Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 4:32pm My name is Kim,I am currently going through withdrawl.My story is a long one! I went to see my family doctor last May, he prescribed effexor,this is where my hell began! I after only 2 days had awful reactions violent thoughts, depersonalization, you name it I had it! I called and then told it was my depression getting worse,mind you i was never really depressed just under alot of stress. I did what they said and waited about a week or two,got worse called again and was told if you do not like it go off! So that I did not knowing what was to come! I went into what i now know was rebound depression. I was scared and ended up in psych ward, was now told i had OCD, generalized anxiety and depression. Was sent home on paxil10 mg. after a few days i went to 20mg. still having all side effects except the uncontrollable crying. Was sent to a center for meds who said i was very sensitive, put me on buspar, still having psychosis, after a few weeks i was taking off and put on 10mg. of elavil which sedated me badly, i was then told to come in for complimentary samples of wellbutrin which made me irritable. Well wouldn't you know i am now a bipolar! Time for depakote,after 8 days here my blood levels were way too high! Told to gooff and it was up to me to try any more i said helll no!!!! But I am having shortness of breath,was told it was panic attacks after what i have been through was given vistral told it is very safe! It knocked me out to! Well here i am 6 months later thinking i am losing mine, go back to counsellingand am told i need meds, i refused and did not go back! I came across Dr Tracys web site THANK GOD!! Here i am in terrible withdrawl. My 2 small children are in the care of my parents, i have had akithisa, insomnia, terrible muscle pains all over, weird thoughts, hypomania, hypoglycemia, headaches, my nervous system is all out of wack i can not control adrenaline rushes, you name it i am doing it! My husband is trying hard to help! I just do not see an end in sight This is awful and i have had enough!! Well anybody should double check their meds! My doctor thinks i am a nut, tried to get me to go to another psychiatrist!!! Do not think so!! Sent: Friday, April 20, 2001 9:09 AM I am currently coming out of withdrawal I am very angry that these drugs are being handed out like candy! Hasn't anyone in our goverment thought about all the violence, school shootings, road rage,etc...all since these drugs came to the market! I am outraged i thought we were protected by our goverment!!!I would challenge you to take this drug for two weeks that is all i took paxil.effexor and buspar.Then you try to go off that would answer all your questions. Also who cares if you are not depressed cause these are great for weight loss, anxiety (which being a govt man i am sure you suffer some anxiety),shyness, sleeping problems,you name it and it is the cure,huh.So i am sure you may have one of these! These doctors would be better off handing us all a shot of whiskey,at least there is no withdrawal the next day!! I was put on effexor my a family doctor i had a horrifying reaction,when i called it was just the meds triggered my depreesion i was in denial.So i stayed on it another week after two week s i dropped it,i went into a total mess.My husband takes me to her they had no idea but they of course thought i was depressed, they find someone to help. (HA!)These people start me on paxil (forget that i was never like this before meds, my husband told them that), it supposedly uncovered my depression disorder! Naturally I believe them!! (of course i am drugged)I now realize i was not all of a sudden depressed,i was going through withdrawal! But the paxil caused a horrifying reaction also so 2 weeks later they put me on Buspar same horrifying reaction, 2weeks later it was Elavil, 2weeks later it was wellbutrin, then i am now a manic depression forget that i never had it before!!!GUESS WHAT the meds uncovered this disorder I am than placed on depakote,8 days,blood test said those levels were extremely high! SO GUESS WHAT I AM NOW NONE OF THE ABOVE!!!!I complained of shortness of breath i am told it is probably panic attacks from my awful experiences with meds! Sent home with vistral and they were done with me! I need to let you know i was never given a break from meds it was all back to back. I never have been the same i had problems ever since! I 6 months later just went through what i think and hope is the worst of the withdrawl,I can only PRAY that i am now on the rebound!! My kids and husband have suffered along with me how would you explain this to a 3 and 7 year old child. My seven year old is now afraid to take a tylenol. Not to mention when word got out what we were going through my phones are now ringing people in my community wanting my help to get off these drugs. There doctors telling them they will be on these the rest of their lives! And most are on for other than depression! Most say when they have tried to go off they ended up back on cause of such bad withdrawal, at their docs request or given other drugs!WELL isn't that like giving an alcoholic alcohol to stop DTS!!! Come on how many people have to die or kill before something is done? I for one am now leary of who my children go with for fear someone is on these DRUGS!!! I wonder why money is more important than peoples lives? Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 4:58pm Response1: Dear Kim: Welcome to the group. Your story is very typical. All of those doctors should be lined up and forced to take all the meds they gave you. I particularly love the dx of bi-polar. This is such bullshit! The drug companies have stated that if someone goes into hypomania because of Paxil or any other SSRI it's because they were bi-polar and the med kicked it in. I went through a similar experience, went into hypomania, had to be hospitalized. Was later told I was bi-polar, although I had never had a depressive or manic episode in my 50 years. This is just another way to get you on drugs for the rest of your life. What are you on now? How many days since your last dose of anything? Everyone in this group has been through hell, some of us are still there. Let us know how we can help you. My first piece of advice is to stay away from psychiatrists. They are the beating heart of evil in our society. Their goal is to get you on meds, and they will say anything to accomplish that. Hang in there because it does eventually get better, although you might not think so right now. Trisha Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 7:14pm Response2: Hang in there, you sound like me, iI was normal just stressed and started paxil and I need say no more, you said it all. Your not alone, I'm withdrawing bigtime!!!!!and I blame my doctors, hugs, Icee Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 2:12am I tried sam-e about 2months ago i was feeling really bad at the time.I now realize it was the beginning of this withdrawal stuff! That is why i wondered if the person had been on anything else but wellbutrin. I am going through withdrawl now my husband finally got me out of the house tonight,but i get so sore all over, does this go away i feel like an 80 year old women. I sometimes wonder if the weird thoughts will ever go away?! I am still not sleeping i would like to sleep through one night! Anybody who has been off a while, are you able to handle cold medicines, caffeine now? Kim Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 5:31pm Iwant to know if you ever get your patience back i am so easily set off right now. I have two kids ages 3 and 7, i hate biting off their head! My husband just yelled and threatened to leave i told him i can not help it!He was doing good but now i am up moving a little he thinks i ought to be back to normal! Iam just starting to sleep a little 5 hours last night that is the most in weeks. I am trying to get up and clean and play with kids a little. I understand this is hard on the family,but it is extremely hard for me i try to act normal around kids so they do not worry!! Kim Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 6:26pm Response: I'm not off yet, but am down to 2 mg of Paxil. It seems like the stuff you mentioned comes and goes, even the people in the group mention bad spells popping up. But they say the good times last longer, with fewer bad spells over time. I'm trying to hold onto this too, because I'm losing it a lot this week with my 16-year-old stepdaughter visiting for a week. Plus I have two stepsons (now 18 and 15) living here, who I've learned to coexist with over the past 2 years. (I'm 43 and never had or wanted kids, so it's been a big adjustment...) Last week I dropped from 3 mg to 2 mg, and started getting dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, and vivid nightmares again. Then my stepdaughter showed up for her semiannual visit. I asked my husband to take a vacation day today since all 3 kids would be at home, and I already don't know how I survived the beginning of the week. They all left about an hour ago, so I only have a couple of hours of freedom left before they're back. Anyway, before they left, it seemed that the back door was opening and shutting like every 5 seconds. I could feel screams building up, but I managed to just go cry in a closet instead. A couple of times this week, things seemed to be tolerable, but then there's a sudden mood shift over "nothing" and I feel like I'm losing control. At least I have a very supportive and caring husband, who reminds me that I'm trying to get off of, and recover from this stupid drug. I don't see how he stays so patient with me, because I lose patience with myself! Also, "my" kids are old enough that I can just shut myself in the bedroom most of the time when I can't deal with people, so that helps some. If it wasn't for everyone in this support group and my wonderful husband taking care of me, I don't know if I would survive this Paxil experience... Thanks everyone! And, Happy Easter! Renee Date: Sun Apr 15, 2001 2:09pm Has anyone been fine then 6 months later go through withdrawal? I had to quit meds cold turkey due to extreme reactions they put me on several drugs within 3 month period. This is so hard to understand is it cause my body did not metabolize them and they stick around longer in me? I am wondering if i will get better for 6 months again then go through withdrawl again?Also so many people talk about not sleeping while tapering off i am off why do is i do not sleep, i did before this withdrawl started i went to bed at 9:30 and got up at5:00 am. faithfully! I am confused! Some one give me hope or suggestions that i will sleep again.I will not drive until i am sleeping again! Kim Date: Sun Apr 15, 2001 6:26pm Response: I have two helpline clients that had to quit cold turkey after developing a bad rash/blisters on prozac and they were fine initially. One said they were OK for about four months and the other one was for about 6 months. You probably had that many drugs in your