Woozy and Narnia

While my p-doc said I could just stop taking the Effexor and it wouldn’t be a problem, he was obviously mistaken. I’m getting these periodic bouts of lightheaded dizziness, like falling. At first I thought it was the Adderall giving me a particularly hard kick for some reason, but since I’m on my weekend “holiday,” it obviously can’t be. It’s not a bad sensation, but it’s distracting, especially since it seems to be happening with greater frequency rather than less. I remember a similar effect when I first started taking the stuff, and it passed in a few days. I expect it’ll get better soon, but until then, it makes both stairs and driving chancy enterprises.

fosteronfilm and I saw Narnia with yukinooruoni yesterday. yukinooruoni and I were absolutely charmed by it. fosteronfilm was less so. I was delighted from the opening scene to the closing one (during the credits–so don’t rush to leave the theater). They did an excellent job with casting. All the actors were superb and believable–both children and adults (the White Witch was perfect, absolutely perfect). The movie was very faithful to the book, to splendid effect, and the FX were spectacular. I wish they would have shown more of the good guys–talking animals and all–but the majority of the FX scenes seemed to focus on the White Witch’s army over Aslan’s. Matthew didn’t like the children at all, and can’t get past the Christian propaganda elements of the original story and the resulting (literal) deus ex machina, the grump. The Chronicles of Narnia were a cherished and beloved favorite of mine when I was little (and too young to grasp either the Christian symbolism or any of the other problematic elements of C.S. Lewis’s writing). Now I have the urge to re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and perhaps the whole series.

Tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

44 Responses to Woozy and Narnia

  1. terracinque says:

    I reread The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe last month, and I noticed the Christian elements from the book were muted somewhat in the movie. Aslan, for example, is never called “the son of the Emperor over the Sea” in the movie, as he is numerous times in the book.

    I think the movie failed most often when it preserved the book’s own problems. The characters, for example, were terribly under-written. In most cases if we feel the way we are meant to about Aslan, the Witch and each of the children, it’s simply because we’re told we should feel that way, and not because we’re shown in their characters why we should.

    Tilda Swinton is wonderful as the Witch.

  2. terracinque says:

    I reread The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe last month, and I noticed the Christian elements from the book were muted somewhat in the movie. Aslan, for example, is never called “the son of the Emperor over the Sea” in the movie, as he is numerous times in the book.

    I think the movie failed most often when it preserved the book’s own problems. The characters, for example, were terribly under-written. In most cases if we feel the way we are meant to about Aslan, the Witch and each of the children, it’s simply because we’re told we should feel that way, and not because we’re shown in their characters why we should.

    Tilda Swinton is wonderful as the Witch.

  3. The icky stuff from the Effexor does wear off after a few days. I went cold turkey as well, and unlike you, without approval from my doc. Pfui! I say to doctors.

  4. The icky stuff from the Effexor does wear off after a few days. I went cold turkey as well, and unlike you, without approval from my doc. Pfui! I say to doctors.

  5. bheansidhe says:

    …what??

    Please, if you have the energy, let your doc know that his/her medical information is WRONG. There’s a *lot* out there about the necessity of tapering off of Effexor (aka Sideffexor). At the very least warning patients that they’re in for one to three weeks of dizzynervetwinges. In my case, I could not drive for a solid week (and that was with a tapered dose).

    Tilda Swinton was perfect.. except in the scene of the sacrifice. Her ferocity was channeled, blunted, frozen. “The Witch screamed in triumph,” remember? *snif* But her battle scenes… YES. *grin*

  6. bheansidhe says:

    …what??

    Please, if you have the energy, let your doc know that his/her medical information is WRONG. There’s a *lot* out there about the necessity of tapering off of Effexor (aka Sideffexor). At the very least warning patients that they’re in for one to three weeks of dizzynervetwinges. In my case, I could not drive for a solid week (and that was with a tapered dose).

    Tilda Swinton was perfect.. except in the scene of the sacrifice. Her ferocity was channeled, blunted, frozen. “The Witch screamed in triumph,” remember? *snif* But her battle scenes… YES. *grin*

  7. britzkrieg says:

    While my p-doc said I could just stop taking the Effexor and it wouldn’t be a problem, he was obviously mistaken. I’m getting these periodic bouts of lightheaded dizziness, like falling. At first I thought it was the Adderall giving me a particularly hard kick for some reason…

    It’s the goddamn Effexor.

    When I miss a dose, I get these fun little “zings” in my head. I think some people call them “brain tremors,” which is a bit more descriptive. What you’re experiencing sounds similar.

    Good luck. I hope this unpleasantness doesn’t last long.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      I would definitely rather deal with amphetamine withdrawal than Effexor, considering that I’m only getting mild effects, and they’re damn annoying. It’s vicious stuff, Effexor.

      And hey, any chance you and might have an hour or two free in the next couple days?

