Hi there everyone,

After 10+ years on Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) under guidance of psychiatrist, I’ve decided I want my life back & the armour of numbness removed!

Was on 250mg daily & now, after 6 weeks down to 150mg daily…have been investigating tapering from here on in - one issue here in Australia is that doses of 50mg & 100mg are the only ones available in tablet form, so I’ll have to seek out a compounding prescription & chemist as I approach the smaller doses.

I haven’t informed my psychiatrist yet that I’ve started reducing, so am interested in how she “receives” my news.

Your advice, thoughts or comments on

similar experience much appreciated:-)

Pleased to be here, thanks

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

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22 hours ago, Ramjet said:

Hi there everyone,

After 10+ years on Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) under guidance of psychiatrist, I’ve decided I want my life back & the armour of numbness removed!

Hey! I think thats great. I am glad you found us. It is really important to taper off these drugs slowly and carefully and we can help with this.

22 hours ago, Ramjet said:

Was on 250mg daily & now, after 6 weeks down to 150mg daily…have been investigating tapering from here on in -

Ok, be carefully here. We only suggest you reduce a max of 10% of your last dose as a rough rule of thumb. However it is possible reduce more quickly at the start. You were on a very high dose of Desvenlafaxine. To give you an idea the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines only has charts showing the receptor occupancy going up to about 125mg. Receptor Ocupancy or effect on the brain is propertionally less the higher you go in dose.

25mg about 60%

50mg about 75%

75mg about 83%

100mg about 86%

So you can see the lower you go the larger effect on the brain. Dropping from 250mg to 150mg may well be 'easy' for you but you need to be increasingly more careful going forwards.

Here is our guide to tapering. Tapering Information

22 hours ago, Ramjet said:

one issue here in Australia is that doses of 50mg & 100mg are the only ones available in tablet form, so I’ll have to seek out a compounding prescription & chemist as I approach the smaller doses.

You can cut your tablets and weigh them to reduce the dose without the need for compound pharmacy. When you cut your tablet much of the Extended relase properties will be removed. Your drug has a half life of around 11 hours, meaning you would need to start to split your dose at least into two times of the day. I would do this first before continuing with your taper. Use the scales to cut the tablets into half and slowly move the two doses apart by 1 hour a day until you get to your desired dosing times, then hold there for a week or so before reducing further. You may find you can drop from 150mg to 100mg in one hit due to the small drop in RO between the two doses. Perhaps if you are stable you may consider doing this first before splitting your 100mg pill and continuing from there.

You could consider following a hyperbolic taper particularly at these higher doses and cut more quickly from 100mg should you choose to.

How are you feeling at the moment about your taper? Has it been symptom free?

Here is a post on SA about tapering your drug. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/876-tips-for-tapering-off-desvenlafaxine-pristiq/

 

Some information about making up smaller doses. Note you can't make up a liquid with your tablet. You can switch to Venlafaxine at some point should you choose to, but switches can be destablising, so personally I would stick to Pristiq for as long as you can. Preparing Doses for Tapering - Weighing & DIY Liquids

22 hours ago, Ramjet said:

I haven’t informed my psychiatrist yet that I’ve started reducing, so am interested in how she “receives” my news.

Be a little careful here. You only really need him to fill your prescriptions, it may be you might choose to keep saying the drug is working for you and taper without his knowledge. It all depends on how well understood tapering is in your country.

22 hours ago, Ramjet said:

Pleased to be here, thanks

Happy you are here :)

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Thanks for the welcome & informative reply 👍😃

24 minutes ago, Ramjet said:

Thanks for the welcome & informative reply 👍😃

Pleasure. Anything you need we are here for you.