system, that they numbed everything so you didn't feel like you were experiencing withdrawal until about six months later. The two people that had contacted the help line were in similar situations. I've been off the drugs for just over three years now and I'm still not sleeping. Many people who have contacted the helpline are the same. These drugs play havoc with everything - sleep, hormones, blood, moods, etc etc etc, and whilst you are still going through the withdrawal, everything is going to be all over the place. Hopefully, this will improve as you start feeling better but that will take time. What we (me and a number of people that have contacted the help line) have found is that we might not sleep for a few nights, then all of a sudden it will just hit us and we want to sleep all the time and it goes in phases. We are a lot further into the withdrawal process than you are though so don't give up hope - it will get better and you will sleep; it will just take time. Your body will just need to find its own sleeping pattern again. I hope this helps. Take care, Ramo Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 0:03am My family doctor asked me to fill out 10 questions and by my answers he said i was depressed.I told him i did not like antidepressants (cause i tried them 10 years ago prozac and buspar)and all i remember is it was bad!!He said he had a new one for me Effexor,i was leiry but agreed if he gave me small dose(37.5mg)within 2 days i was bad i had violent thoughts, violent dreams, like a zombie, etc...called they told me my depression was getting worse i said i was never this way until meds,wanted me to give it time.SO after about another week i called again i was told to increase (which i did not)and i got snappy and was told if you do not like it quit and that i needed serious help!!So about 2 weeks into it i quit,And it was bad uncontrollable crying etc...(we had no info at this time)my husband takes me to Emergency room,i ended up admitting myself to the nut ward. They gave me injections for 2 nights to sleep. Then i went to group therapy and was told i was denying my depression and trying to blame meds,I must have been abused etc...I was then given 10mg. of paxil,(wasn't it the miracle drug it stopped my crying!Ha! Ha!)I checked my self out and was told to increase paxil to 20 mg.in a few days.I was refered to a mental health center to see a nurse(Guess the doctor was too busy spending his money to see me)Whom i told i was still having weird thoughts etc...she then took me off and tried Buspar alone i do not remember themgs but she assured me it was a small dose 2 weeks later iam still having the same problems!I was told i was then missing enzymes tobreakdown the drugs! She then put me on elavil 10mg, which totally sedated me and made my heart flutter.About 2 weeks later iwas told to come in for free samples of Wellbutrin donot remember mg but twice a day,next visit i told her i was still down and i had a lot of guilt from not being with my kids(cause of meds),and the thoughts i had! She then said i must be a bipolar cause they are the ones who become psychotic on ssris?!I said iwas never a bipolar before she said it was a mild case of it!SO I am put on depakote am not sure of the mgs either about 7 days she sent me for a blood test to monitor levels!On day 8 i told my hubby i did not feel right,he said go off i did.I get a call back on day 10 saying i needed to drop that med i had toxic levels in my system,I said i already did a few days ago!I then complained of shortness of breath, i was told that it was probably panic attacks due to my bad experiences on meds.I was given vistral and basically they were done with me. Not even a call back ! So i had bouts of mania with this withdrawl i thoughtmaybeIwas a bipolar my hubby assured me it is the meds but you can see why i would be so confused!You probably regret asking this question now?!All this time i did ask is what you are doing is safe YES i was told!I was uncomfortable but they are the pros!??I was also told while taking antidepressants that it was safe to take allergy med(allegra) on top of these(except with vistral).So i do ask alot of questions,now.Do you know maybe why i still have shortness of breath and pain in my adrenal gland ( only my right side).Will i have mania once i am done with withdrawl,i never had it prior to meds! Idid go in and let my family doc see me in withdrawl,he had nothing to say he ran a cortisal test(WHY I DO NOT KNOW?)then i get a referal to a psychiatrist my hubby called and let them know what he thought of that!! Their concerned with me being a manicdepressedperson???I was never that away everbefore.I was under alot of stressand figured out we needed to work on our marriage after this and that is why i was down alot.I did not need no meds. Well did you see all the junk i was on it was alot of meds for short term.No i do not think i have ocd,In the hospital they told my husband i had ocd,depression,and generalized anxiety,so i needed paxil!!!Yes my doctor will not admit to this either!I would have have ended back on meds then i found Dr.Tracys web site after months of searching for something that sounde like what i went through! These damn doctors will never admit to wrong doing i have found the best thing to do is to stay away from them! My doctor thinks i am now a manic depressed person although i was never that before! My husband and i have decided to stay the hell away from them and when i am all better I will go in and show his ass that it was withdrawl. Kim