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Hello, all. Long-time reader, first-time poster. I started Pristiq on Wednesday, and haven't had a bowel movement since then. This follows hard on the heels of my Seroquel constipation saga. IT's the weekend, and I have no way to get in touch with any of my docs until Monday. Should I just take some MiraLax and hope that does the job? Has anyone else experienced this with Pristiq or another AD?

Hey guys. Just looking for some opinions here and see who could relate. I’ve been an insomniac for 10 years now and suffered from depression for 5. I recently stopped seroquel 25mg which I was on for 10 years for sleep since it stopped working and made me sedated all day. Changed to ambien 10mg and can FINALLY sleep and feel some energy during the day. My problem is finding th correct med to deal with my depression. I feel like I haven’t felt my confident, creative self in years and homesick for that person to come back if that makes since. Lexapro I was on for three years. Worked okay, but I was also in a daze, so sedated and tired 24/7. And no sexual interest. I then broke down and switched to trintellix, worked well for depression but anxiety it was HORRIBLE. I picked at my face 24/7 and after 7 months went into another breakdown and was very unstable. I was then switched to Wellbutrin and then pristiq. Both turned me into zombies and couldn’t even get out of bed. Finally took genomind test and found out no SSRIS will do the job. So I was put on adderall for resistant depression treatment. That was a fail, ended up in hopsital because I couldn’t stop crying. So I was then put on lamictal which seemed to be okay until I got the rash and am forced to discontinue. Does ANYONE have any reccomendations? I’m just so exhausted of trying everything and not having it work. But hey at least I can sleep on the ambien and that’s half the battle

So I've seen all these people with Pristiq doses of 150 mg, 200 mg, on up to 400 mg. Pristiq 100 mg did nothing for me. Cymbalta I recently switched to and it's already pooping out. I did well on Effexor but it had a lot of unpardonable side effects, even in low doses, and I had to get to 375 mg before it helped my depression. I've asked my pdoc about it and she's convinced that anything above 100 mg Pristiq is too much. I'm a little desperate here because I've tried like 27 antidepressants and the last one I'm willing to try is imipramine and she said it was more likely to cause weight gain than loss (big deal breaker for me...) My questions are: Has anyone taken any dose of Pristiq > 100 mg? How well does it work? How were/are the side effects? Did you experience any weight gain?

-Seeking friends who don't look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I just had a panic attack- Hello there! This is my first blog on here. So here I go, I'm depressed. I started taking antidepressants about two years ago after getting a brain injury from multiple concussions in soccer. Meds combined with therapy have truly saved me, I have been taking Fetzima for depression but now have to switch meds because Fetzima is draining my bank account to refill each month and I am balling on a budget. I also use comedy/jokes to diffuse my anxiety and depression; I hope you enjoy my witty banter. It in no way means I take these topics lightly, it's just part of my charm. I started Pristiq about two weeks ago, the first week I felt very content and happy and truly felt like myself. I am on a low dose because I am very sensitive to medication, and I take it at night because it helps me fall asleep. I am on day 9 or 10 now and am starting to feel a HUGE increase in depression and constant anxiety and even had a panic attack at work yesterday during a meeting. I understand symptoms may get worse before they get better, but does anyone have any feedback on how long the worst of it may last? Started a new job two months ago and really don't want my life to start unfolding. Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Has anyone had a basically non-existing appetite on Pristiq? I have had this problem for a few weeks since I had my dose upped to 100mg. It's so hard for me to eat food. I rarely feel hungry and only notice I need to eat when I get irritable and tired. When I try to eat it's hard to choke it down unless it's something like plain bread. I also started Seroquel this week so I was expecting to get at least a little appetite back but it hasn't happened (yet). Has anyone had something similar happen with Pristiq or another drug? How the hell do I fix this? I need to lose weight but I would prefer to be able to eat food too.

Has anyone been on Pristiq and Seroquel at the same time? Or Effexor and Seroquel? I was just prescribed Seroquel (25mg morn + 25mg noon + 100mg night) after being on Pristiq (100mg daily) for three months with little improvement in refractory depression. I am nervous about starting Seroquel. I want to have hope but *sigh* after all the meds I've tried I kind of gave up on that.

