Effexor Nightmare

[Romans8:28]

:confused: Oh, my I have never been through such a scary experience!! I have been pretty sick the last few months so have not even been on here to post much! In Sept. I was sent to a new Internal Med. Dr. that put me on pain management! At first I was soo much better and really still find so much relief through many of the meds BUT THE DOCTOR INSISTED I TRY EFFEXOR. I REALLY WANT TO JUST TO THE ST. JOHN’S WORT, ESPECIALLY AFTER READING ABOUT THE EXCITING REPORTS ON IN FROM THE AUA! (they should not be taken together!) I took him the research but he implied or at least gave me the feeling that he would not give me my pain meds, without, I started on only 37.5 mg. And though it really did seem to help my pain level, I began to have difficulty urinating. He says it was from the pain meds. and upped me to 75mg. I have to admit for about 2-3 weeks my pain was just soo much better BUT I could hardly urinate often had to self-cath. Was so tired I would fall asleep on the toilet etc. Then in Oct. after all my culturing etc. and my kidney pain began to continually Increase we had to take MEGA oral antibiotics, for the biofilm in my kidneys! The combination took away my kidney pain but totally wiped me out. I’d fall asleep on the toilet and not remember if I went or not…, Then I began having swelling, joint pain badly till it hurt to walk, naseua, weakness dizziness etc. and my IC was getting worse! FINALLY I REDUCED MY EFFEXOR BACK TO 37.5 MG ADDED BACK MY ANTI-INFLAMMATORY HERBS ETC. AND BEGAN TO FEEL A LOT BETTER!
(I HAD ALSO RUN OUT OF MY ALOE AND BOY DOES ADDING IT BACK MAKE A DIFFERECE!)BUT…, the symptoms began to increase and on my last appointment the doctor gave me grace and just upped my mthadone to 15mg 3 x a day…,(had dropped of Christmas cookies) BUT was told we would deal with next appointment and his answer was to upped the Effexor to 150mg! :confused: Soo tried one night to take the full dose AND GOT SOO MUCH WORSE! IT WAS SCARY I WOULD FALL ASLEEP TALKING TO MY CHILDREN, COULD NOT PEE AND HAD SUCH PAIN! ( I had also started with a stomach bug earlier in the week) so the next night not knowing what was flu or med. Problems I skipped my Effexor AND FELT SOO WONDERFUL THE NEXT DAY BUT the day following was soo sick!! This continued till Mon. and I crawled into my doctor office literally not able to even sit up. His answer was a sot of Comprozene and a script for suppositories of it andstomach anti-inflammatory…,again at first it was wonderful! BUT after using the suppositories 2 one day (he told me to take it up to every 4 hours if needed…,) I was soo sick the next am, restless, shaking, nauseous SO put in another suppository and called a neighbor a retired nurse. My kids though older were so scared. By the time she got there I was shaking uncontrollable, couldn’t even fx my hair! The neighbor took one look at me and ask if I wanted an ambulance or her to take me to the hospital! She also called the doctor who said to take me to the ER! I felt like a drug addict on withdrawals and truly thought that’s what it was! At the hospital my symptoms began to increase!

TO MY AMAZEMENT I WAS HAVING A BAD REACTION TO THE COMPROZENE. THANKFULLY A WONDERFUL DOCTOR ON STAFF RECOGNIZED IT AND IN WHAT SEEM LIKE IT TOOK FOREVER, A SHOT OF75MG OF BENADRLY IN MY VEINS. THEY PUT MY ON THE IV SINCE SHE SAID I WAS ALSO DEHYRATED! WITHIN 10 MINUTES THE SHAKING STOPPED!:toilet:

The good news is I could not take my antibiotic since last Sun and for the first time in over a year and half have been off antibiotics for a week and am not getting worse!! We had tried several times in the past without success but feel we may have put the biofilm in remission with the high dose antibiotics and the RIFE electrical current machine! My Pain is the best it’s been in a long time!

