Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

i have been on Pritsiq, a ppd med now for almost 10 months. i was on 50 mg and it stopped working about 4 months ago and i upped to 100 (per my doc).

i would like to come off of the meds....so i spoke to the doc - she gave me 50 mg again. she said to take it for 3 weeks and then stop cold turkey (fine).

Saturday was day 10. i was fine all day and then around midnight, i felt like i was going to die. I vomited and just felt miserable overall.

Sunday was eh - i felt okay, no more puke...but i did not feel 100%.

Today i felt rotten ALL DAY long....and at 4:30 - i vomited again.

I called the doc....she said that maybe i'm just not ready to go off the meds....and that she wants me to take 100 mg tomorrow & go back to that for awhile. She said within 3 days, i'll be back to normal...or i won't and then she knows that SOMETHING else is to blame (virus, etc.).

now - please understand, when we first started ttc'ing, i was on paxil for anxiety issues... i went off it cold turkey (moronically)....and went through something VERY similar to this. it lasted a week and then i was done with my 'withdrawl'.

here is my question/issue....

if i've come THIS far...11 days in....should I keep going and just know that the end HAS to be near???? or should I do what the doc said and go back on the meds & deal with it at another time??? i'm so terribly torn.... i have never just flat out ignored by doc's instructions, but really, i'd like to stop taking the meds.....

what would you do & why???? HELP!!!!

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

jess, do you think it is possible that the crummy feeling/puking could be induced by the anxiety? I say this because after my csection, i was MISERABLE, vomiting, nausea, felt like i was hit by a train and i know it was exacerbated by anxiety of having a newborn, recovering from the csection etc

are there typical "withdrawl" side effects with this drug?

whatever the cause, I hope you feel better soon!

(can they prescribe you something for the nausea so you can continue to go off the meds without feeling sick?)

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Me personally, I always abide my the doctors orders. If whatever the doctor told me to do is making me sick, and I complain, yet I feel like I don't feel better after what they told me to do, such as your case, then I would call again and again. Like, each time you don't feel good... be a pest... let the doc know that your not just complaining about once in awhile feeling sick or yucky, but feeling real horrible...and the phone calls will show it. I don't really know too much about PPD meds, so I'm not much of any help...but I would just do what the doc says, and if nothing improves, ask if there is something ELSE that can be done to help the withdrawal feelings and such. GOOD LUCK!! I hope you feel better soon....

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

I would continue taking, and giving it more time, re-evaluating....and ask then if you can taper off more, instead of so suddenly, if possible. Or maybe there is another med that is more helpful. Also, if you think your OB is not too helpful, or you want more help, definitely see a psychiatrist, maybe one that specializes in PPD, maybe your OB can recommend one

I think its great to be off meds, but why push it when you're body is telling you otherwise...don't stress too much about it...and I bet A LOT more people are on things than you think/know, so don't feel weird about it

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

the naseau/etc....is all normal with withdrawl from any type of anti-depressant...

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

From what I have heard about Effexor (the older version of Pristique) the withdrawals are HELL. I had a horrible time coming off of Lexapro and it took me about 8 mo of decreasing my dose in 1 yes 1mg increments (sometimes less!) to come off without being debilitated from withdrawal side effects. I know some people can quit cold turkey or go down by big leaps and bounds but most can not. I would continue to decrease your dose as you and your doc discussed but going from 100mg to 50 mg to off seems like a very, very, fast w/draw period. Are there smaller increments you can decrease by (ie split pills etc) or is there a liquid version of the med to titrate more easily? Good luck and stay strong, coming off SSRI's can be a very difficult thing to do. I know of sev. people who had to go on prozac (longer 1/2 life) to help them get off of things like paxil/effexor due to there v. short 1/2 life in the body of those 2 drugs. That is what makes the w/draw so difficult. Good luck and feel better