Holy cow! I've been on Pristiq for about four months now. Three months on 50mg and one month on 100mg. I love it. After trying every SSRI, Wellbutrin and Cymbalta....it has been my saving grace. Well, in my procrastinating, ADD nature, I was too lazy to drive my butt to Rite-aid (which is like less than two miles from my house) on Saturday to pick up my refill so I didn't take my pill yesterday. I woke up this morning in a complete fog. I feel dizzy, disoriented, agitated....you name it, I'm feeling it. This happened once before, right after I was discharged from the psych hospital. We are an active duty military family and Tricare does not approve Pristiq so I had to fight the insurance company for a few days, missed two doses, and the same thing happened. It was so bad, I had to just suck it up and pay full price for a week's worth of the medicine to give Tricare the time it needed to get it's head out of it's ass and approve the medication. Long story short, has this happened to anyone else before?? It's hard to believe that missing only one dose can have such an effect. I've taken my dose this morning, so I'm hoping this feeling goes away soon.

Short story - MDD d/x'd 3 years ago with EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified - i.e. I restrict, but I'm not thin, I used to purge, but not too much). I also self-harm and have situational anxiety and chronic insomnia. Current meds: 50 mg Pristiq, 450 mg Wellbutrin XR, 2 mg Klonopin (1 at 5:30p, 1 at 8:30p, occasionally 1 as needed), and 10mg Ambien. I've been on the klonopin/ambien combo for a long time and it works pretty well for my sleep. I've been through most of the SSRIs with limited success or horrible side effects, only to find out via a recent GeneSight test that I don't have the whatever/enzymes to process SSRIs (and SNRIs) correctly. Only Pristiq and Fetzima are in the "green column" for me. Meds I've tried - Celexa (worked for a while and then nada), Lexapro (similar), Zoloft (horrible reactions), Paxil (little effect), Brintellix (not enough and bad side effects), Wellbutrin solo (worked for awhile, but then became not enough), Abilify (gained 20 lbs in one month with little effect), Risperadol (no impact), and I'm sure other combos I can't think of. We went up to 100mg of Pristiq but I felt like I was in a fugue and would lose all sense of time, so we backed it down. I'd like to go up to 600 on my Wellbutrin as it works well for me but my pdoc won't even though I've been purge-free for 13 months. My eating disorder is ok - my weight is stabilized and I'm not restricting or binging. I'm in therapy regularly and see my nutritionist every other week. But I am exhausted all of the time. It is difficult for me to get out of bed, it's impossible for me to do anything. I have no memory, and it is a struggle for me to think, let alone work (I'm a professor). With the Vyvanse, I'm sometimes able to get out of bed. I can feel my brain "knit" together and kick on, and even have started writing again. I still can't bring myself to get things done or to exercise or even get outside unless I must. The problem with the Vyvanse is that it wears off pretty quickly for me. If I take a dose at 6:30a, by 11:30p I'm scattered, can't think straight, and feel lost. I take a second dose at noon but it barely holds me to 4. Then my brain is gone. I am still exhausted, and then I can't really think at all in the late afternoon/evening. I'm completely distracted. I have a call with my pdoc this week and I'm considering asking her to switch the vyvanse to adderall because it has an XR, and the up and down with vyvanse is shitty. I'm really reluctant to switch from the Pristiq since the worst of my depressive symptoms (hopelessness, sadness, flatness, isolation) are better. I like that the vyvanse cuts the cravings so I don't turn to sugar to try to help with the lack of energy because that worsens my ED. I can't take anything that will cause weight gain, or anything that increases appetite. I'm on a meal plan, I'm not losing weight, but I can't take aggravating my ED on top of the shit I'm dealing with. Does Adderall XL last longer for depression-related ADD symptoms? Does it cause jitters or increased hunger? Anyone use it as an add-on to antidepressants?

