roofus Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Hey all, i have only been on pristiq a relatively short time. roughly 2 months. I want to come off this drug soon, but from everything i read i am super scared about it. I am hoping because i have only been on it such a short time there wont be as serious withdrawal symptoms. Has anyone else had experience in coming off it having only been on it for a short time ? Just seems there is no good way to come off this drug. My doc said i should take it every second day for 2 weeks and then stop but i am not so sure after reading this forum what the right approach is.. Link to comment
dcrmt Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Your doctor is crazy. The half life of Pristiq is 11 hours. What you take would be extended release capsules so you don't actually experience that half life exactly though-out the day, however in comparison to a longer half life drug (most ssri's are 21-36 hours, Prozac is several days) it will empty out of your system very quickly. Taking one every second day will throw you into absolute chaos, it's awful advice. I have no idea where they learn stuff like that. You couldn't possible give worse advice for going off an SNRI, the only drug that might actually work with that is prozac and even then it's stupid compared to reducing the daily dose. Reducing the dose relatively rapidly is probably a good idea, but reducing the dose in 10% hits is probably for the best, if you can (I don't know what the capsules are like, you might be able to remove beads) Right now it's probably still causing further changes to the brain, I'm new to this particular site but AFAIK the general gist is 'don't spend longer tapering than you spent on the drug'.Either way a more gradual taper will reduce symptoms but at the same time you do want to get off quickly before it messes you up more so. Link to comment
roofus Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 thanks for the reply. yeah i thought it wasnt great advice and needless to say i will be seeing another doctor from now on. The thing that i dont quiet understand is how do you taper from something that you cant get a lower dose of ? i am on 50mg at the moment and there is nothing less, and cutting pills is not recomended so how is it possible to taper off ? It doesnt really seem like there is much of a solution to this . Or am i missing something ? Link to comment
dcrmt Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 No, you're not. With cymbalta you can open the capsule and remove beads, but if it's only in the form of an actual pill it's not really possible since splitting the pill means it won't be XR anymore (since there's a coating), and it needs to be to function normally. Obvious choices I can think of: Just CT it (probably not the best idea) or Switch to something else, try and get stable on that, then taper that. Obvious choice would be Effexor though you may have similar issues regarding it being non XR. Could just switch to an SSRI as well, the 'prozac switch' is used by doctors sometimes, may work, may be a crapshoot. It's hard to say. Hopefully someone else can give you a better suggestion. It's difficult because after two months you probably will suffer withdrawal symptoms if you discontinue but you don't want to overly extend the amount of time on the drugs, especially since it probably will make it more likely you suffer protracted symptoms the longer you're on it. (but a sudden stop isn't a great idea either) thanks for the reply. yeah i thought it wasnt great advice and needless to say i will be seeing another doctor from now on. The thing that i dont quiet understand is how do you taper from something that you cant get a lower dose of ? i am on 50mg at the moment and there is nothing less, and cutting pills is not recomended so how is it possible to taper off ? It doesnt really seem like there is much of a solution to this . Or am i missing something ? Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted March 31, 2014 Administrator Share Posted March 31, 2014 Welcome, roofus. I moved your topic to the Introductions forum for greater visibility. Please add to this topic as if it were your journal. Here are your options for tapering Pristiq http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/876-tips-for-tapering-off-pristiq-desvenlafaxine/ This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
mogfish Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 hi roofus! Nice to see a fellow Melbourniun on here. It is very common for GP's to tell you to wean off pristiq by taking one every scond day for 2 weeks then stop. I was told that too and tried it for a few days and was a total mess a few days in using that method. Hopefully because you have been on pristiq for such a short time your taper is an easy one. I was on Pristiq for about 4 years I think in total and I have had a relatively smooth taper compared to many with very few side effects for the most part but have found the last little bit the hardest. I cut the pills up into various sizes starting with a morning dose and an afternoon dose then stopping the afternoon dose and gradually reducing the morning dose till eventually I was literally taking a crumb each day. It worked well for me but everyone is different. Please keep us updated as to how you are going and all the best with your taper. i