at least 5 years of training; or get the trigger point book by claire davies (it teaches self care of myofascial pain); and I would definitely get the book, 'Pain Free' by Pete Egoscue. His postural program beats physical therapy every time. My practice has seen so many 'PT failures' because PT's do not have the time or training to address the soft tissue pain with massage and neuromuscular therapy and address the causes of the disc problems (usually poor posture and habits) the Egoscue book does..

The rectus abdominus 'spot.' Yes...find it by massaging and palpating the muscles just below the sternum and just below the ribs that attach there as well... (DO NOT PRESS DEEP RIGHT BELOW THE STERNUM- that is the xiphoid process..which can break off with too much pressure).... Once you find a hot sopt or tender spot or spot that 'triggers' pain in your back hold with static pressure with a pain level of 3-4..when. Use deep breathing during this time....when it goes down to a 1-2 level increase pressure.. repeat until pain gone then find another spot to work.

Let me know how you are doing.

Marty

Kathy,
So glad to hear the MRI doesn't show any nasties. I agree with Marty - trigger point therapy works quite well and quickly it is trigger points. Stretching the area out afterwards helps too. A book I found helpful for some chronic pain issues was:
'Managing Your Pain before it manages you' by Margret Caudill. Hope you find something that helps.

I had a very good craniosacral session today that seems to have improved my posture and calmed me down.

I am stuck at 11.25 mg of Effexor, after 10+ days on that dose (still getting mild spins in the evening). Anyone out there find it harder to reduce the lower you go? Should I be reducing now only 2 mg per week or something ridiculously slow like that? (Maybe I asked this already - can't remember - sorry if I have repeated myself!)

Marty,

Thank you for the infomation. I did not get to do it yesterday, because I was in such severe pain, I ended up in urgent care.
They are doing some lab work and he wants me to go see a sports medicine doctore. He wants to first rule out other things like Fibromalagia, and then amy do a Cortisone shot in the muscles to see if it will help. I was in major tears yesterday. But, today, it is feeling somewhat better.
I will try your technique when the pain is high again to see if it will help.

Anne,
Thank you for cheering for me. and the information on the book.

You know if it was me I would just do the last bit as fast as I could. Because, based on what I read most people will have to face some withdrawal when they discontinue completely. Try the Benedryl for your spins, it wil help.

Good luck
Kathy

Ok, but do the technique now.. when you are in less pain.... thats is the key.. to address the myofascial pain before it gets severe again.

Blessings and take care:)
Marty

Hi everyone.
I need some advice.
I am really sick with morning sickness today and I think I may have thrown up my dose for today. Do you think I should take another one when I get home from work?
I'm really worried that I will get the withdrawal symptoms again.

Thanks
Kelly

Hi Kelly,
Yes, you should/could take another dose, or half a dose depending on how you feel. If you think you might throw it up again, try chewing a few of the granules to make sure you get some into your system, especially if you are feeling the withdrawals coming on. Poor girl! Hang in there.

I'm feeling sorry for myself today - tired, my ear is buzzing, feeling 'what's the use?' Maybe it's the shorter daylight (I live in Canada), I don't know. I should get to exercise class, but I just feel like crawling back into bed.
AnneT

Hi Anne,

Thanks for your help. I did end up taking another dose and kept it down which stopped withdrawal symptoms. I managed to keep down 8 chicken nuggets last night. I'm feeling a little better today so far.

I hope you feel better soon. This is not an easy thing to go through. We are going through Spring here in Australia so its getting warm.

Hang in there. Sometimes I find that when you feel like going to bed maybe thats what your body needs.

Kelly

Australia, wow! I somehow imagined everyone on this forum would be from the U.S. and Canada. Support from around the world - it's amazing.

Exercise perked me up for a bit yesterday, and then I had a nice journalling and prayer time, and nap. I'm feeling better today.

Keep on keepin' on,
AnneT

Marty,

I tried the technique last week, while I had no pain. But, I was not able to find a spot that triggered pain in the back.

I started my new session of physical therapy on Friday. I really feel that it does not help. She only showed my 3 stretching techniques and sent me on my way.

