# Pristiq Weaning is Awful



## orbit55 (Apr 23, 2008)

I am just over two weeks into my Pristiq wean and this is really a horrible process. I'm not really sure if all SNRI/SSRI weans are like this but Effexor/Pristiq seem to hold true to their bad rep. The worst symptom for me seems to be the dizziness. It is unlike anything I have felt before. A dizzy feeling with pressure in all parts of your body like hands, face, tongue and head. Some people have described this as a swimming feeling. I also have extreme fatigue and just feel awful.

I am actually fortunate to be unemployed because I don't see how anyone could go to work like this. *Knock on Wood* I haven't had the infamous brain zaps but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up getting them. Also, my sense of smell is very extreme. I have no idea if this is a side effect but as the concentration of the chemical lowers, I can smell things stronger than I have ever before.

I am not a doctor and this is simply my own opinion but please for anyone considering Effexor/Pristiq, look into the side effects including withdrawal before taking this pill.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Thats why you gotta wean VERY slowly with this drug, way more so than any other anti-depressant.


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## PeakOfTheMountain (Oct 3, 2010)

.
Fish oil helps with brain zaps


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## orbit55 (Apr 23, 2008)

Anyone know how long it takes for a 50 mg tab of Pristiq to wash out of your body? I'm on week 3 of my wean and I can take a pill tomorrow but it will be 3 days without any Pristiq, so I'm thinking just continue to go without it. 

If I take the tab tomorrow, it would be another 3 days before I could take another one which would be my last one according to my 3 week weaning schedule.


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## robtyl (Sep 2, 2010)

I went cold turkey on these babies (100MG) and felt like **** for a week or two. It's definitely not an enjoyable process. Maybe I should have tapered off, but I was prepared for the ill-effects of not doing so.

Just stick with it - you're supposed to feel bad - after a couple of weeks you'll be OK.

x


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## orbit55 (Apr 23, 2008)

7 days since my last tablet. Still have those headrushes. Anyone know when those go away?


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## iamstrong (Jul 5, 2011)

I am in my third week of weening myself off Pristiq and just went through three days of straight migraines. I went through the dizziness really bad the first week. I really struggled to drive but God pulled me through. Today is my first day without a headache and actually feeling good. Tonight, I started feeling a little dizzy and it is actually the third day but I didn't take the pill. I was thinking of taking it tomorrow morning or actually just seeing how I feel and maybe just suffering through it since it is my third week? Any suggestions?
Thanks


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

Well given the fact pristiq contains venlafaxine which is whats in Effexor it would make sense that the withdrawals are just as bad 
:hug sorry to hear your struggle with it, but hey you are not alone, everyone has bad withdrawals from these SNRI drugs. You are stronger than me, i could only cope two months before going back on effexor. The withdrawal symptoms can last for a few months but the extreme physical and mental anguish tends to decrease after the first couple of weeks although the mental stuff can last as it did for me
make sure you wean very slowly

are you switching to any other Antidepressant?


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## orbit55 (Apr 23, 2008)

iamstrong said:


> I am in my third week of weening myself off Pristiq and just went through three days of straight migraines. I went through the dizziness really bad the first week. I really struggled to drive but God pulled me through. Today is my first day without a headache and actually feeling good. Tonight, I started feeling a little dizzy and it is actually the third day but I didn't take the pill. I was thinking of taking it tomorrow morning or actually just seeing how I feel and maybe just suffering through it since it is my third week? Any suggestions?
> Thanks


What was your weaning schedule? I did 1 tablet every other day for a week and then 1 tablet every two days for a week and then stopped. I was going to split two tablets the third week but decided just to power through.



Arisa1536 said:


> Well given the fact pristiq contains venlafaxine which is whats in Effexor it would make sense that the withdrawals are just as bad
> :hug sorry to hear your struggle with it, but hey you are not alone, everyone has bad withdrawals from these SNRI drugs. You are stronger than me, i could only cope two months before going back on effexor. The withdrawal symptoms can last for a few months but the extreme physical and mental anguish tends to decrease after the first couple of weeks although the mental stuff can last as it did for me
> make sure you wean very slowly
> 
> are you switching to any other Antidepressant?


I sure hope withdrawal symptoms don't last for months. You would think the chemical would wash out of your system in like a week and then maybe a week for your body to adjust. I am still amazed this stuff is legal.


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## orbit55 (Apr 23, 2008)

Also, how could you only cope two months off Effexor? I would think by then the withdrawals must have been gone.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

orbit55 said:


> Also, how could you only cope two months off Effexor? I would think by then the withdrawals must have been gone.


Not for me they weren't but i think a lot of that was due to the fact that no other antidepressant has worked for me like Effexor has. I was on nortriptyline at the time i stopped effexor from weaning off it and nortriptyline was not helping my anxiety, OCD, BPD and certainly not my eating disorder so it could have been a mixture of that and withdrawing from a drug i had been on for six years.

