Withdrawing

It has begun.

At first I thought I was going to eliminate caffeine before I attempted withdrawal. I figured (rightly) that I shouldn’t do both at once, because I should know exactly why I feel like crap. Then some reasonable friend asked me why I felt so inclined to torture myself, when I could simply cut down on caffeine until it didn’t make me want to claw at my face. I couldn’t argue with this logic.

As for the drugs: My original plan called for me to reduce my dosage by about 20 granules each week (there are 100 granules in each capsule). At the start of the week, I would open seven capsules, remove 1/5th of each, close them, and have the correct dosage all ready to go.

But I forgot that I am lazy, and not exacting, and easily distracted by the shiny things and happy voices on the television box. So, when faced with hundreds of teensy-tiny granules that like to roll and bounce all over the black paper I laid out, I became overwhelmed, and then sleepy, and finally I decided to go the less-scientific route. Each day, I would just toss out what looks to me like 20 granules. For the past week I’ve been tossing granules hither and yon, and so far, so good.

I was planning on taking fish oil while I was withdrawing, because someone on the Internets suggested it. But a health-expert friend told me that fish oil, which usually helps fight depression, can have the opposite effect when it's combined with an antidepressant. Not to mention, fish oils strike me as, well, icky. I don’t like the idea of someone juicing a salmon and dripping the oily runoff into capsules, which sit on a shelf for weeks or months. I’m sure I’m wrong about this.

It’s been a week on my reduced dosage, and I am having none of the unpleasant side effects. I’ve noticed little things, like a fascinating metallic sensation when I swallow, like the back of my throat is made of tin foil. And then we were at the Brooklyn Museum a few days ago, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that each piece of art I looked at had somehow taken residence in my brain. I mean, I could feel them, all knotted up in there, somewhere behind my eyes. This was strangely pleasant.

I know this makes no sense. I think everyone should go on a drug, just to go off of it and see what it does to you. By next week, I will have developed synaesthesia, and I will taste purple and hear fur and see impatience!

Comments

[karen]

Another post from the post-Effexor zone. I tried the stuff and on top of not really working for me, if I was late taking the pill even by a few hours, I got the brain shocks...or as I called them the spinnies. I've got some hefty Adult ADD so remembering on time isn't exactly um, my strength. So I asked my very trusted doc about the spinnies, and when she said to me, "You know, I once asked a neurologist about that at a convention, and he said they have no idea why it causes those." That was the moment I told her I was going to be going OFF Effexor. Withdrawal sucked, but after reading this, it didn't suck nearly so bad as most folks. Boy am I thankful.

Oh, and I hear pain, among other synthesisms. It's a high, bright pinging whine. :]

[Suzy]

I have the synesthesia, some kinds of it anyway, and it's not as glamourous or wild as it's cracked up to be. It's just there.

[hands]

http://sawiin.descom.es/bidaily/index.html clungglisteningkeyboard

[paul]

ive been taking both flax seed and fish oils. theres no painless way of taking either of them, but thats the only drawback. the difference between flax seed and fish oil is that flax starts out as ALA(alpha-linolenic acid) and is then converted to EPA and DHA in the body, but the conversion is inefficient. fish oil already contains both EPA and DHA and theres no need for conversion. how i take both of them:
fish oil: take the pills and make sure you have food in your stomach and drink alot of water or else the burps are really bad
flax seed oil: buy the actual oil(can be found at wholefoods) and mix it in with something like oatmeal, if you mix it right all you can taste is oatmeal.
well, good luck everyone.