r/Pristiq

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I am currently on Zoloft 25 mg and it has helped tremendously with my anxiety (the original reason I got on medication) but it has given me increased depressive symptoms and exacerbated them. I will be starting on 25 mg Pristiq within the next few days, Zoloft made me shaky, dazed, and nauseous the first week or so of taking it.

Any side effects I should look out for or any advice at all?? Personal stories are appreciated! Thank you :)

Y'all weren't lying. This is horrible - I'd rather go cold turkey off Wellbutrin again. Last night I was waking up every 30 minutes or hour cold, but also covered in sweat from the super vivid and realistic nightmares that seemed to last ages. Today I get incredibly dizzy every time I move. I'm gonna spend all day in bed for this mistake. Is there anything that helps with the dizziness?

bro i literally js took my first pill at lets day around 12pm (im a night owl in general) but when i tried to sleep i js ended up staying up till 6am (went to bed at around 3am and js layed in my bed) does this shi end? do i have to start taking it in the morning??? SHOULD i take it in the morning when i wake up (if i even go to sleep)? i have extended release pills so i dont wanna stack it if ittle cause serious side effects

u dont have to read this part lowkey js worried abt this drug 😭😭

im also prescribed xanax just for a temporary thing but i know damn well what will happen if i keep taking it so im getting taken off of that for now but i need my anxiety at bay but i ALSO NEED MY MF SLEEP 😭 Im a sleepy fuck so i enjoy waking up after a long nights rest to go do fuck all but anyways ranting atp SOMEONE HELP I WANNA GET SUM SHUT EYE

I’ve been on pristq for 10 months worked for a couple months after upping dose to 50 mg.
It just stopped working one day out of nowhere completely I have been depressed and sucidal for two months now on 100 mg.wondering if anyone else experienced it just stopping out of the blue and what you did from there ? Thanks!!!

Hello my Pristiq people!

I started Pristiq 2 months ago for anxiety. Started at 25mg, then went to 50mg a month later. I am feeling pretty good and a huge improvement for the most part. This has been the most helpful medication I have ever taken and the best I’ve felt in years. I feel like it even helps my Adderall work better. And I have motivation to actually clean things! That’s HUGE for me, you have no idea.

I am still having some additional anxiety so I’m wondering if I should bump the dose up to the next mg. I feel like that would be the sweet spot.

I’ve read a few research papers that say that there is no additional benefit from this medication after the recommended 50mg.

So I wanted to ask- has a dosage over 50mg given you any extra relief? I’m taking a few other things so I don’t want to add yet another medication for the leftover anxiety. I’ll either increase Pristiq (if it does anything) or live with the anxiety.

For those of you just starting out or who are nervous to try Pristiq because of the withdrawal, please don’t let that scare you. There are soooo many of us who feel like this is a wonder drug. ❤️

Thank you in advance for your responses!

Hey folks! I’ve been on 100mg of pristiq for seven years or so and started my weaning process in April. My doctor recommended a weaning schedule of 1 pill every two days, and I just started pushing for one pill every three days this week.
My life on the last day before I take the pill is absolute hell. Brain fog, forgetfulness, dizziness, trouble staying awake. I don’t feel safe driving, have no appetite and no focus. Napping takes the edge off but this can’t possibly last. Right?
Did anything you tried during weaning help?

I'm on day 8 and can't do anything have just been falling asleep during the day all day so sleepy tired. How long until that wears off??

After one year of taking Effexor and then relapsing into anxiety again, I can finally say I feel saved and completely happy with who I am. Meds aren’t forever (maybe), and they won’t do the work for you—but they help a lot when it comes to improving yourself.
I can’t believe that a year ago I was losing my mind over a concert (I got so anxious I even vomited afterward). Now I have an on-site job, I go out with my friends, I can sleep peacefully at night, and I even got to meet one of my favorite artists. I’m traveling to Asia by myself next year…
I just feel so blessed. My parents supported me, I have an amazing psychiatrist, and my brain is doing its best to regulate itself. I feel grateful for my whole self.
I love my life.

Hi everybody! Today my Dr decided to switch me from sertraline to desvenlafaxine for the effect it has on migraines. I’ve tried a few first line treatments for migraine prevention and nothing has worked this far.

I was originally put on sertraline for pretty general stuff like anxiety and depression but it was mainly to help manage my ocd symptoms.

While the sertraline has been absolutely amazing for my ocd I feel like recently I am the most depressed I have been in years.
Has anybody else done this switch for similar reasons or used pristiq for ocd? If you have how did it go?

