This is a bitch. I have taken Pristiq for quite a while, and I'm trying to get off of it.

Do any of you have any success stories?

8/26/2010 3:35:01 PM

You taking capsules or powder-like pills?

8/26/2010 5:26:01 PM

I quit taking 500 mg pd effexor (recommended max 375, jesus) about 8 years ago. I turned into a zombie and basically slept for 6 months, but I did make it off. Not to say that i was depression-free later.

8/26/2010 5:30:05 PM

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

8/26/2010 6:12:00 PM

^^Did it do anything for your depression while you were on it?

I've been taking an SSRI or SNRI for the last 15 years, and I felt the need to quantify its efficacy. Frankly, I don't feel that much worse (if any), other than being slightly more emotional at times. Otherwise, I can't really tell shit.

But breaking free of the stuff entirely is proving to be damn hard. Pristiq is time release, and it only comes in two pill sizes. Even after going down to the 50mg for a while, just quitting makes me dizzy and nauseated. I actually started cutting the pills in half (sustained release be damned) a while back, and I've been without it for about 4 days. Damn sleepy and my cognitive function sucks ass.

8/26/2010 6:43:01 PM

i tried a ton of stuff afterwards, prozac, paxil, trazodone, and a few others but it became clear that SSRI was not effective for me. A lot of them also gave me intolerable side effects such as severe headaches and "pins and needles" on my face and hands that lasted for hours on end. I also tried seisure meds (neurontin), and of course the whole compliment of sleep drugs as well. wellbutrin gave me a mild mood boost i guess, but i had a couple of manic episodes so i got on depakote (awful) seroquel (also awful), but i ended up with lithium and lamictal and klonopin.

so that was like 6 years compressed into that little paragraph. I also tried different adjuncts for sleep and anxiety. But about 2 years ago I decided to discontinue taking the drugs because lithium was causing me to gain a lot of weight, i was losing my health insurance, and i had finished college and decided to see if i needed it anymore, like you. I guess I am still mildly depressed but I seem to be able to manage it better. I've noticed that my concentration and ability to successfully complete tasks is pretty deplorable right now, so I am considering trying again- but honestly, I think i just need some adderall to get me going and focused and some klonopin to keep me relaxed.

8/26/2010 7:41:32 PM

What's your full medication history?

8/26/2010 8:40:32 PM

I would LOVE to be back on Adderall (helped me tremendously; pure dextroamphetamine - Dexedrine - was even better). But alas, no doctor will prescribe it to me, given my heart history (which isn't that bad, but they're all pussies and the doc that did prescribe it closed his private practice to move fulltime into clinical care).

8/27/2010 3:20:56 PM

i don't really know...i guess maybe i've never taken high enough doses of medication but anytime i've gone off one i've just stopped. and never had any side effects. which makes me wonder if the medication even worked or not. maybe i had side effects but none that i noticed.

meds i've been one awhile and then just quit:
lexapro (a few years ago. i hated the side effects of being ON that med so freaking much that maybe i didn't notice going off it as bad)
prozac (stopped in march or april of last year - didn't notice any side effects and its hard to tell if i even feel different off it...hmmm)
wellbutrin (i only took that for a hot minute and it made me feel psycho so i probably didn't even take enough for it to build up in my system)

how long does stuff like that take to get out of your system totally? months? or weeks? or does it depend how long you've taken it and your dosage?

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 3:39 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2010 3:34:03 PM

For 8 years now I've been addicted to cold turkey.

8/27/2010 4:11:11 PM

Quote :

"Dexedrine - was even better"

That is some great stuff. That's what our "go pills" are.

8/27/2010 5:50:46 PM

Quote :

"500 mg pd effexor (recommended max 375, jesus)"

and

Quote :

"Pristiq/Effexor"

and

Quote :

"prozac, paxil, trazodone"

and

Quote :

""go pills""

you guys are allowed to drive when you are all high on this shit?

8/28/2010 4:20:43 AM

one better--fly jets. it's not a routine thing, though...it's just for use in a pinch.

very few of the guys use them--most people prefer to use Ambien to make sure they get good sleep, but Ambien doesn't do much for me, so I keep a couple of Dexedrine pills in my flight suit pocket just in case. the pace out here isn't severe enough that you go without sleep--it's more for if you're changing from flying days to flying nights and aren't quite adjusted yet.

