SSRI support group - tapering while on benzo's or after recovery

[[la...]]

thought I wpould jump in here...apparently I have been on this site in the past because it comes up on my feed

 

 

anyways, I will have been off Zoloft 2 years this June  after being on it for 15 yrs!!!  it pooped out in 2012 and I tried everything under the sun to get it to work again  but alas not to be...ssris when 1st starting them always made me manic and had to take benzo to smooth out the 1st couple weeks getting on it

 

That in itself should be a huge RED flag...what other med do you need to take a med to get on another med???  none that I am aware of

 

 

anyway I came off in 4 weeks...must have been thinking crazy    so here I am tapering from benzo and may still and have been having w/d from the Zoloft on top of it all

 

 

who knows...all I will say is that neither of these drugs are safe at ALLLLL...check out Dr, Peter Breggin  or DR Whittacker...written some good books on this

 

I am interested in finding out what my brain is like drug free...have no idea because at this point I am being traumatized

[[Ri...]]

Hi All,

 

I am looking for support on ways to taper off of pristiq. Have any of you cut the pills even though it states clearly you should not crush or cut the pills? The only thing I can come up with is perhaps to use a compound company.

 

Thanks!

 

Riversedge

[[Ki...]]

Hi river,

 

I use a compounding pharmacy and that has worked really well for me 

[[ga...]]

I have tapered valium down to 5 mg and was hit with symptoms for 3 weeks due to a pretty rapid taper.  I've decided to hold there and begin the Cymbalta taper.  I'm on 60 mg and am starting with a 10% taper every 2 weeks.  I opened the capsules and averaged the weight of 6 bead-containing capsules, and cut 10% of that.  I weighed 14 capsules with that amount to cover 2 weeks and will continue on that 10% cut every 2 weeks schedule unless I become symptomatic and need to hold or slow down.  I am a member of both the Surviving Antidepressants forum and the Cymbalta Hurts Worse Facebook group.  Both have excellent support and advice.  They recommend that when polydrugged, taper off of the most activating drug first.  So, I'm hoping to complete the Cymbalta taper and then resume the benzo taper.  Supposedly, the Benzo helps with sleep while tapering the AD.  Guess I'll find out.  I'm on day 2 of my Cymbalta taper and have felt nothing yet. 

[[Gr...]]

Hi All,

 

I am looking for support on ways to taper off of pristiq. Have any of you cut the pills even though it states clearly you should not crush or cut the pills? The only thing I can come up with is perhaps to use a compound company.

 

Thanks!

 

Riversedge

 

I cut 'em up.  I split up the doses at first to make it more even cause the reason they don't want you cutting it up is because it turns into non-time released effexor once you split it.  But even that is not really even cause some of the time release stuff is still on the pill.  I cut 50mgs into fourths, and took cut one fourth each month.  I took the three fourths morning, noon, and night, and the two fourths morning and night, and then the one fourth just in the morning.  This worked for me.

[[ja...]]

Following

 

[[ga...]]

I'm on day 11 of my first Cymbalta cut of 10%, down from 60 mg to 54 mg.  I started having a LOT of anxiety yesterday so guess I need to hold until I'm a bit more stable to cut again.  I'm also in benzo withdrawal having tapered from 13 mg to 5 mg valium in 6 weeks due to chemical, black depression brought on by the valium.  Has anyone had experience with pausing a benzo taper and beginning an antidepressant taper?  Cymbalta is really nasty to get off of....doesn't seem like many people on this forum have taken it.

[[Ri...]]

Thanks for the suggestions. I want to use a compounding company however I need a prescription and it is not covered by my insurance. I may try cutting them in quarters and take them throughout the day to decrease medication dumping. If it does not work I will go with the compounding method.

[[ri...]]

Hi river,

 

I use a compounding pharmacy and that has worked really well for me 

 

Hi Kiddo.

