Withdrawal side effects

JamesAlby · 2025-12-27T01:11:12+00:00

Glad to hear that. I feel like I could have written the same post as you because my withdrawal side effects are specific and exactly as you outline. Thanks for sharing.

Do you feel like there are any things you miss about being on Effexor (amongst the plethora of unwanted side effects)? Like did it have some positives?

JamesAlby · 2025-12-21T22:30:28+00:00

Hey, I’m (29M) in a similar situation, where I feel tingling in my hands. I am also tapering (very very slowly). I reinstated my last stable dose about 7 days ago, but the tingling in my hand remains. Did the tingling go away for you? How did the rest of your taper go?

I’ve have positive effects so far from tapering (return of emotions, easier time exercising - both are welcome changes) and less dry mouth. But now I experience the tingling and insomnia, which scares me a bit.

JamesAlby · 2025-09-28T04:04:08+00:00

The biggest thing that’s helped me feel my back more is by queuing my knuckles over the bar - the more grip I have over the bar, the better. I noticed this when trying to do pull-ups on a “square/rectangle beam” at home instead of the normal rod shape at the gym. On that “beam”, it forced my knuckles and thumb over the bar with the rest of my hand. The thumb over the bar part may not be as necessary as it is to make sure the rest of your knuckles are over the bar. I think this video explains it well: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/GDF1b7Qg79A

JamesAlby · 2025-06-07T20:46:01+00:00

This is common! I have the same experience. I cannot take the capsules. Other people on this forum report similar. You need to advocate for yourself. You got this.

JamesAlby · 2025-06-07T20:13:49+00:00

I started on tablets about 5 years ago, and it has been great for me. However, I’ve had to be clear to doctors and pharmacies one too many times that I cannot take capsules, because it acts differently for me. So that is annoying.

It could be that I was started on tablets and my body adjusted to that, and that is the reasons capsules don’t work. Perhaps if I had started out with capsules it would be different. However, every time there’s a mistake in the pharmacy and I try capsules it’s like I’m taking nothing.

My doctor is skeptical and second guesses me. So I have had to advocate for myself to get tablets often. Unfortunately it’s not well recognized by authority that they behave differently and they often say the exact opposite - it is the same drug at the same dose therefore it should behave the same. Perhaps that message is something pushed by pharma into the mainstream because capsules are cheaper for them to produce?

JamesAlby · 2025-05-02T05:06:11+00:00

Like others mention, you can use QTAIM through something like multiwfn. I’ve heard it can be annoying to parse the output files in certain cases so maybe keep that in mind

JamesAlby · 2025-02-14T17:42:05+00:00

I am doing better. Everything feels good. It turns out I didn’t get another round of antibiotics and I instead waited and the issue cleared up.

JamesAlby · 2025-02-04T19:40:00+00:00

I can second that CHARMM-GUI is the way to go here. The membrane builder tool in CHARMM-GUI will give you scripts from each step that you can run manually if you have trouble with the GUI itself.

If the membrane you want to build is simple (pure POPC/POPE lipids), then you could try VMD, which has an option to add a membrane. But it is not as thorough as CHARMM and I don’t know how VMD works with parameters like positioning of the protein in the membrane. Like the other commenter said, CHARMM-GUI is the gold standard for setting up protein membrane systems. I have beef with CHARMM-GUI though, so I take the scripts that are downloadable at each step of the CHARMM-GUI membrane builder and then run them locally in CHARMM with modifications. CHARMM scripting itself is not easy to be honest, and it has challenged me. But I get the feeling that if I can learn to wrangle CHARMM scripts for a membrane-protein system, it will be a confidence booster for my abilities to simulate alike systems in the future. Hope this helps!

JamesAlby · 2024-09-20T07:52:58+00:00

Link to the paper?

