Desvenlafaxine and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 5)

• Anonymous
• January 16, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I have had the same experience as many. The 50 mg worked well, but anxiety is now a problem, and I have to force myself out of bed. Don't feel like I function well. Love the weight loss, but now I have had it combined with Celexa, and it is not making me feel buoyant at all. I am not sure if I suffer from ADHD or may have some bipolar... this drug is not the miracle I had hoped for... I have been on it for almost 3 months."

• She...
• February 7, 2016

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "It's only been day two for me, and I will not be taking another one of these. Side effects straight away: sick to the stomach, no appetite, massive headaches today, no libido, horrible taste, and to be honest, all of these effects are bringing back my anxiety. My headache is not going away. I am going to choose nature tomorrow and get myself better the healthy safety way."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 23, 2022

For Anxiety "I have been taking the generic version of Pristiq for almost three months now after a failed attempt at taking Prozac and Lexapro. Pristiq was prescribed by my psychiatrist, and I can say that within the first few days of taking it, I no longer had ANY depressive thoughts or suicidal ideation (I was having suicidal ideation on a daily basis prior to this). I do not feel depressed at all, nor like that ugly, dark cloud is looming over me, which is a huge plus! I started with 25 mg, but we went up to 50 mg because I was experiencing some anxiety. I have been on the new dose for almost two months, and I am sad that it's actually made me feel more tired, irritable, and extremely weepy and sensitive! I don’t know what that’s about. Going to see if lowering the dose or maybe even going up will help with that, but otherwise it is honestly MUCH better and helpful than the previous two drugs I took. Definitely consider it if other drugs aren’t working for you."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 2, 2017

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "My experience with this drug was definitely not positive. I was on 25 mg for about 2 weeks and noticed little effect, so I increased to 50 mg. About a week after increasing to the 50 mg, I started having severe anxiety attacks for no reason. I am in college, and I had to leave school because I couldn't handle it. It is so, so horrible. This has continued for about a week now. I stopped taking it a few days ago and am still waiting for it to get out of my system because I feel so horrible. I am going back to my old drug, Zoloft, because I didn't have any issues."

• Fee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 1, 2015

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "I've just started using Pristiq. I'm 5 days in. The first day that I took Pristiq, I was spacey, high, and felt like throwing up. The second day, I lost the feeling to vomit but still felt very high. Today, being the 5th day, I awoke with desperate feelings of anxiety and black clouds of worry. It's difficult to sleep-maybe 2-3 hours at a time, and actually falling asleep takes longer (even if I'm feeling the need to sleep). My head and neck muscles seem paralyzed when I yawn. It's as if they freeze and can't return to their normal position after the yawn is complete. Eventually, they do (five seconds). I still feel exceedingly high, but it's not a 'good' high. My skin is super sensitive, and I get intermittent chills."

• Ouc...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 11, 2019

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "When I started, I had massive anxiety from PTSD. I got all therapied out and have struggled with recurrent major depressive disorder for years. Been on a variety of antidepressants, and I thought finally I found one that didn’t make me feel like I wasn’t me, BUT 25 mg stopped being enough, so we moved up to 50 mg. Once again, I was okay, then had to move up to 75 mg. This is where I’ve started feeling a warm sensation in my face, more specifically, my forehead, that’s mildly agitating. I’ve started having dreams of being killed or dying. I won’t be upping the dosage again due to the warmth in my head. Don’t really recommend, even though it did help briefly, but this dream and stuff problems are new."

• Anonymous
• March 12, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "I started taking Pristiq 100 mg last July. Initially, I had headaches, mood swings, anxiousness, and found it hard to sleep. This lasted about a week. With the initial combination of melatonin, I was able to get into a routine of taking the Pristiq in the morning and melatonin at night, both roughly at the same time to sleep the same amount each day. For nine months, I have taken Pristiq by itself now and have found that it has significantly decreased anxiety, stopped me from internalizing almost completely, and has reduced my mood swings considerably. I have slightly reduced sex drive, put on a bit of weight, and a want to smoke and fidget. I have found Pristiq beneficial to my life but frustrating at times."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 12, 2021

For Depression "I had dry mouth, jitters, anxiousness, for about a week or two. Involuntary mouth/teeth chattering, 2 episodes. Irritability, a day or two. Yawning and feeling like I was lagging an hour and a half after taking it. So, it helped to take at night for me. I’ve been on it for six weeks and glad I stuck with it. This med has helped immensely along with healthy eating, better sleep habits, and regular exercise. I feel more like myself every day and would even say I feel better than I had felt in a really long time. I’m grateful for this med, it’s helped a lot."