 

I was just reading the SSRI support board and I noticed you have a lot of knowledge about SSRI's and you also took ativan as I am doing now. I just reinstated to 1mg of ativan after a failed taper after 4 months use. I am considering getting on an AD to taper off of ativan. I am getting mixed reviews so I was hoping to hear from someone who actually is on an SSRI and tapered off of ativan. I did my research and it sounds like Cipralex has the least side affects and is the best match for ativan users. I am not going to suggest it to my psychiatrist who I am seeing for the first time on june 26th but I have a feeling he will suggest getting on an AD. Would you recommend this or are u opposed to starting an AD to taper off of a benzo.

 

Cheers

[[Tr...]]

This is a great thread and I figured I post my experience tapering off Zoloft. I tapered a little over a year ago and it's taken this long to finally feel like myself again.

 

I was on 100mg of Zoloft for about 10 years. I think it helped a bit, but there were times when I still felt depressed and my Dr. would bump it up to 150mg for a period. I would also take .5mg of Klonopin about 3x a week.

 

I decided to taper so that I could see what my baseline was. I wanted to see if I was being emotionally numbed, if it was causing me to be unable to find work and feel fatigued. I did a one month taper and was fine for a while. But at about 4-5 months I suffered from horrible rebound depression and just felt hopeless, useless and felt there was no way out. I tried fixing it by taking more Klonopin and that just made things worse. I started talk therapy and reinstated the Zoloft. I then tapered off Klonopin and was fine for a while. I recovered from my darkest days.

 

About 6 months later I again tried a taper, this time for 3 months. I had quit drinking and was exercising more, which helped my recovery. I was fine to begin with but the year after I jumped wasn't perfect. I still suffered from waves of mild depression and a nagging underlying anxiety that just barely went away. I figured it was just how I was and that I would just need to cope. I constantly wondered if i should go back on an AD, but luckily things were never too extreme so I just dealt with it.

 

But then a few months ago, about 15 months after my taper, a new light seemed to open up. The anxiety I thought would be with me forever just disappeared. The depression happened less often and didn't last as long. I had started taking a 250mg magnesium supplement,was doing CBT again, and had read a lot of books on coping with depression. I know these helped, but the most important thing that was happening was that my brain had finally recovered from the years of relying on Zoloft. I never imagined it would take that long to feel like myself again.

 

When I was on the drugs I was convinced I was mentally ill and would need to be medicated for the rest of my life. For a year after tapering off Zoloft i still felt that way. I felt like I was tight rope walking without a net, but convinced myself to carry through with it for at least a year. It's now been almost a year and a half and things have really changed for the better recently, without medication. I've got moments of joy again, am confident to take on new challenges without fear and feel like myself again.

[[Ki...]]

Hi river,

 

I use a compounding pharmacy and that has worked really well for me 

 

Hi Kiddo.

 

I was just reading the SSRI support board and I noticed you have a lot of knowledge about SSRI's and you also took ativan as I am doing now. I just reinstated to 1mg of ativan after a failed taper after 4 months use. I am considering getting on an AD to taper off of ativan. I am getting mixed reviews so I was hoping to hear from someone who actually is on an SSRI and tapered off of ativan. I did my research and it sounds like Cipralex has the least side affects and is the best match for ativan users. I am not going to suggest it to my psychiatrist who I am seeing for the first time on june 26th but I have a feeling he will suggest getting on an AD. Would you recommend this or are u opposed to starting an AD to taper off of a benzo.

 

Cheers

 

Hi Ringing,

 

I think this is a great question, and one many people on this forum have asked. My personal opinion would be to avoid them at all costs, but that isn't often the most popular opinion.

 

I have done a tremendous amount of research since falling victim to both AD's and benzos. My opinion of AD's is worse than that of benzos, as I believe benzos still have a role in a hospital setting or VERY short term use.

 

I can't tell you what is best for you, but I would caution you to research all psych drugs prior to use.

 

Some good resources are:

Mad In America (Website)

Anatomy of An Epidemic (Book)

The Emperors New Drugs (Book)

Are Your Drugs Making You Sick (Book)

Madness Radio (Podcast)

Peter Breggin Hour (Podcast)

 

In addition, I would ask yourself this....If you are having difficulty with a mind-altering medication, does it make sense to add another mind-altering medication into the equation?

