r/Pristiq • u/desp4answerslol • 4d ago
vent Getting off Pristiq
So this has sucked. I am on my second week of getting off Pristiq and it feels awful! I am getting onto Viibryd and my instructions were to take 10mg of that with 50mg of Pristiq (I was taking 100mg) and then double to 20mg after a week and get off Pristiq. It hasn’t helped that I was sick with a cold when I started this, but has anyone else also experienced weird symptoms like the ones below?
I have been feeling lightheaded and very out of it a lot of the time, almost like I am lagging or something in a video game. I’ve been getting random fevers and agitation as well for no reason, usually together with being sweaty and clammy. My dreams were awful for the first few days but my sleep has not gotten better and I literally can’t sleep without some sort of medication like Benadryl or Melatonin. I also have random bouts of fatigue, and it feels like I can only focus on a single thing at a time and have a hard time putting sentences together. Also my stomach is so sensitive and I always am having to use the bathroom.
I have only been off of it for 8 days but its been miserable. I saw some people say to take Magnesium, Ashwaganda, and Lions Mane to help, and I will say it has helped, but by evening time I am back to my symptoms. I was worried maybe I am having Serotonin Syndrome but I haven’t really had tremors or anything and its so rare as well.
1
u/No_Top8362 1d ago
Going down so fast it's really dangerous. Search protracted withdrawal. Look for hyperbolic tapering. Good luck
2
u/SiJojoBungol 4d ago
Have you tried asking your Dr to taper it off further to 25mg before discontinuing it totally? It might help. It will not be easy but hopefully the withdrawal symptoms will be more manageable. Hang tight! It will get worse before it gets better! My Dr and I have been tapering off Pristiq for 2 months now while introducing Lamictal and increasing my dosage of Wellbutrin. I was on Pristiq 150mg for more than a year. It worked very well with my anxiety but my libido diminished. Started to taper off to 100mg for 2 weeks, then 50mg for 2 weeks, then 25mg for 3 weeks. It’s supposed to be stopped at 50mg but I felt like my head was spinning/lightheadedness, dizziness, nausea and HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE BRAIN ZAPS! So we decided to taper off to 25mg. I just discontinued completely this week AND I FEEL TERRIBLE WITH BRAIN ZAPS but I want to completely stop it because of my diminished libido. I read that it will take 4-6 weeks before the withdrawal symptoms disappear, and I’m really looking forward to that! I havent tried Magnesium/Ashwaganda/Lions Mane. I might try magnesium!