Littlejaybirdy0613: Withdrawal from Effexor or Side Effects of Pristiq

[Littlejaybirdy0613]

Hi - first post, looking for help, hope, and advice.

I take generic brands of the antidepressants in the aforementioned title for GAD with panic attacks and mild depression.  I have been on Venlafaxine ER for almost 13 years.  In the last year, I have started to experience more breakthrough anxiety as well as lowered efficacy of the drug than I felt in the past.  My psychiatrist said that now there is an affordable, cleaner generic alternative that would possible work better for me given the success of Effexor in my life, Pristiq!  (prescribed the generic version called desvenlafaxine succinate er)

I went from 225mg of Effexor to 75 mg of Pristiq, again both generic extended release versions, 5 days ago.

Day 1 - Felt no different, no anxiety, normal day 

Day 2 - Felt a little dizzy, but no anxiety, good day

Night 2 into Day 3 - Intensified dreams, even worse then Effexor give, bad night sweats and chills

Day 3 - Wake up feeling unsettled by dreams, anxiety from that gets better as the day goes on, poor appetite, chills during the day

Night 3 to Day 4 - Intensified dreams, even worse then Effexor give, bad night sweats and chills

Day 4 - Wake up feeling VERY anxious, but force myself to go on with the day. Constant nausea, poor appetite, constant diarrhea (10x + throughout the day), weepy/crying spells, starting to question why I even switched medications, spiraling thoughts that I am going to lose my job, rely on everyone else to help with my daughter, VERY anxious throughout the day, jittery, muscle tension

I called my psychiatrist and she was SURPRISED that I am reacting to the switch this way. I put my blind trust in doing the hard switch because of her explanation of how similar the drugs are, how it would be better, how I would not feel withdrawal from Effexor, etc.  She felt that the Pristiq may be too concentrated in my body and I should LOWER the dose of Pristiq to 50 mg.  I told her I was not comfortable doing that since it does not seem like a side effect so much as a withdrawal from stopping the Effexor and going right to Pristiq.  We have an appointment in a few days while I continue to take 75 mg of Pristiq.

Day 5 - Not much different from day 4.  Same symptoms.

 

Am I wrong that switching cold turkey may present the withdrawal symptoms I am now feeling? I am feeling very stupid for going along with the change and wonder if I decide at the week mark to go back to the Effexor at the dose I was on if this presents a slew of new issues to go back through the door I crossed through?  Any similar experiences and if it is better to stick it out or take a different course of action? Thank you

Edited August 8, 2023 by manymoretodays
name to title

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @Littlejaybirdy0613

 

While venlafaxine and desvenlafaxine are closely related, they are different molecules and it is possible your nervous system didn't accept the switch, resulting in withdrawal symptoms from venlafaxine. Or, it could be that 75mg desvenlafaxine was too much for you and you got adverse drug effects from that. Personally, I would at least decrease to 50mg because clearly something is not working.

 

At any rate, it seems you had a drug mishap. If you wish to continue antidepressant treatment, please consult your doctor about what to do next.

 

We provide peer help for going off psychiatric drugs and cannot assist you in how to continue antidepressant treatment, that's up to your doctor. Please let us know when you want to go off your drugs.

[Littlejaybirdy0613]

Thank you for approving my post and replying. I ending up going back to the venlafaxine on day 6. I couldn’t handle the withdrawals or side effects or whatever that was.
I have read a lot on this site, but I haven’t come across if desvenlafaxine can also come in capsules with beads like venlafaxine to easily reduce instead of slowly taking pieces off of the desvenlafaxine if I need to slowly lower it from 50mg? I eventually would like to get off of antidepressants but the withdrawal or side effects doing the sudden switch from venlafaxine to desvenlafaxine showed me how difficult it will be. It seems that the withdrawal while tapering from Effexor may be quite similar to that or Pristiq since they are so similar. 

[Altostrata]

Desvenlafaxine comes only in those tablets that can't be split (or you get immediate-release desvenlafaxine). 

 

Do you feel better after going back to Effexor?

 

FYI 

 

 

Tips for tapering off desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)

Tips for tapering off venlafaxine (Effexor)

[Littlejaybirdy0613]

I did for a time. Two weeks ago I missed a dose of Effexor by forgetting it while traveling. Then I took a late half dose on Friday by 7 hours because I simply forgot which never happens. Took my dose as normal the next day. Been feeling on the verge of panic attacks and awful dread this week. Today I broke down, lots of panic, fear, dread, crying. Suspecting the inconsistency of my dosing by my mistakes has caused this. Or maybe Effexor doesn’t work anymore. It would be quite the time to wean off when I’m not completely stable. I’m not sure if more people decide to get off of antidepressants because they are stable and strong enough to do it, the side effects are greater than the peace, or because they feel like they would feel without even taking the medications. Do people express why they are ready to start the journey of leaving antidepressants behind?

[Altostrata]

2 hours ago, Littlejaybirdy0613 said:

Suspecting the inconsistency of my dosing by my mistakes has caused this.

 

Inconsistent dosing can indeed cause the symptoms you describe. Please be very careful and take your drugs at the same times each day. If you skip a dose, you can expect a setback.

 

What times o'clock do you take your current drugs, with their dosages? 

[Littlejaybirdy0613]

I take my Effexor xr in the morning when I wake up. So depending on the day it’s usually 6 on weekdays and 8 on weekends. I take my birth control at that time. Then I talk my 50 mg of trazadone at bed with 0.5 of lorazepam between 9:30 and 10. 

[Altostrata]

Even taking your drugs a couple of hours off schedule on weekends can cause odd symptoms, such as anxiety and panic. Please take your drugs on a consistent schedule for at least a couple of weeks. Please let us know how you're doing.