stopping pristiq

[Chiliphil1]

Hello everyone,

I know I havn't posted in a while, I have been doing pretty good lately, things have been pretty good for me, my job still drives me up the wall and gives me all sort of stress and anxiety, but things have changed for me in a good way.

I put in my 2 weeks notice at my job, and they asked me to go ahead and leave, I guess it was for security or something they didn't want me working there during the last 2 weeks, either way it doesn't effect me they agreed to pay me through my quit date, so that means I have a 2 week paid vacation!!!

Anywhoo. I am going back to my old job which was commercial truck driving, I think I am going to be alot happier and my life should get back on track, I am really excited about this move and so relieved and happy to be out of that hell hole I was working at.

I tell you all of that to say this, I will be driving an 18 wheeler, and will be subject to DOT regulations, as such due to the info I have found I cannot be on an AD medication and still drive, so I therefore need to come off of Pristiq. I feel that I will be ok without the meds, I believe that most if not all of my anxiety issues came from my job which i don't EVER have to go back to again

My whole point here is that I am quitting pristiq in a " have to " situation, I know that the withdrawl can be rough, but this is something I do not have a choice in, so I am just going to do it. The one big problem is that with this med, there is not a lower dose than what I am currently taking, so I am stuck just dropping it, I read online that you cannot cut these pills in half as they are XR. I also read that you should not do the every other day method as this puts your brain on an up and down that just isn't good.

I am asking if anyone has an experience or tips in this case? I did not take my pill last night, so I am into the withdrawl stage now as Pristiq has an 11 hour half life and it's been about 36 hours since I took my last one, hopefully it won't be too bad for me I have been on about 4 months now, I came off of Zoloft cold turkey after a month on it with no side effects, hopefully that will be the case here. So far I just have a touch of nausea and a slight pressure in my head which could also be allergies, either way I am just hoping this is quick and that I will be good to go in no time.


as an aside, does anyone know if something like Pristiq which is an SNRI would show up on a drug test?

[alankay]

Pilots can take prozac, zoloft and celexa and lexapro(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...692643072.html) so consider a switch to a long lasting med like prozac and taper off it. It's pretty easy to taper off of or stay on as it might be approved for truckers. Alankay

[Chiliphil1]

Thank you Mr. Alankay. That is an interesting find, the only concern I have is the 1 year waiting period in which I have not been on the meds that long, however I have had my doctor prepare a letter which states what I'm taking I am going to submit that to the company and see if they approve it.

In the interim I am going to go ahead and come off of pristiq considering it is most likely not going to be allowed and I figure that since the stressor isbgone from my life I believe that I can go without these meds.

I figure that I have gotten so much help from this forum I will take the opportunity to give back and I will write about my experience coming off so that if anyone else wants to stop this drug they will have an idea of what's coming.

[Chiliphil1]

First post about coming off of meds.

This is day 3, I took my meds on Sundays night and it is now Tuesday morning.

This is the first day I have had any withdrawal symptoms, yesterday I could tell I was off the meds, but it wasn't bad I just felt an urge to keep busy all day so I ended up getting alot done!

Today I woke up with some dizziness and serious nausea, the dizziness continues up to this point, it feels like a "swimmy" head feels a bit like the room is spinning, but it's bearable, I am also still having the nausea off and on, it is pretty much equal to the symptoms I had when I started the meds, it's a bit rough but bearable.

That's it for now, I will update if anything changes and I will write again no later than tomorrow.

[Chiliphil1]

Day 4 off of pristiq.

Yesterday was an odd day, I went around feeling this numb tingly feeling in my face and lips all day long, it made me feel a bit off balance, but it wasn't like I was falling over dizzy, just felt a bit "off"

The feeling lasted nearly all day long there were times when it was off and on, but it was pretty consistent. The nausea left early and I did not have any further issues with that.

I felt a bit tired yesterday but was still able to do all the things around the house that I wanted to get done.

Last night I took some benedryl before bed, it seemed to help with the goofy feeling, but knocked me right out, I slept for 11 hours last night!

This morning I feel pretty good, I can talk that the tingly feeling is there, but it doesn't seem bad, I am also noticing that I am a bit sore, especially my back I'm not sure if this is the meds, the way I slept, or something I did its just an observation I made.

