Pristiq Withdrawal

I'm in the process of tapering Pristiq and facing some problems.

I started off 6 months back with 200 mg of Pristiq in a day. Now after slowly tapering I am down to 50 mg once in 36 hours. I've been on 36 hours for a month now and would like to taper it further, but I start getting brain zaps that are awful exactly after 36 hours. I would like to increase the interval to 48 hours but the withdrawal is really bad,I just can't get up,feel really dizzy.

Any advice or story to share?

Thanks!

You might have tapered too fast and that is what is causing the brain zaps. Do the zaps get worse with the time since you last took a dose? It isn't good to alternate between doses or not taking any dose because it confuses the brain. You might want to try a slightly lower dose or the same dose every day and taper slower (10%) from there.
Omega-3s can help brain zaps also.

I had brain zaps to from 100Mg to 50Mg.It lasted a week

Did the prestiq not help you?

Wow! I feel ya...I've been on Pristiq for a couple of years now...and if I'm late on it by just a couple of hours I get horrible brain zaps (i'm at 100mg). it's horrible.
I hope you're able to continue tapering off a bit more...to eventually get off of it if that's your goal

No stories to share. Have you contacted your pdoc, to let them know you are having trouble with the taper? Even a phone consult and they could advise you what to do? Someone mentioned perhaps it's too fast a taper for you? Don't know, doesn't hurt to make that call, sounds like it hurts to not call

have you tried reducing the dosage at 36 hrs? making it less than 50mgs? Just a thought.

Thanks for the tip. The problem is that Pristiq comes in only two tablets, 100 mg and 50 mg. Since they are Extended Release tablets, they cannot be cut. So I'm taking 50 mg once in two days and anything beyond that,I start getting brain zaps. I wish there was a way to taper at a 10 percent rate,but sadly I don't know one yet.

Have you gone down from 50 mg to zero? I could reduce from 100 to 50 too,but anything beyond that doesn't seem possible as of now.

Nope,it didn't. I just take it to end the withdrawal now..

Hi pinkbutterfly,

The past three doses, I've taken once in 48 hours,so that's an improvement. I've been trying to taper for a month and a half now. Seems like a tough task!

I was seeing a neurologist,who prescribed me psych meds. I haven't seen him as of late,but I did discuss the taper strategy for Pristiq. He said it's gonna be slow,and slowly I'll have to increase the time between dosages..

I've reached 48 hours now. The zaps start at around 40 hours but I take the dosage at 48 hours. I want to cut the dose,but everywhere it's recommended not to,since they are Extended Release tablets. I wonder how people go from 50 mg to zero. Seems impossible to me!

Will switching to another SSRI such as Prozac help? Because there's just 50 mg as the lowest dose in Pristiq,and it shouldn't be cut!

I'm currently coming off pristiq too. Before starting, I started taking a small dose of lexapro. 5mg. I can ween off that later if I need to. I also take clonazapam as needed, this can really help while coming off or going on these things. So, I have been taking the pristiq every other day for the past two weeks and now going every two days. Then stopping altogether.... I hope. I've done it this way before so I know it works. This works for me... Hope it helps you. Good luck!!

I know all about doing a slow taper with extended release medication. I literally open and weigh Effexor beads, but you couldn't do that because Pristiq is a tablet that shouldn't be cut-up. You may find this helpful.

Bridging with Prozac might help you. It has the longest half-life so it shouldn't cause the zaps like Pristiq does.

I did not read the rest of the answers, so I will be brief: I went to my pharmacist and she cut the pristiq into pieces so I could taper slower.
The 50 to 0 made me very ill and I was desperate.