Side effects of Pristiq

I was prescribed Pristiq for severe back pain, as the back pain specialist said my physical issues do not explain the severity of my pain. I took 50 mg for a couple of months and had no effects, either good or bad. The Psychiatrist then upped the dose to 100 mg. Good news: my back was better. Bad news: I had to sleep abput 12 hours a day. I was falling asleep during my commute, both morning and evening. The Psychiatrist suggested I taper off the drug. I went down to 50 mg for a few days, and then pondered whether to do one day on and one day off as she suggested. I read this discussion plus others, and decided that a) I didn't want to have a "rollercoaster" effect on my brain b) I just want to get off the thing. Next week I am testifying in court as an expert witness and the week after that I am going on vacation, so it was now or never. I quit on Saturday. Saturday and Sunday were good. I even got my open water diver certification on the weekend! Come Monday morning.... all hell broke loose in my body. I couldn't think, I felt dizzy and nauseous, I was sweaty and just overall miserable. I had a nervous breakdown about my son's contact lenses being lost in the mail. I don't have meltdowns like that! I also told my boss he was "bitchy" and I replied to a client with a very stupid email. I stayed home from work today (Tuesday), but have to work anyway. My brain feels a bit better and I haven't had a meltdown. My stomach, however, is completely messed up. It hurts really bad. Fennel tea seems to help calm it down. I am hoping the symptoms get better by tomorrow, since there is no way I can stay home another day. I wish I had never taken this drug. I understand it can do wonders for some people, but the little relief I got for my back pain was not worth it.

Here is a link to the website...http://www.pristiq.com/side-effects.aspx
Your psychiatrist prescribed it for pain management? Get another doctor.

I concluded that already... Only 4% of people stop taking the pills because of side effects? Weird. I guess some depression can be bad enough that you'd rather live with the side effects.
I just don't know what doctor. I've been to various specialists and they've either given me pain killers or antidepressants. Pain killers work and the short term side effects are minor, but I'm scared of long term side effects. So, I pretty much suck it up and live with the pain.
I am on day 9 off pristiq. It's the first day I've felt almost 100%, although I still have a mild headache and had a minor emotional meltdown.
Days 3-7 were the worst: horrible stomach pains and nausea, coupled with foggy brain and emotional meltdowns. The stomach pain got better on day 6, but the brain fog got worse. It is not fun to prepare for trial while having brain fog!
Also, I was very very hungry. Food helped the pain. That seems to be better now too. I am a lot less sleepy, too. I guess my normal pain-filled life is back!

Hang in there. I was on Pristiq for 8 months and then began a taper. Alternating days, and adding 1 more day on every 14 days. It has now been 24 days off of 50mg. My worst day was on my 7th day off, terrible chills, but I knew what was on the other side: freedom. Now I'm seeing my energy return, but still occasional brain fog. Be gentle with your mind, and where you have the option to let it rest, take it (should be taking my own advice as I write this). I'm completely foggy this evening. Some social anxiety these past few weeks, but it gets better. It is an accomplishment, each day further in this process. Take care.

Update: 24 days wthout Pristiq. I made a half-life schedule showing he 11 hour half-life incremental drop of this drug in my system, and diarized my mood, symptoms next to it. Energy returned. I'm doing projects and getting things done at a great pace, but trying to go steady so that I dont overdo it.

Brain fog and slight social anxiety. But life is SO much better. I'm not tired and sleepy all the time. I'm no longer a walking zombie (except for brain fog periods, which are mostly end of day mid-evening). Hang in there everyone, we're all going to make it.

I began tapering by taking 3/4 of my 50 tablet every other day for one week. The second week i took 3/4 tablet every day. The third week: 1/2tablet every other day, 3/4 every other day. Today is the beginning of week four. This week i will take 1/2 tablet every day. So far, the ONLY side effect is that I FEEL GREAT!! I have had NONE of the side effects others have mentioned. And...i feel like myself again. I am interested in life again, able to keep perspective even in the midst of stressful situations, & able to feel rested after 8 hours of sleep. And believe me, with 5 amazing kids, three of whom we homeschool, one with special needs, one in college, two teenagers, etc, there is always drama and some kind of stress. This last week, we had 2 graduations, a birthday, 3 house guests, and i hosted 2 parties to celebrate. One month ago, i could not imagine how i would find the energy for even ONE of these events. But now... I feel like a champ. I will ALWAYS be grateful for having Pristiq to help my brain get back on track after multiple events over the course of 3 years put me into definite depression. However, now that i am in a better place, it was time to say good by to Pristiq. Best wishes to all who are aiming for the same goal!

