Posted by Buckeye Fan on August 17, 2004, at 9:46:53
Its going on 3 months of Effexor free ( no other anti-depressants either) for me, for the first time in several years.
*Good News*.....
just went on a week vacation, out of State...without any panic attacks or intense anxiety...this was IMPOSSIBLE for me from 1996-2001.
I Have lost 10 of the 20 pounds I gained while on Effexor...without any dieting on my part.Felling more like my "Old Self" in terms od decison making and general motivation.
*Bad News*....
Feeling more like my Old Self...( no not a typo
this IS both good and Bad News)Everything feels 'real" again...which means real mental and physical pain! I never realized how much Anti-Depressants ALSO dull the physical pain of arthritis! When these drugs DULL pain...they really dull pain emotionally AND physically!
Things beginning to feel a bit overwhelming again...but I am hoping that is just the adjustment from Vacation to "real life".
I am glad I went off AD's...but dealing with life is hard. I have a new respect for those suffering from chronic depression, anxiety, OCD, etc....
I have found no "magic bullet" to take the place
of AD's...but I stil think the benefits of AD-Free outweigh the risks, complications and dependency of taking the drugs...in my case.We will see if that CONTINUES to be the case...and will keep you posted ,,,thank you Dr Bob and all the contributors of this site.
We are not alone......
Buckeye Fan
poster:Buckeye Fan
thread:378613
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040817/msgs/378613.html