Medicated for YOUR protection
I ran out of medication this week. The lack of it knocks out my equilibrium, and I’ve been throwing up for days. I can’t face the stairs to the basement, because they keep swaying. Thing is, I can’t afford the pills. I haven’t had health insurance since February, and last filled the prescription back in July for $200. Now I’m in the USA, have to see a doc for a new scrip, and then go buy them. I think I ought to get used to the swaying stairs, instead!
Here’s what really pisses me off, though. It isn’t the vomiting or the dizziness. It’s the fact that my marriage would have ended in vain.
Mr. Right - who obviously wasn’t, for me anyway - had one role in our life together: To take care of me. I dealt with everything else, but he had to make sure that I woke up every day. His job was to keep this fragile being together. He was the very best at it. He gave body and soul to make sure I could function.
And then one day I went to the doctor, and she gave me a prescription for something called Effexor XR. Life changed. I learned to cope. Life became a little easier to bear. And Mr. Right suddenly didn’t have a role. A drug that made me normal downsized my husband right out of our marriage. It was Sophie’s Choice - do I lose my love, or my life? We talked it over. He could not believe I was even considering coming off the pills, for him. He wouldn’t stand for it.
We broke up.
Marriages crumble all the time because one member goes crazy - NOT because one member gets normal! What an unusual situation.
If I am off these pills for good, then I will have lost my husband for nothing.
I’m still not out of my overdraft, and can’t afford to buy the pills. Every credit card has been frozen for months. The income I have now doesn’t cover minimum payments or bring my bank account up to speed.
Help. Please?
(black humor alert) Besides, do you really want me off my meds while living in a house with a larger collection of guns than that found at your local Bass Pro???
I bought her a mattress, somebody buy her some pills. I mean, she’s coming here you know?
Comment by Stacy — November 11, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
Is the vertigo a result of coming off the meds too quickly, or is the vertigo part of your condition? Second is there some kind of temporary natural remedy (besides alcohol) to help? You may want to visit a health food store and talk to the manager. I saw amazing results with my child’s anxiety and depression after I did this and got her on some vitamin B6 and Omega 3’s even though we eventually had to go the prescription route as she got older.
I know you’re super busy, and I’m sorry all of this is happening to you.
Comment by michele — November 12, 2008 @ 8:33 am
Funny, I told her offline last night that I knew I would start looking for a natural remedy today. GMTA.
Comment by Stacy — November 12, 2008 @ 9:56 am
RG,
There is a generic brand of Effexor. Works the same and is substantially
cheaper. Novo-veniafaxine XR. I forget exactly, but I think it’s about half the price.
James O.
Comment by Hector Cowpie — November 12, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
There are some doctors’ offices (like the one I go to), which, while not Free Clinics, do provide samples and visits on a sliding payment scale. It does require some looking around, but networking could help. Chatting up a social worker might bring some leads, and you can get some ideas online, too. Good luck.
Comment by mj — November 12, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
Wow, I figured it was just me who had lousy side effects when I quit Effexor. I get the same lousy vomit ridden days if I attempt to go off it.
Comment by Sniper One — November 13, 2008 @ 7:56 am
Sniper - it’s beastly, isn’t it?
For those of you who mentioned Venlafaxine, that IS the expensive drug I was on! (I joked to an American friend that I couldn’t understand these stories of Americans sneaking into Canada for cheap drugs!) And therein lies the problem, especially when you consider that it isn’t available in the USA at this time.
A friend has recommended an alternative, available at health food stores. I will keep you posted!
RG
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