Hi,
I am really sorrry for all you have been through. You have been through more than I could even imagine. I spoke to one lawyer and they did not want to accept the case. They said we could contact the American Bar Association. I don't know if that will do any good or not. As you said, the drug has to be taken off the market NOW. Does anyone have any ideas or know of a lawyer who would deal with this? I feel very discouraged that a lawyer can't be found.
If there is anyone out there who can do something, please let me know. Or does anyone know of a class action suit that is in existence.
Terry P
terryann...thank you for your kind reply. I have the short term memory loss too. Details are always hazy and I can't remember things clearly that occur within the past 6 hours. I am naturally a detailed person so the fact that I can't remember details in and of itself is pretty insiduous.
I don't know whether dysthymia was a condition I had and was misdiagnosed, or if Effexor caused my dysthymia. It could have been that I plummeted into depression/blues but then Effexor completely warped my mind and now I have been stuck in a glass tube with a mental state of fighting anguish. Ever since I began taking Effexor I have had problems with sleeping too hard and waking up with incomprehensible headaches. I must take two excedrin before bed and after I wake up to counter it, even to this day.
Oh, and as I'm typing I still get body spasms. Ha. I have them regularly so it's something I don't always realize anymore. I seriously want to stick it to Wyeth for what this drug has done to me and countless others. Wellbutrin has had limited if any side effects with me. If anything I've noticed increased libido and weight loss...but effexor made me sterile/dysfunctional and fat, so...who knows, maybe I'm back to normal. I can't help but feel that this can all be attributed in some way, shape, or form to the brainwashing and side effects I had while I was taking effexor (I call it devil's spit).
If there is any lawsuit available at all, please post it or make it known so I can join the good cause.
God bless you terryann, hope life is abundant and joyful for you!
Oh, the brain shivers are real...I had them every time I tried to get off the drug. No dr. can deny this exists when this is one of the main side effects. I find it interesting, yet alarming that this is a side effect from barbituates. It shows more and more how bad this drug is.
Hi J
Apparently someone is trying to get something together, however I have not received any confirmation. If you have a lawyer who is able and willing then I suggest contacting them. There are thousands of people who have suffered and who continue to suffer from the wrath of the drug. Chemically, the body and brain doesn't know what to do with the invasion of chemicals and unfortunately causes brains zaps, vision loss, decision making impossible, body twitches, nerve issues, mental confusion to mention a few. It took me 4 years to get off. I still experience brain zaps while sleeping when I am under extra stress and it has been 1.5 years since the last dose.
Good luck and if you want more information on getting off the drug, just drop me a line.
i've been off effexor for 6 years now and still get the occasional 'brain zaps'. it took me 2 years to wean off the drug. i had to do it by opening the capsules and counting the tiny beads and dropping off 5 beads each week. even at the end, when i was taking 5 beads a day and i dropped down to 2, i felt ill. this is a terrible drug and should be pulled from the market. i was hospitalized 3 times for severe withdrawal symptoms - and i was following my doctor's orders on how to withdraw. his gradual program was not working. it was from reading about counting the beads and taking at least a year to do it - from a guy online who finally resorted to that - that i finally got free of this evil drug. good luck to all of you.
It's terrible what you are being put through. I have been in contact with someone who is determined to do something. Please....tprescott2000yahoocom and I will tell you more.
I'm sorry for what you have been through...I have been in contact with someone who is determined to do something....
tprescott2000hotmailcom ...I will tell you more.
I am in contact with someone who is determined to sue Wyeth. I can tell you more...tprescott2000hotmailcom
I too removed only 1 more bead each day and never got side effects except for a huge anxiety attack which a naturopathic dr. gave me natural meds. for and it really helped....I only use as needed now. Removing 1 bead each day is the only thing that worked for me. we are forming a class action suit...tprescott2000hotmailcom
My doctor prescribed Effexor 7 months ago. In the first two weeks, I lost my memory. I was in a fog. I cut the dosage in half without consulting with the doctor. The memory problem got better and I could function. I had my physical 3 days ago and my liver enzymes were 700% above normal. The doctor blamed it on a med another doctor had given me ( a post-cancer drug I had taken for 4 years). I went home and did my own research. It blew my mind. I told her that she knew I had mildly elevated liver enzymes from fatty liver for over 10 years. She poo-pooed Effexor as any problem. When she called the next day to tell me I didn't have Hepatitas or liver cancer, I told her the Effexor was the problem. She asked me, "Do you think you can quit taking it"? I told her I can quit taking anything that is killing me. Talk about unethical B.S. These doctors don't know what they're doing. Be responsible for your own life! I cut the dosage in half again and I get anxious and nervous before my nightly dosage but I will be fine. I will be off it entirely within a couple of weeks. Don't take meds that make you feel like c**p no matter what any doctor tells you!
