Lexapro and Pristiq

[Thomaspink]

Hello Dr,

I was wondering what is the equivalent of Lexapro 20mg in Pristiq? Is it 50mg? I am about to switch and wanted to make sure. I also know that 20mg is usually the maximum allowed for Lexapro, is 50mg the maximum for Pristiq?

Thank you for the help!
Itai

[Paxiled]

Actually, Lexapro has no "maximum."  20mg is just the most studied by the manufacturer.  Lexapro is basically another form of Celexa so the company could get another patent, but they do seem to affect people differently.  I was on 30mg of Lexapro, but it didn't help and I actually got worse.  So now I'm tapering off it to see if I can find something that works to undo what quitting Paxil did to me.  It's the old medication carousel.  I don't know Pristiq, it's relatively new, it's to Effexor what Lexapro is to Celexa.  And again, there's no allowed maximums, just recommendations based on the limited studies the manufacturers do to get FDA approval and a patent.  I know Effexor has a high side effect profile and is difficult to get off of, Pristiq is said to be easier, but I don't know since I haven't taken them and even if I had, that wouldn't say anything about what your experience is likely to be.  That can't be predicted.

[Thomaspink]

Thanks for the reply! Do you know what is the maximum allowed with Pristiq? I know with Lexapro it's 20mg which is what I took.

Thanks!

[Paxiled]

No doctor here, that's on the mental health forum, but there's no equivalency between medications really, you never know how they're going to affect you or if they're going to work at all.  Equivalencies are generalizations, and you are an individual.  Besides, Pristiq is a different class of drug than Lexapro.  Lexapro is an ssri while Pristiq is an snri.  And if it were me, which it isn't, I'd start at a low dosage and work my way up on any medication so I could see how bad the side effects were and the lowest dosage at which it works is.  I'd also taper slowly off the drug I'm on before starting a new one, especially one of a different class, so I could tell what effects were withdrawal off the old med and which were side effects of the new med.