Author: tearj3rker

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:35 am

SNRI withdrawal must be like buprenorphine withdrawal, in that some people seem to get away with it.

I’ve been on Effexor / Pristiq a few times now, and I found a trick that actually seems to halt the withdrawal completely. I discovered it the first time I jumped off Efexxor. I was suffering bad nausea, brain zaps and really vivid nightmares. Overall, for me, often I struggled to function because of it. One afternoon I wanted relief and I "caved", and since I had no Effexor left, I took one of my partner’s leftover Paxil from years ago. A couple of hours later, withdrawal gone. Funny thing was, it didn’t return!

I used that trick maybe 3 or 4 times again, and it worked every time! My psychiatrist even tried it on a patient who was hospitalised for Pristiq withdrawal, and it worked for them as well.

I only agree to going on these medications when the depression affects my ability to work & function & have a social life.

Sweet16, anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure & enjoyment) is a really common part of early recovery. Given our opioid receptors have been so used to the presence of a powerful opioid, our petty natural endorphins don’t make the same impact, at least for a while. But it does get better with time.