8/28/2010 8:01:51 AM

^^ someone who needs medication is probably worse driving when they AREN'T taking it.

but gg. trolling in the lounge.

8/28/2010 2:14:08 PM

Quote :

"500 mg pd effexor (recommended max 375, jesus) about 8 years ago. I turned into a zombie"

Not trolling just wondering how someone is allowed to drive when they make comments like this about a medication they are on...

8/28/2010 2:38:44 PM

funnily enough, ive never had ability to drive come up in a psych office. I wasn't doing tons of driving in that period anyway, but obviously some "common sense" comes into play. Most people trust others to make judgement about driving after consuming alcohol, its the same with pills, i suppose. BUT feeling like your personality is warped or flat isnt necessarily the same as being impaired.

8/28/2010 9:48:51 PM

funnily enough, ive never had ability to drive come up in a psych office. I wasn't doing tons of driving in that period anyway, but obviously some "common sense" comes into play. Most people trust others to make judgement about driving after consuming alcohol, its the same with pills, i suppose. BUT feeling like your personality is warped or flat isnt necessarily the same as being impaired.

8/28/2010 9:48:51 PM

Taking high dosages of SSRI's/SNRI's isn't exactly the same as benzo's/antipsychotics as far as drowsiness is concerned.

[Edited on August 28, 2010 at 11:37 PM. Reason : sp]

8/28/2010 11:36:22 PM

how do i get off of lamictal? my doctor apparently is no longer in practice, phone number is down. i really don't want to pay another $50 for her to tell me how to stop taking it, but i know that's the best idea. anybody had specific experience?

8/29/2010 1:55:10 PM

Why are you trying to get off of lamictal?

8/29/2010 4:45:05 PM

To get my body ready to try to make a baby. I'll be going to my regular & obgyn docs too.

8/29/2010 7:26:17 PM

uh, don't take this the wrong way, but if you want to have a baby and you've been taking lamictal you might want a counseling session or two before you make a kid. not to mention with the prenatal care and all that junk, 50 bucks to the shrink is going to be small potatoes. there's a lamictal start-up pack that has all the small tapered doses you have to take to get up to full dose, i got it for free when i started taking lamictal. i bet your doc will give you one to get off it.

8/29/2010 9:10:35 PM

i've already talked to all of my doctors, including this one, about this. just not specifically when it was going to happen. it's not really about the $50 or whether i can afford it. money isn't an issue at all. i've never really liked this psychiatrist and don't particularly want to take off work just to go in and have her tell me to taper off taking 25mg less every 2 weeks. i have $50, i just don't think talking to her for 5 minutes is worth it. i already have the pills and don't need her to give me any medicine.

oh, my husband works w/ a girl who sees the same doc and has her new number. she's still in practice, just not affiliated w/ the same hospital network thing.

[Edited on August 29, 2010 at 9:38 PM. Reason : ]

8/29/2010 9:35:02 PM

well i just kept cutting the pills in half for a while personally, but i wasnt trying to renovate a baby condo... I seem to recall relatively little withdrawal, but YMMV

8/30/2010 1:01:58 AM

cool. i'll still end up going to see her most likely bc i want to be sure. wanted to get others' opinions/experiences too. i'm doing all this wayyy ahead of when we want to start trying to make absolute sure it & all other meds are long gone. i'm going to get in better shape too. eat less crap food.

8/30/2010 9:13:19 AM

haha, seems to me like many pregnant women give themselves a carte blanche on "crap food" since they are eating for two...

