First of all, I don't want to discourage anyone from taking their medication, it is a personal choice and every situation is different.

I started taking Pristiq (supposedly a sister to Effexor) in March. I was having a hard time dealing with my 20 year old son deploying. So, I started taking it. I had samples to due me until a couple weeks ago, which is when I found out my insurance does not cover it. My PCP put me on Effexor (the generic 75mg twice a day). While my mood was okay, I decided to wean off of it b/c I had not interest in ANYTHING. I did not want to do my bootcamp exericse, train fo the 5k I am running, ride my motorcycle, participate in life, and maybe the biggest determining factor, I did not want any physical contact with my husband... at all.
So, after researching, I decided I am going to try the natural route. I am going to keep up my exercise, eating right, and getting plenty of sun.

However, these withdraws are brutal. I took the Pristiq for about 3 months and the Effexor for a little over a week. I am extremely sick to my stomach, I am having the worst "brain zaps" ever. I took my last pill on Thursday..... and as of today the symptoms are still there. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long they lasted for them. Again, I was only on them for a total of 3.5 months...... I was hoping I would not be hit too hard with the withdraws.... but that is not the case.

Does anyone have an idea on how long these last?

Tammy

I was on Lexapro for about a year and I made a plan with my physician to wean off the med. At first I took 1/2 pill then 1/2 pill every other day........I still had some effects as you described-brain zaps, insomnia-but I was able to work through them in a couple of weeks.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Couple of weeks for me when I stopped Pristiq. Hang in there. It was horrible!

First of all, let me say that I am one of those strange people who stopped Effexor cold turkey and had NO side effects whatsoever. I understand this is very rare. Pristiq is actually the metabolized form of Effexor, which means it's the same med, but supposedly with a lower side effect profile. That isn't necessarily true for everyone though. From what I understand, even if you were only on Effexor for a few months, your doc should not have let you stop cold turkey. I believe you are supposed to come off VERY slowly. As I said, I don't know first hand, but I guess you can still have the withdrawals you described even if you slowly taper down. Talk to your doc. Sometimes taking another med while you are coming off Effexor can help with the withdrawals. Good luck.