 

I know you're likely desperate for relief, and that is something we all share. I'm currently stuck on my AD because I'm simply too afraid to reduce since I'm FINALLY starting to see some improvement. I was put on Ativan to "help" with the withdrawal from the AD. If only I had known better.....

 

[[ri...]]

Hi river,

 

I use a compounding pharmacy and that has worked really well for me 

 

Hi Kiddo.

 

I was just reading the SSRI support board and I noticed you have a lot of knowledge about SSRI's and you also took ativan as I am doing now. I just reinstated to 1mg of ativan after a failed taper after 4 months use. I am considering getting on an AD to taper off of ativan. I am getting mixed reviews so I was hoping to hear from someone who actually is on an SSRI and tapered off of ativan. I did my research and it sounds like Cipralex has the least side affects and is the best match for ativan users. I am not going to suggest it to my psychiatrist who I am seeing for the first time on june 26th but I have a feeling he will suggest getting on an AD. Would you recommend this or are u opposed to starting an AD to taper off of a benzo.

 

Cheers

 

Hi Ringing,

 

I think this is a great question, and one many people on this forum have asked. My personal opinion would be to avoid them at all costs, but that isn't often the most popular opinion.

 

I have done a tremendous amount of research since falling victim to both AD's and benzos. My opinion of AD's is worse than that of benzos, as I believe benzos still have a role in a hospital setting or VERY short term use.

 

I can't tell you what is best for you, but I would caution you to research all psych drugs prior to use.

 

Some good resources are:

Mad In America (Website)

Anatomy of An Epidemic (Book)

The Emperors New Drugs (Book)

Are Your Drugs Making You Sick (Book)

Madness Radio (Podcast)

Peter Breggin Hour (Podcast)

 

In addition, I would ask yourself this....If you are having difficulty with a mind-altering medication, does it make sense to add another mind-altering medication into the equation?

 

I know you're likely desperate for relief, and that is something we all share. I'm currently stuck on my AD because I'm simply too afraid to reduce since I'm FINALLY starting to see some improvement. I was put on Ativan to "help" with the withdrawal from the AD. If only I had known better.....

 

 

I pretty much have the same opinion about going on an AD. Thanks for the response

[[Lo...]]

I guess it all depends on which SSRI is being taken, whether it agrees with a person, and how long it's been taken. I figured out that certain SSRI's are just too harsh for me (i.e. Venlafaxine , Escitalopram), and some just made me feel odd (Sertraline), but I benefited from taking Fluoxetine. I was on Fluoxetine for 16 years (stopped in 2013). I feel that it was beneficial for me, but I thought I could have done without and tried to C/T it in 2008 during one of the more stressful periods of my life (naive determination?), but I ended up a crying mess. Mind you, I was not even close to this panicked, agoraphobic state where benzos brought me to, but I was a crying, emotional mess, and felt alone and misunderstood. Ended up reinstating fluoxetine a month later.

 

However, it's darker aspects of concurrent prescribing of these 2 classes of psych meds that I want to talk about, and that's the fact that there can be different situations.....

 

1) The SSRI ends up being too strong/agitating for the person from the get-go, or the dose ends up being too high. The patient is given benzodiazepines to control the agitation from an anti-depressant. The benzodiazepine tolerance builds up, and tapering the bzd causes a double whammy of benzo wd agitation and a return of the full effect of that SSRI. Sadly, this happens too many times

 

2) The SSRI is well tolerated for quite a while, but due to the other issues, benzodiazepines are introduced at a much later date. Unfortunately, the SSRI ends up masking the CNS depressant symptoms of benzodiazepine, which may end up potentiating the benzodiazepine. Also, the benzodiazepine may end up making the CNS less able to tolerate the SSRI, all the while the benzodiazepine tolerance builds up. This leads to critical situation where something needs to be tapered down. Do the benzos have to be tapered first, or the SSRI?

