I know if you take it and don't need it you will feel like you took some bad x. REally bad.
t
with due respect, maybe you should mind your business. it's apparent you don't know anything about the med and if she's been on it six years there must be a reason. don't go playing amateur psychiatrist and screwing things up.
if she's taking it and xanax i belive you said, she likely has chronic anxiety and she needs it to stay calm. don't go screwing with her stuff. good luck.
If she does decide to come off of it she better do it damn slow. I had a fiend take 18 months to come off of it. (He had been on for 8 years or so.)
Several good books out there on this subject. I suggest you research it thoroughly and get the advice of a very knowledgeable doctor. Basically if he tries to get her off in a few weeks he doesn't know what he is dealing with.
Remember - real slow withdrawal.
rna
"...........she needs to start thinking about getting off this shit. "
Unless you're a psychiatrist (and it seems that you aren't), let her and her
doctor worry about her meds.
If she's been on it for six years, it's obviously doing her some good and
the side effects are manageable. Plenty of people are on anti-depressant
meds long term.
I agree with the above OGers to let her work it out with her doctor.
it's normal to be on Effexor long-term. i've taken it for years and will continue. it doesn't make me a different person or all weird, i think it's quality medicine in conjunction with therapy.
I gained 20 pounds while I was on it over the course of a year. Worked out the whole time. It drove me to compulsive spending and heavy drinking. The days I forgot to take it look out I seriously could have killed someone : (
Effexor is an atypical antidepressant in that it inhibits the reuptake of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.
Usually the symptoms of SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) include lethargy, weight gain, and low sex drive.
One of the benefits of Effexor is that it includes that above-stated norepi and dopamine reuptake inhibition, which counters many of side effects of typical SSRI's; i.e., less weight gain and fewer sexual side effects (except for delayed orgasm in males).
If you have gained weight on Effexor, it is very likely you would have gained weight on virtually every SSRI.