success ☼ Mogfish: weaning off pristiq

[mogfish]

I tried to wean off pristiq a few months ago by cutting the 50mg tabs into halves. I experienced head shocks and postural dizziness after the first day and after the first week I was teary, easily agitated and had no tolerance for anybody. This time I am taking things a little slower. My doctor suggested taking half each day or one every second day but I don't agree with either of those suggestions. I am a registered nurse so I do tend to do things my own way

 

I am now 10 days in now to weaning off 50mg tabs and I am cutting the meds into halves and quarters. I take 25mg in the morning and 12.5mg around 3pm in the afternoon. So far I have had very good success with this with little to no "head shocks" and no altered mood. I do however have really sore and swollen breasts and this is not pre menstrual so I can only put it down to weaning from the pristiq

 

My rationale for doing the wean this way is that a 50% reduction is too much but to take 75mg in the morning when I have breached the coating would probably result in a stronger dose dumping effect. Having the smaller dose in the afternoons seems to keep me going till the next morning without keeping me awake or giving me any unwanted side effects. Its too early to say if this will be totally effective for me but so far so good! I have continued working without any issues and I am coping well with my teenage daughter who I raise on my own.

 

I have been taking very good quality magnesium supplements and krill and flaxseed oil ( oils that are high in EPA are best) as the oils are great for the brain and nervous system and the magnesium is a very good natural muscle relaxant, not to mention that both these supplements are great for the heart.

[Jemima]

Welcome to the forum, Mogfish. Your method of tapering makes me awfully nervous, but let's hope that you're one of the few who can tolerate such big cuts in dosage. You might want to take a look at this topic in our Tapering discussion:

 

Tips for tapering off Pristiq

 

There's lots of good information throughout this site and many friendly, helpful people to offer support on the journey.

[Gardner]

Good luck Megan I will be following your posts.

 

Thanks for your encouragement to me this morning Judy

[areyouthere]

 

I have been taking very good quality magnesium supplements and krill and flaxseed oil ( oils that are high in EPA are best) as the oils are great for the brain and nervous system and the magnesium is a very good natural muscle relaxant, not to mention that both these supplements are great for the heart.

 

Mogfish, may I ask what brand the krill and flax seed oil are? And are they in tablet ( capsule) or as a real oil?

 

Thanks!

 

RU

[mogfish]

thank you Jemima. I have read Tapering off pristiq and the information within has been very helpful. I don't plan to rush my taper at all. I plan to take things slowly and listen to my body. If I am not coping with the rate of my taper I will reinstate or slightly increase the dose. Compound pharmacy is not an option for me due to the cost and scarcety of them in Australia and I have no desire to swap to another antidepressant and then wean off that also. Effexxor is not an option for me as I have had a severe reaction in the past. I have weaned off citalopram several years ago and was able to do it quickly and with minimal side effects ( on Doctors advice I went from full dose to half then a quarter in a matter of weeks) I won't be doing that this time around although again my Doctors advice was to go from 50mg to 25mg in one hit. I will also be taking natural supplements to assist my nervous system such as omega 3's and magnesium as well as eating well with plenty of fruit and vegetables in my diet......but still having a naughty treat every now and then.

 

to RU the flaxseed I take is Melrose organic and I was taking it in capsule form as thats just what I had at home although will be restocking today and will probably get the liquid form as tends to be fresher. ( remember to keep your oils in the fridge) The fish oil is just king krill oil by totally natural products. I am taking 2 x500mg krill oil and 4 x flaxseed oils a day at the moment but I have the day off today so am going to check with the naturopath at the local vitamin store exactly how many I should be taking.

[mogfish]

I have just discovered another really good web site with advice for weaning off antidepressants etc. It is called "The road back"...It seems to talk about natural medicines to assist in weaning off medications. Omega 3's being one of the essential one's. I have always been a big believer in natural medicine working together with western medicine, hence the term complimentary.