It can take months but the awful horrendous stuff goes for some people after only a few days  for some it lasts longer. everyone is different


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## orbit55 (Apr 23, 2008)

Arisa1536 said:


> Not for me they weren't but i think a lot of that was due to the fact that no other antidepressant has worked for me like Effexor has. I was on nortriptyline at the time i stopped effexor from weaning off it and nortriptyline was not helping my anxiety, OCD, BPD and certainly not my eating disorder so it could have been a mixture of that and withdrawing from a drug i had been on for six years.
> 
> It can take months but the awful horrendous stuff goes for some people after only a few days  for some it lasts longer. everyone is different


Scientifically it just doesn't make sense. Effexor/Pristiq can only remain in your system for a certain period of time after you stop taking it. I'm guessing the withdrawals are caused from your body going so long not naturally making the amounts of serotonin it is used to.

Sounds like more testing needs to go into whether or not this drug causes permanent brain damage. If it does, I sure hope it is at least taken off the US market.


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## greenruby (Aug 29, 2012)

I've been a lab rat for more than 20 years suffering with depression, anxiety, and panic, bipolar you name it I've been diagnosed with and given numerous drugs for. They would work for a while and then stop or so I would think.
Effexor/Pristiq has been the worse especially getting off of. Didn't even know Pristiq was like Effexor, would have said no way right from the start. Had my son 14 months ago and was completely drug free until about 6 months ago when I started getting this fuzzy weird stuff happening in my brain and body. So I put my symptoms into Google and it said anxiety/panic disorder. So the new doctor put me on 50mg Pristiq, that day it went away and things were fine for a bit until I started feeling weird again, plus I still wasn't sleeping well. So he upped the dose to 100mg because you can only go up by 50mg and also gave me abilify for sleep. Yeah right was sicker than a dog, thought I would die with heart attack that night and stopped taking the abilify. Got used to the extra Pristiq and yup started feeling weird again....so I said forget this crap, sick of allowing this to control me, stopped taking the one 50mg cold turkey and yes more of the weird fuzzy, eyes flicking, heart palpations, brain feeling like it's zinging and swimming almost like I was on some serious street drug gone bad. /on a roller coaster where my heart falls into my stomach, nausea. Okay so one thing that was mentioned to me through therapy that wasn't mentioned before was ADHD didn't think I had it as a child but my daughter has it and I definitely have some symptoms...so tried taking 5mg of Ritalin morning and afternoon and it's helped a bit. I have cleaned more of my house in the last two weeks then I have in the last two years  Okay so I thought maybe this will help me wean of the other 50mg because like I said you can't get any lower of this drug and you can't cut it. So for the past three days I haven't taken the Pristiq. Yup still all the weird stuff but just a bit different. I think I was excepting of the unexpected, also I have turned to God and have been praying on my knees for help and sometimes I think he hears me. Anyways SORRY know this is really long but I'm just frustrated and angry with all this crap....why can't I just been feel normal for once. I've gained tonnes of weight, I don't want affection forget about sex, if I don't have constipation then diarrhea, nausea big time probable cause my head is swimming for its life. These medications are supposed to make us better but in the end it's making everything worse. Is there an herbal approach? Can God really help? Can we learn to just WILL ourselves better? Wow!!!! p.s. For those of you just starting medication especially Pristiq/Effexor really read up on them all and think do I really want to do this to my body/mind. There has got to be another way....Help!!


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## Twelve Keyz (Aug 28, 2011)

thanks for sharing. My doc is going to put me on pristiq soon so this is good to know.


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## Broshious2 (Jan 21, 2009)

Pristiq just makes me so pissed off. I can't decide who's worse, the companies making this bull****, or the doctors prescribing them. I'm not saying Pristiq can't work. My issue is with it being THE SAME DAMN THING AS EFFEXOR that just happens to come out as the patent on Effexor expires. Fancy that. Now I will admit I had a friend who Effexor caused his GERD to act up and this did not, but the differences are very minor at best, and I had my psychiatrist WHO KNOWS I TOOK EFFEXOR FOR A YEAR AND QUIT IT, tell me a new drug was out called Pristiq.

I know someone was talking about the new Modafinil that is the same way. They mentioned that it lasts longer or some such. I read the study that said this, and at the end there is a conflict of interest statement that just mentions it was funded by the company selling the new Modafinil. I read another study that compares the efficacy of similar doses (The new one is admittedly a little stronger mg/mg) and they could find no subjective difference between the two.

There's also Esomeprazole(Nexium) which is very questionable as to superiority to Omeprazole.

There are so many other examples. Truly new drugs are so rare it's sad.

