Andromeda: stopped Pristiq after 2 months

[Andromeda]

Hello everyone 🦄,

 

I'm new to the forum and, as requested, I'd like to introduce myself.

 

I'm a female writing from Spain. I've taking antidepressant Desvenlafaxine (commercial name ‘Pristiq’) for two months in a row to alleviate my premenstrual syndrome and it largely improved it. Nevertheless I stopped taking it (I have a weird feeling towards these type of drugs) without gradually tapering the pill. 

 

Now I'm wrecked tired all the time, I'm bed-ridden most time of the day. Mornings are awful, because I wake up unrested, achy and my muscles are stiff. 

I can only wait 'till I take a nap during the day. After that I have little energy to do normal stuff like going to the grocer's or even take a litte stroll.

 

At night I go to bed still tired. 

 

And this is daily cycle of not feeling well/rested that doesn't go away, it doesn't come to an end. I even get anxious in the evenings thinking of how badly I'm going to feel the next morning.

 

I'd like to find out if this is a result of quitting the treatment.

 

Anyone is welcome to share with me their experiences.

 

Thank you for reading my post. 

 

To the creator thank you for making this forum a reality. I think forums on antidepressants are life-savers.

 

Warmly,

 

Andromeda.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Andromeda
A couple of typos

[Andromeda]

Sharing experience with/without Desvenlafaxine and seeking support

 

Hello everyone 🦄,

 

I'm new to the forum and, as requested, I'd like to introduce myself.

 

I'm a female writing from Spain. I've taking antidepressant Desvenlafaxine (commercial name ‘Pristiq’) for two months in a row to alleviate my premenstrual syndrome and it largely improved it. Nevertheless I stopped taking it (I have a weird feeling towards these type of drugs) without gradually tapering the pill. 

 

Now I'm wrecked tired all the time, I'm bed-ridden most time of the day. Mornings are awful, because I wake up unrested, achy and my muscles are stiff. 

I can only wait 'till I take a nap during the day. After that I have little energy to do normal stuff like going to the grocer's or even take a litte stroll.

 

At night I go to bed still tired. 

 

And this is daily cycle of not feeling well/rested that doesn't go away, it doesn't come to an end. I even get anxious in the evenings thinking of how badly I'm going to feel the next morning.

 

I'd like to find out if this is a result of quitting the treatment.

 

Anyone is welcome to share with me their experiences.

 

Thank you for reading my post. 

 

To the creator thank you for making this forum a reality. I think forums on antidepressants are life-savers.

 

Warmly,

 

Andromeda.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by ChessieCat
added Intro topic title before merging with intro topic

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @Andromeda

 

It is possible you are experiencing withdrawal from 2 months of taking desvenlafaxine daily. When did you last take it?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please summarize your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[Andromeda]

Hello Altostrata,

 

Thanks for replying. I last took it early October, now I feel I´m at the bottom of a "dwell".

 

I´ve updated my signature with concise info.

 

I don´t know if I should take it again as it feels awful, and even `awful´ is a nice term for it.

 

 

[Andromeda]

Altostrata, I´m surfing through the website looking for content "Pristiq-related". I came across a post of yours from 2011 where you suggested some tips to deal with morning anxiety, the link seems to be broken unfortunately. The title was: Early-morning waking with panic or anxiety.

 

I should start from the beginning, since I stopped the pill I´m not able to function properly during the day, especially in the mornings. I wake up with the darkest of sensations and thoughts like:

 

...another day like this

...life is not worth anymore

...I have no future

...I´m all by myself

...I want to die

...what if I jump off a bridge?

...people are busy with their lives and don´t think about you

...you´re going to be a dependant for the rest of your life

... and alike.

 

Mornings I don´t have any intention of leaving the house, ´cause I look terrible and I don´t feel refreshed, it seems I have a sort of daily "hangover" that doesn´t go away, even after napping. I cannot stand daylight either or even high temperatures, they are so annoying at the moment.

 

Kind regards.