[Jemima]

Beware of 'The Road Back'. They sell the supplements they recommend at greatly inflated prices, and in addition, some of them are far too stimulating for someone in antidepressant withdrawal.

 

Their free ebook, however, is worth downloading.

[Altostrata]

To our knowledge, there is no supplement regimen that will enable you to quickly wean off any psychiatric drug. All those promises are snake oil.

 

Reducing at your rate of tolerance is the best way to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

[mogfish]

thanks for the tip re "The road back". Although some of what they say makes perfect sense to me especially regarding omega 3's as I have been told the same information by other health professionals and naturopaths. I don't plan on buying the supplements though as I already take my own and agree that the prices seem high. I will say though that please don't under estimate the power of taking natural supplements to assist with health and well being and possibly even help with the weaning process. The body needs vitamins and minerals to function .

Even if the supplements I am taking do nothing to help with my taper I have still made a good investment as since taking Krill, flaxseed and magnesium ( I have been taking these for several months prior to tapering) my cholesterol( which was slightly high) has reduced including a lowering in my triglycerides, my skin is clearer and I don't get leg cramps as often. Again I have no plans to wean off my meds too quickly I will go at the pace that my body dictates. Everyone is very unique as to how they will respond to stresses on the body including taking or tapering from meds) After both reading and experiencing other peoples stories I may be just lucky that I am doing so well nearly 2 weeks in to tapering from pristiq and I may end up feeling like crap down the track but for now I am doing really well I have even halved my blood pressure medication as both my systolic and diastolic blood pressure have come down since reducing pristiq and my blood pressure was getting too low.....Apparently it is known that pristiq causes high blood pressure ( I actually was unaware of this until my kidney specialist pointed it out to me). Soooo many times in my career I have seen people get put on another drug to counteract the effects of another drug and so on. sometimes we have no choice but to take prescription drugs. I will be on blood thinning medication for the rest of my life as I have had recurrent blood clots in my legs, lungs and kidneys but I have avoided cholesterol medication which can damage the liver and hopefully if and when I get off the pristiq I will be able to come off my blood pressure meds too. All in all so far so good.

[Gardner]

I'm so happy you're doing this well Meghan

[Gardner]

How are you doing Megan

You seem to be doing so well on your post.

How many days has it been and what is you cut dose now ?

Judy

[mogfish]

Hi Judy!

I am day 13 today and am still holding at 25mg pristiq in AM and 12.5 mg in afternoon. I am going to stay at this level for another 3-4 weeks and if I feel fine I will reduce the dose slightly to a third of a tablet twice a day. ( the tablets are buggers to cut up into thirds!!!)

I am doing really well Judy. I have no head shocks at all and in good spirits. The only thing I am experiencing is some itchiness mostly around my scalp and arms especially at night but apart from that I am actually sleeping better and my blood pressure is consistently perfect which is very encouraging

[mogfish]

oops, am actually day 15 today...

[Gardner]

We are about a day apart :-)

Wish I was doing as well as you are. Good luck.

[mogfish]

I wish you were too Judy! Hopefully things settle and get easier for you very very soon. I think that once you find the right dose for you things will settle down somewhat. Sending big hugs to you xo

[Gardner]

I will be interested to see if this goes to post

I haven't been able to get any emails from my computer, on my pad or on my telephone since 12:30.

 

My husband has been unable to get on the computer to look at it.

 

He did say he thought it was a problem with verizon.

 

I miss my connection on here so much. To nite I'm itchy and nervous and trying to decide if I should take my last of 3 doses of effexor 12.5 and if these reactions are allergic or w/d?

 

It's weird that I can see your posts but alto says my email alerts are bouncing and I tried to fix it.

[Gardner]

Was thinking of you and just wanted to see if you had a good sunday.

[Gardner]

Hi can't get your email to open from last nite

[mogfish]

I am 3 weeks into tapering off pristiq and so far so good!