 

3) A patient is prescribed an SSRI + benzo at the same time, and is confused from day #1

 

4) I've even seen guidelines were patients are given a benzo for a short time until the antidepressant's agitation wears off. Yet, many times, the patient becomes unable to stop the benzo......

 

5) And then there is the awful one where a patient is given an SSRI that doesn't quite work as well. The patient or the doctor stop it, the SSRI withdrawals become unbearable, and a benzo is then  prescribed to deal with the side effects of the SSRI withdrawal

 

6) Then there is a situation where a patiend is cut off of benzos C/T and given an SSRI to help "recover"

 

7) And then there are all these permutations and combinations where a patient is being switched around on different benzos, SSRI's, AP's, the tapers are not done right, and no stability is ever achieved, and things just get worse and worse.

 

[[ga...]]

I'm in the 4th week of my Cymbalta taper.  I made my first cut of 10% going from 60 mg to 54 mg.  I started having a LOT of anxiety on day 11.  Despite that, I made another 10% cut down to approximately 48 mg and had such horrible symptoms that I've had to hold there.  I'm having extreme anxiety, shallow breathing and awful akathisia.  I'm also in benzo withdrawal having tapered from 13 mg to 5 mg valium in 6 weeks due to chemical, black depression brought on by the valium.  Has anyone had experience with pausing a benzo taper and beginning an antidepressant taper?  Cymbalta is really nasty to get off of....doesn't seem like many people on this forum have taken it. At this rate, it will take years to taper off of it.  And then I still have the 5 mg of valium to deal with.

 

I've posted about this a couple of times on this thread but no one has commented yet.  I'm really hoping to hear from someone who has had experience with pausing a benzo taper to start an AD taper.  It's discouraging to post and to not get any replies at all.  Sorry to sound whiney, but that's how I'm feeling right now, thanks to these horrendous drugs. 

[[Ki...]]

Gardenlady,

 

Sorry you're suffering so much at the moment.

 

The only person I know on the forum that alternated their benzo/AD Taper was a previous moderator, Alabamwerie. You may want to look up her old posts as she left very detailed entries.

 

IMO, your body is telling you that your current taper rate is far too fast. Are you in a rush to get off the AD? Like benzos, most people wait to stabilize between AD reductions, in order to help lessen w/d symptoms. It only makes sense to to take the same care when tapering ANY psych med. is there are reason you continued to reduce your AD when you were already feeing sx from your first reduction?

 

AD withdrawal is often delayed, according to literature, and is not often felt right away. That's why it's recommened people only reduce their dose every 6-8 weeks. Can you just sit tight for a little while until you level out?

 

 

[[Gr...]]

Gardenlady- I have paused my benzo taper to taper off the SSRIS.  I just tapered off of Pristiq, after spending 5 years on a few different ssris, I was on Pristiq for a year. 

 

The symptoms going down off the ssris are stronger, IMO, than benzos, but they go away quicker also.  At least, that was my experience.  The first two weeks are the worst, followed by the next two weeks.  After four weeks, I felt somewhat stable, after my cuts.  I did big cuts - 25% each month- mostly because I wasn't on them for that long and I was very motivated to get off fast. 

 

It's been a few months now, and I am definitely feeling some effects of the withdrawal still, but I don't think they are any worse from how I tapered.  I did try to CT for like a day and a half, and that was miserable.  I couldn't do it. 

[[ga...]]

Gardenlady- I have paused my benzo taper to taper off the SSRIS.  I just tapered off of Pristiq, after spending 5 years on a few different ssris, I was on Pristiq for a year. 

 

The symptoms going down off the ssris are stronger, IMO, than benzos, but they go away quicker also.  At least, that was my experience.  The first two weeks are the worst, followed by the next two weeks.  After four weeks, I felt somewhat stable, after my cuts.  I did big cuts - 25% each month- mostly because I wasn't on them for that long and I was very motivated to get off fast. 

 

It's been a few months now, and I am definitely feeling some effects of the withdrawal still, but I don't think they are any worse from how I tapered.  I did try to CT for like a day and a half, and that was miserable.  I couldn't do it.

