Prestiq for Anxiety

[puppylove]

I've been taking Pristiq for a little over 4 weeks now for GAD, and I'm not feeling that much of an improvement in my anxiety. I know meds take this long sometimes, but I was under the impression that Pristiq was supposed to start working quicker.

Is anyone else taking Pristiq for anxiety? Did it take anyone else this long to get positive results?

I also have insomnia due to the anxiety- which the Pristiq did NOT help at first, but I am sleeping better at night without the help of sleep aids, so that's a relief.

In the past, I was on Celexa and it helped my anxiety. However, it made me numb in general- not feeling ANYTHING at times. Also, I gained a lot of weight and bruised easily. Needless to say, I do not want to go back on Celexa and I have high hopes for this Pristiq to work.

Any thoughts?? Thanks!

[daisy]

One of Pristiq's side effects is actually anxiety -- http://www.drugs.com/pristiq.html. In fact, it increased my anxiety a tremendous amount. But they have to list EVERY side effect that you could get, no matter how common or rare, so that doesn't mean that it is a major side effect. I'm sure it can also HELP with anxiety!

Is your anxiety so bad that you can't stick it out for a few more weeks? Four weeks just might not be long enough for you. Of course, if you go another month on it and you don't see any improvement, it probably isn't going to help. But at least you'll have given it a fair trial!

Are you doing anything short-term for your anxiety, like a benzo? (I'm not a doctor, so I have NO idea if they're right for you!!! All I know is that it helped me get through a really rough patch of anxiety.)

[unwell]

I have been on Pristiq for about 7 months now. I found it worked pretty fast for my general anxiety, but took a little longer to stop my panic attacks. It worked pretty fast to lighten my depression as well.

Stick with it! Everybody is different.

Good luck & Good health!

I've been taking Pristiq for a little over 4 weeks now for GAD, and I'm not feeling that much of an improvement in my anxiety. I know meds take this long sometimes, but I was under the impression that Pristiq was supposed to start working quicker.

Is anyone else taking Pristiq for anxiety? Did it take anyone else this long to get positive results?

I also have insomnia due to the anxiety- which the Pristiq did NOT help at first, but I am sleeping better at night without the help of sleep aids, so that's a relief.

In the past, I was on Celexa and it helped my anxiety. However, it made me numb in general- not feeling ANYTHING at times. Also, I gained a lot of weight and bruised easily. Needless to say, I do not want to go back on Celexa and I have high hopes for this Pristiq to work.

Any thoughts?? Thanks!

[puppylove]

Hi Daisy and Unwell,

I take Lorazepam (.5-1.5) when needed. Lately, I've been taking that at night to help with the anxiety and insomnia- I had insomnia from my anxiety before I started on Prestiq. I don't take it on nights when I don't have to get up the next morning for work, just to see how long it takes to fall asleep and it IS getting better :-)

When my doc prescribed Prestiq for my GAD and I noticed anxiety and insomia were side effects, I was confused because those are the two things that I am trying to eliminate!

I've read some posts on other threads that say that it can take anywhere from 3-9 weeks for it to start. So, I'm going to give it a few more weeks before making any decisions. Like I said, I REALLY want this to work. Gaining weight from the Celexa, along with the other side effects, made me depressed..and I would rather be anxious than deal with a handful of side effects.

Thank you both for your advice, I really appreciate it! I'm glad I found crazyboards- it makes me feel a little less crazy!