Dear Steve:

I just googled Pristiq and it is not in the family of the drug I mentioned. It is an anti depressant.

You wrote: “I guess I was fooling myself thinking that the pills weren’t doing me any good”- the fact that a person experiences withdrawal symptoms when reducing the dosage of a mood altering drug does not mean the drug was helping the person. It means that withdrawing from it feels badly.

The brain adjusts itself to a mood altering drug and then has to  re-adjust itself when you  take  it away. The adjusting and re-adjusting are often unpleasant and sometimes, very unpleasant and even scary.

If you look at the causes of your anxiety, other than the plumber/neighbor incident that you handled well and the Pristiq, is there anything else that is causing your anxiety, personal relationships perhaps, financial concerns, something else?

anita