 

[Altostrata]

Where was the broken link? ( @ChessieCat would you be so good as to follow up?)

 

See 

 

 

Waking with panic or anxiety -- managing the morning cortisol spike

 

Neuro-emotions

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

[Andromeda]

Thank you @Altostrata, much appreciated 🌹

[ChessieCat]

19 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Where was the broken link? ( @ChessieCat would you be so good as to follow up?)

 

@Altostrata I found a post in a member's topic in 2011 where it was the old link to the topic.  I have updated it.

 

spectio-is-this-depression-or-withdrawal

 

@Andromeda thank you for letting us know about the broken link.  If it happens again, please take a copy of the link (top right of post click on ... then share and copy the URL).  I was only able to find this one because you mentioned the year. 😉

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by ChessieCat

[Andromeda]

Hello, I´m the one to be grateful for, thanks the two of you for the help you provide on this forum.

[Andromeda]

Hello, I'm going through a very hard moment. I'm having severe tiredness that doesn't go away with a full night's sleep or napping together with a feeling of having a "heavy cloud" over my head, vision problems and body aches, specially neck and lower back. My face reflects it all. I look dull, tired.

 

Is there anyone going through the same to feel less lonely? Can anyone here confirm this is a consequence of quitting "cold-turkey" as you refer to please?

 

I've been thinking that Pristiq might deplete the body from minerals and hence the aches.

 

Looking for comments and ideas.

 

Xxx

[Altostrata]

You went off Pristiq cold-turkey only a month ago. How has your symptom pattern changed over the last 2 weeks?

[Andromeda]

Hello Altostrata, I appreciate a lot your reply. Actually I started with body aches all over only a week after quitting. I noticed that even a walk left me exhausted. Today I had a hard time at the wake -up, my body is stiff and I'm wrecked.

 

This is causing me stress cause I had a medical appointment today that I couldn't meet.

 

I must also add that I had Covid in January this year which left me knocked -down after I recovered. I started to have symptoms I never had before.

 

I don't know if the infection plays a role here, I started with body aches after quitting Pristiq.

 

😢

[Andromeda]

...(continuation of my previous message): I also cannot enjoy anything, from food, to a sunrise, a night full with stars, a walk, or even sexual self-stimulation.

[Altostrata]

Nobody seems to like withdrawal syndrome. What did you know about cold turkey before you went off?

[Andromeda]

I knew nothing, in fact I talked to my GP about this and he said "the body would be clean off it after a couple of days" and that "it is not possible" to feel like this after a month. This reflects how little idea he has about psychiatric meds.

 

I've been going through some posts of people here about Pristiq and I know realise the big mistake I've done for not doing the tapering. I wished I had registered on this site even before attempting to take any substance.

[Hanna72]

Dear @Andromeda

11 minutes ago, Andromeda said:

the body would be clean off it after a couple of days" and that "it is not possible" to feel like this after a month

What a bull of crab, excuse my language. This infuriated me just reading your doctors response. Let me just tell you, THEY KNOW NOTHING!!! 
This site will have every information you need, take it from a long term user of ADS.

Inform yourself, be your own advocate, cause believe me no one will do it for you.

You deserve your best life, Live it!!!

[Andromeda]

Hello Hanna, nice to hear from you as well. You know... I've been praying for the last couple of nights for the feeling of intensifying malayse, tiredness and pains all over.

 

God bless us all

[Altostrata]

@Andromeda, you are only recenty off desvenlafaxine.

 

One thing you might do to reduce withdrawal symptoms is take a little bit of the drug again. BUT since desvenlafaxine is a tablet you cannot cut up, you might take some venlafaxine instead. Venlafaxine is desvenlafaxine's sibling. 

 

Are you able to get immediate-release venlafaxine tablets? Suggest you get 37.5mg tablets and reinstate 5mg per day. You will have to take this twice a day, in two doses of 2.5mg each. It might be easiest to make a liquid from the tablets to do this. See Tips for tapering off venlafaxine (Effexor)

 

We have seen this often will reduce withdrawal symptoms. You'd take this regularly for a while, then taper off very gradually. 

