I have recently read that Effexor is in the top sixteen most dangerous prescription drugs available. I believe this is true. I want to tell my story so that it may deter some person from trying this antidepressant.
I have had social anxiety disorder and mild depression ever since I can remember. I was always nervous and shy. I would turn very red and blush even at the slightest remark.
On weekends or in social situations I would drink as a form of self medication although not to any detrimental extent. At work I was filled with anxiety. I constantly worried about the "what if" factor. When someone looked over my shoulder I would become a nervous wreck. When asked to speak in public I would be filled with extreme anxiety.
In my 30's I lost my job and girlfriend in the same month. I was also living with her so I also lost a place to live. I had what I realize now was a severe
depression or what was once called a nervous breakdown. After struggling
for several months I decided get help. I went to a doctor and was prescribed prozac. Prozac was wonderful and though it did not help with the anxiety it gave me a new lease on life. I went back to university and finished my degree.
After a couple of years on prozac the effects seemed to be diminishing. I went back to the doctor and was prescribed paxil. Paxil had some side effects but really helped with the anxiety. After four or five years on paxil again the effects of the drug seemed to wear off. I went back to the doctor and after trying a couple of other drugs I finally settled on effexor.
Effexor was great and I felt normal for the first time. Unfortunately there were side effects like weight gain and sexual side effects but I was willing to live with them. After approximately four years on Effexor I became a recluse. I became completely socially withdrawn and antisocial. I finally decided to stop taking effexor.
I began tapering myself off the drug. When I got down to about half a 37.5 mg capsule a day I started experiencing severe side effects. ( As anyone knows who has had to come off effexor you must decrease the dose minimally, granule by granule,or the side effects will be too great). I believe effexor is one of the most addictive drugs ever created. Headaches, eye pain, ears ringing, heart palpitations, hair loss, brain shocks (also called shivers by many) and severe insomnia are some of the side effects I have experienced.
The two absolute worst side efffects are the brain shocks and the insomnia. Wyeth seems to question whether these actually exist. I can tell you plainly and honestly that these exist. Some people say that they believe these shocks are really dizzy spells. This is incorrect. The best way for me to describe it is someone taking an electrode and placing it inside your head and giving you a small shock. I have been off the drug for six months and still suffer from these. There is no question in my mind that this could be picked up by an EEG. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be the will by anyone to prove that these things exist.
I have been off Effexor now for about six months and I am left with three side effects from the drug. My ears ring constantly and I get brain shocks periodically but the worst side effect of all is insomnia.
In the last two years I have had severe insomnia. I generally sleep between 3 and 5 hours a night with the help of valium, zopiclone, and restoril. I have seen at least four doctors and had at least twenty doctor visits to try and fix the problem. They seem to think that it is a garden variety of insomnia. This insomnia has been with me over two years. The symtoms seem to be a lot like that of fatal familia insomnia except it is not ( as of yet ) been fatal. There seems to be a temperature regulation component and I also wake up at the slightest movement or noise. I also stopped yawning for over a year although I have started yawning again. I have quit drinking alcohol completely, no caffeine and little exercise. I find these things exacerbate the problem.
I hope this blog will deter anyone who is thinking about taking Effexor. I also hope that it will lead to the recognition of this problem by Wyeth and Health Canada.
If anyone else has experienced similar symtoms I would be very interested in hearing about them.
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