How to handle temporary cold turkey withdraw (Effexor XR)

[SeekingAfrica]

I've been doing great on Effexor to be honest, it allowed me to gradually move from very low functioning to high functioning and getting better slowly.

However, last year changed a lot, I think for everyone. Then recently I had to make a sudden apartment change and now I am broke until my next decent monthly pay. So being left with no money for 3 weeks, I am working online side jobs. It's almost nothing, but better than nothing. Enough for (some) food, but not for meds. I barely have enough food, so I can't spare anything for the meds.

So I took the last few pills with day in between them to stretch them out. But as of this weekend I'm fully out.
I was already getting sort of emotional last week. Today I've been super depressed working on my couch and crying like 3 times for no reason.
I'll get back on normal budget, and on my meds soon enough, but in the meantime, this is the situation.

Can I make the process easier somehow?
I am working, but it's hard to do anything beyond the absolute must do tasks- and I have to be looking for more/better work, more clients and all that. I can't be falling apart.

 

[Friday]

Contact your doctor for free samples, or go to the ER/A&E for a short supply, to get you through? Most doctors don’t want their patients stroking out from high blood pressure, going into psychosis, committing suicide, or dying by misadventure (from the delirium & or sudden loss of balance or muscle tone causing them to walk out into the street, or falling down several flights of stairs, or out a window, etc.). So it’s one of a short list of meds most docs will free-supply for a short while.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Contact your doctor for free samples, or go to the ER/A&E for a short supply, to get you through? Most doctors don’t want their patients stroking out from high blood pressure, going into psychosis, committing suicide, or dying by misadventure (from the delirium & or sudden loss of balance or muscle tone causing them to walk out into the street, or falling down several flights of stairs, or out a window, etc.). So it’s one of a short list of meds most docs will free-supply for a short while.

The free center I used to go to is closed due to the pandemic. The last doctor I went I was only at her office once and it was private and had to pay for it on my own... would that work for private doctors too? And for the ER would it work on travel insuranse, still haven't gotten chance to renew my local one since I returned.
....
Good ideas though. Certainly wouldn't haven't thought I could do either of these things, so thank you!
I'll try to call both my insurance and said doctor while I still have phone service tomorrow. Maybe something could come out of it?
Thank you for the idea, this is really hard(well, I think it feels worse due to the wothdraw tbh, everything seems harder)!Like, my head feels all fuzzy a lot. Thank you for the advice. Will check on it tomorrow.

 

[joeylittle]

I'll try to call both my insurance and said doctor while I still have phone service tomorrow. Maybe something could come out of it?
Thank you for the idea, this is really hard(well, I think it feels worse due to the wothdraw tbh, everything seems harder)!Like, my head feels all fuzzy a lot.

Effexor is notorious for bad withdrawal symptoms - I really echo what Friday is suggesting. Something that I've done when I've had an issue with a refill and needed to get my meds out of pocket - see if you can get only the number of pills you need, until you will be able to get a proper refill. It lowers the cost, sometimes considerably. Your doctor can write a prescription for any amount they choose, when you are going to pay for it yourself.

Hopefully, someone will work with you to get you a temporary refill until you can resume your regular schedule.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Effexor is notorious for bad withdrawal symptoms - I really echo what Friday is suggesting. Something that I've done when I've had an issue with a refill and needed to get my meds out of pocket - see if you can get only the number of pills you need, until you will be able to get a proper refill. It lowers the cost, sometimes considerably. Your doctor can write a prescription for any amount they choose, when you are going to pay for it yourself.

Hopefully, someone will work with you to get you a temporary refill until you can resume your regular schedule.

Oh...it wouldn't work like this here. You don't get your meds in a plastic prescription bottle as I see on American movies. You get a box with 2 sheets with 14 pills each. I suppose maaaybe someone could sell you by sheet rather but haven't seen it done with anything more than aspirin.
The effexor brand we get here isn't expensive at all-7-9$ for the box with 28,so basically the month. It's just that I don't have that to spare, or anything really. Otherwise with my 150mg prescription, I can ask them to sell me 75mg instead(I've gotten that and taken 2 instead of 1 when they were out of 150 once. And the 75 if I'm taking 2 per day will last me 2 weeks, enough until I get paid. So that would be 4-5$ instead. It's just that right now I can't pay anything.

Anyway, I slept on it and feel temporarily slightly better(well, with brain zaps but they are easier than being super dark depressed. So I'm making a battle plan while I can, no reason to fall apart over 1 week... I'll make more extra income if I keep healthy.

So today I'm asking for mini loan(5-20$) from 2 people that I'm not super close with but I think they've seen I'm reliable. Would've asked closer friends but they are all going through things too. Also calling the doc I went to last time and my insurance. And cleaning my apartment well, cause clean space and all.

Hopefully by the end of the day at least something will work in some direction. And if not, at least I'd be a little closer to 17th.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Got 10$ loan I'll receive tomorrow and I'll spend 4 out of it to get the 75mg box and will be good for 2 weeks. Hopefully.

Which is just on time, cause the brain zaps today are making it near impossible to concentrate or do much of anything. Can't get myself out of this situation on brain zaps and foggy head. And there is none of my side work today anyway so I think I'll try to sleep this off as much as possible.
And then tomorrow start getting on track.

 

[joeylittle]

Glad to hear it, @SeekingAfrica.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Thank you!

Doing a bit better. Got the 2 week supply and took it today and yesterday and really just on time. I was starting to feel like crying all the time.
Today is a bit better. Still weird mood swings- doing good, relieved,. then shooting into hyper-anxious and so on. But at least no more brain zaps. I suppose the mood swings will even out soon too, I hope.

I feel like I lost a lot of the previous week in just trying to push through symptoms or wondering how to squeeze enough food from my budget. So today is better and worse at the same time. It's the first day getting out of that fog, but also I've felt hopeless for the last week, so now that I need to get back to normal and the fog is lifting... I don't know where to begin. Everything I need to do is fighting for attention and I'm having a really hard time making decisions.
Will get through it though. This is the first step towards better. Of course it's a little rocky.