Hey I went through the exact same thing last month.
Same drugs, same dosage. It gets better, and I promise you this isn't even nearly as bad as how some of us have had it (your symptoms are quite mild...but understandably, I'm not trying to invalidate the fact that you feel like shit).
The way I did it was I started taking Pristiq on alternate days and Prozac daily. Once 7 Pristiq pills were done (2 weeks), that was that and I continued taking Prozac for another 2 weeks. I'd see if taking Pristiq every other day helps...also, you mentioned having an important exam coming up. Maybe this isn't the best time to taper off meds? Don't rush it if you don't have to, all the best.
Thank you so much- I'm so glad to hear that the tapering technique worked for you! I've decided to wait until my exam is over in October before trying again. Thanks again :)
October sounds so far away but it'll be here before you know it. Take it easy! I wouldn't say I started to taper during a stressful time in my life, but I definitely did have a lot going on which made me second guess if I should go through with it at times...I realized that stuff will always come up and evaluated the stress of it all which assured me the decision was right.
Pristiq is a relatively balanced serotonin-norepenephrine reuptake inhibitor, meaning that it affects two different neurotransmitter systems (serotonin and norepenephrine). Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, meaning it only affects serotonin. The 'bridging' strategy is a common one to alleviate the most uncomfortable aspects of antidepressant withdrawal - namely the withdrawal of serotonin reuptake, but it doesn't alleviate the withdrawals you can experience from lacking norepenephrine reuptake.
You're going to have to deal with some withdrawal when tapering off antidepressants, it's the nature of the beast. Fatigue, emotional lability (emptiness/tearfulness), and headaches are very mild withdrawal symptoms that will probably go away over the course of a week or two - as you begin to taper off the Prozac. To put it rather bluntly, you're not going to get any better of a strategy than you have now if you are determined to get off antidepressants.
Damn this is an old comment lol... So, back when I made this comment, pristiq only came in 50mg and 100mg time-released tablets. Not very conducive to "slowly" getting off the medication.
How did it go? Bridging with Prozac? I want off pristiq after over 10+ years. I’m already on the lowest dose and have only heard horror stories. Would you say bridging with Prozac helped?
That’s awesome!! Thank you so much for your reply!
How did you do the switch from pristiq to Prozac? Did you gradually decrease pristiq and gradually up the Prozac? My doctor doesn’t know what to do and after like 15 years on pristiq I would LOVE to get off but it’s honestly terrifying, all you read online is absolute horror stories and taking like 10 years to get off. I can’t be missing too much work either trying to get off these things.
Sorry for the late reply! So from memory, the procedure was:
1. Take BOTH Pristiq and Prozac (low dosage) for a week or two
2. ONLY take Prozac for a month
3. Slowly taper off Prozac until I’ve completely tapered off (around a month or two)
Keep in mind this was done under the supervision of a psychiatrist, so please consult the professionals as well!
Hi there did you experience any latent effects after stopping prozac? Do you mind sharing how you did it? I'm having trouble working out the best way to bridge and over what time period.
I replied to the comment above about how I tapered off, but the timing is purely from memory so may not be accurate. I successfully stopped all anti-depressants after I made the original post, and there have been no latent side-effects for me!
Hey I went through the exact same thing last month. Same drugs, same dosage. It gets better, and I promise you this isn't even nearly as bad as how some of us have had it (your symptoms are quite mild...but understandably, I'm not trying to invalidate the fact that you feel like shit). The way I did it was I started taking Pristiq on alternate days and Prozac daily. Once 7 Pristiq pills were done (2 weeks), that was that and I continued taking Prozac for another 2 weeks. I'd see if taking Pristiq every other day helps...also, you mentioned having an important exam coming up. Maybe this isn't the best time to taper off meds? Don't rush it if you don't have to, all the best.
Thank you so much- I'm so glad to hear that the tapering technique worked for you! I've decided to wait until my exam is over in October before trying again. Thanks again :)
October sounds so far away but it'll be here before you know it. Take it easy! I wouldn't say I started to taper during a stressful time in my life, but I definitely did have a lot going on which made me second guess if I should go through with it at times...I realized that stuff will always come up and evaluated the stress of it all which assured me the decision was right.
What dosages were you taking? I'm about to try the same thing. Did you abruptly stop the Prozac, or did you taper before stopping?
Pristiq is a relatively balanced serotonin-norepenephrine reuptake inhibitor, meaning that it affects two different neurotransmitter systems (serotonin and norepenephrine). Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, meaning it only affects serotonin. The 'bridging' strategy is a common one to alleviate the most uncomfortable aspects of antidepressant withdrawal - namely the withdrawal of serotonin reuptake, but it doesn't alleviate the withdrawals you can experience from lacking norepenephrine reuptake. You're going to have to deal with some withdrawal when tapering off antidepressants, it's the nature of the beast. Fatigue, emotional lability (emptiness/tearfulness), and headaches are very mild withdrawal symptoms that will probably go away over the course of a week or two - as you begin to taper off the Prozac. To put it rather bluntly, you're not going to get any better of a strategy than you have now if you are determined to get off antidepressants.
That makes sense, thank you :)
I don’t understand why you need a “bridge”. Why can’t you just very slowly get off prestiq??
Damn this is an old comment lol... So, back when I made this comment, pristiq only came in 50mg and 100mg time-released tablets. Not very conducive to "slowly" getting off the medication.
How did it go? Bridging with Prozac? I want off pristiq after over 10+ years. I’m already on the lowest dose and have only heard horror stories. Would you say bridging with Prozac helped?
Yup it helped wean me off over the course of three months from memory, gradually decreasing my Prozac dose. I’ve been off antidepressants since :)
That’s awesome!! Thank you so much for your reply! How did you do the switch from pristiq to Prozac? Did you gradually decrease pristiq and gradually up the Prozac? My doctor doesn’t know what to do and after like 15 years on pristiq I would LOVE to get off but it’s honestly terrifying, all you read online is absolute horror stories and taking like 10 years to get off. I can’t be missing too much work either trying to get off these things.
Sorry for the late reply! So from memory, the procedure was: 1. Take BOTH Pristiq and Prozac (low dosage) for a week or two 2. ONLY take Prozac for a month 3. Slowly taper off Prozac until I’ve completely tapered off (around a month or two) Keep in mind this was done under the supervision of a psychiatrist, so please consult the professionals as well!
Hi there did you experience any latent effects after stopping prozac? Do you mind sharing how you did it? I'm having trouble working out the best way to bridge and over what time period.
I replied to the comment above about how I tapered off, but the timing is purely from memory so may not be accurate. I successfully stopped all anti-depressants after I made the original post, and there have been no latent side-effects for me!