I was on 10mg of Lexapro for about 14 years and it did pretty well on it. I recently developed much more severe anxiety due to a health scare plus some other general stresses. I spiraled and went into basically a constant fight or flight state. I went to the doc and they increased my Lex dosage to 20mg. For some reason I felt great for the first week and then week two went right back to the severe anxiety. Back to the doc and he decides to take me off of Lexapro and immediately starts me on 100mg of Pristiq. Same thing, felt great for almost a week then the anxiety comes back super hard. I then see a mental health doc via telehealth and he tells me 100mg is too aggressive of a dosage especially starting out so he drops me to 50mg…. Once again I feel great for like 5 or 6 days then the horrible anxiety comes back. I do not understand what is going on but I’m wondering if Pristiq is the right medication for me because I know it can be stimulating and really my main problem is health anxiety, not really depression. I feel like the adrenaline rush is making my anxiety much worse. I just want to be chilled out. I have a follow up appointment with the mental health doc soon but I’m starting to wish I had just stayed on the 20mg of Lexapro because I was only at that dosage for about two weeks before stopping and starting Pristiq. Maybe more time on the 20mg of
Lexapro would have really helped. I wake up very early every morning in an instant anxiety attack and going back to sleep is impossible.

I take- 10 ambien (new script)
- Azstarys 39.2mg
- Kratom
- THC

Is there any interactions with these meds? (if you know/have experience)

Should I take it in the morning or afternoon?

Any tips are appreciated bc I’m naive to this class of meds. Thank you in advance!

Does anyone take Pristiq with Wellbutrin and ADHD meds(Vyvanse)?

I’ve been on Zoloft for a year but I don’t feel like myself. We upped the dose and it gave me severe depression and brain fog, so we lowered it again and now my anxiety and irritability are returning.

My doctor suggested the Genesight test. My results came back with Zoloft being in the red column and Pristiq in the green.

I see my doc again in a week to go over my results and I want to see if she recommends Pristiq, but I am just worried about the combination with my other meds. Anxiety and depression are such a fine line and finding the perfect medium has been difficult.

Does anyone have this combo or something similar? Thank you for any feedback! 😊

I’m about to start titrating off of this med and for the life of me can’t figure out why Canada doesn’t offer this step down dose. Does anyone have any ‘safe’ ideas? I can’t believe a pharmacy tech at London Drugs actually told me to just cut a 50 in half.

Hello everyone currently I’m on Zoloft and took a genesite test and she really wants me on prestiq.. I told her I’d rather just stay on Zoloft and she told me she doesn’t recommend that because she know I’ll feel so much better on pristiq since it’s the top on my genesite.. but here’s the thing.

She told me it was a SSRI, and I literally was like “are you sure, I could’ve swore it was a SNRI and she was like no no”
She also told me buspirone was fast acting and no it’s not. Why is she lying to me? As a doctor it’s her job to give me accurate information correct?

I also have been on hydroxine to manage my panic attacks but have a flight coming up and asked her if I could have something stronger because hydroxine works but it doesn’t really calm me, just sedates me if that makes sense. She told me to try the pristiq and if I still feel like this she could maybe give me an ativan. So now I feel bribed??

Am I overthinking this??

Also why is everyone being recommended pristiq from genesite 😭😭 yes im an overthinker, please be kind

Do you take your pristiq in the morning or at night? Do you take some in the morning & some in the afternoon? What dose works for you?

I currently take 50mg in the morning but am going up to 75 in a couple of weeks.

TIA for reading & for any insight you may have

I was on Lexapro for around six months with other secondary meds that never seemed to work. I learned two weeks ago (at 42 years old) that I’m autistic and the burnout has made me depressed since I could remember. I thought everything going on was normal and I was just lazy.

I started on Pistiq 25 mg a week ago and today for the first time in many years I feel almost manic with the amount of energy and motivation I have. I’ve been low energy, low motivation, and low self esteem for probably 15-20 years.

Has it been this quick for anyone else or am I experiencing something flighty? I just have the thought in the back of my head that I’ll wake up tomorrow and have a lack of want again.

I’ve been on Mirtazipine 15mg at night and 100mg of Pristiq in the morning for about 3 months now and it has totally turned things around for me to the point of being back to my normal self. I really want to start a tapering schedule but I have had brain zap issues even with a one day missed dose of Pristiq. After reading some of the experiences others have had when tapering off Pristiq, I’m really concerned that I’m going to be very susceptible to severe withdrawal. Has anyone found anything that helps related to diet, exercise or additional medication?

Has anyone done genetic testing for psych meds and gone on Pristiq? I did testing after so many bad meds and I’m on Viibryd at the moment which was in my green zone. I haven’t had any bad side effects from it but haven’t noticed improvement, so my psych wants to switch me to Pristiq. This sub has made me really scared to try. I’m really worried about work and not being able to function.

what’s the lowest dose that worked for u?