Hi. I'm sorry this is long. My question is at the end... I just switched from Strattera (non-stimulant ADHD medication) & 175 mg Effexor XR to 100 mg Pristiq. (Why? My new psychiatrist thought that Pristiq would reduce the Effexor side-effects (reduced libido, weight gain) and improve my mood. Effexor had initially improved my mood. After 5 months, I didn't think that the Strattera was doing anything for me; psychiatrist plans to add new ADHD medication in April after the transition from Effexor to Pristine.) I'd experienced Effexor withdrawal effects in the past, after 1-2 missed doses, but the doctor didn't think that the Effexor withdrawal would be a big deal now because Pristiq is so similar. As prescribed, the first week I went down to 75 mg Effexor XR and started 50 mg Pristiq. The first few days were ok (no brain zaps). Mild headache. Relief that I didn't feel worse. Day 4 I noticed that I was extremely anxious, scatter-brained, impulsive, and emotional. I don't know how much was a horrible PTA meeting i attended, and how much my symptoms made the meeting worse (I mean, SOMEONE had to tell the school principal that she was way out of line, or at least, I did...). I also had PMS; and I'm 45. That's a bad combo. Day 5 I was terribly down. Day 6 I had a unprecedented severe headache. Shut the curtains and stayed under the covers with ice. The headache became milder that evening. I've continued to have headaches ever since, ranging from mild to painful. Day 8 I stopped taking any Effexor and increased the Pristiq to 100 mg as prescribed. This is day 11. I spent half the day in bed due to bad headache. Mood very low -- tearful. I took 2 Sudafed in case the headache was sinus-related. Did nothing. (Same amount of acetaminophen as 2 extra-strength tylenol.) This afternoon I ate breakfast and then had a coffee -- my headache suddenly settled with the coffee, but now my heart is pounding. Tired of my own negativity and symptoms. Tired of accomplishing nothing and feeling bad about it. The headache has been very sensitive to light. Mostly stronger on one side than the other. Typically strongest behind one eye and running behind one ear. Sometimes in back at the base of my skull. My questions are: Is ongoing headache likely related to stopping Effexor (and Strattera), in which case it will hopefully eventually stop? Or is this a side-effect of the Pristiq? (Or maybe coincidence, but I don't know that I've ever had a headache for at least 6 days before. Maybe.) Would one have Effexor withdrawal symptoms despite replacing it with Pristiq? For those with Pristiq headache side-effect, has it gone away? Do people experience Straterra withdrawal symptoms? Thanks. (PS I take 7 mg zopiclone for sleep each night.)

