Desvenlafaxine and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Are...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 18, 2023

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "I have been on Pristiq for about 4 years now, and this medication saved my life. Prior to Pristiq, I was on Lexapro for 7 years, which stopped working, hence why I had to switch to Pristiq. Pristiq is a great medication and works quicker than other meds, I saw major improvements in 5 days. I do get anxiety and depression sometimes, however, I feel pretty well most of the time. I started on 50 mg, now on 100 mg, and would increase my dosage as required as advised by my doctor. Give this medication a go, personally, for me, I had minimum side effects."

• Red...
• January 31, 2016

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I had a horrible experience with this drug! After 4 days of starting Pristiq, I started having massive anxiety and panic attacks! I could not sleep for the life of me! It felt like I had a constant rush of adrenaline! I had to be admitted to the psych ward because I went into psychosis. I stuck it out for three weeks, hoping that I would find relief from my crippling depression. No! I was more depressed, sleep deprived, constant panic. I knew the drug was causing more pain than I started off with. Every drug is different. Writing this in case someone else is having the same experience. Was switched to amitriptyline and am starting to see small improvements. If you are having horrible side effects, tell your doc! Wishing you the best!"

• sad...
• May 7, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for ADHD "What a great antidepressant - no side effects, and I actually feel happy. My mood swings have improved, and I feel calm and happy inside. Things that used to irritate me don't anymore. I can tell I have less of an appetite and more energy. I am on 1 x 50 mg a day. If you have had bad luck with side effects and antidepressants, you need to try this. I applaud Pristiq. I've been on it for ten days and am very impressed. I still get anxiety, maybe I'll have to take something else as well. It seems about 50% of people on Pristiq are doing really well (from all the boards I've browsed)."

• Anonymous
• May 22, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Anxiety "I can only say good things about Pristiq. I was on Lexapro for about three years and gained about 35 pounds. My doctor switched me to Pristiq. The hardest part was weaning off the Lexapro and the couple of weeks it took for my body to adjust to a new medicine. It has been about a month now, and I absolutely feel great, energized, my appetite seems more normal. I have lost three pounds in four weeks. Not bad since I wasn't really trying. The unusual changes I noticed at first on Pristiq were really weird dreams, and sometimes at night I felt a little tense. But now I just feel great. Also unusual in my case, my doctor told me to take it in the morning, but I was afraid of nausea, so I take it at night."

• DD0...
• June 2, 2017

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "I have been taking Pristiq for 5 years. It took a month to get used to, but after that, the anger, depression, and anxiety were almost completely gone. I was very calm and not much rattled me. Then, surprise, I was given the generic about 2 months ago, the anger and anxiety are back full force. Now I am going to have to try something else because the generic doesn't work. Sorry, world, I'm full of anger and anxious. Here we go again."

• pri...
• September 17, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Anxiety "I suffer from extreme anxiety and severe depression. I have been on Cymbalta for a couple of years, and it makes me so tired. I couldn't take it anymore. I slept all day. I started Pristiq today around noon. I have noticed a boost in energy and can't stop smiling. The only side effects so far are blurred vision, a little jittery, sweating a lot, but I haven't felt happier in years from one day!"

• Anonymous
• November 10, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Anxiety "I've been on Pristiq for about 6 months now, taking 50 mg for about 6 weeks, then bumping up to 100 mg after that. I have noticed a huge change in mood. I don't fixate on little things and let them bother me for the whole day like they used to. I feel much more confident now, and I am actually smiling lately. Some side effects I have noticed are the occasional headache (I find if I take it at the same time each morning, I don't get a headache), dry mouth, and if I miss a dose, I get absolutely wild dreams, and my anxiety comes creeping back in. Also, I notice it makes me ramble on and on when I talk sometimes, which can be a little embarrassing, especially in work situations. Overall though, the benefits significantly outweigh the side effects!!"

• KRo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 5, 2021

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I don't like this drug. I switched to it thinking it would be better than Cymbalta, but it was not! I am done with these awful drugs and big pharma trying to make money off others' misery! I had nausea, sexual side effects, my menstrual cycle changed, night sweats, hot all the time, anxiety, weight gain, etc....! It is not worth it. The side effects are worse than any depression ever was! Not to mention, all it did was make me numb. I am proud to say I have been off of this for almost a week. I will never take this med again."

• See...
• September 30, 2017

For Anxiety "I've had mostly a positive experience with Pristiq. Some nervousness, but I think I'm still adjusting to it. I've seen several people post on the generic not being effective, so before I started taking it, I did some digging and discovered that Greenstone is a subsidiary of Pfizer, and they distribute an authorized generic. Authorized generics are the name brand repackaged as a generic."