    • Eugie Foster says:

      I would definitely rather deal with amphetamine withdrawal than Effexor, considering that I’m only getting mild effects, and they’re damn annoying. It’s vicious stuff, Effexor.

      And hey, any chance you and might have an hour or two free in the next couple days?

  8. britzkrieg says:

    While my p-doc said I could just stop taking the Effexor and it wouldn’t be a problem, he was obviously mistaken. I’m getting these periodic bouts of lightheaded dizziness, like falling. At first I thought it was the Adderall giving me a particularly hard kick for some reason…

    It’s the goddamn Effexor.

    When I miss a dose, I get these fun little “zings” in my head. I think some people call them “brain tremors,” which is a bit more descriptive. What you’re experiencing sounds similar.

    Good luck. I hope this unpleasantness doesn’t last long.

  9. t_rex says:

    I’m getting these periodic bouts of lightheaded dizziness, like falling.

    I got those the first time I tried to quit. So far, that’s one symptom I haven’t had this time around. From what I have read, it will become more frequent before it tapers off again. So hang in there.

    I’ve also heard that if the side effects get too bad, you can ask your doc for a couple weeks’ worth of Prozac to get you past the worst of it. Then coming off the Prozac is pretty easy. Hopefully, you and I won’t have to resort to that.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Using Prozac to help get off the Effexor is an excellent idea. I’ve actually got some leftover Prozac which I might see about taking for a week or so if the Effexor effects don’t go away in a few more days. I’m going to need to drive soon for our usual holiday family stuff, and I simply can’t with the woozies.

      Playing with psychotropics. I’d be anxious about it, but I seem to have as good as or a better handle on my personal psychopharmacology needs than my p-doc. Grmph.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Using Prozac to help get off the Effexor is an excellent idea. I’ve actually got some leftover Prozac which I might see about taking for a week or so if the Effexor effects don’t go away in a few more days. I’m going to need to drive soon for our usual holiday family stuff, and I simply can’t with the woozies.

      Playing with psychotropics. I’d be anxious about it, but I seem to have as good as or a better handle on my personal psychopharmacology needs than my p-doc. Grmph.

  10. t_rex says:

    I’m getting these periodic bouts of lightheaded dizziness, like falling.

    I got those the first time I tried to quit. So far, that’s one symptom I haven’t had this time around. From what I have read, it will become more frequent before it tapers off again. So hang in there.

    I’ve also heard that if the side effects get too bad, you can ask your doc for a couple weeks’ worth of Prozac to get you past the worst of it. Then coming off the Prozac is pretty easy. Hopefully, you and I won’t have to resort to that.

  11. winters_edge says:

    I grew up completely lacking a religious anchor and loved the books. I know about the Christian thoughts behind the tales, and yet, I think you can look at them in an different way (spiritually instead of as a “Christian” bit of propaganda) and get a lot out of them.

    Additionally, there was a lot of non-traditional religion mixed in there, and CS Lewis was not exactly your run of the mill protestant. It might be fun to have , you, myself, and anyone else who is interested read/re-read the books after the holidays and discuss these issues after the holidays, because there were certain elements that were accepting of Pagan and Druid, and Celtic and Mythical religious rites, as well, that say he’d been through the ringer and done some heavy questioning of his traditional views and upbringing and incorporated more Unitarian Universalist views into his religion when he returned to Christianity.

    It’s rather funny to me that “Fundy” Christians are adopting his works and this movie in the way they are, frankly. If they knew more of the man, they might not.

    What of Tolkien? Do people examine the LOR tales for examples of the author’s devotion to the RCC? We could have great fun starting a reader’s club devoted to discussion of how authors did and did not wrap their faith into their epic tales…

    • yukinooruoni says:

      Well, there is a difference there: I don’t know that Toklien wrote LOTR to be religious, while Lewis’ intent with The Chronicles WAS religious.

      • winters_edge says:

        Okay, that’s a good point. Let’s say that I have an idea for a book, and you could easily say that it is religious. In fact, I’D say it’s religious, and that’s why I’m writing it. I am not, however, what one would call a “religious” person. I am a spiritual person, but not at all traditional in my practice or philosophies.

        Knowing that, would it make my book religious? What if I hadn’t told you that until after you read it? Is it possible that you would have to change your mind if the story was crafted in a way that made it difficult to tell it was based in religion unless you were incredibly well-versed in theology yourself?

      • winters_edge says:

        Okay, that’s a good point. Let’s say that I have an idea for a book, and you could easily say that it is religious. In fact, I’D say it’s religious, and that’s why I’m writing it. I am not, however, what one would call a “religious” person. I am a spiritual person, but not at all traditional in my practice or philosophies.

        Knowing that, would it make my book religious? What if I hadn’t told you that until after you read it? Is it possible that you would have to change your mind if the story was crafted in a way that made it difficult to tell it was based in religion unless you were incredibly well-versed in theology yourself?

