u/moist_napkinette

Psychiatrist suggested switching to pristiq to go off Effexor. I don’t know if I should do it.

Has anyone used Prozac as a bridge off this medication? If so, how did you do it? How long have you been off Effexor?

At the rate of hyperbolic tapering, it would take me about 5-6 years to go off this hellish medication. Does anyone have success stories on using the Prozac bridge or some other method? I am in disbelief at how long it will take for me to get off this med especially when it is actively making me anhedonic and lethargic.

Is a 10% taper from current dose every 4 weeks the only way to do it?

Prozac didn’t work for me as an AD but can it work just to cross taper off Effexor? If so, what’s the safest way I can do it? I am currently at 80 beads.

I NEED to go off this medication. It’s the only thing keeping me depressed and anhedonic. The more I lower the medication the better I feel but it’s still nowhere near good enough. It’ll take me forever to go off this hellish drug.

I’m at 80 beads. I tried going down to 60 beads but it takes me about 10 days to feel the difference in dosage. So I have to go back up to 80. I’m gonna try 80>70 now. Or maybe just one bead a day.

I don’t know what else to do to feel better. I’ve tried everything except MAOIs, and treating my sleep apnea. I don’t know if going off Effexor will even fix my anhedonia, but I have to wait and find out.

I am going off Effexor after being 150mg for about 10 years because it stopped working. But now I feel anhedonic and have no energy. No medication or amount of caffeine gives me energy and I have no desire to do anything. Did anyone else get anhedonia from Effexor?

I am new to TCM and am unsure if anhedonia and lethargy is commonly treated with approaches like herbs and acupuncture. Does anyone have any recommendations or experiences they can share?

It’s been over 3 years since I’ve felt real joy and felt well-rested and had energy to do anything. No treatment options are left for me except for ECT and MAOIs. I’m crossing my fingers that I have sleep apnea in hopes that a CPAP machine fixes me somehow.

Has anyone recovered from depression/anhedonia/lethargy through increased sleep quality? How long did it take for you to feel better?