leakyboat22: new Pristiq withdrawal candidate

[leakyboat22]

Hello all.. I'm new here and not sure if I am in the right area of the site to post, but I am grateful to have found this discussion board and hope to share experiences and recieve help as I come off this horrible drug - Pristiq.

I am a 38 year old single mother and over the last few years have had three admissions into psychiatric hospitals with what appears to be stress induced psychosis (I get stressed, don't sleep for four days and have a psychosis.) But initially the Pristiq was prescribed for acute panic disorder (another diagnosis.) Panic attacks that, until I learned about them, left me thinking I was dying. In the beginning Pristiq worked very well for me and I felt less anxious and able to face supermarkets and places I usually panicked in.. it is now a year or two later and I made a silly mistake in just jumping off the pills. I am currently almost two weeks clean of Pristiq but am having awful withdrawal symptoms. Research online has made me feel at least a bit normal in the process, but the nausea and brain zaps (as they are called) are still happening. Sometimes I get a clear head and feel really like myself again, but honestly, this is the worst experience I have ever had and I cannot believe this drug exists. The main reason for getting off the pills were weight gain, which has aggravated my arthritic problems. My GP told me I had to outweigh the pros and cons, but my body feels absolutely horrible and I truly hope I can feel normal again. Some of these withdrawal symptoms include:

diarreah, profuse sweating, irritability, dizziness, nausea, extreme tiredness, but get this: in nearly two weeks of not taking Pristiq, I have lost nearly two kilos already. The doc said it doesn't cause weight gain? Rubbish. I have jumped off this drug before and within a few months I was back down to normal weight. I haven't seen my GP yet because I am afraid they will try and put me on another drug. My goal is to try and treat my anxiety disorder with more holistic therapies, I am frightened that I have ruined my body and mind with this Pristiq.. it is horrible and wish I had never taken it.

Any help or advice along the way would greatly be appreciated.. I would certainly not recommend just jumping off these drugs. I feel sick.

 

Thanks for listeneing. Leakyboat. xx

[Skyler]

Any help or advice along the way would greatly be appreciated.. I would certainly not recommend just jumping off these drugs. I feel sick.

 

Thanks for listeneing. Leakyboat. xx

 

Hi Leaky.. I'm very sorry to hear of your experience. Jumping off antidepressants suddenly causes the withdrawal symptoms you are having. They are horrible, and I can't imagine going through what you are not understanding. You mentioned being hospitalized for psychotic episodes that followed stints of not sleeping for four nights. Are you concerned this experience could trigger a repeat. As for the weight gain connection.. meds boost appetite by a good deal and many here complain about this, myself included.

 

I'm not the person to give you advice on how best to proceed from here, but rest assured someone with more knowledge will be getting to you shortly.

 

In the meantime, know you are not alone anymore. This is a great group, and will give you much needed support, and a place to vent your anguish. Glad you found your way to this forum.

 

Schuyler

[Barbarannamated]

Hi LeakyBoat,

I'm glad you found this site. I wish I had found it before tapering too quickly off of Pristiq. There is alot of great information about how to safely taper and mitigate withdrawal severity. Altostrata will have good advise for you.

Some information that will be helpful is:

1) dose you were on and how long

2) other meds

3) previous discontinuation attempts and what symptoms were most bothersome/reason to reinstate

Can you describe the psychotic episodes (auditory? Visual? Frightening? etc.) and how that was treated? ( my own question)

 

These drugs are neurohormones and disrupt systems throughout the entire body. Even though you haven't taken the drug in 2 weeks, it will take your body time to 'recalibrate' from the changes that occurred over time. It's different than being clean or detoxing as with some other substances. Alto will explain much better!

I'm glad you were able to drop weight already! What did your doc say about that? Very few understand the cascade effects.

 

Welcome!

[Altostrata]

Welcome, lb. Thanks for joining us.

 

Yep, you have withdrawal syndrome. Cold turkey is never a good idea.

 

What might work for you is going back on a small amount of Pristiq, for example, a quarter of a tablet. You can cut up the tablets. Wait until your nervous system stabilizes, then taper more slowly from there.

 

Here are our Tips for tapering off Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)

[leakyboat22]

Wow, thank you all for responding so quickly. A few points came to light which is important to share, as psychosis is usually treated with anti psychosis medication. I was also put on Invega (friend to risperidone) for the psychosis, and dropped them the same day as the Pristiq. The Invega stopped my menstrual cycle and also, I believe, contributed to the wieght gain. That drug was only taken for three months, and the psychiatrist at the ward suggested to only take this for three to six months anyway. I have not been diagnosed with schizophrenia, so you can imagine how disheartened I felt when I researched Invega online.

 

I was on only 50mg for the last year and a half (of Pristiq). Other than that, there are no other medications I take. I have a few pills left and have been considering taking a quarter here and there, to stave off these withdrawals, but I did read somewhere that they are slow release tablets and not meant to be cut of chopped - I'm sure a little of the meds would be better than nothing, as I have foolishly done.

 

Panic disorder can be treated with breathing techniques and I have recently found an interest in the practices of Tai Chi and meditation... I have lived as an anxious person for so long now that I don't really recognise when my breathing has become shallow or my thoughts too racy.