I was placed on Effexor in 1995, with absolutely no warning about how this drug would one day permanently and negatively affect my life one day. After a few years of treatment for GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) I tried to discontinue this medication, it was impossible despite the fact that I was only taking 37.5mg daily. I tried with several different doctors; would get maybe a week into weaning down off of it and end up begging to go back on it due to the severe withdrawal. This went on for years. I was taking this medication and paying through my teeth for the sheer fact that no doctor knew how to wean me off of it safely. In 2008 I decided this needed to end. My Internist tried to wean me down. I began experiencing tremor, vertigo, paranoia, rapid heart rate, unstable blood pressure, panic, emotional instability, insomnia....When I tell you it was hell, it was the worst hell I have ever experienced in my life. I was admitted to psych hospital twice within 3 months from trying to get my body off this godforsaken medication. Not only did the doctors put me back on this med, they increased it, gave me the long acting kind and added additional meds, and had the balls to label me bipolar. I don't believe you can label anyone that while they are in acute drug withdrawal. All the while my body and my mind was in so much pain. I struggled to go back to work, to work through chronic brain zaps and anxiety. I suffered daily in silence. I stopped being able to drive long distances, as I feared vertigo attacks and tremor. Finally in 2010 I found a neuropsychiatrist who helped me get this medication out of my system for good. He knew all about the discontinuation syndrome, how to wean me down, what to put me on temporarily and what to expect at every turn (being prepared helps!!!). I am forever grateful for his help. This medication cost me a fortune in money, years of my life I don't get back, and lingering tremor/vertigo to this day. If anyone here ever finds a decent lawsuit against Wyeth for their lack of informed consent when we all began taking this drug please let me know!
Dear "Guest",
Wow, so sorry to hear about all the terrible issues you have dealt with. I am also in the midst of Effexor withdrawal hell. Would you be willing to share the advice you received from your neuropsychiatrist that you found helpful? I'm sure many people, including I, would be extremely grateful for any direction that would make this process more bearable.
I hope things have improved for you and you are living a happy life free of pain!
Hi I too am an Effexor zombie. This will be my second time coming off Effexor. The first time I did it cold turkey. I do not recommend that anyone attempt this!!!! It just about killed me. I was on 300mg a day and have over the coarse of 4 months am down to 150mg a day. I am on day five of taking 150mg and I am withdrawing HARD!!!! Today is bad!!!!!! My brain feels like it is swelling out of my brain. I am so angry that the Doctors out there do not let people know what to expect if you ever come off this drug!!!!
I want to know if there ever is a class action lawsuit, this drug has truly ruined my life!!!!!!!
Hi- I registered here because I saw your post, to talk to another sufferer in Australia would be so good- I am only just beginning to see how much it holding me back & how excrutiatingly hard to come off it is, having been on 150mg 2 & a half years & am now down to 75mg but am still having horrid withdrawals just from reducing down to that & its been months. I can tell it has hurt my brain & more than anything I just want my spark & will to live back, which I'd lost completely after cancer nearly killed me, then i was so distraught that it didn't, I attemted suicide, & was then put on effexor. For a long time I can tell my "self" is coming back, shy, lacking confidence, but I feel the effexor is now exacerbating my extreme anxiety & panic & eating disorder, I swear this drug has made me gain like 8kg, & I DON"T GAIN WEIGHT!!! HELP me to help you & spread the word- the brain shakes make me feel like I'm going to have a seizure! So my user name with this new group, (which I feel really self indulgent & creepy at myself for writing on but I honestly joined to see if I can help you in your cause & hopefully help me too), is showing , yes? I hope I'm not too late in finding this thread, please reply to me if you do get it. All the best to everyone, let's find out more about this!!!