Hello, I am posting my experience due to the fact that Fetzima is so new and many are changing from either Effexor/Pristiq so I thought I would share. (I apologize ahead for my poor memory, concept of time and any specifics I did not include) Diagnosis: MDD, GAD, Bipolar II, Dsythymia, ADHD, Insomnia Stamped as "Med-Resistant" Well the last 4ish months or so have been quite interesting to say the least, and still going..... I had been on Effexor XR 375mg for around 4 years and it did well in comparison to everything else I have tried (ill post below) but because of being med resistant tweaking here and there was always being done but Effexor was never touched, about 4 months ago I started to feel very down for longer periods of time and much deeper in "the hole" So I suggested to my doc whether or not switching up Effexor might help, she then mentioned Fetzima and how it was new and told me the mini background about it etc..But she wanted to give Effexor one last try so she decided to bump me up to 450mg, she said she had other patients on this dose and it helped. I know that many think its insane to be put on such a high dose, agreed.. but I trust my doctor. So I jumped up to 450mg, no side effects noticed but around 2 weeks in, severe depression, a lot of crying (where as before it was difficult for me to cry), rapid mood swings.So I got worse. Back to the doc I go but she was on vacation so I had to see her NP instead, we then decide that we are coming off Effexor (at this point I know that I am to expect hell because I had been hearing of how hard it is to get off Effexor) so we map it out.. we essentially drop 150mg for 3 days then drop 150mg again and at the same time introducing Fetzima starting at 40mg for 3 days then 80mg and maintaining at that dose. Confusing I know.. essentially after we drew it all out she was taking me off 450mg of Effexor in 2 weeks while at the same time titrating Fetzima up to 80mg. Yeah.. I was not looking forward to this but I put on my game face and here we go.. first week, felt no symptoms.. week two.. nausea, little brain zaps, I was already emotionally unstable but there was much more crying and some anxiety and now suicidal thoughts which is rare for me. . I reached my last day of having to take Effexor like at champ or as well as I could heh, I was now down to 75mg, did that for 3 days then came off completely. .. Then thats when "shit got real" the next 7 days were hell of course, extreme nausea, dry heaving, sweating, dizziness, crazy brain zaps. Emotionally a wreck of course, mood swings but that week the physical symptoms are what were driving me crazy. After about a week of that then they started to subside and I was doing better, the nausea stuck around for about 2 weeks .Bad move on the NP on weaning me off so quickly from such a high dose, I then found out that there are much smoother ways of coming off including using Prozac (i think) for the serotonin withdraw symptoms and plus the 37.5mg dose too. It was also partially my fault as well, I should have gone with my gut that this was too fast and called them to tell them about the hell I was going through but I just wanted it over with. Cool.. Effexor done. Fetzima fully driving. So about a week or so after all that, its like a fog was lifted and I woke up one morning angry as hell and clear headed, I was angry for god knows what but I got up and started functioning again, getting stuff done.(not hypomania style) I was very irritable and had very little patience with ANYTHING/ONE, and then the extreme anxiety began, it would happen about 5hrs after taking my dose in the morning, id have really bad anxiety but I had never experienced it like this before, its a tightness in your chest and you feel on the verge of tears for no reason at all..I would try to ride it out but some days I could not do it and would take a 1mg Xanax. My anger became worse, I became unsympathetic, cold, always on the verge to snap and then the anxiety and on top of that trying to control myself the whole time, it was nuts. So called up the doc and she bumped me up to 120mg, everything stayed the same but 4 weeks into it, I became worse, I would avoid people because I didn't have the energy to control myself from snapping at them or just crying for no reason, when I went up thats when the extreme sadness that I haven't felt in years showed up, indescribable despair, devastation. I am sure some of you understand what I mean.. My moods were insane, I felt like different people throughout the day, start off okay, raging lunatic at lunch, anxious mess then suicidal at night, suicidal thoughts were on a biweekly type thing now. Which is rare for me. Called doc and she put me back down to 80mg and added Abilify 1mg. That was approx.. 6 weeks ago, afternoon anxiety subsided for 3 days then it was back, rapid mood cycling, the overwhelming sadness etc.. I had had enough, last friday I went in and saw my doc and said okay, gave Fetzima a try and nope, I want off NOW. So new plan, got off Abilify and off Fetzima cold turkey and started Pristiq 50mg and today I am on day 3. Afternoon anxiety hasn't happened in the last 2 days so thats cool, still very down, same ol, I expect that though, As most of us know Effexor and Pristiq are like twin sisters etc, so I'm aware of that stuff. I just hope to not be how I am right now, still extremely depressed, irritable, rapid cycling and just the worst I have been in a looong time, at least 10 years. In retrospect I shouldn't have gotten off Effexor, do I think Pristiq will work wonders and be better than Effexor? Nah not really, but anything is better than this. But I do sometimes wonder where the point of "this is as good as it gets" is and if I have reached it before but decided to gamble again. Well that's a whole other topic though. Good Luck to those trying Fetzima please be careful, and I hope it works for you. To my fellow "Got off Effexor" warriors, I give you props haha. And to the Pristiq old/new crowd, please let me know what your experience was/is when starting out. Also has anyone been on Effexor and then Pristiq? How did that go? - I am a noob and have not figured out the signature thing yet but for the sake of this post I will post what I am taking now: Pristiq 50mg, Lamictal 400mg, Seroquel 50mg(for sleep but about to change), Dalmane (Not working for insomnia so going to change), Xanax 1mg (as needed) Adderall - 45mg twice a day Meds I have tried: Abilify - Latuda - Risperdal - Seroquel - Lexapro - Paxil - Zoloft - Cymbalta - Effexor XR - Xanax - Clonazapam - Flurazepam - Lorazapam - Remeron - Elavil - Prozac - Fluxeetine - Wellbutrin - Zyprexa - Ritalin -Vyvanse - Deplin - Fetzima - Pristiq

Hi guys, I've been on desvenlaxafine (Pristiq/Exsira) 50 mg for the past two weeks. I am taking it as an antidepressant, but hoped that it will help with my migraines. I get at least two a week nowadays, and quite severe, so that I cannot go in to do my work (I am a PhD student, so at least I have some leniency now). I was on Brintellix for depression and it made my headaches worse, so I dumped it for Exsira. Does anybody have success stories with the desvenlaxafine? I seem to have a chronic headache as well, since I started the meds. My doctor said to stick it out and see if it gets better x( Does it get better??

