I have been on antidepressants for 14 years straight. I am 27 I would like to come off all meds as I feel my life is as stable as it will get and things are finally coming together. I want to have children but I am on Class3 meds (strattera and pristiq) which may result in spontaneous abortions and malformations of the fetus. I want to prepare my body for pregnancy in the next year or so.

As I said before, I have been on antidepressants for 14 yrs and have lived more of my life on these meds than off of them. I was diagnosed with clinical depression, anxiety, and adhd. I have been on pristiq for over a yr and a half and before that I was on effexor for over 6 yrs. Prior to that, I was trying to find what worked for me (between paxil, prozac, depicote, zoloft, etc---none of these appeared to work). I know cold turkey is not the most advisable option, however, I am fed up with dealing with my doc and I am in between insurance. If anyone can give me feedback, it will be much appreciated. Should I stop taking them simultaneously or should I just start with omitting Strattera first and wait till the w/drawl side effects subside before stopping pristiq??

I have been off for only a day and I am experiencing the following: nausea, spacey, body falling forward, brain shivers, brain zaps, dizziness, and problems keeping my mind focused (fuzziness-I can feel it when I blink, my vision feels like it cant catch up with my eye-motor movement)

Thank you

Hi jostar, No one on this site can give you medical advice per se because we're not professionals. I would go off them one at a time with a waiting period between. I am not familiar with this med but have read that Strattera can be discontinued without tapering. Personally, I'd wait at least 2-4 weeks after going off that before tapering off Pristiq, and may take steps with that to make the tapering and side effects less. You might get some unwanted side effects from going off this. Others may be able to offer some of their experiences going off one of these meds.
Iowa

Hello Iowa,
Thank you very much for your response. I understand that no one really can give me medical advice and I should really investigate this issue further with a professional. However, I just wanted to thank you for taking your time to respond and sharing your thoughts. It really helps sometimes hearing from other people. Thank you again, and I hope you have a great night!!
Sincerely jostar