BUT I still feel to weak and even a lttle shaken! They are having me take Benadryl for any nasuea or restlessness as needed while all the meds. live my symptoms. HOW LONG SHOULD THIS LAST????MY QUESTION IS I WENT OFF THE HYDROXIZINE WHEN I GOT SO SICK (WHICH DIDN’T HELP THE SITUATION!) AND DON’T WANT TO TAKE IT AND BENADRYL…DOES HYDROXIZE HELP THE NAUSEA LIKE BENADRYL?? AND IS BENADRYL AS GOOD FOR MY IC BECAUSE IT’S MUCH CHEAPER!!

MY ADVICE IS: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU CAN TELL WORKS FOR YOU, (WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT MANY GET HELP FROM THE SAME MEDS. THAT MADE ME SICK!0

DO NOT EVER GO OFF THE EFFEXOR EVEN SUCH A LOW DOSE WITHOUT SOMEHOW ALTERNATING DAYS OR SOMETHING, JUST DO IT SLOW!!!!

[tigger_gal]

EFFEXOR made me viloently ill, I was sick for 2 weeks.. hate that stuff..

[Sarojini]

Never taken Effexor, but have taken Lexapro, and that made me so sick I nearly went crazy. Took the pills for a week and threw the rest out (luckily they were free samples so I didn't waste money). I'm sorry you went through all of that :grouphug:

[kadi]

I took Effexor for one day & have never felt so awful in my whole life - nauseated, dizzy, sleepy. My parents came over, took one look at me & told me flatly that I was drunk. I told them what I'd taken (37.5mg of Effexor, half the dose the doctor wanted me to start with) & they told me to call the doctor. She told me that it would "go away". I said, "yes it will, I am NEVER taking this again."

I am angry reading your post and thinking about my own experience with this medication. Doctors treat antidepressants like they are nothing, rather than the serious mind and body-altering medications they are. And mild side effects for a day or so are one thing, but when a patient has serious side effects, to discount them is just plain negligent and disrespectful of us as adult cognizant human beings. So many doctors do not see us as their equals, particularly if we have had issues with depression. I never mark depression on medical initial screening forms anymore. First, because it has not been an issue for me in years, second because their treatment of me changes and I am taken less seriously.

And it's not just about IC, I try never to cry in the doctor's office, because almost every local doctor when I cried, tried to push an antidepressant on me. I finally exploded at one doctor (when he tried to push Prozac at me when I had a cracked tooth,misdiagnosed as TMJ, and told me I was depressed), "Do they not teach you in medical school that people cry when they are in pain? I'm not depressed. I need medical help for my medical problem, and it's in my jaw, not my mind." The only doctor's office I ever feel safe enough to not maintain guarded toughness & feel safe enough to give the whole picture of what IC is doing to me and my life, is at my IC specialist's office at Stanford.

I am so sorry for your experience and hope you are on the road to recovery.

[dancemomof2]

I am on the Effexor for my severe hot flashes and I will not live a day without it. I forgot it one night and woke up with severe hotflashes again. I took it in the middle of the night and within a n hour my hotflashes tamed right back down. It is amazin ghow all our bodies are so different.

[Romans8:28]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.., at least I kOnw it's not just me! I intend to share with him that many others have not done well on this, and it just doesn't work for everyone! He has made soo many smart comments about the fact that I was only taking a "GRANDMA dose!!". I have children in their 20's and could be a grandma but it's not like I care or I am trying to prove how tough I am with meds.???

Kadi:

That's the worst part, I am not depressed I told him so.., but he said IF you are in pain YOU ARE medically depressed. It's so bad that one time i was copying researchat my UPS store on the St. John's wort. The owner, knows me since I come in often.., She ask about it and said "If you get any less depressed we all in trouble!" I am a high energy person, though IC keeps me in pain that requires pain meds. With them I am able to keep busy, I've learned to do more brain and hand work then a lot of physical, but needing pain meds. does not mean I am depressed!

This man is constantly digging into my personal life trying to find reasons for depression.., which everyone can have, (my son is in the military and it's been tough but I am not IN depression!)

