Two weeks Effexor.....

....this was originally written October 2009 two weeks after I had to quit Effexor cold turkey whenI couldn't afford it any longer....

I was prescribed 450mg Effexor daily, dispensed in 75mg capsules. With no job and no drug coverage, I was doing the best I could with what I had.

I wasn’t taking my Effexor properly. I was getting 50 capsules at a time and making them last for a month. Two capsules most nights, one capsule 10 nights a month.

It wasn’t working. And despite the fact that I was still taking the Effexor, I was having mild withdrawal due to the decreased dose.

I wanted off the Effexor. I asked the pharmacist to dispense the same amount of meds, but in 37.5mg caps so I could wean off. She refused. I’ve worked several years in drugstore retail. Had I been a long time customer, or one who spent obvious amounts in the store, it would have been done.

So I quit. Cold turkey.

It’s been a few weeks now. The withdrawal is abating somewhat but it is still awful.

Persistent flu feeling. Chills. Hot flashes. Vomiting. Aching joints and muscles. The feeling of a fever without actually having one. And excruciating sensitivity to light that has the television screen practically black with virtually no contrast. I wear my sunglasses when I play my Nintendo DS. Dizziness that hits at any time. My bowels, never the best at the best, are impaired. I feel constipated without being constipated.

There is nothing to take to alleviate these symptoms.

Except Effexor. Swallow a couple and within hours I’d feel sooooo much better.

Except I wouldn’t take this shit if they guaranteed me a lifetime supply.

Ever.