kirmley: alone in Aberdeen withdrawing from Effexor

[kirmley]

Is there anybody out there?

 

I moved to the UK from Canada at the beginning of November. I had successfully tapered off of Effexor at the end of June, and had experienced none of the terrible symptoms of withdrawal since, but after taking gravol (motion sickness pills) on my flight over, and another couple of times after arriving to deal with jet lag, the symptoms started again. Upset stomach, anxiety, racing heart, muscle spasms, insomnia, burning skin, irritability, pain in my rib cage, suicidal thoughts, etc.. So I took one gravol a day and began to feel more like myself again, but I knew that wasn't a long term solution, so...

 

I got in touch with the General Practitioner's office I had signed up with and had a phone appointment with a doctor who didn't believe that I could possibly be having withdrawals from such a small amount of gravol, but prescribed 37.5mg of effexor. I picked up the prescription yesterday and took one tablet at around 2pm.

 

By dinner time I felt as though I had drunk a half a dozen espressos and my stomach was doing flip flops. I went to bed at 10pm but sleep did not come; I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable or to relax. I was in a dreadful state, fearing the future, kicking myself for not realizing that gravol could do that to me, thinking to myself that this time might be the time that finished me off, in despair over the fact that the effexor was obviously not going to help me. I fell asleep finally around 1am I think, and awakened again at 3:45 in the midst of a full-blown panic attack, with my skin on fire and my rib cage feeling like it would split open. Four trips to the bathroom and a proper breakdown, sobbing and terrified, dealing with the worst episode I had endured for at least a couple of years.

 

I called the NHS 24 hour line and described my symptoms. The fact that my heart had been racing for several hours by that time triggered a call to an ambulance, so I spent several hours in the emergency trying to explain myself to sceptical doctors who were trying to boot me out, saying to go see my GP. I lost my **** and told them that there was no way I could cope. I'm alone in Aberdeen, no family, no friends yet and asked them if they were in the habit of showing suicidal patients to the door. 

 

They sent the psychiatric staff to talk to me. They were much kinder, but still sceptical. I told them the same thing, that I could not cope. If they sent me home alone without something to help me cope I would end up committing suicide. In the end they gave me 15 tablets of diazepam and a referral to a mental health team and the suggestion that I follow up with my GP. 

 

So I won't kill myself today or tomorrow or this week because diazepam will calm the panic attacks that rip through me like the devil, but without some other kind of intervention I'll soon be withdrawing from the diazepam, so I'm less terrified than I was, but only marginally. I haven't taken any yet because I'm worried that I'll have the same reaction I did to the Effexor I took yesterday.

 

When I contacted the GP, she basically talked over me, was obviously impatient and disbelieving and said there's really nothing she can do. I suggested that she could read something about PWS to have a deeper understanding of what I was telling her at which point my phone was acting up I guess. I heard her say hello hello a couple of times before hanging up and not bothering to ring me back. I'm feeling pretty scared tbh. 

 

Thanks for listening.

[Kiasofia]

Welcome @kirmley

I am sorry you are going through this and are suffering, but relieved you have found us. I understand how terrifying this must be and in a new country too. Did the symptoms start while you were taking Gravol? Or they came after you stopped? We have several cases here of people who have had withdrawal symptoms triggered by taking another medication. It may be that Gravol triggered withdrawal from Effexor, and that you are not in withdrawal from Gravol itself.

 

We also have many who get a bad reaction when they reinstate a drug, especially if it's at a standard dose and several months after first quitting. 37.5mg Effexor more than 3 months after quitting is a high dose and can cause an adverse reaction. This link explains more:

Adverse reactions to an antidepressant within a few doses -- how long for recovery?

 

What your brain needs now is time to heal. This can be a scary and lonely process. Most medical professionals will assume there is a serious mental illness at play and not understand that it is a drug reaction causing the symptoms. I hope learning more about what you are going through and connecting with others who have gone through the same, can help you get through this. I also had a bad reaction to restarting Lexapro at the normal dose.

 

To help us better advise you, can you please create a signature with all of the drugs that you are taking and have been taking in the last couple of years following these instructions:

How to List Drug History in Signature

 

This is your Introductory topic, where you can ask questions and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

[kirmley]

@Kiasofia

Thank you for your response, I've been feeling pretty alone.

It's hard to say what happened with the gravol exactly - I only took it three or four times after arriving and during approx. 5 week period. I was absolutely shocked when I realized that I had triggered the withdrawals again. It took me nearly two years to taper off the venlafaxine, so my despair at the realization was pretty intense. I thought I was doing the responsible thing by going to the GP to get help so I would not be self-medicating with Gravol. Trying not to blame myself for accepting the advice of a GP who clearly didn't believe my story. 

Yesterday I had a quite lengthy window of feeling like myself, but this morning the symptoms are back. I have been taking one gravol every 24 hours, at 3 or 4 am when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. Been doing that since last saturday, so six days now. It really seemed to be helping, the symptoms were lessening each day and I was getting much better sleep. 

While it's good to have found this site, I also am finding some of the information very difficult to read because mostly it seems to suggest that I'm in for a long struggle again, with no medical or psychiatric allies on this side of the pond. My GP in Vancouver didn't entirely buy my version of events; you know the thing, suggesting that I'm just depressed and anxious, but at least he was willing to help me taper off slowly.

I recently had my chart sent over here because I needed it to get a medical exam so I could transfer my bus driving licence to the UK. Reading it was a real eye opener. It goes back to the original withdrawals from gabapentin after I shattered the arch of my foot and got a nerve condition as a result. All the notes from doctors and psychiatrists make me sound like a desperate lunatic with no direction or ability to manage my life. So finding this forum and seeing the many thousands of people who are experiencing the same situation helps with the self doubt. Writing also helps to take my mind off the symptoms and feelings of desperation. 

I wish I had something to offer the forum other than my misery, but I don't know how to do that right now, sorry.

[Kiasofia]

Thank you for creating a signature. Can you also add when you:

took Gravol the first 3-4 times

started taking Gravol daily (and the dose)

took the one dose of 37.5mg venlafaxine (You only took it once?)

 

It is good that you are able to see from your charts that gapapentin withdrawal is at the root cause here. And that you realize you are having a drug reaction, not mental illness. Many do not realize this and get trapped on drugs, believing they have serious mental problems. Whitaker has documented this in his book Anatomy of an epidemic and The Council for Evidence based Psychiatry is trying to raise awareness too.

 

It can take a while to get better, but it is very individual. It is worth knowing that it can take time, so you don't wonder what is wrong if you still feel bad even though time has passed, but it is of course upsetting too. And you might be in the luckier category. So try to find the difficult balance of knowing it can take time, while still hoping that you will make a quicker recovery.

 

Many have found magnesium helpful. You can read more about it here:

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

Important topics about tests, supplements, treatments, diet

 

Here is our symptoms and self care section, you may find some useful ideas to help manage symptoms as you recover. 

Symptoms and self care topics  

 

I would avoid alcohol and be careful with caffeine and nicotine during the recovery process at least.

 

2 hours ago, kirmley said:

I wish I had something to offer the forum other than my misery, but I don't know how to do that right now, sorry.

For now, it is our job to offer you support and comfort, not for you to offer it to others.

 

If you need any advice specific to you and your situation, please ask it here. Otherwise, feel free to join discussions on other threads. Please stay in touch and let us know hos you are doing.