Side note, I really want to know what made them choose to make Selegiline into a transdermal MAOI, seeing as how it's very MAOB selective and all.


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

Broshious2 said:


> Pristiq just makes me so pissed off. I can't decide who's worse, the companies making this bull****, or the doctors prescribing them. I'm not saying Pristiq can't work. My issue is with it being THE SAME DAMN THING AS EFFEXOR that just happens to come out as the patent on Effexor expires. Fancy that. Now I will admit I had a friend who Effexor caused his GERD to act up and this did not, but the differences are very minor at best, and I had my psychiatrist WHO KNOWS I TOOK EFFEXOR FOR A YEAR AND QUIT IT, tell me a new drug was out called Pristiq.
> 
> I know someone was talking about the new Modafinil that is the same way. They mentioned that it lasts longer or some such. I read the study that said this, and at the end there is a conflict of interest statement that just mentions it was funded by the company selling the new Modafinil. I read another study that compares the efficacy of similar doses (The new one is admittedly a little stronger mg/mg) and they could find no subjective difference between the two.
> 
> ...


I understand your frustration. My doctor has just started me on pristiq even though I had no response to max dose of effexor. 
He told me that they are not the same and also mentioned that Pristiq is metabolised differently. Apparently it's better for people who are ultra rapid metabolises like myself.....yeh wateva doc!
I will take this **** for 2 months but I am not hopeful at all


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

greenruby said:


> Okay so I thought maybe this will help me wean of the other 50mg because like I said you can't get any lower of this drug and you can't cut it.


Even though it says on the packet not to cut the tablet, I did indeed cut my pristiq tablets in half when weaning off of them and it helped to stop the withdrawal symptoms.


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## gnielson (Mar 18, 2013)

*Weaning off Pristiq*

I am in total agreement. After my Dr. refused to help me go off of it I did it myself slowly over a months time. Started cutting my 100 mg in half then when I started feeling normal again cut it into quarters and kept breaking it down. I have included regular excercise and have noticed the foggy headedness and fatigue are better after a good work out. I have been off of it for 4 days and although still having the foggy head,tired and a little moody I am getting off of it.


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## xuztujma (Mar 18, 2013)

Thats why you gotta wean VERY slowly with this drug


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

gnielson said:


> I am in total agreement. After my Dr. refused to help me go off of it I did it myself slowly over a months time. Started cutting my 100 mg in half then when I started feeling normal again cut it into quarters and kept breaking it down. I have included regular excercise and have noticed the foggy headedness and fatigue are better after a good work out. I have been off of it for 4 days and although still having the foggy head,tired and a little moody I am getting off of it.


Well of course Dr. Dumbass had no exit strategy, cause afterall, he isn't the one who has to suffer from withdrawals, so why should he care? lol! Good ole Dr. Dumbass, useless as ever. He is laughing all the way to the bank... then the BMW car lot.


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## yourfavestoner (Jan 14, 2010)

Dr House said:


> Thats why you gotta wean VERY slowly with this drug, way more so than any other anti-depressant.


SNRIs are notorious for horrific withdrawals, even when weaned off.

I had been weaned off Cymcrapta at a snail's pace and it was still hell on Earth. SNRIs are actually higher on my **** list than SSRIs, which speaks volumes. I find them just as ineffective, but with a plethora of side effects and withdrawal from hell.

I never had an issue with SSRI withdrawal.


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## bethunee24 (Apr 26, 2013)

*Pristiq Weaning is awful*

Pristiq, among other extended release depression medications, is truly horrible to stop using. Unfortunately, some doctors do not understand how bad it really is. A couple years ago, I decided to stop using Effexor, which is very similar to Pristiq. Fortunately, at that time, I was going to a fabulous psichiatric nurse practitioner who understood exactly what I was going to be dealing with. He prescribed 2 weeks worth of a small dose(5-10 mg) of Xanax to help me through the withdrawal symptoms. I thought I would try to make it without the Xanax, but by the 3rd day of going cold turkey, I thought I was going to die, so I decided to give the Xanax a whirl. I still had some mild symptoms, but I had a much easier time. going off the Effexor. Apparently, Xanax and Prozac break down much faster in your body and they don't have any withdrawal symptoms, and that is why this works. Good luck with going off Pristiq everyone! I hope this helps!


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Yeah, cross tapering over to Prozac is probably a good idea for SNRI withdrawal, prozac lasts a lot longer in the body.


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## karenb (Oct 19, 2013)

iamstrong said:


> .... three days of straight migraines. I went through the dizziness really bad the first week.


I also suffered migraines and dizziness. I still feel so ill after weaning myself off Pristiq four days ago.

My diabetes went out of control with blood sugar readings > 20. 
The worst part for me is that I've suffered horrific nightmares and I'm still suffering. 

I look pale and feel tired.