Oh, the doctors called me at 7:00am on Friday and said my Sodium levels were too high and, to immediately go in. She asked if I had a seasior. She said that sometimes there may be a mass in the brain pressing on pituitary. That if the test comes back high, she would send me to be admitted to the hospital.

Then she ran another test and said, 'the last one must have been a mistake' and not to worry.

Many years ago, I had a Endocrinologist told me that I have growth hormone deficiency and entered me in a study at his office and had me do growth hormone shots. After 4 months of not seeing any positive changes, I said that I did not want to continue with the shots.

Told my doctor the same story, but she said not to worry.

I don't know if pituitary could have anything to do with back pains. But, when I read up on it I had lots of its symptoms.

I really don't want to do the physical therapy, I am going to call the sport doctor to see if I can see a physical therapy.

How do I find a neuromuscular therapist? Do insurances cover their services?

Thank you,

Kathy

Hi kathy,
hang in there!

http://www.amtamassage.org/ is a website form the american massage therapy association. use the find a therapist feature. look for someone with NMT experience of at least 5 years.Most Insurances usually do not cove the service but its worth a call.. Also look into Kundalini Yoga. try www.3ho.org and find an instructor in your area... I have been healed on many levels as have thousands of others through this technology for physical and emotional traumas..
Best of luck! Marty

Hi fellow posters,

I have been off Effexor since 2006. It has been rough - no full time job, no money and no friends.

I kept up with the emails because getting off effexor was the one thing I was proud of.

I have just lost another job (at 60) and I am depressed and suicidal. I agreed to try Celexa. Does anyone know anything about it?

f23951;

I am so sorry to hear about the tough time you are going through.
I unfortunately don't know anything about Celexa.
But, just wanted to drop a note to say you will be in my prayers and please hang in there.

Hello d23951,
I was on Celexa as my first antidepressant years ago. It did help, especially with my sleep, and calmed me down. It may have given me migraines and decreased libido, but otherwise I tolerated it pretty well. I didn't have any troubles getting off it, though I had a very knowledgeable doctor who knew to taper me over a few months.
No friends...is there a community centre, depression support group, church or other faith community that you would be interested in joining? Once you feel a bit better, of course.

Hi, Another Australian here...

I am on day 19 completely off Effexor after 11 years on it. I tapered from 150 to 75 (2 weeks) then 2 weeks on 37.5 then 2 weeks on (roughly) half a capsule then off.

It has been so tough. I have only been able to work part time most of the last few weeks due to the withdrawal symptoms. Have suffered severe panic attacks, dizziness, upset tum, brain zaps, can't drive a car as concentration is so bad, bump into things, ringing in ears, crawly skin, hot flushes, sweating, shakes, crying jags, major bitchiness, severe depression, cant make decisions and one special morning when i became convinced i should take an entire pack of sleeping tablets.

The worst part has been the days I feel depressed because then I think maybe I should just go back on antidepressants.

The good thing is that when I am not feeling like a complete nut job I have moments (increasing) in which I feel more...more myself, more present, more authentic...this of course makes me cry haha...as does everything! Makes me realise how sedated I have been all these years.

What I have learnt so far in getting rid of this poison is: try to exercise - it really does help - particularly in nature, get a massage, cry when you need to cry, chardonnay helps, tell someone , anyone how you are feeling, stay in bed when you really feel you cant get out, be very very gentle to yourself... you are doing an amazing job. This is not easy and it is NOT in your mind.

KateJ,
Welcome and thanks for posting. Are your withdrawals improving fast enough? If not, please don't feel bad if you go back on even a few granules a day. But I know what you mean about having felt sedated for a few years. Sometimes I'm angry about it, but mostly I think maybe I needed to be sedated for awhile to slow me down enough that my brain could heal from all the stress I'd gone through.

I am down to 1/8th of a 37.5 twice a day (plus Prozac and Wellbutrin), for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I think I'm ready to drop the dose again, but I'm travelling this weekend and motion seems to make me worse.

Hey everyone,
Here's a new symptom of withdrawal: (anyone else have it???) If a sudden sound happens, I get about 1 second of vertigo/off balance. How wierd is that? It seems most prominent when I'm due for my next dose.

Cheers, AnneT