I am so grateful to find this website discussion. I come from a long legacy of depression and suicide in my family. The men successfully ended their lives while the women in my family lineage suffered from chronic depression. I joined this discussion because I am weaning myself off of Pristiq (generic form), 100mg plus 100mg Lamictal daily that I have taken for 10 years. Prior to that, I had taken Prozac for 10 years until it no longer worked.

First, I thank God that these drugs saved me from a life of misery. I mourn for my father who never missed a day of work in his life unless hospitalized for his bipolar illness. He was limited to tricyclics and lithium for managing his illness until those drugs caused terrible physical ailments. He ended his life with a shotgun. Thank God we have chemicals to save many of us from that fate. I feel like Prozac saved my life...until it no longer worked. I thank God for finding doctors who understood the complexities of treating an individual with a cocktail rather than 1 drug for all. Though Prozac was a lifesaver, I learned after experiencing the benefits of Pristiq that Prozac altered my personality to the extent that I aggressively overtalked folks, interrupted them and acted out more loudly than I am naturally. But it was a lifesaver from the debilitating effects of depression.

Then, after 10 years on Prozac, I found myself crippled by depression - not suicidal or even sad, but unable to function to the point where I could not touch a keyboard. Even so, I could still get out and run 4 miles and work outside. I am a long term beneficiary of the effects of endorphins. But now, after 10 years of Pristiq, I started feeling incapable of functioning normally again and while Pristiq gave me my authentic self for so many years, I found myself becoming tearful over little non-events. It is odd since one issue I have had with these chemicals is that they leave your emotions somewhat numbed .
So, having retired and no longer working non-stop, I cut the dose to 50mg for about 9 months, then cut to 25mg . I experienced noticeable discomfort, of course, but not unbearable. Exercise is the best means for me to tolerate the effects of withdrawal. All was well until an inexplicable gloom overcame me. So I jumped back up to 50mg. , fearing that horrible threat of deep depression. That was about 9 months ago. Now I have decided to try getting off the drugs again and have resumed the 25mg dosage. It's tough, but again with daily exercise, I am trudging through this. This discussion group is a Godsend. I have experienced much of the effects that many of you have described...brain zaps, issues with vision, dreams, head/brain feelings that I really can't explain. So thank all of you for sharing because you are helping me to continue. Definitely exercise, hydrate, get out of the house. I have found that taking a Dayquil type capsule helps me. It is sort of a head clearing, coffee buzz that provides some clarity though I don't take more than 1 capsule a day and not everyday.

I will be ending this drug soon and here's what I hope to pursue if gloom begins to creep into my head. I am looking for your insights. If despair and depression creep up on me, I will pursue therapy with ketamine and augment with possibly Delta 8 and/or 9. I want to know if anyone is pursuing these methods for managing depression. Or if you have another method using healthy alternatives. Thanks for any advice.