• Wal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2019

For Anxiety "Not good for me. After the first 2 days, no real side effects. Day 4, couldn't settle. Walking around the house and garden, feeling sick in the stomach. Day 5: eight hours of on-and-off panic attacks. Night five: extreme anxiety all night. Day six, did not take it and resumed to normal by the afternoon. Awful reaction. Never again!!"

• Who...
• June 26, 2019

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I've been taking Pristiq along with doing cognitive behavioral therapy. I've come leaps and bounds since then, and a lot of that is due to therapy. However, I wouldn't have been able to initially manage the day-to-day responsibilities and stresses without Pristiq as well. Rated a 7 because its side effects are severe at the beginning (wide eyes, hyper alertness, increased anxiety). As well, you need to be very, very consistent to take it at the same time every day or as it is prescribed for you. I really do not enjoy the side effects, it not as they affect my vision, concentration, out-of-world-like feeling, and it can be visually obvious to other people, which just increases my anxiety. My goal is to come up with a healthy plan to go off the medication, as I have now developed tools to manage my PTSD, anxiety, and depression, but I find I get distracted by the symptoms of the medication during times of stress, as they seem to peak almost like they're working in overdrive."

• Rib...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 30, 2018

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I was prescribed 25 mg Pristiq for depression and anxiety. By day 4, I had the worst panic attack. Day 5-7 just kept getting worse. Crying all the time, increased BP. I have BP issues to begin with, so I probably shouldn’t have been prescribed this. But I did the GeneSight test, and it showed Pristiq to be in the green. Oddly, it showed all SSRIs to be in the red. I had been on Paxil twice with great success. Anyway, it’s been 6 days off the Pristiq, and I am still super anxious with baby panic attacks. I have been taking Xanax to try to help, but it barely touches them. I wasn’t this bad before the Pristiq. I am now going back to Paxil. Hopefully, the third time will still be a charm. Good luck to those trying Pristiq, it is a great drug for some. Just not for all."

• Ama...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 3, 2023

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "I was trying this out because I never stayed on Zoloft for long due to the sexual side effects not helped by adding Wellbutrin. I was on Pristiq, the lowest dose, for a week, and I just couldn’t do it. Major crying spells from day 1 and really intense anxiety, both physical and psychological. A few days in, the sadness wasn’t as overwhelming, but I started to feel a weird chest heaviness, and my heart was fluttering (healthy 29-year-old), also was still having a lot of anxiety. Didn’t make it to day 7. Had I not had the chest thing going on, I probably would have tried to stick with it for longer."

• hea...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 25, 2022

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "While I took Pristiq, I had difficulty sleeping and higher anxiety. I dropped a lot of weight because the medication made me hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia has similar symptoms to mania (heart palpitations, racing thoughts, insomnia, etc.). The weight loss is not a reason to take this medication if you're trying to lose weight! I lost a lot of weight within a short period of time also. I almost lost my job because of this medication making me erratic and impulsive. Titrating myself off of this medication was a pure nightmare, but I finally just quit taking it because there was no benefit from the medication. The withdrawals were horrible. More insomnia, irritability, brain zaps, I had a ringing in my head also. Please, please, please don't take this medication because I said I lost weight, because this medication is one I will never, ever, ever take again. Please be safe."

• Anx...
• September 1, 2018

For Anxiety "Was hesitant to try this because I've seen bad reviews. The first couple of days I was filled with anxiety, but I started a new medication, so I pushed on. About the 4th day of taking it, I got super light-headed and fainted. I called my doctor, and he told me to drink more water, and so I kept with it. I was still feeling light-headed every so often. The second week I had a good two days of no anxiety, felt like it was working, then the next day a wave of thoughts and anxiety crashed into me again. I kept with it because doc said two to three weeks, well after a month of taking it. It didn't get any better. Actually, it got much worse, more anxiety on this medication than ever before. This did not work for me, and I get that everybody is different, but I've tried a lot of different medications, but this was definitely the worst."

• DD0...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 2, 2017

For Depression "I was given the generic after taking Pristiq for 5 years, this does not work for me at all. Depression, anxiety, and thoughts are all over the place. Been taking the generic for 2 months. Have to try something else now because this is not good."

