Pdg610 Pristiq withdrawal

[ten0275]

pdg610, hey.

i can totally empathize with you on several levels here. i am nearly three years off of benzos and in the last stretch of my AD taper. i would consider myself most days 90 to 95% healed. and still, stress can precipitate symptoms for me. if i am already vulnerable from a recent cut, or a lot of life-stressors begin piling up at one time - some symptoms can and do present. occasionally, these take the form of intrusive thoughts.

when i was in the thick of withdrawal, intrusive thoughts were my most painful and persistent symptom. i had the most atrocious thoughts pass through my mind. harmful thoughts towards myself and others. and they would get locked in my head and i could not get them to stop cycling. it was torture. worse then a scratch on a barry manilow album. but there is a difference now. about 99.5% of the time, i have no intrusive thoughts at all. none. but occasionally, the aforementioned life stressors will bring on a quick barrage of them. but they don't get stuck in my head the way they used to. now, if they present, they pop in. i can easily say, "whoa, that was a totally f'd up thought!" and let the thought go on its nasty little way.

i like how you said "i've always been such a literal person." ME TOO! that's one of the reason why the thoughts were so very disturbing for me. because while i can get a little artsy and abstract in certain life endeavors, when it comes to communication and life situations as a whole, i'm way literal. so when i had a thought pop in and it went "punch that person in the face," "drive the car into those people walking," "hang yourself with that power chord, "etc. i immediately thought why would i even have that thought if i don't mean it. it took a lot of work to separate the content of those thoughts from my human spirit. i basically had to turn the spotlight of my own reason and confidence on it, even while shattered, that i wouldn't have been disturbed by my thoughts if i was into harming myself or others. i wouldn't be disturbed at all. in fact, i would love those thoughts if i was the type to want to act on them.

 

i've always been way into science. i definitely have a science-oriented brain. approaching my symptoms scientifically always helped me.

don't want to ramble here, but i wanted to let you know i can totally feel you on this. it gets weaker and weaker as you get stronger. and STRONGER.

hang in there.

dave

[Pdg610]

^{I have been slowly reducing my dose...down to .07mg. Good news:  I'm training for a half marathon.  Did 10 miles last weekend.  Dedicated my run to all those suffering from withdrawal.  Bad news: I was hit by a bad stomach bug earlier this week. Anxiety and akathisia  kicked in. " How am I ever" thinking started to bubble up.  This process is so amazing to me.  The waves and windows pattern of recovery is so very, very true.  One step forward, two back, 6 to the side, 10 forward, 3 back, you all know how it is.}  

 

^{Question:  What have you done to help yourself after an brief illness?} 

[Altostrata]

Good to hear your taper is progressing. What does your psychiatrist think of what you're doing?

 

You might hold on further tapering until you are feeling better from that bug.

[Pdg610]

She is totally supportive of my taper. I also see a psychologist who has helped me tremendously. I've definitely been blessed with the support of them both.

[Pdg610]

I need some advice.  I've slowly been reducing the Pristiq.  Down to .06 mg. I made a cut about 2.5 weeks ago. But I've hit a really bad wave and the insomnia is creeping back in.  

 

I'm trying to redirect myself when my thinking gets erradic.  The anxiety/depressive thinking is starting to worry me.  I then ask the question, maybe I should stay on the medication. It's not what I want, it's really not.  I'm just so scared of crashing again.  

 

Should I updose?  If so, how much? Or should I wait this out? 

[Altostrata]

Is that .06mg by weight or by dosage?

 

When was the last time you held on tapering? You might need a nice long hold now.

[Pdg610]

It is .06mg by weight. I guess I haven't held longer than a month since the fall. I will hold and see how things go.

[Pdg610]

I need some advice.  What is a good dose to stop reducing? 

 

I am at .035g by weight. I basically take tiny pieces on my finger tip and swallow with water.  I am still experiencing waves but mostly right after a dose decrease or a highly stressful situation.  I can tolerate the waves much better.  I just really don't want to experience the intense insomnia and anxiety. 

 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Pdg610]

 

I was a member here in 2014. I successfully tapered off of Pristiq over 2 years. Had been doing great until March of this year when I had surgery. Since the surgery, I’ve had awful insomnia and anxiety. Do you know if this is common for individuals that had used antidepressants for a long time. Any suggestions on resources?

 

I’m concerned my path forward may include antidepressants again. I’d like to avoid them but now sure what other options I have.

 

Any information you cam

provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Jennings]

I'm no expert but I've seen a lot of people on this forum and others that get off psych meds and then end up having some type of medical procedure which throws them back into some type of withdrawal.

 

It seems to be intense but it will go away over time.

 

I'm sorry this happened to you but it's all the advise I have.