BUT EVEN IF I WAS DEPRESSED IT SHOULD BE MY DECISION ABOUT WHAT TO TAKE OR WHAT MY NEEDS ARE!!! AND THIS FOR ME MADE ME SOO WEAK!

The hard thing is he is the only Internal Medicine doctor and my case with the biofilm etc. makes me a complicated case!!! MY URo has ask me to stick with him.., and for him I will but we are talking about it in the am and may even ask the URO to call him!

MY URO on the other hand recognizes that I am normal person with tough things in my life and instead has become an awesome support system. I check in as needed at this point about every 2 weeks and he rarely even charges me???? His wife and girls even sent me sweet thank you notes for some things I sent at Christmas. She also is very kind every time I see even though I know she doesn't have a clue what all we are treating...,(I heard her once say, "THAT'S HER CHART???? IT'S A THICK WHITE BINDER NOTEBOOK..., He has also MADE sure that my care is kind. Hand a little problem with a nurse, that was getting out of hand. Let me tell you it was quickly dealt with and though the nurse didn't even realize how she was coming across she is now wonderful!

I just I could cone my URO for each of you and to be my only doctor!

Thanks again and truthfully I would love to hear from others bad or good experiences with the Effexor. We are all so different, and that's the point!

Thanks for letting me talk/type it through before I have to see both doctors it really helps!

[mary124]

I take 75 mg of Effexor - never have had a problem without it. Originally started using it for hot flashes, but I have noticed that it helps with my bladder pain as well.

[Romans8:28]

saw my URO today...,:) I passed what he confirmed to be a stone on Friday night...,

He said that I should definately refuse the Effexor and does not want to seen my over mixed medicated anymore! But to try to stay with the Internal Medicine doctor..., for now.

Shelly

[jen48446]

Good post!! DEFINTELY listen to your body!! If the doctor was that insistent then I'd have found another doctor, probably the drug companies pushing meds on him or something like that but who knows for sure! I was on Effexor XR for about 5 weeks, after waking up from a dream that I had, I dreamt that I woke up & my husband was lying in bed next to me dead. I woke up literally grabbing for him in tears...I called the doc & got in that day...I weaned myself off of it & head a on & off pounding headache for nearly a week but once I got it out of my system I felt better. Scared the living crap out of me that is for sure.:cat: :angel:

[Babs RN]

Hey--
Just wanted to let you know that Benadryl and Hydroxizine are both antihistamines. I'm not a pharmacist or a doc, but in my opinion Hydroxizine works better for me.

Hugs,
Barb:smile tee

[Romans8:28]

Thanks guys, the last two posts never came to my e-mail???
I would have weird dreams too, seemed so real I would not know if I was awake or asleep..., glad to be off that stuff!!

I am doing much better off the Effexor. The Internal Medicine doctor was much more humble to say the least and at least now believes I am very medicine sensitive. He is the only doctor in town that I've been told can handle my case, so for now will stay with him, since he at least appeared to have come to a place of better understanding with me. Just hope it continues. Now he seem afraid to prescribe anything new!

Barb I am back on my hydroxizine, they wanted me to take the benadryl for the nausea that took over a week to go away. Because they are both antihistimes I didn't think I should take them together, No one could tell me if the hydroxizine would help the nausea nor could I take it as needed without a new script. Do you know if it works for that like the Benadry or if it is safe to take them together? I am on 50mg of hydroxizine but they told me to take 50mg up to every 4 hours of the benadryl as I needed it untill all the reactions were gone. i took about 100 mg a day!

Thanks again for the encouragement! I am feeling much better except have now passed 5 small stones in the last 6 weeks and feel one stuck tonight...,
at least they are moving!

Shelly

[tigger_gal]

hey girl, how are you.. isn't it amazing how some of us do horrible on it and others its the best thing since sliced bread... hooray for them, and we will try the next good thing... kinda sucks, but since we all are different with ic, our bodies take what they think we can handle :)
I also find flexeril helps my bladder greatly