Hello. I have just started (4 days in) taking Pristiq to help with my GAD anxiety which can also slip into depression. I have 100mg tablets and the doctor is getting me to go with 1/4 tablet (25mg) for the first 7 days, then 1/2 tablet (50mg) for the next 10 days, then will go back and see her. A couple of questions and observations:
1. I have seen some info regarding Pristiq being a "slow release" medication and that I should take the tablet whole but my doctor wants me to split the dose to "taper on". Is this ok?
2. I have seen very small glimpses of some normality and I think that is due to me accepting medication is needed. The majority of the time my anxiety is high with a knot in my stomach for no reason, irrational fear, no motivation, and no excitement. Do you think these glimpses will increase as I continue to take and get to my 50mg dose?
3. I have heard the first 4 - 6 weeks is the toughest, any advice how to survive this journey. I feel like I am teetering on a cliff of insanity and just cant get away from myself.
4. Any other pristiq users who have been on it for a while who feel great? (Eg. Being able to feel happy, joy, excited, expectant etc instead of non-motivated or fearful?)
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
6 Answers
SO
Sonia16
18 Feb 2016
Hello... I've been reading all these threads hoping to get some insight. I'm on day 5 of my 50mg pristiq. I find my anxiety has got worse. I have to take .5 mg of lorazepam daily to keep my heart from racing and my nerves steady. I've been suffering from extreme panic attacks since the end of December. I really hope this kicks in soon... :(
Votes: +0
SO
sovereign_72
19 Feb 2016
Hi Sonia. Anytime I have gone onto medication my anxiety symptoms initially got worse. This is a very common side effect when anxiety is the predominant diagnoses. It can take 6 - 8 weeks for the medication to reach its therapeutic level in your system but after 3 - 4 weeks I noticed a levelling out of my anxiety. I am 5 weeks in and have just 2 days ago increased to 100mg. My advice is to just ride it out as best you can. There will be respite around the corner and you will start to feel better. It won't feel like it to start with but have faith in the medication. Feel free to share your journey with me anytime and I will try and help where I can. Wishing you all the best.
SO
Sonia16
19 Feb 2016
Thank you so much for your help. So there IS a light at the end of the tunnel ! :)
SO
Sonia16
19 Feb 2016
Also, sovereign... why did you increase your dose to 100 mg. Is that what we have to do after a while?
SO
sovereign_72
19 Feb 2016
Yes Sonia, there is light at the end of the tunnel. To start with it will be a mere glimpse but it will get brighter. I spoke with my GP after 5 weeks on 50mg and she believed that, whilst I was getting some good results, that it would be worth going up a dose to try and deal with it completely. You need to look on this as a journey. And you won't know the destination or how long it will take you to get there, just know you will.
LY
Lynn 351
12 Nov 2018
Don’t think your still on but i’m On day 28 of 50 did it work for you
SO
sovereign_72
18 Dec 2018
Hi Lynn. Sorry for the delayed response. I didn't notice your comment until just now. I sincerely hoping you are doing ok as this journey you are on is obviously a difficult one. I am still on 100mg per day of Pristiq and am about 2 years or so now into I think. I am coping quite well but still not exactly where I would like to be. I am considering changing meds again but will defer that until after the Christmas period. How are you going with things now? Hopefully you are seeing some good results by now. Let me know and I will support as best I can. In the meantime... you got this, and it will get better. (Even though some days it feels like it wont) :)
LY
Lynn 351
18 Dec 2018
How long till it started working 9 weeks now
LY
Lynn 351
18 Dec 2018
Dr switched me to paxil
SO
sovereign_72
27 Dec 2018
Hi Lynn. One thing I have learnt on my journey with medication is that everyone will respond differently to different medications. Sometimes people find the right one straight away, whilst other people it can take a few different medications or combinations until they can get the balance correct. It is great that you doctor has recognised this and is trying you on another type. I understand that it is frustrating and tough but the best advice I can offer is to treat your journey as a journey and not a destination. That way if something doesn't work, or if you have a bad day, you will be able to accept it as part of your journey and know that things will get better. Take care.
Hi sovereign, so i am pretty much in same place... mornings are still pretty overwhelming... could be the soul crushing anxiety... or maybe this is normal and i have completely forgotten... and i have glimpses of feeling good... spoke with doc yesterday and he told me to be patient... my favorite comment was from a friend who told me to stop taking the meds..eat a banana a day and exercise... i told him sounded good... just have to fugure out how to get motivated to exercise and eat... lol... im not a lazy person by nature... its not like i dont want to get out and get it together... just cant do it... hard enough getting my ass to work... but i digress.. Hope all is well with you
Votes: +0
SO
sovereign_72
19 Jan 2016
Thank you for your response. I am now 1 week into my full 50mg tablet dose and I have seen some improvement. I am fortunately not really getting any major side effects. My depression seems to have gone and my anxiety has lowered a little from about a 9 to about a 7. It's always worse first thing in the morning and by about 7pm I feel almost ok. I am hoping and believing for continued improvement over the next 4 to 5 weeks. Is that something I should expect? Thanks again
Votes: +0
CA
cammy60
25 Jan 2016
Hi sovereign, so i just started my 2nd week and have noticed an improvement. I had some side effects but they seem to have faded... still have a minor headache but its fading as well. I too seem to feel better around 7 pm... im hoping thats going to turn into an all day thing but i will take it for now... i am at 50 mg/ day.