 

I have had no side effects as yet and have tolerated the reduction from 50mg daily to 25mg morning and 12.5mg around 4pm really well.

I have been a little reluctant to post as I know so many people have had difficulty tapering.

However, I must say, if it wasn't for this site, i would have probably listened to my doctor and tapered faster than what I have.

I do wonder if the reasonbly rapid tapers I have done in the past under doctors instructions have resulted in the need to go back on meds at a later stage??

My life remains stressful even though I try to minimise the stress, but I'm a single Mum and I work shift work as a nurse so to be stress free is virtually impossible.(

 

I want to share my experiences in the hope that the few people who are able to taper relatively quickly will still do so in a safe and comfortable way as I have found that most general doctors are not aware the correct way to taper and tend to tell a patient to drop quite rapidly and halve the dose then stop.

 

I will be honest and say that there is very little science behind the way that I am tapering. I am simply following what my body will tolerate.

 

Pristiq is hard to break up, but for the last couple of days I have slightly dropped my dose by simply shaving a little bit off the half tablet that I am taking in the morning and continuing with the quarter tablet at night. So far, i have not noticed any side effects and continue to work and function as normal and I am definitely sleeping better and my blood pressure has normalised to the point where I now only take 1/2 of my usual micardis 80mg( blood pressure medication)

.

I plan to stay on this regime for another 3-4 weeks then reduce my afternoon dose by breaking the tiny quarters in half again. ( being a nurse comes in handy when it comes to breaking up tablets!! But at the same time continuing with slightly less than a half tablet in the mornings.

 

I have also been consistent in taking 2X fish oil ( high dose) every morning and vitamin E 400mg as well as a good quality magnesium supplement x2-4 every night. I have frequent saunas so always take extra megnesuim on the days I have a sauna as magnesium is commonly lost through sweat and may lead to cramping if not enough in the body.

 

Anyway, just wanted to update on my progress which is so far so good!!

[tezza]

Hi Mogfish,

 

It sounds like you're doing really good and we all love good news.

 

I can see how shift work would be stressful, I don't think I'd ever get really adjusted to it.

 

Glad to hear you're doing so well!

[Altostrata]

I'm really happy to hear of successful Pristiq tapering. So little is known about tapering Pristiq. The Pristiq tapering topic http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/876-tips-for-tapering-off-pristiq-desvenlafaxine/ may be our most-viewed topic (more than 40,000 views).

[Gardner]

Congratulations !

This is such great news. So happy for you.

Glad to see this positive post.

Judy

[mogfish]

Wow! not sure what is going on here but it's a little off putting for me and makes me reluctant to post on my own progress weaning off pristiq.

 

As a nurse I am very aware that people tolerate meds very differently and you can never predict how each individual will respond.

 

For me personally, I can't take effexor, it gave me horrible side effects as I have previously mentioned. I also know that I can't stop taking pristiq cold turkey as a few months back when I began weaning and before finding this site, I simply halved the dose to 25mg which turned me into a total ***** within 3 days!!

 

Hence taking on board the info from this site and listening to my body I started weaning at a slower rate and i tolerated this really well and am now down to 25mg with no side effects at all. This is my personal story and it is working for me. When I posted my progress some were discouraging of my method and were nervous for me. I completely understand that and am grateful for peoples concerns....but I'm doing well!!!

 

I am very mindful that many people can get to the halfway mark just fine then all hell breaks loose! I hope this doesn't happen to me but accept that it is a possibility and will take it slow...or as slow as it can be done with the resources I have at hand.....ie a pill cutter and determination!!

 

I have a plan for the next phase of my taper which i will implement when the emotional **** storm around me settles down a little.

 

When I halve the meds often one half is bigger than the other at the moment I am taking the bigger halves

In a few weeks I will start taking the smaller halves therefore slightly reducing my dose......and keeping the larger halves aside for later ( I will explain shortly...)