8/30/2010 11:52:51 AM

i know you have to eat a lot, but i don't want it to all be fudge rounds & steak lol. i want the healthiest baby possible. esp since i have an autoimmune disorder

8/30/2010 12:03:29 PM

<3 Adderall/Dexedrine

8/31/2010 11:38:51 AM

Quote :

"i don't really know...i guess maybe i've never taken high enough doses of medication but anytime i've gone off one i've just stopped. and never had any side effects. which makes me wonder if the medication even worked or not. maybe i had side effects but none that i noticed. "

I seriously would not do that, when i went cold turkey off lexapro it made me worse than before I was even on it, granted my experience is amplified because I was severely depressed to begin with but it was hell, (went to the ER, threw up like 12 times in one night, even gave me a fever, besides just worsening the depression), and it also depends on the drugs, some of them have infamous withdrawals (cymbalta, effexor, paxil) that are not worth anyone fucking with going off cold turkey

but then again your doctor might have put you at a really low dose and not titrated up to begin with

9/1/2010 2:56:52 AM

^^^ As the 3rd generation (minimum) with autoimmune fucked upness I can tell you that your kid's life is going to suck no matter what you try. And if that autoimmune disease involves your thyroid, it's likely the kid will have mental deficits unless your docs control your levels very closely.

9/1/2010 9:17:05 AM

no, doesn't involve my thyroid and i've never carried the antibodies for my disorder. MG is rarely passed on to a child, although they might be born w/ a transient form that goes away in a couple of weeks, and since i don't have the antibodies then it's a very very very very small chance. the transient MG is not harmful/life threatening. the major concern for pregnancy & MG is for my health. i could end up on bed rest for any length of time bc hormone influx + MG is unpredictable. 1/3rd get better, 1/3rd stay the same, 1/3rd get worse.

MG isn't hereditary or whatever. they're not exactly sure what causes it but most research points towards a gene mutation. IF you have a family history of autoimmune disorders, it can increase the likelihood that later offspring might have one, but it's not 100% and definitely not the case for MG.

all of my prenatal care will be at UNC, where my MG doctor is, who is the #1 doc in the world for MG. lucianno pavarotti sent his daughter to dr. howard when she was diagnosed.

[Edited on September 1, 2010 at 9:31 AM. Reason : ]

9/1/2010 9:27:05 AM

You don't seem to understand...

The reason your body attacks itself is because something is wrong with your immune system. It's defective, and there is a genetic component to that. Also, being a kid with a sick mom sucks ass and I would never wish that on anyone. But I'm obviously not going to get you to think about these things, so good luck making a miserable kid.

9/1/2010 9:32:55 AM

wtf the is wrong with you? i'm going off what MY doctor says, not some random fucking person on the intarwebs. YOU don't seem to understand MY disorder.

9/1/2010 9:35:34 AM

Autoimmune is autoimmune. There's a reason most people's bodies don't self destruct.

Also, you being sick will make your kid's life suck ass.

9/1/2010 9:40:14 AM

Quote :

"What effect did MG have on complications in the newborns? Serious complications requiring the transfer of the newborn to the pediatric intensive care unit occurred in 21.3% of the children born to mothers with MG compared with 2% born to mothers without MG. Neonatal MG is caused by transfer of MG antibodies between the mother and newborn. It leads to weakness in the newborns. Neonatal MG was reported in 4% of newborns of mothers with MG. Five of the children (3.7%) in the MG group had birth defects that were classified as severe. This was not significantly higher than the group whose mothers did not have MG. What does this study mean? This study supports previous studies confirming that MG may have effects on the mother during pregnancy. MG may also increase the risk for complications during delivery. Intensive care facilities for the newborn should be immediately available because of the possibility of neonatal MG. This should not prevent women with MG from considering pregnancy. Women with MG who choose to become pregnant should have good prenatal care with doctors who are experienced in treating MG. They should also deliver their babies in a hospital experienced in handling complications should they arise."

again, you're just a random internet person who knows nothing about it. the medical community is much more reliable imo.
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/full/61/10/1459

9/1/2010 9:43:36 AM

Studies showing if those babies are more likely than the average population to develop autoimmune issues as adults? That's the important part.

9/1/2010 9:47:17 AM

okay, this isn't what this thread is about and we can continue our discussion through PM if you want, but i think it's futile bc it's obvious that you don't/won't understand.

back to weaning off drugs.

9/1/2010 9:48:38 AM

my mom made my life suck ass in plenty of ways, and she wasn't sick.

9/1/2010 3:42:19 PM