I bet those laboratory rats didn't tell the pharmaceutical company how they felt.


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## coollamon (Apr 7, 2015)

I have been on pristique for 9 years after suffering a dc electric shock that stopped my heart for 30-40 seconds then exited my left foot. After the electrocution I suffered from panic attacks , suicidal thoughts, depression and an irregular heart beat.

My treating doctor sent me to phsyc some months later and it was established that I had PTSD and he prescribed 50mg prestique daily. It was clear early on that 50mg was not doing the job and as such the dosage was upped to 100 mg daily then 200 mg daily when the previous dose was not working.

200mg daily worked and I was able to actually reconnect to my family and friends all be it awkwardly. 
Fast forward 9 years....
I didnt want to take the tablets any more as I was feeling pretty good and I felt the tablets were making me a different person, so after consulting with the Doc we started a gradual reduction in dosage.
200-100 mg felt pretty good no noticeable mood swings , brainzaps or dizziness. 
So I sat on 100mg for another month and everything seemed good for the next step.
100mg - 50mg 
Things were going o.k with only mild symptoms of withdrawal all in all it was manageable. .every now and then I would get slight dizziness and very rarely brain zaps (usually when under stress) 
2 months of 50 mg and onwards to the next step.

50mg - 0
this is where I have started having problems.
I have only been prestique free for 2 days and I feel like crap.
constant dioreaha , brain zaps 20+ a day , shakes, feeling nauseous all the time and struggling to get any tasks done. I find my mind wandering easily and finding I have to make a large effort to interact with my family + massive mood swings.
How long can I expect these feelings and symptoms to persist ? I don't want to go back on them I just want to be clear of them forever. 
Can anyone suggest methods to deal with my withdrawal symptoms ? Any advice appreciated .

john


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## coollamon (Apr 7, 2015)

Great, I can now add migraines to the list..spent the last 1/2 hour vomiting from the dizziness then WHAM...migraine. ..FML this sucks


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## starrlamia (Mar 28, 2015)

coollamon said:


> Great, I can now add migraines to the list..spent the last 1/2 hour vomiting from the dizziness then WHAM...migraine. ..FML this sucks


that sucks I'm sorry you are dealing with this! How the long the symptoms last is kinda individual unfortunately. Are you working with your doc as you withdrawal?
I took a lot of gravol for dizziness/nausea when I was withdrawing from paxil, it was the only way I could function for a while. As for migraines, as soon as I feel one coming on I do this trick and really helps: fill bathtub with enough hot water to over your feet to your ankles (as hot as you can stand, but dont burn yourself), put feet in and then put a cold pack (or some frozen veggies) on the back of your neck. It helps get blood flowing to your feet. I sit like that until the water starts cooling off. It doesn't cure it necessarily but it does make them more tolerable (I also pop meds at that point). I hope things start improving soon for you.


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## coollamon (Apr 7, 2015)

Thanks so much for your reply.
My doc is a new one as we have moved interstate. So we are pretty much just trying to work through this phase of my recovery. 
I have just finished doing the hot and cold treatment for the migraine and I must say I am surprised at how effective in lessening the pain in my head that this treatment has given me.


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## SSRIManiac (Jun 14, 2014)

Pfizer should come out with 25mg or perhaps a 75mg as well. Maybe they still will, or once it goes generic other companies will. 

It's pretty awful the withdrawals but they last for a shorter period of time in my experience, just start cutting the pills or switch to something else.


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## coollamon (Apr 7, 2015)

Well I am at day 4 so far and to date the last 2 days have been pretty hardcore on me physically and emotionally .
Day 2 as my previous posts indicate started out badly and it just kept going worse with brain zaps occurring pretty much every 30-40 seconds , nausea, dioreha , vomiting, migraines you name it I had it going on and I pretty much spent the day in various stages of sleep trying to get through the symptoms.

Day 3 I woke up feeling pretty average with immediate brain zaps along with feeling nauseous once again. 
A couple of new side effects showed themselves today being extremely dry eyes and what I can only describe as Vertigo .
The Vertigo I dealt with by trying to keep my eyes closed when it struck and the dry eyes with drops that my wife went and got from the our local Chemist.
Last night(day3) I was really contemplating going back onto the tablets just to stop how I was feeling ,I haven't been able to really eat anything and keep it down up to this point and to be honest I was feeling just tired , so tired that I was struggling to even watch Big Bang theory which is a fave in this house and very rarely missed.
I can say I stuck with it last night with limited sleep and plenty of feeling crappy.

Surprisingly today I am not feeling to bad.
I am still getting the zaps but the severity has decreased ,I have even managed to mow the lawns today (considering how I was feeling 2 days previous I thought that I would have to pay someone lol)
anyway, just thought I would post an update as to how its going if anyone was interested 
Cheers

John


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