J
Side-effects/withdrawal OR Original condition
August 17, 2026··
Hi all,
I'm new here, but unfortunately not new to this situation. I've been through several psych withdrawals and a few adverse reactions over the past several years.
One question I keep coming back to is, are these symptoms side-effects or reactions to the drugs? Or, are they the original condition that I started taking these drugs for to begin with.
The reason I ask is because I went through a horrendous protracted adverse reaction to Pristiq and subsequent withdrawal from benzos (prescribed) in 2009-2013. I ended up being okay and went on to live a really good life for many years. Then I had a depressive episode in 2016 which lasted about a year. I recovered, but it was bad. I have been doing really good from 2017 - 2025, but woke up one morning and was back in the "s#it".
It was as if I was right back in withdrawal. but years later. I ended up taking a number of SSRIs and Buspar and Abilify to try to treat this episode, but nothing really worked that well.
I'm trying to figure out if I just have depression and anxiety really bad and I got hit again HARD, or if what I'm experiencing now are side effects or withdrawal from the meds I tried.
I'm so confused...
Viibryd — 10mg — 8 months — researching taper | Seroquel — 25mg — 5 days — researching taper | without clinician
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