hope it is a smooth and easy process for you have been on and off antidepressants for 16 years since becoming pregnant with my now 15 year old daughter.Was put on effexor several years ago and experienced horrible side effects(shakes, vomiting, sweats, chills) about a week into commencing them.Stopped effexor cold turkey and commenced on cipramil which I stayed on a low dose for many years until I weaned myself off.A few years ago I was advised to go back on antidepressants and put on Pristiq. Started on 50 mg but experienced insomnia and irritability so halved the dose to 25mg which I tolerated well but didn't do a lot to help with the "depression" so eventually increased dose to 50mg which I was on for about 3 years I felt I was ready to come off the antidepressants so began to wean off them.The method I have used was to cut the tablets up. At first I took a half in the morning then a quarter late in the afternoon. I would often end up with a big half and a little half when cutting the pills up so I would take the big halves for a about 2 months then swap to the little halves therefore giving me a smallish dose reduction. I held on each reduction for about 6 to eight weeks and sometimes longer depending on how I was feeling. To try to simply summarise my dosing method………. *Big half in morning quarter in early evening (around 4pm) *Small half in morning and quarter in evening *Small half in morning then 1/8 in evening *big half in morning and evening dose dropped *small half in morning *big quarter in morning *small quarter in morning *Big eighth in morning *small eighth in morning * a nibble of the already tiny tablet ) This method has proved to be successful for me thus far and as of June 2014 I am more than 2 months completely Pristiq free Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted April 4, 2014 Administrator Share Posted April 4, 2014 mogfish, thanks so much for those tips. roofus will find your advice very valuable. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
roofus Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 thanks for all the advice. i decided since i hadnt been on them too long to go cold turkey. have been off 7 days now and feel like im getting back to normal. felt pretty foggy and tired for the first few days, but didnt feel too bad, could still function and go to work. Overall has been much better than i expected. i feel a bit more negative towards thing in general but i guess that will pass in time and i just need to work through my issues and keep positive.. hopefully im through the hard part! Link to comment
mogfish Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Good luck to you roofus. Hopefully you are able to tolerate going cold turkey as some people can especially since you were only on it for 2 months. However, if you do continue to have ill effects especially the "brain zaps" that everyone speaks of then you should consider seeking further advice from this site and possibly reinstating the pristiq even if it is at a lesser dose that the 50mg. (Alto would be the one to advise you on this) I'm curious to know why you only took the pristiq for 2 months although I'm glad you did only take it for a short time as its a bugger of drug to get off when you have been on it for an extended period of time. Wishing you all the best have been on and off antidepressants for 16 years since becoming pregnant with my now 15 year old daughter.Was put on effexor several years ago and experienced horrible side effects(shakes, vomiting, sweats, chills) about a week into commencing them.Stopped effexor cold turkey and commenced on cipramil which I stayed on a low dose for many years until I weaned myself off.A few years ago I was advised to go back on antidepressants and put on Pristiq. Started on 50 mg but experienced insomnia and irritability so halved the dose to 25mg which I tolerated well but didn't do a lot to help with the "depression" so eventually increased dose to 50mg which I was on for about 3 years I felt I was ready to come off the antidepressants so began to wean off them.The method I have used was to cut the tablets up. At first I took a half in the morning then a quarter late in the afternoon. I would often end up with a big half and a little half when cutting the pills up so I would take the big halves for a about 2 months then swap to the little halves therefore giving me a smallish dose reduction. I held on each reduction for about 6 to eight weeks and sometimes longer depending on how I was feeling. To try to simply summarise my dosing method………. *Big half in morning quarter in early evening (around 4pm) *Small half in morning and quarter in evening *Small half in morning then 1/8 in evening *big half in morning and evening dose dropped *small half in morning *big quarter in morning *small quarter in morning *Big eighth in morning *small eighth in morning * a nibble of the already tiny tablet ) This method has proved to be successful for me thus far and as of June 2014 I am more than 2 months completely Pristiq free Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted April 9, 2014 Administrator Share Posted April 9, 2014 Please keep in touch with us and let us know how you do, roofus. Hearing that someone has decided to go cold turkey makes us all worry. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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