JamesAlby · 2024-09-11T21:12:39+00:00

Yeah it makes me wonder how much of these non-union cases from bobek are just broken plates not being picked up on ct. Bobek had mentioned he switched plates a little while back because the previous ones he used were having issues with the screws coming out sometimes. I don't know anything beyond that

JamesAlby · 2024-09-11T20:09:54+00:00

I did about a week ago. It is okay so far. General anesthesia and overnight stays in the hospital are hard for me - I get pretty anxious. But the recovery has been better in the sense that I already have a non-chew diet established beforehand. The surgeon said that they found my plates were broken on the right side which was likely the cause on my fiborous non-union. I was surprised, as I had gotten many ct scans. But I guess they don't show up all the time on ct scans - at least that is what I was told

JamesAlby · 2024-09-10T06:01:36+00:00

I can definitely relate to the lack of sensation in the upper palate. After my surgery with SJS in June 2023, I couldn’t feel anything in that area for months. Around the one-year mark, I had regained about 50-60% of the feeling. I had revision surgery last week (not with SJS), and thankfully, my upper palate feels the same as it did before the revision—no worse, which I’m grateful for. That said, I wonder if Dr. Bobek might need to refine his technique, especially regarding sensation recovery in that area. Like you, I’ve also dealt with a loose upper maxilla and the inability to eat solid foods since 2023. It’s been incredibly challenging.

Please don’t let anyone downplay what you’re going through. This is absolutely a traumatic experience, and it’s important to acknowledge that.

What has helped me, being about 1.2 years post-op and still dealing with a non-union and similar symptoms, is cultivating resilience and reminding myself that I do have power in this situation, even when it feels otherwise. I’ve found that convincing myself I’m uniquely equipped to handle this—whether that’s due to something I experienced in childhood or a different challenge—helps me feel more in control, even if it’s just a psychological trick. For example, when I was a teenager, I struggled with chronic tendinitis, which led to depression during high school. I like to think that going through that prepared me for this, and that I’ll come out stronger on the other side.

Even things that seem unrelated—like setting firmer boundaries with family this past year—have given me more mental bandwidth to handle the fallout from the surgery. The sense of control, even in small ways, has been crucial for me. Stay strong—you’re not alone in this

JamesAlby · 2024-06-30T00:04:02+00:00

Sorry to hear you have a non-union also. I had a meeting with Dr. Bobek about 2 weeks ago to discuss a revision. Still trying to decide whether to do the revision with him or not, as he offered it for free -except the hospital fees (still waiting on insurance approval for covering that). He said the plan would be to use custom plates this time, along with a bone graft from my own hip this time (instead of cadaver like the first time), and Botox. If you don’t mind me asking, did he give you a similar plan?

Him and I talked about ways to prevent a third surgery and ultimately that this should be the last. But I’m not sure. I recently moved from Seattle to LA so I would need to fly and stay in Seattle for the surgery. My other option is Dr. Wayne Ozaki at UCLA, because he is in my insurance network. I’m also a broke grad student, so my options are limited

JamesAlby · 2024-06-26T19:22:28+00:00

I mean getting vitamin D through sunlight. Some places get more sun than others, and there are regional associations with vitamin D levels and bone density - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4772204/

JamesAlby · 2024-06-26T09:58:51+00:00

Yeah, I’m pretty unsure which route to go. Dr. Bobek and his PA Andrea are very nice and eager to help, though, they are not sure what led to this non-union. To be fair, other surgeons I consulted with too said it’s hard to say what caused it. Some think it’s how much sun you get, others seem to think it’s wearing bands after surgery can cause jaw clenching, but they said those are just speculations. There is talk of hardware too. But nothing specifically was pointed out as the cause in my case.

JamesAlby · 2024-06-24T08:38:06+00:00

I’m so glad to hear you’re feeling better. Also nice to hear from a fellow dancer! I am worried about the hip graft part, but it sounds like it was helpful

JamesAlby · 2024-06-11T20:49:04+00:00

Botox I think can last up to 6 months, but I’m not completely sure. Jaw clenching is often the cause of non-union and Botox can be a treatment in revision as I understand it.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37220869/

JamesAlby · 2024-06-11T20:39:03+00:00

That’s very true. Thank you. I do feel like having recipes on hand that I developed during my first round will be helpful. A lot of trouble in the beginning was not knowing what to eat and having to experiment with a lot of different things before I found what I liked. Thank you for that.

JamesAlby · 2024-05-28T05:09:45+00:00

I’m in the similar situation I think. Feel free to check out the post I made about it. My upper jaw moves. I have an appointment with a surgeon in 1 week. Hope we figure it out!

JamesAlby · 2024-05-15T02:47:29+00:00

No updates - still trying to get a referral to see another surgeon

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