Effexor is the devil

I've been taking Effexor for depression for the past few years. It works wonderfully for me but I better not forget to take it. It has the worst withdrawal effects that start a few hours after you miss a dose. I usually take my pills around 7:00 or so. If I forget to take the Effexor (or run out like I did today), by no later than 2:00 I start getting dizzy. Not a normal light-headedness either. Its hard to put into words but its almost like my brain is floating in water inside my head. Like one of those things you can by in cheap gift shops at the beach with a sailboat floating on that fake blue liquid. If I turn my head, my brain turns half a second later. It is the strangest sensation I have ever felt.

By 5:00, I usually get a bad headache. So bad that I can only lie in bed. But lying down makes my whole body feel like that little sailboat from the gift shop. Between the headache and floating feeling, I get really nauseous.

The withdrawal symptoms I've talked about so far usually follow this time line if I know I've forgotten a pill. If that happens, I usually take one as soon as I get home from work, fall asleep until around 10:00 and feel ok. But if I don't realize I missed a pill, I don't notice the effects quit as fast. Knowing I missed a pill lets me watch for the dizziness, etc. If I just plain forget, I can turn into a huge mess. I can turn into a huge blubbering mess. I sink far down into a depression. One time, before D and I moved in together, he had to come over b/c I was sure I was going to end it right then. I'm surprised he didn't run far, far away from me at that point.

All in all, the Effexor has been a life saver for me. I have felt like a normal human being for the first time in my life on it. I just can't forget to take the damn stuff.