• lyn...
• February 15, 2016

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "Fixed one problem, made another worse! My 14-year-old child has had seasonal depression and social anxiety. Her doctor said it would help with the anxiety too, but it has left her always shaking uncontrollably and feeling more jittery and anxious than ever! It has helped the depression, she can go to school with a bit more ease, and it'll keep her from throwing herself out a window. But her general ability to function is about the same because now she is too anxious instead of too sad."

• lyn...
• February 15, 2016

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "Fixed one problem, made another worse! My 14-year-old child has had seasonal depression and social anxiety. Her doctor said it would help with the anxiety too, but it has left her always shaking uncontrollably and feeling more jittery and anxious than ever! It has helped the depression, she can go to school with a bit more ease, and it'll keep her from throwing herself out a window. But her general ability to function is about the same because now she is too anxious instead of too sad."

• Dio...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 13, 2021

For Anxiety "It's an amazing drug indeed. I was suffering from heavy anxiety in the early days of quarantine in 2020, and my doctor told me to start taking desvenlafaxine 50 mg with 20 mg of Frisium. After 2 months, I began taking only 100 mg of desvenlafaxine, and my life has been much better. Overall, my anxiety is nonexistent, and I don't crazily worry about small things like before. The only negative point, which I don't even care about, is that I sometimes feel a little slow in my thoughts. Not dumb, but I take thoughts calmly. This weekend, I forgot to buy my meds, and I did not take it for 2 days. My life was a nightmare. Headache, dizziness, confusion, and vivid dreams, stress, and anxiety. So, never forget to buy extra quantities whenever you can."

• Dio...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 13, 2021

For Anxiety "It's an amazing drug indeed. I was suffering from heavy anxiety in the early days of quarantine in 2020, and my doctor told me to start taking desvenlafaxine 50 mg with 20 mg of Frisium. After 2 months, I began taking only 100 mg of desvenlafaxine, and my life has been much better. Overall, my anxiety is nonexistent, and I don't crazily worry about small things like before. The only negative point, which I don't even care about, is that I sometimes feel a little slow in my thoughts. Not dumb, but I take thoughts calmly. This weekend, I forgot to buy my meds, and I did not take it for 2 days. My life was a nightmare. Headache, dizziness, confusion, and vivid dreams, stress, and anxiety. So, never forget to buy extra quantities whenever you can."

• Igo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 8, 2020

For Anxiety "I took desvenlafaxine for a few weeks, for moderate-to-severe anxiety and mild-to-moderate depression. Side effects were horrible from the beginning, increasing my anxiety and making the dizziness and the brain fog worse. It improved over time, but in the end, I was still worse than before, so I stopped it and changed the medication."

• Bre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 18, 2015

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "Was on this for about 3 weeks. Sleep was horrible or almost nonexistent. Was very anxious all day. Could barely leave the house and was shaky all the time. Made me way too amped up. I have treatment-resistant depression. Thought this might be worth a try after failing with many SSRIs (Zoloft was the only one that worked for the most part but didn't get me all the way there). Can help some people with anxiety. I was not one of them. Wanted to give it 4 weeks but could barely make the 3-week mark before I cracked."

• rne...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 21, 2018

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I took Pristiq (generic) for a little more than two months and did not find it helpful for relief of my anxiety associated with my depression. My doc tried to increase the dose to 100 mg, and it only caused increased anxiety. The other odd thing was some weeks it seemed to help with the depression/anxiety, and then the next week I would struggle. I would say it was sometimes helpful with the depression, but I was also taking Xanax and Remeron as well, so it was hard to tell which medication was really working."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2012

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I've been on 50 mg for about 3 months now. Practically no side effects to begin with and immediate relief of anxiety. A little too sleepy to begin with. Today I am feeling optimistic, less negative thinking, and overall a lot better. With time, the sexual side effects have turned stronger - I basically have very little sex drive and cannot orgasm. Occasionally, I have very mild anxiety as I have stayed on 50 mg despite the doctor having told me to increase the dosage. But the overall result is very positive, and I will only change it if the sexual issues become too uncomfortable."

• Slc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 23, 2018

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "When I first started this drug, I was on 25 mg for a week. Day 1, I felt like there were no voices in my head. The rest of the week, I was back to my depression and was starting to get a yeast infection. The next week, I bumped up to 50 mg and could barely stop moving. I felt super jittery and could not focus at all and was super emotional. Will stop taking this and move to something else. I recommend this drug for anyone who really enjoys the way they feel when they drink too much coffee. I do not recommend this drug for anyone who has anxiety. Even though I was restless and jittery, I still felt incredibly exhausted and sleepy but was unable to sleep. Also had sexual problems. Again, not a good drug to use for people with GAD or panic disorder. Not looking forward to stopping it either because the withdrawal symptoms are said to be horrible."

