Posted by Laurie1041 on May 28, 2011, at 21:31:46
Hi,
I have been on various SNRI's/SSRI's for 11 years and have tried on various occasions to taper off. Now I am in a position where I have no choice and have to get off AD's due to severe mood instability.
Obviously, my pdoc has never tapered anyone off of Pristiq yet because he dropped my dose from 100 mg. to 50 mg. (Pristiq only is available in 50 mg. and 100 mg. time-release tablets). Within 72 hours I was in terrible withdrawal. I tried splitting a tablet (my pdoc said I could do that, even though I was skeptical) and I got terribly ill within 45 minutes of taking the split pill. I hate being the guinea pig, but that is another story.
So, my pdoc said to pick any SSRI, with the exception of Paxil, that is available in a liquid preparation for easy titration. I was advised to take Lexapro 10 mg. with the Pristiq to decrease my withdrawal and to get ready to dump the Pristiq. By the way, yes I acknowledge the inherent risks of Serotonin Syndrome, but have been on dual AD's when crossing over to another AD at least 5 times in the past without a problem. This is just my personal experience, always check with your pdoc.
I am now up to Lexapro 20 mg. + Pristiq 50 mg. and will be dropping the Pristiq tomorrow and I will undoubtedly go into withdrawal and end up increasing the Lexapro to 30 mg. Once I am stable (no withdrawal) the plan is to decrease the Lexapro by 5-10% every 3 weeks (no less than 3 weeks) as tolerated until I can taper off completely.
I wish I never ever started on AD's 11 years ago. They never did anything to help with my depression (nada) and withdrawal can become intolerable and a long drawn out process. I shall be acquiring a new skill - patience. If anyone has any better ideas to get me out of this predicament, please feel free to let me know. Thanks, Laurie
poster:Laurie1041
thread:986490
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110515/msgs/986490.html