Though I came up surrounded by close family members who struggled with various mental illnesses, I wouldn't say I had an especially traumatic or even a really remarkable childhood, apart from the sporadic, sometimes episodic fireworks Crazy can bring. On the whole I had a pretty typical middle class upbringing, for which I am grateful. My older sister served as my introduction to the mysteries and miseries of mental illness. She suffered from Bipolar Disorder, and it was clear my parents despaired at her condition. There was much acting out, at least one suicide attempt that I am aware of, multiple stays at inpatient facilities, and an ever-changing cocktail of medications throughout her teens. She tapered off meds when she planned to start a family, and has done amazingly well without them. My younger sister struggles with panic disorder and more physical ailments than anyone her young age ought to be saddled with. My mother was a survivor of child abuse, and subsequent to the passing of her father when I was about 12, she suffered a series of psychotic breaks that led to the first of several inpatient hospitalizations, and a lifetime of profound treatment resistant MDD that continues to this day. Not only did she not perpetuate the cycle of abuse she suffered but I never even knew what she'd been through until I was much older. My father never (to my knowledge) sought treatment for any mental illness, and tended towards stoicism and emotional opaqueness. I suspect however that he suffered (or even suffers still) from depression -- at the very least. HIs siblings suffered from myriad mental maladies. His upbringing was somewhat of a mystery to me, as what remained of his immediate family were separated by geography. I believe he too was a survivor of child abuse, based on what I've gleaned from anecdotes. My older brother was a bit of a black sheep, and when youthful indiscretions of the self-medicating type became too much for my well-meaning folks to handle he was given an ultimatum and joined the armed services. He was stationed in South Korea, and I gather his self-medicating ways came along for the ride. Upon returning stateside he had a hard time reintegrating, finding stable work, and had to rely on the support of his family more than I think he would have liked. He was a very emotional person, and felt things very deeply. I imagine if I would have asked him for one word to describe himself he might have chosen "failure". That's certainly not how I would have described him, but he was the type of person for whom every setback might have seemed like the universe pointing a spindly celestial finger at the tip of his nose and proclaiming FUCK. YOU. By the time my brother killed himself with the sputtering exhaust of the sparkly brown hatchback my mother had given him, I was living my own kind of Crazy. Today, I find myself at a strange cross roads. I am happily married. Successful, especially considering I never finished college. I have more than my fair share of material possessions. I have family and friends whom I love, and who love me. As much as I curse those who use the phrase, I'm Blessed. And yet, I can't recall a time I felt more lost. You see, growing up as an insatiably curious child in a household surrounded by Crazy, and where both parents worked in the medical field. So I didn't just *live* with Crazy, I, in a sense, *studied* it. Psychology. Anatomy. Psychiatry. Biology. Pharmacology. And most especially *Psychopharmacology*. I was never under the illusion that reading medical texts would make me a doctor any more than reading cookbooks would make me a chef. But I found, and still find the subject phenomenally interesting. In the late 80's and early 90's before webforums, TV drug adverts, wikipedia, etc., it seemed physicians expected laypeople to know almost nothing about medicine, so much so, that if you knew even a little, and went in with talking points memorized, you were going to leave with whatever it was you came for (within reason). Maybe it's always been that way. But I certainly felt clever, and in retrospect maybe a part of the burgeoning vanguard that changed how pharmaceuticals are consumed. Modern medicine is so unabashedly, brazenly consumer driven, I doubt any clinician bats an eye when patients come in and know exactly what their diagnosis is, the name brand and dosage of the drug they want, and oh by the way I've already printed off my own coupon that makes my copay 3 dollars until the drug goes off patent in 2030. But back to my personal tale of medico-consumerism. 22 years ago, at about 14 years of age, I self-diagnosed myself with depression. PART II To Follow Later

Is strattera basically like pristiq without the serotonin component, and wellbutrin without the dopamine component? Or is that putting it too simply? I ask this because I recently started wellbutrin about a month ago, despite having bad anxiety as SSRI's don't really help me at all if not make me worse. The first couple weeks I felt more relaxed, it felt like when I was on pristiq, but only the good parts and without all the horrible side effects, and I was getting really excited, my appetite even improved actually. But this past week I've been feelinglike I'm also on a stimulant, I'm guessing from the dopamine action which has been unpleasant. It is making me think that the crux of my problems may have to do with norepinephrine. I wonder if I should talk to my doctor about trying strattera off label for my depression/anxiety instead as this may be a better option, since it only hits NE. I'm still taking Remeron 45mg at night for sleep and weight gain, and 5mg of diazepam twice a day. And strattera is the only NSRI available in the US right?

