Suggest Remedy For Depression And Dizziness While On Pristiq

Question : my 100mg a day dose of pristiq is not working like it was. Im experiencing light headedness a bit like missing a dose. Is its effectiveness wearing off. I thought it was the generic brand so I changed beck to the original brand, thought that was ok, but beginning to get the same low dose withdrawal symptoms again. Should I come off it and try something else for awhile. My depression comes in bouts of about 6 weeks every 4-8 months without medication ( suspected bipolar 2 not confirmed) I used to just tough out the low times but opted for the medication during councelling as it was impacting on my marriage.
im tempted to go off it again and use blackmoreas bio-mag, high potency St Johns Wort and Same 6x which used to work reasonably well for me in my depressions , mainly high anxiety. any input would be great thanks

thankyou for your assessment Dr Sheppe . you said an antidepressant can
" Burn out". Im assuming youre meaning ' No longer effective as it was' or my body building up resistance to it. Am I correct ?
My previous Psycologist now retired (who refered me to get a medication prescribed that would suit me) ,and did say that my ability to control my negitive behavior and issues would improve with a suitable medication. this has been true during the 3 years that ive taken pristiq. however now, its losing its effectiveness, I have been experiencing low dosage side effects on 100mg dose of pristiq ( the working dose as Im told by the prescribing pschiatrist)

1. I personally do not choose to go on a higher dose of pristiq

2. If I were to go on CYMBALTA ( even if its available in Australia) can I just start taking it without weening off pristiq

3. I am 5 days into weening off pristiq ( 1 day 100mg ; every other day 75mg for 2 weeks then drop by 25 mg 75mg/50mg every other day for 2 weeks until I get right down to 25mg every 5 days and then stop completely after a fortnight. this adds up to a weening process of nearly 5 months

4 Can I take St Johns Wort with any level of pristiq or not during the weening off

5. I previously controlled accute anxiety fairly successfully with hight dosage st johns wort , Blackmores bio- mag and sam'e 6x. Anxiety was more prevelant than depression though I did get depressed for a short time if I couldnt work through the anxiety. In short, my cycle of behavior seemed to match bipolar 2 discription. at best I was a positively focused optimistic person with realistic goals . At worst I was an anxious mess, completely muddled and depressed about my goals. I would fight bitterly with my wife, a relatively new relationship then. we now have been married 11 yrs

6. to sum this up, pristiq helped me to stay stable although I would get very flat at my worst, at best I wouldnt aim to high or fall so flat. I dont know whether to walk the treadmill of failing antidepressants for the rest of my life, grow awfully fat as i have gained weight steadily the past 3 yrs on medication and cant get it off. or go off antidepressants altogether( as I spent 40 yrs coping without them) and risk my marriage and relationship to my kids.

7. the fact is. that now I know 1st hand the down sides and upsides of medication and the same without it, and I must chose. the good thing is , is that I, like everyone, wont live forever and I am now 57.