Pristiq

Prestige did not work for me. I’m in the process of withdrawing down and it’s rough. I agree with all the negative reviews. It is not good. I took 50 mg for four weeks and it didn’t help my doctor increased it to 100 mg and I was on it for six weeks and I still have bad anxiety so my doctor is taking me off of it now. I definitely would not recommend this to anyone always have bad side effects when I start a new anxiety medicine, but it usually goes away and starts working, but this did not.

The side effects while on this medication were horrendous. I get these massive brain zaps. It feels like someone is touching my brain with a cattle prod or electric fence. Every 2 minutes or so, I got this ping, ping, ping in my head. It is unbearable. The withdrawal symptoms only increased these terrible brain zaps. These electrical type brain zaps kept happening for many months after I stopped using the medication.

I started this medication at 50mg a year ago for a major depressive disorder episode. It worked for about 6 months, however, I started noticing weight gain of mostly subcutaneous fat and an increased desire for carbs and sweets. I made sure I didn't eat the sweets but I could not shake any of the weight. I also noticed the medicine became much less effective by month #8 using it. My doc wanted to up the meds to 100mg but I know someone on that dosage who gained 30 pounds! They switched to Wellbutrin XL and have had much better results. Long story short, it helped for a while but the weight gain side effect is not worth having an "okay" medication. And very few people report weight gain as a side effect, according the medical reviews on the drug- but get into the chat boards and you will see A LOT of people are like me- unexplained weight gain which contributes to depression when you work out but can't get rid of the fat.

I’ve been taking Pristiq for three weeks and one day, at first it made me very tired with headaches, sleeping most of the day, but there were short periods of time of feeling better but it didn’t last. Not for almost 2 weeks did I have lasting effectiveness, then and at the start of my third week I’m finally getting some positive effects and so far It’s working out for me. I’ve been on enough antidepressants over the years to know that almost all antidepressants take 3to4 weeks and even longer to really get the full effect of the antidepressant. So I was willing to go through the bad times to get the opportunity and the chance to feel better.

This medication should be taken off the market in the USA and world-wide. Pristiq is 100% pure poison prescribed by doctors prescribing this to human beings that ingest a medication with side effects with could cause death. There are very minimal advantages for taking Pristiq for any mental health disorders compared to the disadvantages with the harmful side effects and potential for death. I took Pristiq for less than two weeks because my depression got intensely worse-borderline suicidal. I became increasingly anxious and having periodic panic attacks, intense anger and irritability, nonstop crying, slurred speech, unsteady balance, blurred vision, dry mouth, severe fatigue. I constantly felt like I was dying a slow death because of all of symptoms and my continual mental and physical decline.

Effective medication for depression, absolute nightmare of withdrawal symptoms that occur within 24 hours of missing a dose. Honestly wish I never started taking this. It did work for me in combination with abilify and buspar. I then started ketamine therapy and it changed my life. I finally felt like I could taper off of the antidepressants. I stopped taking abilify and buspar with no side effects. Then I started to taper off pristiq… absolute nightmare. The ‘brain zaps’ as they call them, left me unable to think, unable to function. Muscle spasms, nausea. This is not ok. The worst part is my doctor never warned me about this at all, and when I asked her about how to ease these symptoms she simply told me not to miss my dose. I explained that $124/ month makes it hard to not miss a dose occasionally. This medication has a half life of 11 hours. That means withdrawal symptoms can (and do) occur within 11 hours of taking this. There have been multiple times I just simply couldn’t afford it for a couple of days and it is truly unbearable. Please ask as many questions as you can before going on this medication. I have been on many other antidepressants and they all have withdrawal symptoms but this one is borderline unsafe.

This medicine has saved me. I felt like a new person after 3ish weeks of taking it. Been taking it for 10-11 months and won’t stop! Last summer even after 8 mo of counseling I lost it and couldn’t function from anxiety. This medicine gave me the boost I needed to be able to Iive again. As I understand it’s just giving my brain what it should have but doesn’t! I had minor side effects on and off for 2 wks or so- headaches and a general nauseous feeling in my stomach. I could still eat fine, eating didn’t make it worse or better so it was a slight annoyance more than anything. I noticed some reviews say they can’t sleep- my Dr said take it in the morning! I have no problems with sleeping. Also don’t forget to take it- I did that once and had a bad headache that night! I just set a reminder. :)

This medication is extremely dangerous. 13 days into my treatment I started feeling very strange. I was unable to sleep and was very agitated. I woke up to talk my dog on her morning walk and was in a trance like state. I started walking towards oncoming traffic on a local bypass with thoughts of suicide. My jaw and neck felt tight. Extreme nausea and confusion. My body was aching and felt out of control. Somehow I snapped myself back to walk home. I got home to throw up and had to lay down. I ceased the medication and contacted my prescriber to state that this medication is not suitable for my body, even after a Gene/DNA study stated that there should not be any reactions. This medication should not be available as a treatment for CPTSD and I urge the FDA to pull the contract for the US. I have no idea how I snapped myself out of it before I walked into oncoming traffic. I had to call into work, because I was too afraid to operate an automobile. I was too afraid to even try to walk anywhere. Today I am feeling like I have the flu and I am having severe headaches from it. I have no appetite and I am extremely fatigued. Chronic diarrhea is not stopping and an overall sense of being very unsettled in my body. If this medication got into the wrong hands I fear that someone would commit suicide unwillingly, because I just about did. I am now in worse condition than I was prior to taking pristiq. I am told that I do not qualify for disability, but yet I am told to try to function on a medication like this and work a job. This medication is not SAFE and I want others to know that this could potentially cause you great harm-your life. I would not recommend taking this medication as the side effects absolutely do not outweigh the risks. This medication is banned in Europe and I urge the FDA to ban it in the US. I have been harmed by this medication and I am quite uncertain if the side effects will cease or continue long term.