GreenCup, Thanks so much for your reply.  Congrats on getting off the Pristiq so quickly and with no more discomfort that you had.  How has it been resuming your Klonopin taper since?  Do you feel stable enough following the AD withdrawal?  I'm still having akathisia and anxiety from the Cymbalta taper since I was already in withdrawal from the rapid Valium taper.  Looks like I've gotten myself into a pickle from rapid tapering on both drugs.  Do you think that the Klonopin helped you sleep during the Pristiq taper?  That's the one good think about tapering the AD first, as far as I can tell.  I'm holding both right now and waiting until I pack up my house and move in mid July.  I have a lot to do and need to be as clear-minded as possible. 

[[ga...]]

Gardenlady,

 

Sorry you're suffering so much at the moment.

 

The only person I know on the forum that alternated their benzo/AD Taper was a previous moderator, Alabamwerie. You may want to look up her old posts as she left very detailed entries.

 

IMO, your body is telling you that your current taper rate is far too fast. Are you in a rush to get off the AD? Like benzos, most people wait to stabilize between AD reductions, in order to help lessen w/d symptoms. It only makes sense to to take the same care when tapering ANY psych med. is there are reason you continued to reduce your AD when you were already feeing sx from your first reduction?

 

AD withdrawal is often delayed, according to literature, and is not often felt right away. That's why it's recommened people only reduce their dose every 6-8 weeks. Can you just sit tight for a little while until you level out?

Thanks, Kiddo.  I was hoping I'd hear from you as you seem to be so knowledgeable.  The only reason I cut the Cymbalta while still having symptoms from the prior cut was that I thought I could just suck it up and power through it.  DUMB!  I'm just so sick of ingesting this poison everyday that I tend to taper too quickly.  I'm holding at 48 mg Cymbalta and 5 mg Valium right now.  I'm moving next month, so have to hang tight till all that is over.  The akathisia and anxiety are still problems.  Guess I'm kindled and very sensitive to any cut at all. 

 

The conventional wisdom is to taper one drug at a time and not touch any other drug until stable again.  I broke that rule and am paying for it.  I was hoping the remaining 5 mg valium would help me sleep during the AD withdrawal, but I messed up by getting off track on the valium taper.  I need to just stick with it and heal from that before tackling the AD.

 

Is valium stored  in the fat cells longer than other benzos?  This isn't a question of half-life (I know that valium has a 200 half-life..the longest of any benzo), only how long it hangs around in the body once the taper is completed.  How does that affect withdrawal down the road?  Does detoxing with some cleansing agent help rid the body of it?

[[Ki...]]

Gardenlady,

 

I'm happy to help 

 

I don't think you're dumb, I think you're brave for even even attempting to taper. That's more than I can say for myself right now. I'm a big chicken, and am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. In any case, what's done is done. My only suggestion would be to take a break from tapering right now, especially with a move coming, and let your body find some balance.

[[je...]]

I am 8 months jumped from Valium.  Doing well so far except for an occasional day or few hours of "yuk".  Sleeping better - average 6.5 hours.  I talked to my psych in January about getting off the Welbutrin (I only take one 200mg dose per day).  At that time she thought I should wait a bit. 

 

Now, 6 months later (and it being summer with longer daylight, etc.,) I am thinking about getting off that Welbutrin.  I've already accidentally skipped two different days in one week and didn't notice any difference.  Can I get input from others who were polydrugged and then got totally clean?  Does my plan sound OK?  PS:  I see the psych at the end of June and am thinking about starting now with every other day dosage so that I have some benchmark to report to her.

 

****Thoughts welcomed!!****

[[Gr...]]

Gardenlady- I have paused my benzo taper to taper off the SSRIS.  I just tapered off of Pristiq, after spending 5 years on a few different ssris, I was on Pristiq for a year. 

 

The symptoms going down off the ssris are stronger, IMO, than benzos, but they go away quicker also.  At least, that was my experience.  The first two weeks are the worst, followed by the next two weeks.  After four weeks, I felt somewhat stable, after my cuts.  I did big cuts - 25% each month- mostly because I wasn't on them for that long and I was very motivated to get off fast. 