So far so good with the withdrawal, I will update more, hopefully it will continue to go smoothly.

[alankay]

Sounds lik a plan. True.......without the work stressor(job you had) you might be AOK! Alankay

[Chiliphil1]

Day 5 off pristiq

Yesterday was a good day, the numb tingly feeling seemed to subside some, it was still there, but not nearly as bad. I definately still had the swimmy head feeling which is sorta like being off balance but not to the point where I'm unable to function, it's more annoying than anything.

One new symptom that started yesterday was what people call the brain zaps, I did not realize what this was at first but then it became obvious what was going on. These are the strangest things! You are just sitting there and you feel a little bump inside yourself, it's odd. The only way I can describe these is to say that it feels like when your heart skips a beat, but it's in random places on your body, I checked my pulse and found that it was not coming from my heart and that's how I figured out what was happening. These sensations were not too bad, but they seemed to become more frequent the later it got, again no harm, just annoying.

I am really glad that I am doing this now, it will give me time to hopefully be back to normal by the time I start my new job in a couple weeks, I am really having a hard time believing what these meds will do to you when you come off, the symptoms of withdrawal are almost as bad and crazy as the anxiety symptoms themselves! Speaking of which, I have noticed that I have not been having anxiety over all these odd things going on with me, I know that normally I would be flipping out, hopefully that's a sign that my anxiety is going to be under control when I get done with all this.

Looking back I cannot regret starting this med, it is rough now stopping it bit when I think about it I realize that this stuff bailed me out of the darkest place I have ever been in, and really got me through the last 4 months, if it hadn't been for the pristiq I cannot imagine how bad things would have gotten or where I would be today. That being said I don't want to discourage anyone from getting the help they need, pristiq is a great med and it really allowed me to turn the corner.

Today I'm doing good, I feel a bit spacey headed still, but so far I have not noticed any zaps I am however still having alot of muscle soreness mostly in my back and legs, again this could be from things I'm doing around the house, or could be related to the withdrawal I'm really not sure, but I wanted to mention it in case it is related. I am going to have a very busy day today, I can only hope that I will be able to get through it good, I don't think I will have any issues but as you may have noticed I'm not at my best currently.

One more not from today, I found that when I was feeling dizzy and weak that eating seemed to help, so if you are going through this and feel that way have a nice meal, it really made a difference.

[Chiliphil1]

Hello everyone, got an update today that is not really what I was planning on doing when I started this thread, but anyway. I heard back from the job that I'm going to start and they say that the meds will be ok as long as my doctor signs a release. This is good news and bad news, meaning that I stopped my withdrawal and started taking the pristiq again.

I am going to stop the meds, however since the company will allow me to take the pills I am going to speak with my doc today and see if we can do some sort of weaning process. I will say that coming off these meds is rough, it is unbelievable how bad it is, it's nothing dangerous or scary, you just feel like true hell while you're doing it.

Yesterday all the issues persisted, I had the numb tingly face, the spacey head, and fatigue. I really felt like I was going to fall out a couple times yesterday, it was rough to say the least. For anyone who is considering stopping these meds, I encourage you because I know it can be done, but I caution you as well it is not a walk in the park, and if you plan on stopping make sure you have about a week where you don't have to do anything so that your body can reset, I can't imagine having to go to work during this last week that would not have went well.

[Chiliphil1]

I just wanted to update, I told the doc I wanted to stop the meds today, and he put me on a regime to wean off, one pill every other day for 2 weeks, then every 3rd, 4th, etc.. Until I am on one pill a week and then stop doing each drop for 2 weeks.

Hopefully this goes better than the last week has!

[Chiliphil1]

So, I'm on day 2 of being back on the meds, and I feel alot better physically, but wouldn't you know it I'm getting the start up side effects again! The meds are making me feel really anxious I took a xanax last night, the first one in a while. I am going to try to leave those alone, but anyhow all is going good to this point, I'm just frustrated that I'm having to go though all this again, but if history repeats itself I should be good to go in about 5 more days.

I will keep updating this post as a wean down, I want to be able to help some people even if it's just a little, I know I really couldn't find anything with someone coming off pristiq when I went searching, so I guess I will make a thread for all to see.

Aren't these meds fun!