Weaning Off Pristiq For Good (Page 21) (Top voted first)

I just wanted to tell all of you trying to get off pristiq, its possible. I was on pristiq for severe panic attacks for 6 months. It saved my life. It gave me a chance to slow down my career, gave me a huge wakeup call. This drug put a cloud over my brain. I was not my happy, fun loving self. I was like a step ford wife. You can't wean off this pill. I was on 50 mg. I did every other day for a month. Every third day for two weeks then cold turkey. It really was not so bad. I layer on my couch for three days, cried a bit and watched movies. I'm happily on all holistic medications, no longer a slave to Pristiq. If I can beat anxiety, anyone can. My biggest advice.. Exercise. Next, surround yourself with positive people. Three, talk out your problems. Good luck.

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My daughter almost went back on Pristiq. I can't remember what day it was in her withdrawal. But she had gone a number of days without and then she begged me to get some more. I left work early to pick up some samples from the doctor. As I was leaving my boss called her acupuncturist to see Traci. I made my daughter go...she strongly objected. She was scared of the needles. I made her go. Two hours later she was calm and soooo much better. I threw away the Pristiq about 5 months later. She never used a single one. Try to get into an acupuncturist that is knowledgeable in withdrawal a nd has good reviews. God Bless

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Go to a Psycho analyst or psychologist, a doctor sometimes looks at us as guinea pigs, no offense. get the right help also. there are many different anxiety and anti-depressants out there.

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Hi Alex
Glad to hear ur doing well. I am ok. Day 10 today. I'm getting some anxiety on and off during the day. The ringing in my ears is what is bring on the anxiety. I get overwhelmed real easily. Going to a psychologist today for the first time. Hope he can give me some tools to cope. Did u experience any of this Alex.
Thanks

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I have been taking 100 mg of Pristiq for 6 weeks. It took away my anxiety compleltely but now my blood pressure have been climbing for 2 weeks . Last week I dropped to 50 mg a day and now I'm taking 50 mg every second day. I will do this for a week and then wondering if I can go cold turkey. The side effects are headache and brain fog.

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I didn't find the original spreadsheet, but just tried recreating it from scratch and that reminded me of some things. The trick is to use DateTime e.g. 2/10/2015 7:00:00 then add fractions of days. For example, if I'm increasing the time between doses by 3 hours every day, then my next dose would be 27 hours from now or 27/24 = 1.125 days then just adding to 2/10/2015 7:00:00 gives 2/11/2015 10:00:00 and the spreadsheet works out the date as well as the time. If I "missed" a dose in the middle of the night, then I would just hand code the actual time I took the dose in that spot in the right DateTime format and the rest of the spreadsheet would update accordingly. It might be more effective if the interval increased in some other way than just increasing by the same number of hours every day, but this process is already pretty complicated, making it even more complicated could make it more likely to make mistakes. I did notice when I started with 7am and incremented by 4 hours, it tended to skip the middle of the night, so if that works for you it might be easier. Needless to say no warranty express or implied and talk to your doctor, who might say this is completely insane, just saying what worked for me personally.

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Well done! I have found Prstiq to be the most effective treatment for my generalised anxiety disorder. I've put on 13kgs....but who cares?! I am enjoying life & have no plans of going off it.

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Your post was in 2021; how long did it take for withdrawal to end?

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It varies with the individual. Please look back at all the posts, even though it is from 2012, the comments/suggestions are still valid. My daughter is free from pristiq for two years now. I do know that exercise and acupuncture helped her during they withdrawal. Good luck!

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Good luck! Seriously, try to find a reputable acupuncturist that deals with medicine withdrawal. It was an immediate help for my daughter who was going to give up going pristiq free...she was finding it unbearable to discontinue it.

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Everyone is different, I'm sure. I'm a broken record about acupuncture. It was a great relief for my daughter. Look for one that specializes in withdrawal. Look for one that has great reviews. Do you have someone that can research it for you? Your symptoms are exactly what my daughter had. Exercise is very helpful. You would find a lot of helpful suggestions reading the past posts. You will be free of it!!! God bless!

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Taking 100mg of Pristiq. Want to get off it completely. Have horrible side effects of insomnia, nausea, in a fog all day, weakness, dizziness, etc. How do I taper off????

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I highly recommend you read the posts here. There is a lot of information. My daughter was helped by seeing an acupuncturist. Good luck and God bless. You'll get there!

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Hello Everyone,

Thank you for putting up your information about Pristiq, I have been on 50mg for about a year and a half and recently upped my dose to 100mg, but to be honest, I am so very very tired, lethargic and struggle with staying awake and remembering things..... I do not feel I need to be on Pristiq anymore, as I am trying alternative methods to dealing with Anxiety, I was wondering if anyone else experienced extreme tiredness from Pristiq and how you feel now after weaning off Pristiq all together?

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My daughter was extremely fatigued. I wish you well on your journey to health! God bless

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Read your post. I've been on Pristiq since January. Anxiety started immediately. Was put on Klonopin. I can't sleep and have gained weight. I'm trying to wean myself off of it. Anxious, headache and irritable. Appreciate hearing your experience.

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How do you feel different now? Anything specific about the differences mentally, emotionally, etc?

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Month ago stop taking pristiq I was taking for 3 years,not feeling very vell very empty no point to leave.when i was on pristiq felt alright until last year ,felt like piece of furniture and i thought i stop this,no idea what to do next,feel very empty.

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So sorry to hear you feel like this. Do you see a therapist? Have you tried yoga, exercise, maybe an acupuncturist can work on your emotional blockage. I find volunteering, hiking and journaling helpful. You need to find your passion. There is a reason you are here. Give yourself a big hug and take care of yourself. Please see someone to talk to. Maybe find a church.... God bless.

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You can do it!!!! lucky for your husband, too

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I think you are awesome!!! You are taking control of your life!! God bless

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