 

It's been a few months now, and I am definitely feeling some effects of the withdrawal still, but I don't think they are any worse from how I tapered.  I did try to CT for like a day and a half, and that was miserable.  I couldn't do it.

GreenCup, Thanks so much for your reply.  Congrats on getting off the Pristiq so quickly and with no more discomfort that you had.  How has it been resuming your Klonopin taper since?  Do you feel stable enough following the AD withdrawal?  I'm still having akathisia and anxiety from the Cymbalta taper since I was already in withdrawal from the rapid Valium taper.  Looks like I've gotten myself into a pickle from rapid tapering on both drugs.  Do you think that the Klonopin helped you sleep during the Pristiq taper?  That's the one good think about tapering the AD first, as far as I can tell.  I'm holding both right now and waiting until I pack up my house and move in mid July.  I have a lot to do and need to be as clear-minded as possible.

 

Resuming the klonopin taper has been tough and annoying.  I am so sick of being sick from withdrawal.  I feel sort of stable after the AD withdrawal.  The first part of the AD withdrawal was nasty and strong.  I had anxiety and couldn't sleep and couldn't concentrate on anything.  This part lasted for about two weeks after the cut and by a month was pretty much gone.  The second part of AD withdrawal for me was later, and appeared with depersonalization and a lot of questioning things and maybe being depressed but it doesn't feel completely like that either.  Also a lot of rage, which is getting better, but then as I cut the klonopin the rage came back again. 

 

No, I do not think the klonopin helped me sleep during withdrawal.  It's been a long time since klonopin helped me anything.  I used a muscle relaxer sometimes and benadryl other times, and mostly just didn't sleep well the first two weeks after AD cut, and after that was able to get at least 6 hours, and usually waking up in the middle of the night and taking an hour to get back to sleep. 

[[ga...]]

I am 8 months jumped from Valium.  Doing well so far except for an occasional day or few hours of "yuk".  Sleeping better - average 6.5 hours.  I talked to my psych in January about getting off the Welbutrin (I only take one 200mg dose per day).  At that time she thought I should wait a bit. 

 

Now, 6 months later (and it being summer with longer daylight, etc.,) I am thinking about getting off that Welbutrin.  I've already accidentally skipped two different days in one week and didn't notice any difference.  Can I get input from others who were polydrugged and then got totally clean?  Does my plan sound OK?  PS:  I see the psych at the end of June and am thinking about starting now with every other day dosage so that I have some benchmark to report to her.

 

****Thoughts welcomed!!****

About 3 or 4 years ago, I stopped Wellbutin cold turkey on the advice of my doctor and had zero side effects.  I was also on a benzo and another AD at the time.  That's just my experience  and we're all different, but I don't think Wellbutrin has nearly the power of other ADs.

[[ga...]]

Gardenlady- I have paused my benzo taper to taper off the SSRIS.  I just tapered off of Pristiq, after spending 5 years on a few different ssris, I was on Pristiq for a year. 

 

The symptoms going down off the ssris are stronger, IMO, than benzos, but they go away quicker also.  At least, that was my experience.  The first two weeks are the worst, followed by the next two weeks.  After four weeks, I felt somewhat stable, after my cuts.  I did big cuts - 25% each month- mostly because I wasn't on them for that long and I was very motivated to get off fast. 

 

It's been a few months now, and I am definitely feeling some effects of the withdrawal still, but I don't think they are any worse from how I tapered.  I did try to CT for like a day and a half, and that was miserable.  I couldn't do it.

GreenCup, Thanks so much for your reply.  Congrats on getting off the Pristiq so quickly and with no more discomfort that you had.  How has it been resuming your Klonopin taper since?  Do you feel stable enough following the AD withdrawal?  I'm still having akathisia and anxiety from the Cymbalta taper since I was already in withdrawal from the rapid Valium taper.  Looks like I've gotten myself into a pickle from rapid tapering on both drugs.  Do you think that the Klonopin helped you sleep during the Pristiq taper?  That's the one good think about tapering the AD first, as far as I can tell.  I'm holding both right now and waiting until I pack up my house and move in mid July.  I have a lot to do and need to be as clear-minded as possible.