SO
sovereign_72
28 Jan 2016
Hi Cammy. Thanks for your input. Seems like you are walking a fairly similar journey to myself. I am about 2.5 weeks into my 50mgs and I feel like I am having some very gradual improvement. (I downloaded a mood tracking spreadsheet off the Pristiq website which has helped) I still struggle in the morning and feel kinda ok about 7pm and have ups and downs but managed to get a glimpse of sunlight today, a shred of evidence that things will get better. I hope you are starting to get glimpses also and remember to be mindful of them when it is particularly tough. I have also started reading "The Happiness Trap" which is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which I have found very useful in giving me strategies and some understanding. Would love to continue this journey with you and if you ever wanted to talk to me or ask any questions about the path I am treading always feel free. Wishing you all the best my friend.
CA
cammy60
29 Jan 2016
Thats interesting what you said about the sunlight. I was trying to describe things and i said it was like last saturday when it felt like the sun was shining for the first time in a long while. My mornings are kinda weird still but that being said today seems a little better. I am really hoping this works cause the last three years have been hell... i thought i was losing my mind. No motivation, tired and nauseous all the time, anxious for no apparent reason... and a lot of self flagellation for being so "out of it" all the time. Anyway, heres hoping...
CA
cammy60
2 Feb 2016
Hi soverign... hope all is going well with you. just wanted to see how you are getting on. I have had some good days and some not so good. Today being one of the latter. How are your mornings now. I find them to be the hardest but if I force myself to get it in gear then i seem to be ok. The option is to obsess about how lousy i feel and it can become overwhelming. And then i start beating myself up for being such a loser... which doesnt get me anywhere. Im not looking to feel like im walking in the clouds but a little motivation and a happy vibe would be nice... now and then.
SO
sovereign_72
4 Feb 2016
Hello again Cammy. I have added you as a friend on here. Not sure what that means but it should help us as we talk to each other through our experiences. I know what we are both are going through is different and we are both on our own journey but to know that we share some common understanding is helpful. I totally get the good days and the bad days. For me the majority are tough but I feel there is some sense of things getting better. Sort of like when it is raining and gloomy and you know the sun will come... but it is still gloomy. I have had the last 5 days with bronchitis and whilst sick anxiety has taken a back seat which has been helpful. I too find the mornings most difficult. It is like clockwork. About 5 or 5.15 every morning it is like a little cattle prod of anxiety jolts me awake and it is not until I get up and start preparing for work that it lessens slightly.
Feel lousy constantly is overwhelming, and it is the relentless intensity that I find most difficult, but it certainly doesn't make us losers! Our brains and thoughts unfortunately have their flight/fight mechanism switched too high and our amygdala perceives everything as a threat, even that which rationally is not. Some other quick facts that I have found out are 97% of people with anxiety recover to live fulfilled purposeful lives, motivation can be recovered, happy vibes are possible. We still need to wait until 6 weeks for the Pristiq to do its job properly and if we are still not where we need to be then going up to 100mg is an option. I don't want to feel anxiety at all but at the moment it is part of my life and I am trying to accept that. I suggest you have a look into Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT - Taught in The Happiness Trap) because I believe we need to use both medication and cognitive therapy to get where we want to be. Also maybe look at keeping a bit of a journal or score yourself each day on the "pristiq spreadsheet" and you will notice your good and bad days and learn to celebrate the good ones. They will become more often, you will get through this, you are not alone. Hope I have helped in some way. Thank you for supporting me also.
SO
sovereign_72
12 Feb 2016
Hi Cammy. Just wanted to check in and see how you are going. I have hit 4 weeks into my 50mg and things are going ok. I still have that constant anxiety feeling but I feel the intensity has lowered a bit. It can still peak but I also have short periods every now and then that I get those glimpses of what may be flagged as normality. I try and focus on those when I can and remember them when it is tougher. I think there is a little bit more hope starting to grow as well. Hope you are doing ok. Take care.
First please pay attention to Laurie's post it is the right one, Now I know it is not the best way but they do split these at times even though it screws up the extended release so you don't get the real hard side effects which go on for the first week or two give or take a week,And yes you can feel bits of clarity too during the beginning and this is an ANTIDEPRESSANT and also works good for anxiety. You have to just make sure you don't set yourself up where you run out when the doctor is not in.
The timed release makes it that a day or so won't hurt you that bad but it is not fun to have to stop for the weekend because you forgot to order it.Talk to your doctor more on the breaking part of the pill, Because even because they are trying to make the side effects as little as possible every time you have the dose increased you get the side effects again for a week or so until your on the dose your to be on for a full 6 to 8 weeks is when you have the correct blood level. If for any reason any side effect is too hard to call the doctor there are things they can give you to help you get through the hardest time.Best of luck this is a very good choice for an antidepressant and antianxiety medication even if sometimes they might have to add something with it which is common with many people. keep at it, you well be feeling better and we are all different so it can react different on you but this is pretty close of what you can expect. Chuck1957 ALSO READ lAURIE SHA? AGAIN YOU can't read to much into some post just because they might have had a problem with a medication and think that is the way it is going to be for everyone. THINK POSITIVE always not negative that just digs the hole deeper my friend. Chuck
Votes: +1
PA
PattynNC
12 Jan 2016
Pristiq is not an antidepressant i would recommend for many. It does not stay in your system for long periods of time and any "happy" feelings you have are short lived. If you run out of meds, your days will be hell until you get your refill and even then, I suggest you ask your doctor for a new medication.
Votes: +0
LA
LaurieShay
11 Jan 2016
First, let me say that Pristiq is a slow release formula which technically means you should not split the pill. If this is of concern, please contact your doctor or pharmacist and discuss before changing anything. The problem with splitting is it opens the pill so the coating no longer is viable and you don't get the slow release effect. I took Pristiq for years with great results both for anxiety and depression. It will take a couple of weeks to adjust and for the side effects to subside and upwards of a month or so to really feel the effects.
