DOSE:

37,5-300 mg

oral

Pharms - Venlafaxine

(daily)

BODY WEIGHT:

130 lb

In 2002, a friend's parent reported me as suicidal, and as a result I ended up being sent to a psychiatric ward and '5150ed'. A doctor who spoke little English and smelled funny briefly spoke to me, asking me a handful of questions about myself (do you take drugs, have you ever tried to kill yourself, how often are you depressed) and having me fill out a little questionnaire. Based on my answers and my brand-new diagnosis of bipolar disorder, I was prescribed Depakote (mood stabilizer) and Effexor (antidepressant), and was given them each night for the next 7 days in the ward. I was later told that the Depakote was mainly to prevent the Effexor from causing me to become hypomanic, a symptom of bipolar disorder. A fellow patient at the ward warned me not to take the pills they gave me - He claimed that they would only keep me there longer if I took them. However, 'They' claimed that if I DIDN'T take them, they would keep me there longer. At that point, I didn't care. I was willing to try their drugs to feel better, and I didn't really care where I was.

Now I wish I had never taken them.

In the beginning, I don't remember feeling much of a difference, But once I got out of the ward, people who knew me said I was a little different - a little more talkative, a little more smiley. I continued to feel depressed and suicidal off and on, but learned how to hide it well because I was afraid of going back to the ward or being prescribed more meds.

Over the months, my dosage was gradually upped. At 187,5mg is when I first noticed the withdrawal effects - Sometimes I would forget to take the pills, or would forget to get a refill and would have to go without until I got them. One day without them was odd, and slightly uncomfortable, Two days was bizarre, 'electric', and very uncomfortable, Three days was almost intolerable. I also noticed that the withdrawal symptoms would disappear within only two hours as soon as I took the Effexor. I remember one experience where I was babysitting my one-year-old sister. She was crying, and I knew that I should comfort her somehow, but I'd collapsed in the hallway and couldn't stop crying myself. I didn't really know why, except that I hadn't had any Effexor for two or three days. I picked up my sister and held her, but I still couldn't stop crying so it didn't seem to comfort her much. There was a strange buzzing electric feeling that would zap my brain and skull every few minutes. Occasionally this would be accompanied by split-seconds where my vision would black-out, I would stay conscious, but it was as if I had blinked (except that I hadn't).

I eventually told my psychiatrist that I was still experiencing depression and suicidal tendencies, as well as uncomfortable side effects. This prompted her to up my dose further.

Eventually I decided I was sick of this and took it upon myself to quit Effexor. The first time I decided this, I lasted three days before I once again found myself crying uncontrollably and having weird brain zaps and vision black-outs. I caved in and took the Effexor. Over the next three years, I repeatedly tried to quit taking Effexor, only to last five days at most. I eventually stopped taking the Depakote, and saw no changes and have experienced no hypomania. I've managed to bring my dose down to about 75mg a day. The strange thing is, the withdrawal only seems stronger now. Even by the end of the evening (I take it in the morning), I can feel it setting in. Not enough to be particularly bothersome, but enough that I know what it is. Lately if I go a couple days without it, I also find myself shivering uncontrollably, it's extremely uncomfortable. But I'm still working on getting it down to 0mg.

Exp Year: 2006	ExpID: 57095
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Aug 15, 2021	Views: 793
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Pharms - Venlafaxine (191) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Depression (15), Medical Use (47), Not Applicable (38)