 

Today ( pretty sure it's been two weeks now off drugs) I was hypersensitive to noise - having a child under six who was very loud and chirpy today is difficult during this transition... I had to consciously make sure I didn't snap at him and keep reminding myself that this is just withdrawal.

 

My sleep at the moment is ok and not having too much trouble dozing off. If anything I am having trouble waking up, and have noticed a free floating depression.. the chemicals in my brain are all over the place. I did read somewhere that Pristiq is a relatively new drug (circa 2008?) so I honestly question how much the medical profession knows about it's usage/side effects, etc, I am very glad to have found this community, who all appear intelligent and well informed about their treatments and recovery... I regret being so trusting of my medical practitioner and not exploring other avenues to treat panic and anxiety. ( I find myself leaning toward eastern medicine and philosophy. It appears that western medicine and society leans to the 'fix it with a pill' approach.)

 

Well done to those who are tapering off the barbituates too, I'm an addictive personality and i"d be swallowing them like Tic-Tacs.

 

Love from Leakyboat.

Edited April 21, 2012 by Altostrata
added line breaks for readibility

[leakyboat22]

Alto: thank you very much for providing that information about coming off Pristiq.

 

I again admit my foolishness for completely jumping off the medication. I would not wish this withdrawal syndrome on anyone. In fact, after reading the info you supplied I am lucky to have not experienced siezures (sp?) or the like. Would you know by any chance some natural supplements to counteract some of these withdrawal symptoms?

 

I feel a bit embarrassed approaching my doctor and psychologist and telling them I decided to get off the pills. I have brought my concerns before them before and both seemed to not hear me. Another ghastly effect I had from these pills was chronic heartburn, I was constantly chewing antacids for relief. Guess what? No heartburn for two weeks.

 

I know people can relapse into their depression after coming off the meds but I wonder if anxiety becomes worse. I have actually developed a degree of depression after stopping and I usually swing on the other side (panic.)

I would give anything to become anti depressant free and feel like myself again. I didn't know that syndrome existed, thank you for being so informative.

 

Leaks. x

Edited April 21, 2012 by Altostrata
added line breaks for readibility

[leakyboat22]

Hi LeakyBoat,

I'm glad you found this site. I wish I had found it before tapering too quickly off of Pristiq. There is alot of great information about how to safely taper and mitigate withdrawal severity. Altostrata will have good advise for you.

Some information that will be helpful is:

1) dose you were on and how long

2) other meds

3) previous discontinuation attempts and what symptoms were most bothersome/reason to reinstate

Can you describe the psychotic episodes (auditory? Visual? Frightening? etc.) and how that was treated? ( my own question)

 

These drugs are neurohormones and disrupt systems throughout the entire body. Even though you haven't taken the drug in 2 weeks, it will take your body time to 'recalibrate' from the changes that occurred over time. It's different than being clean or detoxing as with some other substances. Alto will explain much better!

I'm glad you were able to drop weight already! What did your doc say about that? Very few understand the cascade effects.

 

Welcome!

 

[leakyboat22]

Hello Barbarannamated... to answer a few of your questions:

The reason I started the Pristiq again was during a relationship breakdown and my feelings of loss, which I believe are normal and human after any kind of loss.. but the psychotic episodes, which occur after no sleep for a number of days, are usually stress induced (ie: exams, anniversaries or birthdays, sudden events that make me anxious.) The episodes involve all of what you stated - I have a very distorted sense of reality, people say things that are frighteneing, the television seems to give subliminal messages, I have a feeling that there is a conspiracy happening and my life and my son's life is in danger, people are plotting against me... very typical of a kind of paranoid schizophrenic episode in ways. The last time I had one I thought my food was poisoned in the hospital and there was a cult of people planning to kill me. It is extremely frighteneing to have these episodes and when I get some sleep and even out (usually hospital assisted) I can see the irrationality of it all, but at the time it is extrememly real. I haven't spoken much about what happens during them but I did talk to my psychologist about them, it is rather upsetting. I was very concerned that I had developed paranoid schizophrenia but it doesn't appear to be the case - my symptoms are not onging. My doctor and mental health team have all agreed that if I do not get to sleep within the second day I have to take Valium or the like to knock myself out so I do not go into psychosis again.

[elizabeth11]

Welcome to a most amazing group of people going through our personal versions of withdrawal or helping others (for the experienced ones amongst us).

 

FYI, have you have your thyroid levels checked, both TSH AND the others like t4, t3, free t3, etc., that can also contribute to anxiety?

 

When you were in the hospital, did they check these for you?

[Altostrata]

lb, 50mg Pristiq is a normal dose of Pristiq. It's not a low dose.

 

Please at least cut your Pristiq tablets into quarters and take one quarter per day to allay the cold-turkey. (Do not take these meds intermittently.)

 

See if this alleviates your withdrawal symptoms. If it does, plan to taper more slowly. This allows your nervous system to gradually accommodate to the lack of the medication.

 

If you need another prescription, get one from your most trustworthy doctor. Don't worry about feeling embarrassed, you need to take care of yourself.