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Questions about Pristiq, 50 mg

I am about to start this medicine and wanted to know if anyone is taking Pristiq or has?
And if you experienced side effects, if yes what were they? And I am coming off Lexapro
due to side effects, so I was wondering if they are the same, worse, or not at all with Pristiq.
Thank You
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Avatar universal
Regarding Effexor, yes Fuzzz is corect in saying that it can be a bit more uncomfortible to stop, but I just know too many people that have had great success with Effexor XR to bash it for it's unfortunate withdrawl side effect.

When Norephinepherine depletion in the brain is a key contributor to your severe depression, Effexor and Pristiq can work wonders to getting you productive and back in remission.

There is a reason Effexor XR makes 3.5 Billion a year in sales per year.... Because it flat out WORKS many times for people that fail on SSRI's.

Sorry, but I must defend Effexor XR. Yes it can be a heavy hitter, but when the depression gets real bad it can often be just the ticket to remission.

I got 4 solid years of complete remission from Effexor XR before it pooped out on me.
It was Hell when I had to transition to another working medication, but I will take 8 weeks in Hell for 4 years of complete remission any day.

When the SSRI's like Lexapro and Zoloft fail to give enough relief, Effexor is a damn good AD medication alternative. I trust that Pristiq will also be just as effective considering how much similar it is.
Helpful - 0
627145 tn?1230305626
If Pristiq is like Effexor, I'd avoid it.  I had the night sweats and soon, apathy.  When I tried to get off Effexor, I had the worst brain zaps I've ever had.  I'm sorry to hear that Lexapro didn't work for you.  I haven't tried that one yet.  I am very interested in Valdoxan since it sounds so different.  
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Avatar universal
I've been taking Pristiq for about a month.

During the first week or so, I experienced enhanced perspiration at night. During the first couple of weeks, I experienced periods of severe fatigue of a few hours duration.
Both of those side effects have stopped.

My experience doesn't mean you will experience the same effects, of course.

Cheers
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Ahh Pristiq, The new SSNRI. Actualy just a slight tweek on Effexor XR.

Interesting fact about Pristiq..... Wyeth's newest Antidepressant medication Pristiq, is actually kind of a sister drug of Effexor XR. In fact in terms of the active ingrediants molecular structure they are about 98% the same.

You know why the Drug Company Wyeth would produce a drug so much like Effexor XR? Because Wyeth's patent on Effexor XR runs out in just a few months and they need to keep Market share, given that Effexor XR makes Wyeth over 3 Billion! Yes I said Billion NOT million, dollars per year in sales.

It's only wise for Wyeth to introduce an "alternative" to Effexor XR to keep market share.

Soon Effexor XR's patent runs out, and we can get Venlafaxine (the active ingrediant in Effexor, In an XR variant (XR for extended release formula Generic) Then it's bye bye Effexor XR for Wyeth and it's 3 billion per year revenue from it.

All that being said Pristiq (Effexor XR's replacement) is a fantastic AD medication and should perform just as well as Effexor XR. At least the clinical trials show it to be just as effective with similar side effects.

What I am really watching for and waiting for is this new Valdoxan antidepressant. It's a whole completly new chemical approach to treatment resistant severe depression. It has almost NO side effects at all and in clinical trials works even better than any other modern antidepressant on the market today. It has already seen approval in Germany and is in stage 3 clinical trials by our FDA that is expected to approve soon.

There's a real buzz about this new Valdoxan as it is unlike any other known antidepressant. It is a Melotenergic antidepressant and has a mechinisim of operation far different than traditional AD drugs. It takes a kind of back door approach to hitting severe depression hard. Can't wait for that one.

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