Can't concentrate with it, cant sleep, constipation, stomach aches, the list goes on. Theres a reason this medication is banned in europe.

I was given this for anxiety and depression after struggling horribly with Zoloft (50mg) and significantly with Lexapro (10mg). At 50mg of Pristiq, I initially found it to be much less "heavy" than Zoloft and a bit less than Lexapro. (That is to say it gave me less of the drowsiness, mental fog, apathy that I had with those SSRIs. Yet there were difficult side effects: sexual difficulties, weight gain, not feeling clear or like myself, lack of motivation, low energy. But none of them were insurmountable. The problem was that it felt like it was doing nothing for my anxiety or depression. My provider increased the dosage to 100mg and nothing changed on that end, but the side effects got way worse. All the previously listed ones increased dramatically and I completely lost myself. Combine that with the fact that it wasn't helping my mental health and I felt horrible. I'm currently in the process of weaning off and that's proven to be challenging as well, with a bunch of the symptoms listed, most notably extreme dizziness. It's scary. I'm being careful and haven't fainted, but I have to lower myself to the ground sometimes to prevent it. Bottom line is, different people have different responses to these medications. BUT Pfizer states on their own website that 100mg was no more effective than 50mg in their studies and that side effects could increase. They make the med and that is very true to my experience. Please don't let your provider put you on that dose. Mixing 50mg of Pristiq with another option could be a better option, but for me I'm just trying to get my life back after the mess the drugs have caused to my med sensitive brain.

First of all, I have ADHD and had a work related cognitive breakdown and was immediately put on pristiq. Started at 25mg and quickly titrated to 100mg daily. I stopped after 7 months because it didn't work. It's been 3 days and the brain zaps, fatigue, and vertigo are unbearable but I refuse to go back on any antidepressant now. My depression is a co-morbid symptom of my ADHD. My stupid company was the most toxic and abusive workplace ever, which caused my ADHD -related breakdown.

I started Pristiq in September and somehow i’m coming off of it even worse then I was going on it. Definitely different for everyone, I had a very poor past few months and was extremely impulsive and had many depressive episodes. I’m coming off right now and the withdraw has been absolutely horrendous. Supposed to start with Auvelity soon but i’m a bit traumatized. What works for one person does not always work for someone else. I did well on Lexapro and Welbutrin.

I found it has been less effective than Lexapro. Started on 50mg and it helped, but as it was not great my GP recommended increasing to 100mg stating many people are on this dose. The increased dose has increased the side-effects but no change in effectiveness in controlling my mental wellbeing. I have since seen that evidence suggests that 100mg is not more effective than 50mg.

I continue to be very tired, low energy, and I am very unmotivated. I also cannot sleep well.

Pristiq has worked well for me. Keeps me grounded, allows me to think with my head, and not my heart. Beneficial with emotional issues. Still do get mild depression , but it's manageable, not long lasting. I'm more positive

I have been on many different medications and they didn't work. I started this medicine and it has finally helped me live my life. I have been on it a long time, and at highest dose allowed. Now I have to try something else and I'm kind of scared.

I was prescribed this for PMDD along with Loryna (birth control). I found that the combo did help with my intense emotional symptoms, however was not very effective towards my Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I sometimes feel time but other times I have intense anxiety that is hard to control. I have not experienced any side effects, which is the only reason I think it works fine for me.

The worst side effects. Sweating. In winter even. Fatigue headaches and loss of appetite and not being able to organise.

What's the "End Game" for taking this? is it to always have to rely on this because I cant be Undepressed? I get to live a medicated half life? There's no surgery to relieve me of this condition. I cant talk my way out of it . So I guess in order to have a life I get to have a "fake" life/ medicated life with side effects, the issue is from within not a condition that can be "cut out" or operated on

For a long time, I have been struggling with finding a good anti-depressant for me. This medication was really rough on my body for the first 2 months of taking it. I had to change my routine and eat breakfast every morning, if I missed a dose I would go through withdrawal, and I would get extremely sleepy on it. Once I leveled out and found the right dosage for me with my body getting used to it, it helped me immense amounts. No anti-depressant has worked for me at all, yet this one was able to. I have been on it for 5 almost 6 months, and I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with a medication that will work for them. Remember, everyone's body reacts to medications differently, and what works for me might not work for you. Also, people may have side-effects that I don't have, but if I were to go on a medication that works for them, it may not work for me. Everyone's body and mind are different.