[	Tags	|	detox	]
[	Current Location	|	Apartment	]
[	Current Mood	|	irritated	]

My decision to discontinue Effexor was based on several things. [...] Second, was the vague sense that most of the positive benefits from taking the drug were a result of the placebo effect -- this seems to be backed up by Wyeth Lab's test data for the original (non extended release) formulation: the data was shocking, in that more test subjects in the non-placebo group committed suicide than the ones in the placebo group. If this was indeed a placebo, than I reason, I'd be much better off taking St. Johns Wort than to be taking this chemical substance whose long term physical effects are completely unknown. Third, since beginning Effexor, I had felt listless, tired, and my mind kind of foggy.

I have gone cold turkey on Effexor about 4 times. The first 3 times were just to experiment with the envelope -- to see how bad it might get. The last time I went cold turkey was due to a miscommunication between my doctor and pharmacist that left me without my meds for about 4 days -- I ended up in the hospital, with extremely intrusive, violent, and self destructive thoughts. A shot of haldol and a dose of Effexor later, I was feeling much more stable, and 2 days later I was able to eat again.

Cold turkey goes something like this: day 1 is mostly okay, but towards the end of the day, the brain shivers (the zaps) become noticeable. These are like gentle electrical jolts that kind of zap through my brain each time I re-fix my gaze upon something or else re-focus my eyes or perception. Look up from reading a book: zap! Look back at the computer screen: zap! It's un-nerving and at worst, it can be very uncomfortable.

By the second day, I had no energy, and I felt really sad. My body felt kind of achey, and the zaps were becoming very prominent. I felt a vague sense of panic all day long, and by afternoon, I was beginning to enter a sort of vertigo state: I realized I was sitting still in my chair, but my body felt like it was free-falling. And this was not just confined to my body: my whole soul felt like it was tearing in two and breaking up. I lost my appetite by the end of day 2. When day 3 began, after an extremely restless sleep, I was just wrecked. In my first 3 cold turkey sessions I went back on Effexor by the end of the 2nd day.

I can go on and on, but I'll just say this: a word to the wise -- never go cold turkey on Effexor.

Hello my friend!

I am ready to kill myself and eat my dog, if medicine prices here ([site link]) are bad.

Look, the site and call me 1-800 if its wrong..

My dog and I are still alive :)