Oh I should've clarified I meant tapering from the lowest dose tablet. Basically you can't cut Pristiq tablets in half as it'll disable the extended release mechanism, which means the half-tablet will now enter your bloodstream more rapidly than intended which has its own side effects.

So you don't need to go from 100 to 0 in one hit, but it's still 100 -> 50 -> 0 with no in between. The 50 -> 0 is a fuck so I strongly recommend doing it before you have other commitments. I did it in the middle of a major work fuckup and IT WAS REALLY NOT GOOD, I mean bursting into tears spontaneously and shaking and brain zaps every few minutes and feeling like arse squared. In hindsight I should've taken medical leave

Good luck - I know exactly what you mean about the masking, anti depressants certainly are useful for some stability but they really can be difficult to work with in addressing the deeper stuff for real. I'm on adhd meds now and they have been much better for me, but the burnout when they wear off in the morning is rough and I still distinctly feel like I'm on something rather than being myself, and I don't know if I want to be like this forever....