 

Resuming the klonopin taper has been tough and annoying.  I am so sick of being sick from withdrawal.  I feel sort of stable after the AD withdrawal.  The first part of the AD withdrawal was nasty and strong.  I had anxiety and couldn't sleep and couldn't concentrate on anything.  This part lasted for about two weeks after the cut and by a month was pretty much gone.  The second part of AD withdrawal for me was later, and appeared with depersonalization and a lot of questioning things and maybe being depressed but it doesn't feel completely like that either.  Also a lot of rage, which is getting better, but then as I cut the klonopin the rage came back again. 

 

No, I do not think the klonopin helped me sleep during withdrawal.  It's been a long time since klonopin helped me anything.  I used a muscle relaxer sometimes and benadryl other times, and mostly just didn't sleep well the first two weeks after AD cut, and after that was able to get at least 6 hours, and usually waking up in the middle of the night and taking an hour to get back to sleep.

GC, Just curious...what made you decide to pause your benzo taper to get off the Pristiq rather than waiting till you finished your benzo taper?  If you had it to do over, would you do the same?  One school of thought is to taper only one drug at a time and not touch another one until you are finished tapering the first one and stable enough to tackle the next one.  But, we're all different and have different experiences.  I've found the main rule to be is that there are no rules, for the most part, anyway.

[[Gr...]]

...

GC, Just curious...what made you decide to pause your benzo taper to get off the Pristiq rather than waiting till you finished your benzo taper?  If you had it to do over, would you do the same?  One school of thought is to taper only one drug at a time and not touch another one until you are finished tapering the first one and stable enough to tackle the next one.  But, we're all different and have different experiences.  I've found the main rule to be is that there are no rules, for the most part, anyway.

 

I did it because I had what I think was seretonin syndrome.  I was getting some terrible migraines, and also I had a cough, which I was taking a vicodin cough medicine for, which I now know can interfere with seretonin, or Pristiq, anyways, I was suffering will a terrible migraine, and took some migraine medication- Maxalt- and then I was just nauseous and had an even worse headache for days.  I finally decided it must be seretonin syndrome since it got better each day and they started again when I took my morning dose of Pristiq.  So I decided not to take my Pristiq, and my headache went away, but the next day, OMG, the withdrawal symptoms were instese, that was my one day CT, and the next day I began my taper.  I never felt as bad as I did that week, with the headache that got worse with migraine meds.  I'm pretty sure it was seretonin syndrome.

[[ga...]]

...

GC, Just curious...what made you decide to pause your benzo taper to get off the Pristiq rather than waiting till you finished your benzo taper?  If you had it to do over, would you do the same?  One school of thought is to taper only one drug at a time and not touch another one until you are finished tapering the first one and stable enough to tackle the next one.  But, we're all different and have different experiences.  I've found the main rule to be is that there are no rules, for the most part, anyway.

 

I did it because I had what I think was seretonin syndrome.  I was getting some terrible migraines, and also I had a cough, which I was taking a vicodin cough medicine for, which I now know can interfere with seretonin, or Pristiq, anyways, I was suffering will a terrible migraine, and took some migraine medication- Maxalt- and then I was just nauseous and had an even worse headache for days.  I finally decided it must be seretonin syndrome since it got better each day and they started again when I took my morning dose of Pristiq.  So I decided not to take my Pristiq, and my headache went away, but the next day, OMG, the withdrawal symptoms were instese, that was my one day CT, and the next day I began my taper.  I never felt as bad as I did that week, with the headache that got worse with migraine meds.  I'm pretty sure it was seretonin syndrome.

Wow, GC!  That's amazing that you got serotonin syndrome on 50 mg of Pristiq....a normal dose.  You were really smart to figure it out.  Congrats to you!