Comin' Around Again

If you Google "Effexor withdrawal," you'll be rewarded with a host of results, many of which, from my less-than-scientific survey, detail the horrors of the ordeal. Go to askapatient.com, and you'll find plenty of examples of people telling you to avoid Effexor at all costs, that it's the worst medication in the history of the world, that Wyeth is evil, it's worse than coming off heroin....I've come across blogs on which people discuss their Effexor experiences.
One common refrain among those experiencing withdrawal concerns brain zaps. For lack of a better description, the cognoscenti describe the sensation as such. I can relate. For me, they typically occur when I turn my head suddenly and feel as if all the components fail to move in unison. Imagine "The Six Million Dollar Man" when the bionics are activated. N-n-n-n-n-n. Somehow my brain trails the rest of my head. Effexor withdrawal also makes me feel like I want to jump out of my skin. The way I imagine colicky babies feel when they clench and scream.
I've usually approached the reduction of my Effexor dosage gradually, one-quarter of a 75-milligram pill at a time. After a week, the next quarter. That has worked fairly well, though it hasn't been without incident. Any dosage adjustment, up or down, carries collateral effects.
So, here I go again. I've been taking 150 milligrams for the past month, and I'm going to taper. A little more aggressively this time, since I can't get a good night's fucking sleep. And the higher dosage has caused greater anxiety. Besides, I haven't had a drink in 23 days, and I don't feel like I'm losing weight. This I attribute to the Effexor, since I haven't altered my eating and exercise habits. Previously, I've taken Effexor and Remeron in conjunction, and then I was able to sleep. But Remeron packs more weight on people than any other antidepressant, from what I've observed. So, no Remeron. The doctor prescribed Klonopin for sleep. Klonopin is supposed to be among the most addictive medications available, though. I took it, anyway, and it made me drowsy, but it didn't alleviate the disruptive dreams and therefore offered me no respite. I must say, after about 10 days on it, the withdrawal was unpleasant. However, the Effexor withdrawal had disrupted sleep, so I have taken an ad hoc Klonopin.
I do like to take a Tramadol every now and then. Well, two at a minimum, since one doesn't do shit. Tramadol is a painkiller, which allegedly affects serotonin and has a weak affinity for some receptor or other. It's a pussy painkiller. Not like oxycodone. Originally I had it because I had some shoulder and back issues, but now I really just take it to take the edge off. I've told the doctor as much. I don't really know what the difference is between taking Tramadol or Effexor or whatever. If it works, why not use it? There seems to be a stigma attached to certain drugs. Effexor has the government's stamp of approval, so there's no issue with taking that. But from I can gather, it's as addictive as anything I've ever used. And it makes you fat and you have crazy dreams. I was held captive by bin Laden's group one night, and they didn't decapitate me or anything. I had some concern, however, that one of those goons was going to stab me in the leg. He didn't, at least not before the alarm came on in the morning. Antidepressants can tax your liver, make you heavy, inhibit orgasm and raise your blood pressure. Why not just drink? Yeah, I suppose you can function more effectively on the medicine, but it delivers less pleasure. A certain hypocrisy exists concerning one's approach.
Some doctors with whom I've been i contact have dismissed the side effects as inconsequential. I've read similar accounts from other patients. I guess if they see something that works, however ungracefully, particularly for patients with stubborn afflictions, they don't want to abandon it.
Perhaps salvation lies in the next new thing. Agomelatine has received approval in Europe but not in the U.S. Some have provided testimonials as to its effectiveness, but, like everything else, it's a mixed bag. It is supposed to help with sleep. I'll be dead before the appropriate medication surfaces.