Once stabilised on the smaller halves for a time not yet planned as will follow my body......I will then start shaving a little off the smaller half tablet again reducing the dose slightly...

I then plan to halve the larger tabs (a quarter of the bigger halves) This will be a relatively large reduction but by using the bigger halves it is reduced to a point.

I then plan to take a quarter of the smaller halves and then finally break off a little bit of the smaller quarter or an eighth if you like!

 

yes, yes my method is a little weird and involves twoing and froing between big halves and little halves but it's the best I can do with what is available to me.

 

If people want me to post on my progess then I will but if not, I'm happy to quietly go about my taper without posting.

 

I am very aware that I am probably one of the lucky ones that can taper relatively quickly. I am also very aware that I am not on multiple psychoactive medications and therefore my journey will be easier than many people on this site.

 

There are so many sad stories on here and I don't want to be boasting about my good fortune at all, that is not what I am about but if I am successful then I hope that my story can be of some help to a few people out there and give them a possible option as to how how to get of this "wonder drug" that unfortunately doesn't come in a smaller dose to make tapering safer and easier.

 

NOTE: This post was moved from the 'Tips for tapering off Pristiq' topic. -Jemima

[Altostrata]

That doesn't sound odd, Mogfish. If it works for you, it works.

 

You can deal with snags if you hit them.

 

The more information we have about people successfully getting off Pristiq, the better. There are no maps at all for Pristiq tapers.

[Gardner]

Mogfish,

I hope you keep posting. As you said "we all tolerate meds differently" and maybe your way will help someone. Your posts are not bragging and are always so kind and professional.

Continued good luck!

Judy

[mogfish]

Thank you Gardner, Alto and Jemima!!

was going to edit my post but have left it too late now.

I hope I am making it clear that this is my personal journey and in no way am I suggesting that my way is the right way or the only way to taper off pristiq. It's just the method that I have come up with that takes into account the need for a slow taper and minimising reduction percentages as suggested on this site. There is absolutely no evidence to support my method other than my own success with it so far.

If it wasn't for the information on this site I would probably be completely off the pristiq by now... but with the strong possibility of rebounding into depression again and it certainly would not have been the smooth road that it has been for me so far; so for that I say Thank you!

[mogfish]

This is an update 4paris who sent an email,

4paris, I am doing really well weaning off pristiq but i am taking things very slowly now. I am currently taking a small half of a 50mg tablet which is probably about 20mg give or take. It has taken me several months slowly reducing the dose to get to this point and in that time i have had little to no side effects.

 

I too was told by my GP to either half the dose straight up or take every other day. I would imagine very few people would be successful with either method,

I know for me reducing straight down to 25mg was a nightmare by the 3rd day of this regime I had head shocks and was extremely irritable. hence why I reintroduced a quarter of a tablet in the afternoon with the half tablet in the morning which I coped with really well and eliminated my side effects. This method may not work for everyone and may still be too big a reduction for some, and it has no medical basis behind it other than that it worked well for me.

 

I plan to reduce down to my next taper soon but am currently doing a mixture of night duty and day duty in the same week ( I work casually as a nurse) and my body clock is all over the place so i don't want to add another dose reduction into the mix.

 

I havent updated my progress for a few months as have had nothing to report other than that I am doing really well and my method of tapering has proved to be very successful for me so far.

I would imagine the next few months will be the real challenge as my doses get smaller and the percentage of the dose reduction will get bigger. Although hopefully my little plan that i have come up with swapping between little halfs and big halfs which I have mentioned in previous post will eliminate this issue somewhat.

 

I wish you all the best 4Paris with whatever method of tapering you find works for you. I couldn't see that you have posted an introduction, but if you do then Alto and the other administrators will certainly provide you with advice and encouragement during your taper

[ktp]

are you still here mogfish?  I'm anxiously watching your excellent progress - through May 2013.  How goes your Pristiq weaning?

fellow pristiq user, 50mg 4 years.