• Zyz...
• April 19, 2017

For Major Depressive Disorder "I'm wondering about generic Pristiq. My pharmacy dispensed 50 mg tablets of generic Pristiq about a month ago. My pdoc was surprised since she didn't even know there was such a thing. I took them one time and experienced profound anxiety and depression. I have been in to see her three times since. I still feel like I'm being affected by whatever was in those pills. My doc upped my Klonopin (which I did NOT want to do), but we had no choice. I am now still on the brand name Pristiq but had to go up 50 mg. I don't know what the deal was, but I would advise anyone taking Pristiq to stick with the brand name. I am just now starting to feel 'normal' again! I have read that the patent on Pristiq won't be up for several more years!!"

• caz...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 29, 2013

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "Dr. put me on Pristiq because I was having a bad time dealing with the loss of a loved one. It's my first medication, and I have been on it for 9 months. Although it has relieved my mild anxiety, I have decided that this or any other medication isn't for me. The weight gain has probably been the worst and only side effect for me, after 3 months, I piled on 10kgs. On my pharmacist's advice, I have been lowering my dose on alternate days and am now on my third day without taking it. I feel like I'm a little tipsy/heavy-headed by the end of the day, and that's all so far, but it's bearable, and I still manage to go about my day as normal. Hopefully, this doesn't last long. I have never experienced brain zaps either."

• Tri...
• November 19, 2022

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "Initially, when starting the medication, I did have an increase in my anxiety while driving or leaving my house. This disappeared within two weeks, and I noticed a significant improvement in my anxiety and depression. I also noticed an uptick in my desire to be social, talk on the phone, and interact in group therapy."

• Al ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 5, 2022

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "Horrible experience. I wish I had never started. I had serotonin syndrome going from 50 mg to 100 mg, I literally couldn't get out of bed for a week, anxiety, major depression, paranoia, dilated pupils, you name it. I went back to my doc, and he immediately told me to stop taking it. We switched over to an SSRI, and now I'm doing a lot better. Again, I honestly wish I had never agreed to taking Pristiq. 0/10."

• jen...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 12, 2016

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "No effects, no side effects, no nothing. Pristiq was touted as a powerful antidepressant with an anti-anxiety drug built in. Besides clinical depression, I struggle with PTSD, agoraphobia, and anxiety disorders. All the years on Pristiq, my mood ranged from nervous to suicidal. I had several anxiety attacks, always in public places, and certainly was not capable of a normal life. About two weeks ago, I decided to stop my 150 mg per day dose. I experienced no withdrawals. My head was clear. I began to set and meet small goals. I cry a lot, for example, over music. But it's good crying. My thoughts can sometimes be labeled 'irrational,' e.g., I often believe my scripts are placebos. No more Pristiq."

• Amo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 29, 2020

For Anxiety "Started this drug, desvenlafaxine, 5 days ago when I had my 2nd ever panic attack, and I haven’t been able to sleep since. At first, I thought it was my anxiety keeping me up, but it was the side effects of this drug that have only made my anxiety worse. I warn those this seems to be a strong drug, and don’t be tempted to get on it after your first anxiety attacks. I plan to get off of it, but I am terrified that my body will react to the removal of this drug from my system. I'd rather have an anxiety attack than feel like a zombie at 4 am struggling to sleep. My doctor said I can wean off of it after a year, but I have yet to read about someone successfully doing so."

• che...
• October 29, 2015

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I tried Pristiq for 3 months with no good results. I have social anxiety disorder and typically only become anxious around people. When on this medication, I became anxious 24/7, and the intensity of the anxiety increased. I also suffer from depression. This medication took away all of my good thoughts and negative ones as well. It left me feeling empty and like a robot. I could not talk to people. I have Asperger's syndrome as well and almost lost the ability to speak when on this medication. It is horrible. I would not recommend it for anyone who suffers from anxiety, depression, or Asperger's."

• Gla...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• June 1, 2019

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I was prescribed more and more of this drug that helped me function, but I have been trying to get off of it for 7 years. 7 years of mediocre existence, of misery, or the lie that I must need it, otherwise, I would not be so anxious and depressed when I try to stop. I am Australian, we have a free but often ineffectual health care, so insurance is not an issue. Seriously, try everything else before you go down the drugs path."

• Anonymous
• August 12, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I've been taking Pristiq for almost a year. I feel the best I've ever felt. I have had a huge spike in cholesterol and am on medicine now to control. It is a recognized side effect. If I miss one day, I'm really messed up emotionally and physically. My head feels funny and I have uncontrollable sadness and anxiety. Once I take the medicine at my next dose, all those feelings go away. If I ever need or decide to go off this medicine, I will make sure to take it extremely slow."