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My dr put me on Pristiq slowly because he knows how sensitive I am. My husband and I read it’s a harsh drug and difficult to get off of it. We went from 25mg to 50mg and said I should start feeling better right away. I didn’t. I was nauseous most of the time, constipated, sweating, insomnia, nervousness, loss of appetite. It’s not worth telling the pharmacist. They would say discuss it with your dr. He increased it to 75 mg. I’ve been sick every day being on it. I think the medication is fueling the anxiety. Finally, my husband and I talked to my dr (psychiatrist). It’s not helping me. I’ve been on it for 6 weeks. He thinks it’s most anxiety. So now he’s weaning me off of it and the withdrawal is horrible. Waking up in a panic. He wants me to do 50mg for 3 days, 25 for 3 days, then 12 1/2 for 3 days, 1/4 for 3 days and then 1/4 every other for 2 days. We read you shouldn’t cut them. Pharmacist said you shouldn’t cut them. But we read once you cut them it’s not extended release. I’m only on the 2nd night of 25mg. The whole fay was terrible. Panic, sweating, clammy, nervousness. I dreaded taking the 2nd 25mg. We called his answering service a number of times. The last time we called and they said per dr if I’m having this much trouble go to ER. They won’t do anything for this. Sorry for long message. Thank you. How do I see where you moved the post to?
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Hi, @flow65 No one should look to Mayo Connect for medical advice. All we can do is to share our own experience and acquired information.
That said, I've had the same experience trying to taper off Clonazepam. I cut the pills so that I could reduce an eighth of a gram every 4+ weeks, working down from my 2mg per day. Now, six months after starting, I'm continuing to take 1.5mg, and plan to stay there unless I learn of a compelling reason to titrate further. A few years ago I tried to taper off by .25mg, at a time when I was taking only 1mg, but I couldn't sleep, etc.
Some people who have posted about this have said that it can take a year or more. There are titration recommendations that I've seen posted on Connect, but the bottom line is that every person is unique, so don't go any faster than your body permits. I suppose that every time you lower the dose, you can expect some level of discomfort, and if you're OK with the discomfort, give your body time to adjust before lowering the next notch.
We always say that you should taper down with a doctor's supervision. It's unfortunately true that a doctor may tell you to taper faster than your body can stand, so you might have to tell them you need a slower titration pace. It's your body, your mind. It's your right to be in control of your medical care, so if you can't make your doctor listen to you, maybe you need to find a different doctor. Nobody knows your body better than you.
II would be very helpful to keep a pain journal, noting everything - pain level, time, date, dosage, change in dosage, level of anxiety, appetite, physical symptoms...everything. Document it all. As a nurse would do, chart everything.
Don't worry about what someone else thinks. Listen to your body. Stay in touch.
Jim