      • t_rex says:

        I enjoy the fact that LOTR (and the books surrounding it) can be read from a Pagan POV just as easily as a Christian one. The Silmarillion account of the creation of Middle Earth is a perfect example.

      • t_rex says:

        I enjoy the fact that LOTR (and the books surrounding it) can be read from a Pagan POV just as easily as a Christian one. The Silmarillion account of the creation of Middle Earth is a perfect example.

    • yukinooruoni says:

      Well, there is a difference there: I don’t know that Toklien wrote LOTR to be religious, while Lewis’ intent with The Chronicles WAS religious.

  12. winters_edge says:

    I grew up completely lacking a religious anchor and loved the books. I know about the Christian thoughts behind the tales, and yet, I think you can look at them in an different way (spiritually instead of as a “Christian” bit of propaganda) and get a lot out of them.

    Additionally, there was a lot of non-traditional religion mixed in there, and CS Lewis was not exactly your run of the mill protestant. It might be fun to have , you, myself, and anyone else who is interested read/re-read the books after the holidays and discuss these issues after the holidays, because there were certain elements that were accepting of Pagan and Druid, and Celtic and Mythical religious rites, as well, that say he’d been through the ringer and done some heavy questioning of his traditional views and upbringing and incorporated more Unitarian Universalist views into his religion when he returned to Christianity.

    It’s rather funny to me that “Fundy” Christians are adopting his works and this movie in the way they are, frankly. If they knew more of the man, they might not.

    What of Tolkien? Do people examine the LOR tales for examples of the author’s devotion to the RCC? We could have great fun starting a reader’s club devoted to discussion of how authors did and did not wrap their faith into their epic tales…

  13. madwriter says:

    The whole series

    I keep looking at them sitting all lonely on their shelf, and thinking it’s about time I keep them company again for awhile.

  14. madwriter says:

    The whole series

    I keep looking at them sitting all lonely on their shelf, and thinking it’s about time I keep them company again for awhile.

  15. dude_the says:

    LWW

    Was it just me, or were the witch’s doggies not the least bit frightening? Big, bad secret police, and you couldn’t help but thinking that if Peter would’ve just given them a bit of a scratch behind the ears they would have flipped sides.

    PJI

  16. dude_the says:

    LWW

    Was it just me, or were the witch’s doggies not the least bit frightening? Big, bad secret police, and you couldn’t help but thinking that if Peter would’ve just given them a bit of a scratch behind the ears they would have flipped sides.

    PJI

  17. That’s all the side effects you’re having from stopping Effexor? You’re so lucky!

  18. That’s all the side effects you’re having from stopping Effexor? You’re so lucky!

  19. mtfay says:

    Re: Effexor withdrawal…I’m surprised he didn’t step you down, but the withdrawal effects will probably last about 2 weeks. At least, that’s how long they lasted with me. And I went down from 150mg/day…my step down was 150 mg every other day for 2 weeks and then off. During the time I was off, I had that surging vertigo feeling every couple of hours for a couple weeks.

    I’m with on Narnia…I hated the books for their ridiculous Christian outlook…Of course, I also looked down on Lewis for being such a brilliant man who had escaped the clutches of tyranny, only to talk himself back into its evil grasp and so willingly.

  20. mtfay says:

    Re: Effexor withdrawal…I’m surprised he didn’t step you down, but the withdrawal effects will probably last about 2 weeks. At least, that’s how long they lasted with me. And I went down from 150mg/day…my step down was 150 mg every other day for 2 weeks and then off. During the time I was off, I had that surging vertigo feeling every couple of hours for a couple weeks.

    I’m with on Narnia…I hated the books for their ridiculous Christian outlook…Of course, I also looked down on Lewis for being such a brilliant man who had escaped the clutches of tyranny, only to talk himself back into its evil grasp and so willingly.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Huh. Velly een-teh-resting. A favorite webcomic/graphic novelist of mine didn’t think much of Narnia, but loved King Kong [movies]. She thought the characters in Narnia were poorly-developed.

    I remember reading the first Narnia book as a child. But I was a heathen (still am) and didn’t pick up the religious undertones. I wasn’t, however, terribly excited by the book and never read the rest of the series.

    I’m thinking Narnia will be a renter rather than theater movie. I’d still like to see it…just not at full price.

    Pat Kirby

  22. Anonymous says:

    Huh. Velly een-teh-resting. A favorite webcomic/graphic novelist of mine didn’t think much of Narnia, but loved King Kong [movies]. She thought the characters in Narnia were poorly-developed.

    I remember reading the first Narnia book as a child. But I was a heathen (still am) and didn’t pick up the religious undertones. I wasn’t, however, terribly excited by the book and never read the rest of the series.

    I’m thinking Narnia will be a renter rather than theater movie. I’d still like to see it…just not at full price.

    Pat Kirby

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *