Effexor,To (LONG REPLY)

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I have been reading your posts about antidepressants and Effexor and I

thought I would add my 2 cents worth of nursing education.

1st, I suffered a very yucky depression and anxiety in 1998, when my

son's ocd 'exploded', and I quit my job to care for him. It also was

because I was grieving for my son's loss of health, my job, etc. That

started in April, and I didn't even get to the doctors until August, and

everyone asked me for months, if I was okay-my speech was too slow, too

tired, tearful, anxious?(how can you be okay, when your wonderful child is

in such agony, and you don't know how to help him, and you have less money

to do it with?!) I only wish I had got there sooner, as I would have coped

much better with everything, and probably reacted to things less. And of

course, Dr. Nurse (!) told the Dr. that I didn't want Prozac, (did

that for post partum depression and it worked in weeks) because I did not

like the side effect I experienced on it. (not life threatening at all-has

to do with the s-x word!) So I tried Serrazone, which did work ok, but I

did not feel like my usual self. And then over the course of the year, I

got extremely depressed, and the dose was increased, but I was scraping the

bottom of the barrel! When my therapist, who I talked and cried to weekly,

sent me to a new Dr., he instantly switched me to Prozac. His rational, it

worked before for me quickly and I did see big positive results, so why not

try it now, when I was almost not functional. Now mind you, I had always

prided myself that I was the okay one in my family, (education, job,

independence, no " mental probs " , etc), but I was a few centimeters from

winding up incapacitated from depression and going for treatment inpatient.

Well, being an inpatient scared me more than the side effects that I hated.

I switched, and I felt better in weeks-by the holidays. Of course, I had

THE side effect I hated, but I did talk to him about it, and he added

another med to counteract it. Looking back, I wish I had started the Prozac

in 8-98, instead of 11-99. I lost a lot of time feeling horrible, and

perhaps not being the most effective parent (knowing I had to keep on for

mike, kept me going, I believe), a good wife etc.

I looked up effexor in my Nursing 2000 Drug Book, (my drug bible in

plain English that has been faithful my entire career) and I did not see

anything about brain shock. I can send you all the side effects if you

want, even off list. You do have to be tapered off. Professionals and drug

companies are now telling the consumer (you) every little possible thing

that could happen if you took it. It is a way of shifting liability from

the company to the consumer. I have seen alot of this going on the last 6

months. As I tell women I counsel about family planning, that there are

sided effects to every birth control method, including abstinence and no

birth control! You just have to sort of weigh the odds, take a leap of

faith and try something. The doctor wouldn't given you the prescription if

he didn't feel you really needed it. He is aware of the impact of chronic

illnesses on the primary caregivers-mom. I hope this helps. You can write

me off list for the side effects. lippoliti@... hugs to you,

(sorry so long)