I've been taking 100mg of Pristiq for a month but the dosage was two 50mg pills taken at the same time in the morning. Then I refilled my prescription, they gave me the 100mg pills to take once daily in the morning. Since then I have been experiencing horrible depression & anxiety, as well as stomach pains, gas, & diarrhea (sorry if that's TMI). I'm worried about these stomach pains that have started since I really haven't changed the dose. Has anyone experienced this? I see my dr on Tuesday & I'm not sure what to do, switch back to Effexor XR or try to stick with this, I'm not sure I can though :/

Hey crazy people Long time reader, never a post-er. Pristiq was (is) the best med i've ever taken but we HAD to say our goodbyes. i've been weaning for weeks and a few days ago swallowed my final pill. was that too dramatic? Now i'm revisitiing my old pal: Wellbutrin, and new one: L-methylfolate, and the Spider Maker: Propranolol. They put the "lol" on the end to be cute. hafuckinghahahah. i tried to commit suicide once or twice but that was years ago! Seriously, i'm doing better. I think we are fully introduced now excited to be here. i think.

My personal experience with Pristiq is certainly unique. It seems to be changing as the events in my life change, and not really in a bad way. I take 50mg a day. I had taken up to 100 mg a day - one tablet in the morning and one tablet in the afternoon. It is VERY EXPENSIVE! I have been taking the med every day for 30 days now. On occasion, I take an ativan for serious anxiety attacks, which make me very sleepy and actually give me headaches if I take them more than a few times in a row. I could tolerate 1 mg at most! I have a lot to say about Pristiq. It is a very helpful med, but yes the withdrawl is intense. If a person stays at the low dose it should not be as bad as mentioned in the many forums. My greatest efficacy with the medication is at 50 mg daily. When I first started taking it, I would get a slight stomach ache. I simply took it with food to help. I also had jitters and restlessness with it and this has subsided. I now take it at night because it actually makes me sleepy. Each person is so different and each person changes. I am 41 years old and have had many meds and moments in my life. At this point Pristiq is working for my mental process. It keeps me from feeling suicidal and 'crazy'. It is better than ANY drug I have tried in 25 years. It has helped with migraines nightmares insomnia anger depression racing thoughts suicidal thoughts constant crying raging moments hopelessness and so much more I have also started with a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy groups. I have also participated in yoga and regular meditation. If you have a question feel free to ask.

hey guys. i`ve been on ritalin for 7+ years now. i wasn`t treated for ADHD when I was a kid and i was diagnosed with distymia (and many times, double depression) since i was 17, with one psychriatric saying it was even some kind of depressive personality disorder (i have been always been like that - always on the down side). after trying a bunch of meds for depression I developed panic syndrome. they would happen first weekly and then, daily and i`d go to sleep thinking i was going to die and living every day thinking i was dying. anxiety with chest pain and numb left arm, sweating and tachycardia. the trigger? feeling my heart beat rise. every day i was having panic attacks after taking ritalin, it was expecially worse after eating. my BP would go as high as 18/14 and the heart beat used to go between 140-160 during the attacks, before that it would be always on the low side - even ritalin never affected that before panic started. after getting paxil, it got better. took it for 2 years but the side effects became too much for me to handle. after 2 years of no panic attacks (of course it wasn`t all beautiful and flowers, the fear of having another attack was too difficult for me to handle - but i could work again), i stopped for almost one year and the panic attacks came back. i tried pristiq and used that for another 2 years - the pros were that i could have a decent life but the anxiety was still there. my BP rose a bit, like 12/8 usually. but taking it with ritalin can still be a bit tricky, i have to split the 10mg one and take every 2 hours and hope to not feel the tachycardia. i wanted to stop with the pristiq and switched to prozac for one month but i couldnt go without it in the end. i went back to pristiq cause i was being too useless at my job. i take 25 mg of ritalin per day and 50mg of pristiq. i was wondering, does anyone here have experience with pristiq and adderall? i still feel sleepy with ritalin (and adderall is not approved in my country of origin - but it is in the one i`ve been living for the past years). are there many chances it`ll trigger panic attacks and anxiety even more than ritalin? doubts are, go to pristiq + adderall; prozac + adderall or keep on this way? i`ll see the doctor tomorrow, but there`s too many doubts in my head right now. also, i noticed that ritalin + high carb foods trigger it like nothing else. ritalin by itself can be okay most of the times. thanks a lot and i`m sorry if i wrote it in the wrong part.

