I’m not the parent poster, but chiming in for crazymeds.us. They’ll tell you in detail about the withdrawal symptoms, side effect, half-lives, etc.
I’ve been on venlafaxine (Effexor) for a few years. If I miss my morning dose (rare), by 1600 I’ll feel pretty wonky (e.g. dizzy when I move my head). My shrink says if I’m to go off of it I can titrate the dose down to something low, then go on Prozac concurrently, reduce the venlafaxine to zero then come off the Prozac.
But that’s pretty much the worst of antidepressant dependence, and others are easier to stop taking (though you would likely still need to work your way down).
As others have pointed out, they don’t make you artificially happy, they “clear the fog” of sadness. There’s evidence for this—antidepressants have no “street” value as a drug of abuse.
I personally started (with both meds and therapy) upon realizing I needed help, after spending a weekend interested in neither food nor sex. The meds have made a huge difference (not least in employability). Therapy is also a big help, as I can realize what’s going on before getting too far down a depressive spiral.
Thank you. What convinced you to take the drug? And where can you inform yourself about the withdrawal symptoms and the effectiveness?
I’m not the parent poster, but chiming in for crazymeds.us. They’ll tell you in detail about the withdrawal symptoms, side effect, half-lives, etc.
I’ve been on venlafaxine (Effexor) for a few years. If I miss my morning dose (rare), by 1600 I’ll feel pretty wonky (e.g. dizzy when I move my head). My shrink says if I’m to go off of it I can titrate the dose down to something low, then go on Prozac concurrently, reduce the venlafaxine to zero then come off the Prozac.
But that’s pretty much the worst of antidepressant dependence, and others are easier to stop taking (though you would likely still need to work your way down).
As others have pointed out, they don’t make you artificially happy, they “clear the fog” of sadness. There’s evidence for this—antidepressants have no “street” value as a drug of abuse.
I personally started (with both meds and therapy) upon realizing I needed help, after spending a weekend interested in neither food nor sex. The meds have made a huge difference (not least in employability). Therapy is also a big help, as I can realize what’s going on before getting too far down a depressive spiral.