 

Please let us know how you're doing.

[Andromeda]

Hello lovely ones (I do not get valuable advice from anyone except from themoderators/creator of this site),

 

I´d like to give an update. Last Sunday I went to hospital cause I´m in a really bad state, these are the symptoms I´m experiencing now and the reason I went to the hospital:

 

- Extreme tiredness (tired since I wake up, tired again one hour after, it feels like "passing out" or "batteries running out of energy" (words fail me)

- Pain on my bones and sore muscles, really intense, as if I also had "rusty joints". I cannot make certain movement with my limbs, especially on the upper part of the body.

- A feeling of "heaviness" and "slowliness". I feel like a ghost dragging my feet to make it to the kitchen/WC and so on. I feel like it takes me a lot of time to react and cannot be rushed to do anything, hence the "slowliness" feeling.

- Headache.

- Lack of concentration (this is the first time i´m turning down work).

- Suicide thinking (it´s hard to be mentally strong to this situation where your body & mind cannot function).

- Itchy eyes and horrendous under-eye bags (they look puffy) with dark circles.

- Dry mouth.

 

They took a blood sample, everything looks in range. They advised me to be referred to an internist as this is not "normal" and that he/she should get to the root cause of all this.

 

If this is caused by quitting desvenlafaxine, I feel it should be banned from the public.

 

@Altostrata my GP thought it would be a good idea to put me on "Duloxetine" as it allegedly liftes the mood and alleviates pain. I took one pill, the effect on me wasn´t good (stomachache and diarrea, plus a feeling of confusion and paralisation, a feeling of "having been poisoned"). I dismissed it and told so to my GP. The advice on Effexor is a good one, for that I´d need to see a knowleable psychiatrist.

 

If someone is experiencing the same, please leave a comment or share your ideas with me. This situation is literally killing me.

 

God bless you all.🙏

 

[Altostrata]

On 11/17/2022 at 7:53 PM, Altostrata said:

Are you able to get immediate-release venlafaxine tablets? Suggest you get 37.5mg tablets and reinstate 5mg per day. You will have to take this twice a day, in two doses of 2.5mg each. It might be easiest to make a liquid from the tablets to do this. See Tips for tapering off venlafaxine (Effexor)

 

[Andromeda]

Hello, I hope everyone is doing fairly well.

 

I´ve an update. I´ve been going to the doctor´s and I´ve been done a serology test.

 

I´m baffled, I have vitamin D deficiency and Epstein-Barr Virus. I think that my symptoms were much more related to these results rather that to the suspected withdrawal from Pristiq. Is there anyone here that has had these two and can give me some advice to get better? As for I´ve read on forums the vitamin D deficiency is very complex, causing debilitating symptoms like mine.

 

The bone pain is fading away thanks god, but I still feel very weak. I´m working on improving the nature of my thoughts during the day with audiobooks on positivity, I´d like to explore other ways.

 

Kind regards,

 

[Altostrata]

We cannot tell you which symptoms were Pristiq withdrawal and which vitamin D deficiency and Epstein-Barr. You will need to correct the vitamin D deficiency.

 

PS It is venlafaxine, not desvenlafaxine, that is structurally similar to tramadol http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0022721

 

Full text at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/50998428_Examining_the_Use_of_Tramadol_Hydrochloride_as_an_Antidepressant

 

Tramadol is not a full-fledged opioid.

[Andromeda]

Hello, thank you for your answer Altostrata, how are you?

 

As for your reply: Neither do I - I´m both baffled and relieved for the test results. I´m now taking vitamin D capsules as prescribed by my family doctor.

Thank you for the info regarding Venlafaxine vs. Tramadol, I´ll update my signature accordingly.

 

I wish you happy holidays and I send well wishes to everyone on this community.

 

👑👑👑

[Altostrata]

Vitamin D supplementation should improve your vitamin D status over time. You'd have to join an Epstein-Barr virus support group for information about that condition.