Aint life grand when changing meds for anxiety causes anxiety? FML I have been taking Pristiq for approx 3mo's. Went directly from Celexa one morning to Pristiq the next night. Transitioning from an SSRI to an SSNRI was physically brutal, but I worked through the initial side effects (some not so negative), and found that Pristiq REALLY helped my GAD. I mean, insanely effective. But I would still have moments when I would have to fight off a panic attack--the Oh my god, I can't breathe, I CAN'T BREATHE!!!/ Oh my god, I'm having a stroke/heart attck/aneurysm while driving with my kid in the car!!!/Oh my god, the sky is falling, THE SKY. IS! EFFIN. FALLING! Don't you get it?!?! varieties. So, I would take an Ativan when I knew I would be in one of these helpless positions where the people around me would not understand/be able to help beyond taking me to the ER. As time passes, I've relied less and less on the Ativan. I like to have it with me, but I only take it as a last resort. Trouble is, between the Celexa (taken for 1yr) and Pristiq, I gained a ton of weight, and w/Pristiq, lethargy and fatigue have taken over my life. Not helpful. Not worth it for me to become diabetic to mitigate anxiety. I asked my pdoc about an SNRI, and we settled on WellbutrinSR, 50mgs to start while I ween off of Pristiq--a process I wouldn't even wish on someone I really didn't like. My energy is up, my appetite a bit lowered, but I am still well doused with Pristiq. Just found out that my pdoc wants to discontinue my Ativan rx. I am becoming nervously concerned that when the Pristiq wears off and the Ativan is gone, my anxiety might come roaring back. Such is the mind of someone so wound up about everything, everywhere, all the time.

Hi everyone, I'm new here, and after reading through many of the threads, I found the information and your experiences very helpful so I thought I'd post my question. A little background history on myself: I don't have much experience with pdocs or psychotherapy. I've seen several over the past years but nothing every mounted to a full-on, lengthy relationship with a pdoc or with specific meds. I do not know what is wrong with me. When I was 15 yos, I was diagnosed with BD by a pdoc who spoke with me for five minutes, in front of my mother, and based off of my recorded responses to a questionnaire, provided that diagnosis. After reviewing the medications he wanted to put me on, my parents removed me from therapy with the psychologist who referred me to that pdoc. In college, I went to see the on-campus pdoc about my severe social anxiety and panic attacks, both provoked and unprovoked. I was prescribed Celexa, and it did absolutely nothing for me. I was still experiencing the same amount of anxiety, panic attacks, and severe mood swings. I stopped taking it after a month. Within the same year, I went to another pdoc about those same issues. She diagnosed me with GAD and panic disorder but not SAD. I was taking, ad hoc, Ativan and a variety of ADs - first was Zoloft, which did nothing for me. Second, I was placed on Lexapro. That sent me into a full blown rage. I was crying for no reason, having rage fits, a lot of violent thoughts, screaming, staying up all night, and drinking heavily. I was immediately placed on Effexor (and was supposed to be placed on Abilify as well but my insurance denied it). The Effexor was okay. It just stopped working after awhile. I was placed on Xanax temporarily and my pdoc told me, "If you want more, then you have to sign up for a Toastmasters meeting to work on your speech." That pissed me off, and I stopped seeing her even if that meant I wasn't going to be prescribed a benzo (the only medication that helped). After experiencing an extremely low depressive state for the past 8 months, I went to my current pdoc. She never gave me an official diagnosis, but she prescribed me Pristiq 50mg. I've been taking Pristiq for two weeks. During the first week, I experienced: Insomnia No appetite (I was eating ~500 calories a day before taking it - now it's down to almost nothing) Racing/loud thoughts Nausea Rambling speech/fast, incoherent talking Dilated pupils/wide eyed Palpitations and high blood pressure [Note: I am taking a beta blocker for my autoimmune disease, and it still has that effect] Blurred vision Tremors Lack of concentration [i have really bad concentration because of my disease, and Pristiq made it a whole lot worse] Anxiety Mood swings Jaw clenching/grinding Blurred vision Then one day over this past weekend, I crashed. I overslept for 11 hours. I guess my body needed that rest. Yesterday, I felt "normal," just blank. I was also extremely tired. My appetite slowly returned, but I'm still under-eating. I can sleep throughout the night, but I wake up after 5-6 hours of sleep. It's something though. Today is what worries me. I woke up in a blank state but it's slowly transitioned into anger and rage. I'm currently at work trying to fight my emotions. I'm extremely pissed off and irritable. I want to fight someone. I casually had a suicidal thought that dissipated as quickly as it came. I absolutely have no concentration today. I've been very fidgety, and I clench my hands to try and release some of that energy (to no avail). My anxiety is through the roof. Oddly, I am also tired but not as bad as yesterday. Even writing this has been really difficult. I had to go over and over it to correct all the spelling and grammar mistakes. So, here's my question: will these side effects work themselves out or is it enough to call my pdoc with my concern? I guess today really scared me, because I'm not myself. I'm not sure if I should just wait it out for the full month. Any response would be helpful - thank you!