[mogfish]

hello ktp and other's who read the posts on here.

Apologies for not coming on to update on my progress. As of today I am 4 days completely pristiq free!!

yay!!

It has taken me almost a year to get to this point and to be honest my journey so far has been very bearable. I kind of followed my own way of doing this with the guidance from this site.

 

As I have previously mentioned I was unable to cross over to effexor as had been prescribed it many years ago and had a nasty reaction including severe nausea and vomiting, sweats and shakes.

 

My GP recommended that I wean off pristiq  in a matter of weeks by taking a tablet every second day then every third day then ceasing but I had tried this in the past and always ended up back on the meds within a few months after going through weeks of horrible withdrawal symptoms. 

 

The method I used this time around 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 )

then i forgot to take a nibble for a few days as I got busy so have decided to see how I go.

 

I have also been taking supplements including krill oil, good quality magnesium( at night) and for the last 2 months I have included Vitamin B1, B6, B12 and a B group multivitamin as taking specific B group vitamins only can deplete the levels of other B group vitamins……my wee is very yellow!!! hehe

 

I hope that makes sense??

 

Anyway, as for how I am feeling, it is difficult to say. I have been a bit teary the last few weeks especially at night time but that may have more to do with the fact that my 14 year old daughter who I have raised on my own since she was 3 months old told me that she doesn't really love me anymore and she is going through her own traumas as her dad who she has not seen for almost 9 years despite the fact that he lives relatively close by is wanting to reconnect with her and she is not sure how she feels about it. I have also recently learnt that she has been cutting herself on her inner arm and thigh (

Poor baby!! Apparently this is very common behaviour for teenagers especially girls but it still tears my heart out!!! 

 

I have also been in quite a lot of pain the last few weeks with a neck injury which is radiating into my left arm causing horrible pain and numbness and as a result I have not been able to sleep very well so I'm pretty damn tired and I  have also not been able to work as I am a nurse which is quite a physically demanding job and the doctor doesn't want my neck aggravated any further. 

So basically it has been a pretty sh*tty few weeks but I am mentioning this as I would say that I am feeling a bit teary because of these issues rather than coming off the tablets although it is very possible to be a bit of both. The way I see it though is that "I am not yet rocking in the corner" so I think I am doing pretty well under the circumstances ))

 

I'm a little apprehensive as to how the next few months are going to pan out as I know from this site and surprisingly my GP mentioned it today that withdrawals  can often get worse a month or so after complete cessation. Fingers, toes and eyeballs crossed that I don't experience this.

 

Anyway, just wanted to update and also say thank you to all of you especially Alto and Jemima for your help. if it wasn't for this site I would have weaned quickly and would probably be back on a full dose of antidepressants by now.

[mammaP]

Hi Mogfish. Off pristiq now, well done! That was an ingenious way of tapering, there are very few options with pristiq

and you found a way. 

 

I just want to say that if you do get withdrawal symptoms it would be best to reinstate that teeny nibble asap and 

not ignore it. Hopefully you will be just fine. Maybe you could post in our success stories topic, it is always good

for people to see that it really is possible to get off ADs without crippling withdrawal. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/forum/28-recovery-success-stories/

 

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter, I can imagine how upset you are but you are her mum and she will come round

eventually. It's hard being a teenager, hormones all over the place. Not quite a child but not grown up either. 

Many teens seem to self harm these days, it seems almost fashionable! Thankfully that also passes in most cases but 

while it is going on it's distressing for those who love them 

 

Thank you for posting again, it's great to see someone successfully off an AD.

[Altostrata]

That tapering method makes a lot of sense. Please post it in the tapering Pristiq topic -- others will want to know!

