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Sunday, September 16, 2012

Just Say No to Effexor Anti-Anxiety Medication

Just say no to Effexor anti-anxiety medication


       Just one woman's experience withdrawing from Effexor

Hey y'all,

It's time to start getting real. I want to start telling you little parts of my story, so we can connect on a deeper level. I want you to understand why I started becoming interested in natural healing as opposed to allopathic medicine.

It may have started with my experience with Effexor. Back in April 1989, I had a miscarriage. It was my fourth baby, a baby I really wanted and had prayed for. I lost the baby at seven weeks gestation, about two weeks after I had found out I was pregnant.

I was so happy to learn that I was going to have another little one, and was already in love with it. I never knew if my baby was a boy or a girl. That has always bothered me, even to this writing.

That miscarriage changed my life forever. I didn't understand why I didn't get to keep that baby. My baby.



I lost the baby the day before Easter. My parents were visiting for the holiday. I had been spotting and cramping a little bit the day before, but with company coming along with a huge Christian holiday my other three children were really looking forward to, I ignored how I felt and kept working.

I lost the baby during the night in my bathroom, cramping, hemorrhaging, crying, and nearly losing my life. I stayed in the bathroom all night, not wanting to wake anyone up. In the morning, I told my husband and parents. I felt like I had failed as a woman and a mother. I thought somehow I had killed my baby.

My Daddy was my baby's pall bearer. The local garbage truck was the hearse. My baby was laid to rest in a Louisiana landfill. We planted a young sapling in the back yard as a memorial.

I called my OB/GYN with the news. She chewed me out for not coming in as soon as I started experiencing symptoms. I should have called an ambulance. I could have died last night. Stupid woman. Come in for a D & C to make sure we got it all.

Got it all?

Unfortunately, words were said by others to suggest I hadn't taken care of myself, and I did kill my baby. I had been varnishing a coffee table with toxic chemicals the week before. Maybe that killed the baby. Maybe I hadn't been eating right or getting enough sleep and that killed the baby.

Whatever it was, it was my fault that my baby was dead.

I went into a deep, dark depression. I was grieving the loss of my baby, but I noticed that some women were able to jump right back and have another baby within a few months. I couldn't do it. I felt like my flesh had been torn out of my womb.

I wanted to die myself. I absolutely felt like I was a complete failure and did not deserve to live any more.



I finally told my doctor, who immediately put me on Effexor.

It took three weeks for the medicine to kick in. I hated being on it. I hated the fact that my kids said I was happier now. I hated the fact that I needed a pill to be happy. I wanted to be happy by myself.

Even though I was "happier," it wasn't true happiness. It was medicated happiness. It was a lie. I wanted to deal with my problems on my own, and live a life free from drugs. I decided to get off the Effexor without telling anyone, and face life like a grown up.

I was on Effexor for a total of six months. I had no idea that there would be withdrawal symptoms. I had no idea that the way I felt after I quit taking Effexor were withdrawal symptoms. I just figured that the Effexor had been masking these symptoms, and that this was the true state of my health.



WebMD lists the following as possible withdrawal effects of Effexor:


  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Headaches
  • Electrical zaps in the brain
  • Muscle twitching
  • Shaking
  • Sweating
  • Mood swings
  • Nightmares
  • Crying for no reason
People weaning off Effexor say they feel like they are dying. I wanted to die, and the only thing keeping me going was the fact that I wanted my children to have a good mother. I even thought about killing myself so my husband could find a better mother than me. But my children wanted me.

I did get off Effexor by myself in order to save face. It was hard.

It took me a whole year before I was willing to consider having another baby. Losing my baby showed me the preciousness of human life. I went on to have my other four children. If I hadn't had that miscarriage, I never would have had seven children.

There are very safe alternatives to antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications such as Effexor. 

Magnesium is one of them. You can pour 1-2 cups of Epsom salt in your bath water every night and allow the magnesium to soak in through your skin. You can stir in a pinch of Epsom salt into your drinking water. It works as a mild laxative and helps keep your calcium to magnesium ratio balanced.

I may write a blog post about how wonderful and essential magnesium is in the future.

Please feel free to leave your comments below. I love hearing from you.

3 comments:

  1. I am so sorry that happened to you. Regarding magnesium, please know that there is a transdermal magnesium product available that is even more bioavailable than bathing in Epsom salts. Just rub it on your bare skin, take a wonderful foot bath, add it to your bath water. Rubbing it on bare skin is the most effective. Check for it on Amazon.

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    1. Thank you for the comment! The miscarriage happened decades ago, and is now just a part of my life story. I appreciate the tip on the transdermal magnesium product.

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  2. I totally agree with your advice about magnesium. I have a similar testimony about getting off of prescription drugs and onto a naturopathic/homeopathic means of healing and lifestyle. My ailment was chronic fatigue syndrome and i was taking over $350 a month of mostly experimnetal drugs casuing worse side effects than origianl symtpoms. When I became engaged in the process of my healing which initially came from much prayer and devotion to the Holy Bible scriptures concerning healing, I began taking great magnesium supplements.My deficiency had caused a heart murmur due to mitral valve prolapse, which upon examination from my cardiologist confirmed that I no longer had the murmur or prolapse. He refused to believe it was cured from resolving a condition of magnesium deficiency! I applaud you for taking control of your God given life and seeing that all things do work for good.

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