Posted by Janelle on March 7, 2002, at 22:04:18
In reply to Re: OH GOSH, I'm so upset, more confused than ever » Janelle, posted by JohnX2 on March 7, 2002, at 19:33:24
Hi John,
I appreciate your kindness in responding to my posts. I'm really in quite a state of confusion and feel torn between the "old" pdoc and those meds and the "new" one with the switch in meds.
Okay, to answer your questions ...
One thing that really bothered me about the new pdoc is NO, he is NOT having me taper off the old meds ... which in the case of Zyprexa I hear it is okay to just stop that one, but EffexorXR I point blank asked him if I could just stop taking it and he said YES. However, I've read up on it and even in the package insert, it clearly and emphatically states that this med one MUST taper off on.
So, new pdoc is WRONG or MISINFORMED about how a patient should go off EffexorXR. Thus, I begin to lose "faith" in him. If I hadn't taken it upon myself to wonder and read up on just stopping EffexorXR cold turkey and had done it as he said, I shudder to think what I would have gone through (last year I went through AWFUL withdrawal from not tapering off Paxil slowly enough - I was sooo sick).
I am currently taking: EffexorXR 150 mg, Klonopin 1mg and Seroquel 50 mg (I have only been on the Seroquel for 2 days, having switched to it from Zyprexa 2.5mg).
If I remember correctly I began taking EffexorXR and Zyprexa at the same time about a year ago, and then a few months later the Lamictal was added in. I have been on Klonopin for many years.
You are right on target - yesterday I did feel frustrated with the old meds, but today, I am indeed feeling that they may not have been so bad, especially after reading the messages on here about Lithium (the question about it being a "natural salt" and the comparison to mercury, which is also natural but is bad news REALLY made me start to ponder the Lithium).
Also, new pdoc is having me take 100mg of Lithobid, which I am begininng to think is so low a dose it might not even make a difference in how I feel or my cycling.
Thinking back, the combo of EffexorXR, Zyprexa, Lamictal and Klonopin had me on my feet and functioning again. It was when the old pdoc felt that I might be able to get by with just the Lamictal without the AD (EffexorXR) and I tapered off the EffexorXR back then that I soon crashed.
This now leads me to wonder if I should just get back to that original "cocktail" rather than switching so many meds. ACCKKKKKKK ...!
Hope this clarifies??!
poster:Janelle
thread:96930
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020307/msgs/96974.html