[mogfish]

Thank you for your words of support mammaP. they are very much appreciated

[Rhiannon]

mogfish, I can relate to your struggles with the 14-year-old daughter. I don't know if it helps, but that was the toughest age for me with both of my girls. The younger one even did the cutting, and it was such a shock to find out! Plus saying cruel things.  Please think of it as a temporary insanity caused by hormones (which act as neurotransmitters) and the adolescent brain and all those changes. 

 

It took a bit of struggle and more hands-on management for a year or so but by 15 and a half they both were settling down. And now they're young adults and we have a wonderful relationship and they're both doing great.

 

Congratulations on your successful taper, all the more so for doing it while dealing with so much stress. I'm glad it went relatively smoothly for you. You may be experiencing some volatility now due to withdrawal, but that should pass, and as mammaP says there's nothing wrong with reinstating a tiny nibble then redoing the last bit of the taper--sometimes that last bit really needs to go slowly, with the tiniest crumbs. But look at you, you've come off a full dose without getting sick or losing your ability to function! You're doing great.

[mogfish]

Thank you Rhi for your words of support.

I think i am probably one of the lucky ones that can taper relatively quickly and who knows, perhaps I could have tapered even quicker than what I have done without any more ill effects during the actual taper, …….. HOWEVER….

 

 I have been on and off antidepressants for years and in hindsight looking back at the patterns I very strongly believe that I ended up back on the meds because I weaned off them too quickly under medical supervision.

 

I would tend to be ok for a couple of months but on more than one occasion about at the three month mark I would feel easily agitated, teary and very short tempered….and even have moments of pure rage!!!

I would then feel so horrible about losing my temper that I would go back onto the anti depressants as I believed that I obviously needed them to keep me balanced. I remember asking the doctor on a few occasions if I maybe had bipolar as one minute I would be relatively ok and the next minute I would just snap and get angry at the littlest things.

 

Something I have noticed, although it may just be wishful thinking on my part, is that I feel a lot calmer and the blow ups have been few and far between over the past 6 months or so, despite the fact that I have been in the middle of a taper. I always had a niggling thought in the back of my mind that it was in fact the meds that were making me more short tempered than what I would be without them……I must say here that I have always had a fiery streak even before I had ever taken anti depressants but usually there would be a reason for it…..but for years now my temper has flared at times that have been so out of context…and then I would feel guilty and sad and the roller merry go round would just keep going around and around without me knowing how to get off…..

 

I believe in myself so much more now and although i have always had very strong instincts I so very often didn't listen to them…but I am now

 

About 3 months before starting this taper I was very very depressed…actually, it would be better to say that I was just very very sad after a relationship break up that affected both my daughter and I very deeply.

My doctor wanted to increase the pristiq to 100mg. I told her NO!! I told her that I was reacting to a horrible situation and it would pass….and it did and then when I was back in the land of the living, I very quietly began tapering off the pristiq.

I didn't tell anyone as I know that they would think I was crazy coming off so soon after feeling so depressed but I was depressed even on the antidepressants so clearly they weren't really doing anything!!!!

 

I know that the next few months may be a little bit rocky for me but if they are I will reinstate the little nibble…..not sure if anyone in the know has read this far down but if so I will just ask how long after stopping is it ok to reinstate a little nibble if needed??

 

Anyway, will leave it there for now but again, thank you to all of you for this site

[Altostrata]

Of course, take a crumb as needed.

 

And, a little further along, when you feel you're out of the woods withdrawal-wise, please come back and post your success story!

[mogfish]

I'm not sure where the best place is to put this question but is anyone aware of the possibility of increased risk and incidence of blood clots whilst taking pristiq???

 

I've had a pretty yuck few days and was in the middle of updating on my progress etc but was briefly side tracked and when i returned I had lost the entire post.

I will update tomorrow but am very curious if Alto ( or anyone else) knows of any link between pristiq and higher incidence of blood clots in legs, lungs or kidneys…..I've had all three in the last 2 years all whilst on pristiq .I am really hating on this drug today but will update tomorrow after I have had some sleep