• tig...
• January 25, 2011

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I was very apprehensive about taking yet another antidepressant, however, I decided after much prodding from my doctor to give it a try. I suffer from moderate anxiety and depression. I was in denial about it, and it took a lot (I mean a lot) of my hair coming out from stress for me to admit that I was not okay. I am a 26-year-old woman, so this was a big deal to me. When I first started Pristiq, I was determined not to like it. I did suffer from most of the side effects (dry mouth, never hungry, excessive sweating, jitteriness, not feeling 'right,' and sexual problems), but after sticking it out for about 5 weeks, the side effects really started going away. The only one that I have a problem with now is sometimes my heart will race."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 9, 2019

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "Pristiq didn’t work really great for my social anxiety and phobias, but I don’t think it was completely useless for my depression. My doctor had to add other meds to the mix to help my anxiety. The Pristiq didn’t do anything for my social anxiety. I saw no difference in my depression between 25 mg and 75 mg doses, so I chose to take only 25 mg. In addition, I take Lamictal and Buspar. Overall, it’s okay."

• Anonymous
• June 5, 2011

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "First of all, my depression is diagnosed as mild. I am young and was still unsure as to whether or not I was depressed or if my sadness was just a normal part of life. My doctor prescribed me Pristiq four days ago, and I am amazed by the difference I feel already. I have more energy, my anxiety is gone, I feel optimistic, my desire to exercise is back... I agree with what other people have said before me, this is what life felt like a long time ago. I tried Prozac in the past, but it just numbed me, so I stopped taking it. With Pristiq, I am still able to feel sadness, it's just impossible to reach the extreme lows I felt before. I really wish I had started taking this medicine sooner."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 23, 2019

Desvenlafaxine "I started taking Pristiq 4 weeks ago. I was on Celexa for 6 years and found that it worked well but was suffering from panic attacks more frequently in the last year. I decided to take a GeneSight test and found that Pristiq was the only medication I would be able to metabolize well. I have found that it has not been working as I would like it to and instead has made me more anxious. Specifically, my heart rate has been much higher and my sleep has been disrupted. I spoke with a psychiatrist today and will now be starting Lexapro. I am a firm believer that one med does not fit all. Pristiq may be great for some but did not work well for me!"

• Anonymous
• January 8, 2012

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I have been off antidepressants for about 7 months, then I needed to go back on when I entered a very heavy ward (I'm a nurse) because I was becoming very anxious and could not work as well as I was. I was on Zoloft, but now I am trying Pristiq. I have been on Pristiq for 2 weeks now, the first few days I had side effects: increased anxiety, insomnia, nausea, and increased sweating, but all side effects have now subsided. Positives: I have not had any anxiety this week and have been confident at work, no depressive symptoms, I have lost weight (not meant to be good, but I'm happy about it). Negatives: I have noticed a slight decrease in libido, which might turn out to be a problem, and that's what I was scared of."

• dak...
• July 16, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Panic Disorder "I have been on pretty much every antidepressant out there for the last 7 years. The last few were Lexapro 20 mg, then switched to Zoloft, which made me feel like I wasn't on anything at all, and I began having anxiety, which turned into panic attacks. I was put on Ativan 1.5 mg a day and 20 mg Paxil, which was raised to 40 mg. This past year, I was diagnosed with ADD, so Adderall XR was added.... can't remember the dose because I had an allergic reaction and moved on to Focalin XR. I thought they both worked very well. I was totally on target, focused, and awake. However, my jaw felt clenched a lot, which gave me headaches. I saw a new PCP last week, who put me on Pristiq and took me off everything else. It makes me so sleepy, but so far, so good!"

• Anonymous
• November 18, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "Took 50 mg in the morning as directed, the day went fine and I was productive, but was awake all night. Didn't sleep at all and felt jumpy for the first hour or so out of bed. I've been on Wellbutrin for years and felt like it might not be helping anymore -- well, after a scary night where I felt like I was on a bad trip -- just make it stop -- I'm back to Wellbutrin. If anyone knows a good alternative to Wellbutrin that's not Effexor or Pristiq, I'd love to hear about it."

• Ror...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 10, 2022

For Panic Disorder "After four years of virtually no panic or anxiety symptoms at all, started suffering from panic attacks and severe anxiety in October 2021. Doc put me on 25 mg of Pristiq. I had never been on an SNRI before, only SSRIs such as Lexapro and Zoloft. The first three weeks were very difficult, I must admit. Felt extreme anxiety, had little appetite (I usually LOVE to eat!) and dry mouth. Got to the point where I almost wanted to stop Pristiq, but decided to push through. Thankfully, I did. After three weeks, started feeling like 'myself' again. Started eating out, attending sporting events, and even taking trips out of town again. Any of these were almost unthinkable during my lowest times before I got help. I know everyone responds to meds differently, but I would say to stick with Pristiq for a few weeks before giving up. The doctor said he wanted me to give it a chance for at least four weeks, but three weeks seems to have been the magic number for me."