Hi People! All I wanted was to switch from Pristiq 100mg to something that would allow me to want an intimate relationship. Must have been asking too much. Only problem with Pristiq was extremely dry mouth, waking up after 2 hours of sleep unable to get back to sleep and probably a little too happy ( lack of empathy, binge eating, etc). Started Fetzima Tuesday, no wean down from Pristiq. Wednesday extremely nauseous, hot flashes, sweating, racing heartbeat, vivid dreams the few hours I did sleep. Thursday more nausea, throwing up, jittery, hot flashes. Too miserable to stay at work. So I'm waiting to hear from my doc. I have no tolerance for stuff like this. Have been on meds for over 20 years. Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac. Never felt this bad! Good luck to all of us trying to manage this emotional disorder stuff.

Hi everybody! ---------------------------------------PREVIOUSLY--------------------------------------- 9 months ago my family doctor prescribed me Citalopram. Killed my libido in 4-6 days. We removed it. Then tried Mirtazapine (15mg), which let me have some control over my thoughts, but I slept a lot. I thought my family doc's prescriptions were not the best choices, so I went to a psychiatrist. ---------------------------------------CURRENTLY--------------------------------------- The psychiatrist administered me several tests, and now I have a folder with all my problems. I've been on Mirtazapine 30mg for 6 days and now I sleep like a normal person. I've made changes in my behavior too. I've been 3 days also on Pristiq (50mg), and I'm starting to feel the same Citalopram crap. The 1st day, after just 5-6 hours, I tried to masturbate and I had great trouble getting an orgasm, and I never have these problems. Today I feel almost asexual. The psychiatrist said that perhaps the impotence I had from Citalopram was something transitory, but from what I've read, most people don't recover while on it. Under most circumstances I'd give it a try but... I've just met a girl and we have a first date soon... And 40% of my depression is because of being single, and 20% from being a 24-year-old virgin. And I meet single women very rarely. Do you have statistics or something? I read only ~10% people had sexual problems. Could I recover while on Pristiq? I highly doubt turning me into an eununch is the best thing under my circumstances. Thank you very much. Marc

Does anyone have any bad experiences with this med? It's an snri or whatever and my psychiatrist told me it'll give me more adrenaline? or just energy? I don't know. Any success with this drug?

Hello everyone! I went to my pdoc last week in hopes of starting a new AD as I've been on 100mg of Pristiq for almost 3 years (fantastic go of it with that drug but as always I've had the poop out--have also tried paxil and effexor in the past). Me and the doc decided to go with Zoloft because it's worked quite well for my mother so maybe genetics will play out here? Anyhow I'm working my way up to a full dosage of 200mg and would appreciate any feedback on experiences (especially how it has affected anxiety)

Just wondering if anyone has ever had an elevated heart beat while on Pristiq? Thanks.

Hello, I'm on my second week of taking 50mg of Pristiq and for some reason the side effects have kicked in hardcore now that I started my second week. Everything from being nauseous, to being light headed, to just not feeling like I'm in the moment. Should I give it more time? How much time did you give it? I see my doctor this Friday.