Effexor /Zofran

[Dampangel]

I am so frustrated with this medication.  I am working full time and a mommy a wife when I get home.. Life used to be so easy before Effexor.  

I went from 75MG..to 37.5 MG and now I’ve broke pen the capsule and I’m taking 45 pellet of the 105 that are in the capsule … I went to my Doctor who said I should be able to quit it by now and I went two days with out it and I feel like I’m going to die.  

He gave me Zofran for the nausea but I’m afraid to take it because I don’t trust him now.  Will Zofran help? Has anyone else taken it?

I’m at work seconds from sobbing because it feels like me head is going to explode, my eyes are jumping, and I’m getting sick every hour…. I don’t know what to do any more.. I thought I was down enough, I mean I’m pretty much taking 50% of a 37.5mg… how long will this last?
I was thinking about taking a temporary leave from work to get through this.

I know this post has been put on there a lot..

I’m a Christian women .. and I gave it all to God to take care of but I’m still sick ..
Can you all Pray … Please… I’m pleading

[LeftCoastChick]

It's not the fault of your doctor for the withdrawals, it's the med. It's pretty common with many of the drugs in this class to have these withdrawal issues. Why are you going off the med in the first place? Some folks who have a chemical imbalance react really badly when they withdrawl, including myself.  I had to take ativan to ease the symptoms of Cymbalta withdrawal. You have to go down incredibly slow, which you aren't doing. Going down to 1/2 the dose and now a very small amount is not great for you. The DT's will pass, but expect to have depression again which can happen fairly quickly while withdrawing.  You should never go down lower then a 1/4 at a time, even if you have to split capsules, which is a pain, but you'll find it easier.  I had to move over to a Mood stabilizer for my BP instead of an anti-depressant, as the drug I was on triggered heavy anxiety and mild paranoia.

The most important thing I tell folks is to weigh the risks, all meds, including Tylenol, have side effects and always talk to your doctor before you start a med. We as patients have to take responsibility as well which in turn makes us active participants in our own wellness. Unfortunately many of us just go to our family doctor to get meds, which through my own personal experience is the worst thing, unless you can't afford it, see a psychiatrist, they know a heck of a lot more about these meds. My pdoc said to wean over 2-3months, not weeks months.

[Dampangel]

Thank you ...
I wasn't blamming my Doctor for the side effects. I just wish that he had informed me about them before I stared the MEds.  For now on I will for sure study the back ground of anything that I am taking, thi for sure is my resposibility..I just assumed that my doctore whould have informed me.

I'm getting off the pills because I'l trying to get Pregnant.... and I'm scarred of the side effects that may occure with the baby, plus I would never want the baby to go through withdrawls the first couple months of his/hes life.

I understand that is should take months, I'm just upset with myself for not being able to just Quit.  My husband can't handle my moods, and sickness and doesn't understand when I lash out at him it isn't his fault.  I'm feeling like a bad Wife bacuse of what I say to him.  I know that I'm still depressed but I'm hoping that I can do this until the baby is born.

Thank you so much for writting to me, I have no one else to talk to who knows what they are talking about. LOL ...

So you were saying I should just go down 1/4 instead of Half??
do you think I will still have side effects when I'm done if I take it slow??
and have you ever taken Zofran?? I haven't used it yet.

AGAIN >> THANK YOU

[ILADVOCATE]

I took Zofran but it was for an off label use not for nausea which is its general use. Although it does control nausea it can create it in a minor way so the best thing to do is eat food with it. And it can be a bit sedating. Long term for Zofran a liver function test is advised as was by my provider but that's true of many medications including what I am on now. With any medication you should speak to your provider for more information and you can go to the medication website in the meantime. As regarding what medications you can take during pregnancy that information is listed for all medications so you should ask your psychiatrist and general physican about any of them that you'll be on. They'll know which ones would be safe for that and can easily access it in a physican database you would not have access to. As regards anti-depressents google "Depression Central" for information in general that you can speak to your psychiatrist about.

[trekrgirl]

Good luck to you.  My daughter in law is Bipolar and she is pregnant, she quit taking hers meds for the same reason. She said what saved her was meditation and exercise, she works out at least 1/2 hour in the morning.  Realizing the you will have mood swings, depression and w/d will help.  make sure your doctor is aware of your meds (I'm talking the OB doc) so that they keep a good eye on your symptoms, you will be a higher risk for Post partum depression.  Take care god speed!
M