I have a set of separate pill bottles labeled with the days of the week plus two extra. I have pills for eight days set out in eight bottles plus pills for the entire following week in the ninth bottle. On pill-setting-out day, I move the pills from bottle 9 into the first 8 bottles and put another whole week of pills into bottle 9. So I really have an entire extra week’s pills set out.
That way, I actually give myself TWO weeks notice when any pills are running low. I get pills from my HMO mail-order pharmacy, and they are almost always very prompt in sending out refill orders.
My dad, since he has a lot of stuff, tends to use those pill organizers. You know, the ones that have a small compartment for different times of day for a whole week.
I’ve got too many pills to fit into one of those organizers. (Rx pills and also some OTC pills.) Hence the separate bottles for each day of the week plus extra. I’ve been doing it this way, with this same set of bottles, for about 20 years now.
Back to the OP: I used Effexor too for a while, 15-some years ago. After a while, they began to make me real jumpy, like I drank too much coffee. The doctor said that is a known and common side effect. Effexor is a SNRI drug (serotonin and norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor). It’s the norepinephrine that causes that. I don’t remember if I tapered down or quite cold turkey, but I never had any zaps. I wasn’t using a very large dosage, or for very long.
Yes. I do 4 of these at a time in case I need a re-order.
To the OP: Do try an urgent care clinic if necessary. Effexor discontinuation is tapered for a reason, so you can make a good case for a bridge Rx. I hope you can get some!
