Giacomo: Leaving Pristiq, switching to Prozac

[Giacomo]

Hello. Been on antidepressants for about 2 years now. Relative newcomer. Started on Effexor and klonopin at night for terrible depression with suicidal thoughts, etc.. Have always had bouts of depression, etc., but came with a vengance about 2 years ago. Got on the meds and into theraphy. Helped a lot. The Effexor dosage was upped by the doc, and go to be terrible on me for side effects. Then, doc switched me to Pristiq at 50 m.g., and after 1 week, to 100 mg. Been on that for about 1 and 1/2 years, but took the klonopin away. The terrible side effects of Effexor went away. Then gave me Xanax to have "on hand" when needed. Well, tried about 6 months go to get off Pristiq, with doc's permission. Dropped from 100 mg to 50 mg. Did it for 2 weeks and couldn't take the withdrawl anymore. So, back on it. Well, now with doc's permission, last week switched to 50 m.g Pristiq and 20 mg of Prozac. First few days pretty good. Better in overall energy level, as Pristiq used to tired me out. Also, with Pristiq, I had food cravings all the time, and put on TONS of weight. Now, with the Prozac put in, my food cravings have diminished and feel better. HOWEVER, I do have some heavily stressful moments with work and family, at times. And last two days, during those stressful moments, for the first time in a LONG TIME, some of the jitters to nerves came back - UH OH I THOUGHT: Difficulty swallowing, cold and clammy hands again... UGH!!! So, now what? I go back to the doc in about 3 weeks. She said that the Pristiq can be taken away, and to ween off I need to get on the Prozac. She said then replace all Pristiq with Prozac and try to live on 20 mg of that each day, or maybe 40 mg a day. Then, we'll see after that if I can come down altogether in near future, or maybe "never." I have got to get rid of the Pristiq, in my mind.... So, any words of encouragement, advice, etc., from someone who has switched off of Pristiq?? Will the Prozac do the trick and aleviate the withdrawl symptoms? I'm concerned about the "jitters" of late - it's yeas since that plaqued me.

 

THANKS.

[Altostrata]

Thanks for joining our community, Giacomo.

 

Clearly a drop from 100mg to 50mg was too much for you.

 

An experience of withdrawal can make your nervous system more sensitive to further withdrawal symptoms. The jitters, etc. may be what's going on.

 

She said then replace all Pristiq with Prozac and try to live on 20 mg of that each day, or maybe 40 mg a day. Then, we'll see after that if I can come down altogether in near future, or maybe "never."

Hmmmm, how do you interpret this? What does "never" mean?

 

Switching from drugs like Pristiq, Effexor, Cymbalta, or Paxil, all of which are notoriously difficult to taper, to Prozac, which is somewhat easier to taper, is a common strategy. I give her points for trying. See The Prozac switch It's not foolproof, though.

[Giacomo]

Thanks for response. Having scoured the internet for past few days, I have found many mentions of using Prozac as the means of weaning off these other drugs. My doc told me she had great success with that, and wanted to give it a try. She thinks I might get altogether "free" from the meds, using therapy and behavioral modification/training to help me cope successfully. I think she said "or never" to not give me "false" hopes that I could just "buck all this" and be without something entirely, all done right away. I go back to see her in a few weeks to give a progress report. She said then we would talk the next step in strategy. She is all for me in my desire to get rid of Pristiq. She prescribes it and thinks it "helps" when needed, but she does admit that it is wicked. I was happy she supports me in that desire. I guess I am going at this one step at a time, with the "goal" of getting entirely free of the meds. However, at present I am happy to PUMP in the Prozac to calm me down and get that Pristiq away from me. It did help me out when needed, but the side effects for me, over time, became too much and began to ADD to my depression..... THANKS for the recommendation on reading the other posts on the forum.

[Altostrata]

It sounds like you like your doctor, and she's good with some things.

 

But nobody should be prescribed 100mg Pristiq, and it looks like you and SNRIs like Pristiq and Effexor don't get along.

 

Please check in here and let us know how you're doing.