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I was taking Pristiq for two years and felt much better so I made the decision to stop. I'm in Canada and the 25mg tablet is not available. My doctor suggested taking Pristiq every two days and see how that went. Well I started February 1, 2019 and took 50mg tablet every second day. I did have some light headedness at times and also these "brain zaps" which I read about online here. I was a bit concerned about them but knowing what they were helped. So after two weeks I made the leap and began taking tablet every third day. On the second day I found the brain zaps to be quite frequent and I didn't sleep that well at night. This repeated itself each time I went without for two days. After about 10 days the zaps have gone and I am sleeping well. I think I will take a tablet every third day for a week or so starting at the end of the month and see how that goes. So far I have been really happy that stopping wasn't a tough as I thought it would be. I've never been one to sit around and worry. I always keep busy, exercise for 30 minutes everyday and keep busy at my two hobbies which are painting and building furniture. The Pristiq really helped during a period of time when I suffered from mild depression. I had no issues for two years and felt it was time to stop. The method I used worked for me and I will update this post after stopping completely which should be in a few weeks. I think the key is to keep busy during the day and not sit around worrying about things that might happen.
Replies to "I was taking Pristiq for two years and felt much better so I made the decision..."
@niceguy I am glad to hear you are off Pristiq!. You give me hope I can successfully wean myself off. For the others out there, I started using Pristiq after my hysterectomy, when my Cymbalta was reacting with other medicines I was also on at the time. I have been on Pristiq since October 2014 (ouch, that's a long time). I started at 50mg (too strong), went to 25mg, back up to 50mg (during a difficult transition and extreme job stresses), then back down to 25mg (left that job). But I had not felt "myself" for a few years, and decided at the end of July to go off it. By the end August I was reluctantly on it again because I began hating who I was even though I was eating right, exercising, and keeping busy outdoors. I was gaining weight and overall felt horrible. In September I decided to think of alternative medications, and I got approved for my medical cannabis card. Now I treat my depression, anxiety, focus, and general overall better health with that, so I started the process of weaning off again. Got to 25mg every other day, but when I tried to increase the days between in December, I had to go back to 25mg every other day (at my family's encouragement) because I became so depressed I was crying and generally so sad when I tried to do three to four days between pills. I couldn't spend the holidays and a special trip we had planned in January like that, so I went back to 25mg every other day for two weeks, then reduced it to 12.5mg for the past few weeks every other day. I want to be off this, so on Sunday I tried three days between pills, and I am agitated, anxious, teary, and extremely bloated feeling and uncomfortable in my own skin. I refuse to give up this time and will wean off this medication once and for all. I will stay on the every three days between pills for another two weeks, then go to half that? or to 12.5mg once a week? Not really sure what to do. I am afraid to go cold turkey because my agitation is affecting me at work with my co-workers and at home with my family.
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@niceguy
The 11 hour half-life and the quick taper may likely have caused you to became ill and have the zaps. I wouldn’t take this medication on an every other day basis. One day receiving a 100% dose then 0%. I believe our brains want and expect consistency which is one reason why I think a 5-10% taper works best. The brain functions best in a stable environment and
yo-yoing disrupts the balance. You may want to reduce your dose more slowly. You may want to consider increasing the length of time you take each dose to prevent potential problems down the road. Speed is not your friend when stopping this type of medication. Check with your doctor and get their input. Hoping you have an uneventful taper.
Health & happiness,
Jake