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Posted by petvet

From what I have heard about Effexor (the older version of Pristique) the withdrawals are HELL. I had a horrible time coming off of Lexapro and it took me about 8 mo of decreasing my dose in 1 yes 1mg increments (sometimes less!) to come off without being debilitated from withdrawal side effects. I know some people can quit cold turkey or go down by big leaps and bounds but most can not. I would continue to decrease your dose as you and your doc discussed but going from 100mg to 50 mg to off seems like a very, very, fast w/draw period. Are there smaller increments you can decrease by (ie split pills etc) or is there a liquid version of the med to titrate more easily? Good luck and stay strong, coming off SSRI's can be a very difficult thing to do. I know of sev. people who had to go on prozac (longer 1/2 life) to help them get off of things like paxil/effexor due to there v. short 1/2 life in the body of those 2 drugs. That is what makes the w/draw so difficult. Good luck and feel better

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Posted by brownie

I would continue taking, and giving it more time, re-evaluating....and ask then if you can taper off more, instead of so suddenly, if possible. Or maybe there is another med that is more helpful. Also, if you think your OB is not too helpful, or you want more help, definitely see a psychiatrist, maybe one that specializes in PPD, maybe your OB can recommend one

I think its great to be off meds, but why push it when you're body is telling you otherwise...don't stress too much about it...and I bet A LOT more people are on things than you think/know, so don't feel weird about it

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Posted by brownie

Posted by davenjess

thank you so much!

the issue is that they only make a 50 and 100 mg pill....and apparently, it's not a pill that can just be 'cut' because of the damage that would do to the pill...

I just asked my DH (he's a pharmacist)...he said that seemed too fast, 100 to 50 to 0...as long as its not the effexor XR....if its regular effexor (or generic venlafaxine) it can be cut...he said you could have gone from 100 to 75 to 50 to 25 to 0 over weeks

I would ask again

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Ok this isn't going to be the popular answer but... I'll tell you exactly what I would be doing....

If I went 11 days so far..then I'm almost in the clear! I wouldn't go back to 100mg that's for sure. you want to get off of them right? Wasn't that your goal? You'll be fine. the Dr. just wants to weed out if this is the problem or not. you are most certin it is b/c this has happened before....

I wouldn't go back to 100mg, but that's me. I usually listen to my DR 90% of the time but sometimes I do what I think is best for me and if I was in your situation I'd continue to wean.

Message edited 5/24/2010 11:38:16 PM.

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

I would not go up to 100mg again. That seems like a huge jump, and may make you sick again.

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

I definitely second going to a psychiatrist instead of your OB. They have a lot more experience helping people on and off of medications and know more tricks to make the transition easier.

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

well, i took the 50 mg this AM. i was asleep and feeling horrible by 11:30 last night (those who know me well know that's NOT normal - i'm usually up until 2:00 AM).

this AM i feel crappy again - but nothing i can't deal with. my stomach isn't right.....but i will deal.

my thought is the one that agrees with i've come THIS far (today is day 12)....and going back up to the 100 and then eventually down to 50 will just do this to me again....so why go through it twice???

i'm on pristique, not effexor (though someone above mentioned that they are the same, but i have no idea). from the research i've done about going off of it, others were told the same thing - that they can't cut the pill..... something someone posted though sounded logical (on the withdrawl stuff i read), that i can take some cold medication to try and take away some of the fogginess...

i'm on the anti-depressants with my regular, family doc, not my OB....

i TRULY appreciate all of your comments, from the bottom of my heart....

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

I'm a day late....

But I agree that I would NOT go back up to the 100mgs....

Coming off ADs really does suck, I know that when I was on effexor, I was able to cut it in half, but maybe the make up of this particular pill doesn't allow it. You can always check with the pharmacist.

You've come this far, as crappy as you feel now, your body does eventually have to go through the withdrawals.

Hopefully you will start to feel better QUICKLY!!!

In the meantime, you know where to find me if you need to

Re: Not Sure What To Do....PPD Meds Related..LONG, but. please help...(with poll)

Pristiq is not supposed to be stopped suddenly, that said it only comes in 50mg and 100mg and cannot be broken, split, crushed....maybe this time after you have been on the 50mgs for a while try taking every other day for a while before totally stopping again.