Effexor {withdrawal}: Thoughts of homicide & suicide

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Tue, 1 Feb 2005 20:39:27 -0500

[sSRI-Research] Effexor {withdrawal}: Thoughts of homicide &

suicide

 

 

( Ed. note: The withdrawal from some psycho active pharmacuetical

drugs make withdrawal from street drugs, including heroin, look like a

piece of cake. The use and withdrawal and subsequent damage may last

for months or even years and in some cases is permanent.)

 

 

 

Paragraph 10 reads: " As my liver flushed three years of toxins, my

body checked that symptom list to ensure that I got them all, in

mega-doses: deadly back pain, constant stun-gun shocks, endless

twitching, How-I-Could-Just-Kill-a-Man anger, suicidal thoughts,

ringing ears, muscle rigidity, shortness of breath and panic attacks.

Like a junkie craving, raving and demanding his narcotic, I went

through such horrors that at times during the 72 hours I was bedridden

I considered relenting. Had the nasty pills been in my medicine chest,

I most certainly would have downed them.

 

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/21138/

 

 

 

How I Stopped Pill Popping

 

 

By Matt Mernagh, NOW. Posted January 31, 2005.

 

Perhaps serious withdrawal from antidepressants was my body's way of

saying, 'Don't ever poison me like that again.

 

More stories by Matt Mernagh

 

Who the hell twisted my arthritic spine into a hideous, agonizing,

excruciating knot? Crippled and weeping, I believed that this time it

was the 10 count and I was heading for that long-promised wheelchair.

My chronic debilitating pain had finally overwhelmed me - or that's

what I thought.

 

Unfortunately, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, possibly the only doctor I could

trust, was still imprisoned at Michigan's Thumb Correctional Facility.

The Mercitron, his self-created assisted suicide device, probably sat

in some police storage locker where it couldn't be used to end my

suffering.

 

Finally I grasped the truth: all this mental and physical torture was

" merely " drug withdrawal. I didn't put myself through this junkie

sickness with smack or coke, but with prescription medication approved

by Health Canada. After three years of crazy pill-popping to ease the

pain and depression caused by my bunched-up degenerated discs, I'd

decided it was time to discontinue my antidepressant, Effexor XR.

 

As a sicky, I believed I was an educated consumer when it came to my

medication. An excellent dialogue with my doctor and a smattering of

knowledge made me aware of the dangers of popping and not popping meds

that alter brain chemicals. However, nothing prepared me for the agony

of stopping them.

 

Now that I've done the research, I know the symptoms associated with

the discontinuation of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRRIs)

like Remeron RD, Luvox, Zoloft, Effexor, Paxil, Prozac and Celexa, as

well as Wellbutrin SR or Zyban. I know the same about serotonin and

norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) like Effexor XR.

 

In '93, Health Canada began noting discontinuation symptoms in the

drug product monographs (PMs) accessed by physicians. The first to be

tagged for these side effects was Paxil. Soon, all SSRIs and SNRIs had

withdrawal characteristics listed in their PMs. The government

regulator's PMs, which run about 400 pages and are not written in

laymen's terms, aren't made available to the public. Says HC

spokesperson Catherine Saunders, " The prescribing physician is

considered an important source of information for the patient. "

 

If he or she shares, that is. Certainly, it's not easy getting the

drug companies to be conversational. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals still

hasn't returned my repeated phone calls over a weeklong period.

 

It's interesting that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, concerned

about " adverse events " associated with stopping these drugs, forced 10

Big Pharma companies to issue " Dear Healthcare Professional " letters

(DHPL) in the summer of 2004. HC, though clearly aware of the

situation, hasn't gone that route.

 

The DHPL from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is the most detailed. " During

marketing of Effexor XR and other SNRIs and SSRIs, there have been

reports of adverse events occurring upon discontinuation, particularly

when abrupt, including the following; dysphoric mood, irritability,

agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances (paresthesias such as

electric shock sensations), anxiety, confusion, headaches, lethargy,

emotional lability, insomnia, hypomania, tinnitus and seizures. "

 

D'ya think? As my liver flushed three years of toxins, my body checked

that symptom list to ensure that I got them all, in mega-doses: deadly

back pain, constant stun-gun shocks, endless twitching,

How-I-Could-Just-Kill-a-Man anger, suicidal thoughts, ringing ears,

muscle rigidity, shortness of breath and panic attacks. Like a junkie

craving, raving and demanding his narcotic, I went through such

horrors that at times during the 72 hours I was bedridden I considered

relenting. Had the nasty pills been in my medicine chest, I most

certainly would have downed them.

 

However, it was during these moments of weakness, confusion and

sweating that another side emerged. My dogged determination came from

the realization that if these medications were causing me to be this

ill, they certainly couldn't be too beneficial. Perhaps serious

withdrawal is the body's way of saying, " Don't ever poison me like

that again. "

 

I fought bouts of subterranean depression with late-night

long-distance phone calls to my friend Nat in Australia. I cuddled

Gonzo, a lanky sable ferret, who demonstrated many great sleeping

techniques while curled on my chest.

 

On day four, a few new problems emerged. Waking up to cold, clammy

sheets, boxers and T-shirt, I experienced a sensation not unlike what

it must feel like to be hit by a stun gun. Some daring grade schoolers

demonstrate their bravery by putting their tongues on a 9V battery. It

gives a good little jolt. This was more like licking a car battery or

being tossed into electrified barbed wire by Cactus Jack or getting

blasted by an army field phone battery.

 

After many weeks of cleansing my system, the sickness continues

mildly. The lightning bolts haven't ceased, but the charge, thank god,

has dimmed.