Antidepressant

[[An...]]

I am thinking about getting off of my Pristiq and my Strattera. These are both SNRIs, but Strattera is more prescribed for ADHD. I’ve been worried that I’m going to have to go through all of this withdrawal crap again when I get off of my antidepressants. I wonder if it would be best to just get it done now. I obsessively worry about what the antidepressants are doing to me. I’m especially worried about my memory. Does anyone know if SNRIs are bad for memory? I will be five months Klonopin (3mg a day for three and a half years) free on 8/23/23 via a c/t. I am already in hell with this withdrawal, especially with depression. I don’t want to quit the SNRIs and be completely not functional. I can’t work right now as it is. I also don’t want to be taking pills that mess with my brain and I don’t want to have to go through withdrawal all over again at a second period in time. Does anyone have experience with SNRI withdrawal? If so, what were your withdrawal symptoms? Was it as bad as benzo withdrawal? 

[[Es...]]

@[An...] 

I was told by my shrink to quit Effexor XR CT, as it interacted with my BCP. Effexor XR is similar to Pristiq, also an SNRI. Acts on serotonin and norepinephrine. He gave me Wellbutrin: norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor. And let my serotonin go to hell.

No words can describe the suffering I went through. Well, I was his guinea pig. I lasted about a week on Wellbutrin (minimum dose) and switched directly to fluoxetine.

I don't know if SNRIs are bad for memory, but I felt reasonably well on Effexor XR and was functional. I wouldn't CT. Maybe I would lower the dose after consulting a pdoc and see how I feel.

Strattera (atomoxetine) is used for ADHD, a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor. A lot of norepinephrine reuptake, but it's not a stimulant. It's all to discuss with your shrink.

I am diagnosed with ADHD as well. Was prescribed methylphenidate 10 mg yrs ago. What I remember it made my hot flushes worse. Very similar to buproprion, but short-lasting. These were immediate release pills, which I cut into crumbs and took to improve attention. I think one develops tolerance to the CNS stimulants over time. And the effect is contrary to the one desired, like with the BZD. You can improve attention by deep breathing, mindfulness, exercise. I cannot believe they give it to kids. 

Overall, taking ADs with ADHD meds is risky, IMO. The less meds the better. But no radical moves. No listening to charlatans. Unless you want to ruin your life forever.

You have nothing to prove to anybody. Med free doesn't equal "saint". And some people do lie about their abstinence. Always remember that.

Good luck,

Paula

[[du...]]

@[An...]

i am currently on lexapro and a trial of rexulti. Due to very mild social anxiety I have been on and off lexapro for the better half of a decade and have found that it helped me. This time around, coming off benzos, I feel no relief and that was one of the signs I knew I was in tolerance. I’m going to kick the benzo first and tackle the easy ssri after. Anyways I think it’s a personal decision on what we want to stay on. Some people swear that supps/meds help and other avoid them like the plague. Good luck!

[[dj...]]

Annamal, if you aren’t feeling well, I would not taper off the Pristiq.  I would wait to do that once you are feeling healed.  I don’t know what dosage you are taking but I guess it’s possible you could work to reduce your dose and stay there, but I would not try and stop it until you feel healed from the benzos.  I made the mistake of trying to get off mirtazapine while deep in benzo withdrawal and it was a nightmare.  If you are still dealing with benzo symptoms, it’s going to make getting off an AD much harder than it normally would.  
 

That being said, before I was ever on benzos, I CT’d Effexor which is the parent drug of Pristiq.  I basically went nuts for a day but then it was over.  I’m sure if I had tapered off over a week I wouldn’t have felt anything. 

[[Ho...]]

34 minutes ago, [[d...] said:

Annamal, if you aren’t feeling well, I would not taper off the Pristiq.  I would wait to do that once you are feeling healed.  I don’t know what dosage you are taking but I guess it’s possible you could work to reduce your dose and stay there, but I would not try and stop it until you feel healed from the benzos.  I made the mistake of trying to get off mirtazapine while deep in benzo withdrawal and it was a nightmare.  If you are still dealing with benzo symptoms, it’s going to make getting off an AD much harder than it normally would.  
 

That being said, before I was ever on benzos, I CT’d Effexor which is the parent drug of Pristiq.  I basically went nuts for a day but then it was over.  I’m sure if I had tapered off over a week I wouldn’t have felt anything. 

@djej2010, I just read that you were o Mirtazepine. My pdoc put me on mirt and lamotrigine. I'm 11 months post jumping from clonazepam. I'm better but not terribly functional. (I can play a mild game of pickle ball, cook a little, read and work on projects for 30 minutes at a time.) Afternoons are uniformly awful. Don't know when this will end, just trusting God that it will.

I was on 15 mg mirt and am now down to about 1 mg.the smallest cuts are hard! Lamotrigine was at 25 mg and is now at about 14 mg. It's so hard to make decisions these days because it's hard to be objective.

I'm about to go to liquid mirt. Lamotrigine I'm dropping very very slowly because the mirt is so much harder. As someone who's experienced mirt withdrawal, would you say it's better to wait until fully healed before titrating down? 

(Sorry, that was very longwinded of me!)

HCHC