I was on pristiq for a year, and 5 days ago my psychiatrist finally took me off of it! i only took 25 mg for a year (with klonopin as an emergency backup in case of sudden anxiety) and throughout the year i learned how to handle situations that i never thought i could handle on my own. i also noticed that i relied on klonopin less and less until i basically never took it anymore.
now that i am allowed to be off, i am so thankful that i was put on it, but realized that i am okay without it now! my mood began depending on myself, and didnt depend on the pill. this was also when i was making a scary transition into college (i am only 18 years old) and i am so glad i could do it.
the only problem i am having now is the withdrawal. my body is strongly affected by changes and i was wondering how long do you estimate it will last?
the first day i felt HORRIBLE. nauseous like i was going to vomit at least 5 times in one day. horrible stomach aches, constipation. it's day 5 now and i'm feeling slightly better, the only thing is i feel so so dizzy and really don't have motivation to do anything. i feel somewhat agitated, (not as bad as i did on day 1) my mood currently feels fine (no extreme happiness or sadness) the withdrawal is just very hard for me because i am an active runner and exerciser and i dont want to gain weight or feel sick during a workout.
the symptoms are becoming less harsh, but i still feel very hot, or very cold, somewhat nauseous, and very dizzy, kind of hazy like my head is in the clouds (unfocused)
please reply! its helpful to know someone went through or is going through the same thing i am! thank you!!
p.s. right now i am only taking the 25 mg every other day for a week. doctors orders.

Hi! This is a very enlightening chat, I have been off Pristiq for 3 weeks now, weened from 100 to 50 then stop. On day three I was getting a long needed massage and when asked to turn over into my stomach, I began spinning like I was inside a barrel rolling down a hill and got that overwhelming heat wave and started vomiting uncontrollably! My husband had to pick me up and I had nausea and dizzieness intermittently still. I saw the doctor after finally reading about SSRI withdrawal and He went with a viral inner ear infection over SSRI discontinuation Syndrome. I also had been experiencing severe muscle aches and spasms that I wrote off as results from massage releasi ng toxins but the pain has gotten worse, coming in waves at times! All I could do on Sat was lay around with ice packs and moan like a kitten. Saw doctor again, similar symptoms are common with Statin drug intolerance so my Statin has been changed, still no acknowledgement of SSRI withdrawal. I told him how much I cried the day our city lost 4 brave fire fighters and was wondering if my emotions had been masked when on Pristiq, he pointed to my smiling drivers license picture in the front of my chart and said he thinks I need to go back on the Pristiq so I can be that smiling girl I used to be. Wrong answer, I told him, I haven't even got the crap out of my system yet! I promised to try a different antidepressant if it looks like I really need it but it is just too soon. (My emotions have been masked for the last 4 years! The real ME is finally peaking out and speaking out again!) I look back and realize that the medical field has practiced on my body and has not always come to the right conclusions...I was put on antidepressants to treat depression symptoms that were really side effect of hypothyroidism that went untreated for years. Once treated, no adjust ments to SSRIs were made. More of these depressive symptoms have lingered and don't you know, they are probably due to my being vitamin D deficient which was just recently diagnosed! They say depression is caused from a chemical imbalance, but hormone imbalances must also be addressed at the same time! Along these same lines, to top it off, at my annual eye exam, they discovered my bifocal line is way too high, which means I am trying to see distance with my computer reading line! The lens shop also discovered that the wrong prescription was also placed in my glasses last year! I reported problems with the glasses right away but these issues were not identified so I have suffered with chronic headaches and blurry vision for the last year! Lessons learned, don't hesitate to read about your illnesses or symptoms, you know your body BEST and can assist the medical field in treating you as a whole person, not just one symptom at a time. Knowledge is power, it doesn't make you a hypochondriac! If you are told it is all in your head, change doctors! We are complex beings that need at least one medical professional to coordinate all the results in order to try to see the big picture. Scream at the top of your lungs until your voice is heard and your concerns are addressed! This is the only life you have! I have lost way too much quality in my life because of misdiagnoses or medication side effects. I have prepared my husband that the real ME is coming out, good and bad, but real, the woman he fell in love with. He is looking forward to meeting ME again! Thanks for listening and for reinforcing what my soul is telling me, Getting off of Pristiq is the best thing I can do in order to live a full life again!

I was taking Pristiq for about 4 months and didn't feel like it was making a noticeable difference and I felt like it had caused me to gain weight so I decided to discontinue using it. I asked my doctor about tapering off to avoid withdrawal symptoms and she said it was not really necessary to wean off - I could just stop using it. I think she said this because I was on the lowest dose (50 mg). I decided to taper off a bit anyway and took it every other day for a week or two, then stopped. It didn't even register last week that it was connected, but I was vomiting one night last week so violently that I had chest pains and took myself to the ER. They said my heart was fine, chalked it up to heartburn and sent me home. Now that I have read some of the posts here, I am thinking it was probably from my abruptly stopping the Pristiq after taping off for a short period of time. I have also had those weird dizzy-like sensations - not quite the "brain shocks" that I experienced years ago after stopping Paxil, but definitely noticeable. I am glad I decided to stop taking this drug.

Hi All, Just checking in . I have been drug free for four going on five months. It was hell! in the beginning but so thankful I stuck it out. You can do this! You should do this for your self. Medically still have problems from this drug.i.e. high cholesterol, weight gain, high blood pressure, but all is coming back into normal range again. I would not have been able to do it without the support and info of this web site. I would have been too scared of the side effects to do it. Reading all the info on this site helped change MY LIFE and can help save yours. GOOD LUCK!