Pain Relief Without Side Effects and Addiction

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8. I'm on an anti-seizure med for my fibro.

It's either that or anti-depressants. Well, I'm on Effexor and tried changing that med... boy, was that horrible! But the one thing that the anti-seizure med gave me that I'd never had before was the ability to truly tell the difference between the pain of my spinal problems and the joint and nerve pain of the fibro. It was amazing to be able to wake up and move my elbows without crying out in pain, first thing in the morning.

I can "go off" the pain meds... and do for about a week each month... without any issue, other than working hard to keep pain levels from topping out. But the Effexor? To go off it, I'd have to titrate it until I'm in the grave. No one talks about the "addictive" nature of these SSRI's. Of course, they're not addictive in the common sense, but you sure as hell can't go off of them without paying for it... and everyone around you pays for it too.