Desvenlafaxine and Insomnia: What Users Say (Page 5)

• SF2...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 31, 2021

For Anxiety "I have been taking Pristiq for 1 year now, and it is highly effective for my anxiety. First month, I had insane insomnia (would sleep for maybe 2 hours a night) and also had zero appetite. Things went back to normal once my body adjusted. Only downside I feel now after a year is that I do not feel major emotion at all. The highs aren’t high, and the lows aren’t low - I always feel neutral. I also have a hard time feeling emotion towards other people, which can be problematic. It is also very expensive."

• did...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 18, 2019

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "Pristiq worked for me, but I had unbearable withdrawal symptoms, only dismissing after 2 weeks. Headaches, brain zaps, flu-like feeling, anxiety, and the worst insomnia. I didn't quit cold turkey. Slow tapering. Awful anyway. Couldn't come back since I was pregnant. Only take it if other natural ways fail to make you feel a little better. It may work for a while (which might be necessary), but know that quitting is the worst thing ever. Nobody deserves that. Be ready to be down for 2 weeks minimum."

• Obz...
• June 19, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I have been on Pristiq for 3 months now. I am a 23-year-old male who suffers from depression. It is only the second drug I have tried after Cipramil (which did nothing for me). I started on 50 mg, and at first felt great (minus minor nausea, headaches, and bad insomnia). However, in comparison to the depression, the side effects were well worth it, and my doctor said they would go away. The sides only lasted a week, and I felt pretty good. A few weeks later, however, I was feeling really bad again, so my doctor upped me to 100 mg. This did the same thing as when I first started the medicine, gave me small side effects, but made me feel a lot better in general. Sure enough, the side effects were gone after a few days, but now the 100 mg dose isn't doing much."

• lap...
• February 21, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Anxiety "My doctor recommended this for my pre-menopausal symptoms as well as anxiety. At first, I was thrilled with the results, but about 3 months into it, I realized the insomnia was not worth it. I have sleep apnea, so this medication was not a good choice for me. My doctor increased the Ambien dose, and that wreaked havoc with my system. I have stopped taking both and hope to feel better soon."

• Mom...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 6, 2019

For Anxiety "I was prescribed this medication, desvenlafaxine, for anxiety and depression. Ever since I started taking it, I can’t sleep at night. Eyes wide open, and my brain can’t shut down! Horrible! I will not be continuing..."

• Cra...
• November 1, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "After trying many other medications and failing, my doctor finally gave me this beauty, and my life is much better. I like myself, my kids, and husband again! Lol. Not only has it given me back my happiness, it also helped me maintain my focus on my weight issues and given me that edge for life I had never ever experienced truly. Side effects of insomnia and suppressed appetite (which is a win when all you do is eat on other meds). The first few days, my heart rate was up but slowed down after the drug was in my system 100. Warning! Do not stop taking abruptly!!! You will feel like a heroin addict with no hit!"

• Anonymous
• January 25, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I have been taking Pristiq for about 5 months now, and after an initial positive reaction... it has let me down. After about 2 months, my dosage was increased from 50mg to 100mg. All was well for another short time until a massive and quick weight gain began (25 lbs). I was constantly tired but a complete insomniac. Neck and jaw tightening were also a constant. My dose was lowered back to 50mg, which helped, again for only a short time. I am now on my 4th day off the drug and feel 'crashed.' Wishing everyone the best."

• Kee...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 23, 2015

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I started this medication for bulimia. It worked - partially. From the day I took it, I did not purge the entire time I was on it. I still binged, though, and I gained weight. I didn't have an urge to exercise, and ultimately that is why I am going off it. As well as the lack of energy, motivation, and interest to exercise, that spilled over into the rest of my life. I lost interest in socializing, working, cleaning, and cooking (very hard to just do anyways). I stopped sleeping, and after a year, I didn't want to even watch TV or read. It's VERY hard to get off of, and I insist people read reviews on withdrawing. It's been tough physically, although I feel better mentally already. It served its purpose, but I should have gone off it after 6 months."

• blu...
• June 17, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I have been on almost every antidepressant and bipolar medication there is, and Pristiq is the first one where I don't hear everyone telling me how much better I act yet don't feel better in my head. I actually feel better and have less manic episodes. The only down of it is that my insomnia has gotten worse, but I can deal with lack of sleep if it means not feeling the way I did!"

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 8, 2018

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "I was on Pristiq for at least two years before my insurance company 'made me' take the generic - desvenlafaxine. I gradually weaned myself off of it. I take 150 mg a day. So I would take a 50 Pristiq with a 100 desven, the next day I would take 100 Pristiq with 50 desven. Now I am totally off of the Pristiq. It's been three weeks and it's not good. I have night sweats, more spacey moments, bouts of depression, trouble sleeping. I will definitely talk to my psychiatrist about this at my next visit. I am on other meds as well. Truly, I have Complex PTSD and manic depression. Yippee......"

• cup...
• May 13, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I'm 18 and a first-time user of depression medicines. I was just given 50 mg of this to start out, and so far, it has helped a lot, and it's only been three days. I haven't had any energy for a month and just wanted to sleep all the time, but now I'm doing things like cleaning and going out! The only problem is it makes me sick, and I've had headaches, dilated pupils, and sleep problems, but it is worth it, and I'm sure it'll get better as the days go by."

• Mid...
• October 10, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I absolutely loved Pristiq - great energy - great sex - felt good. I unfortunately suffered a side effect that I couldn't empty my bladder all the way. So that meant sleep deprivation. My MD thought it was a UTI, but getting off the medicine and seeing a urologist cleared up the symptoms. The urologist said it was a very common side effect of Pristiq. He put me on Flomax for a couple of weeks... Loved Pristiq, hate that I can't take it."

• mel...
• January 28, 2018

Desvenlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "I've been on this about three weeks. I'm dealing with constipation, blurry vision, inability to empty my bladder, and horrific insomnia. However, the deep depression has lifted about 75%. I will give this one more week. If the insomnia doesn't clear up by then, I will go off the drug."

• uns...
• April 14, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I was prescribed this medication for anxiety social phobia. I have tried a lot of medications and have been off and on with different ones, never really feeling fully recovered. This medication made me feel nauseous at first and gave me insomnia. Symptoms resided, but now I have sexual dysfunction, which is one of the side effects. I can't climax and hardly have any desire, plus I wasn't experiencing any improvement, so I stopped it."

• 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."

• Anonymous
• August 6, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I have been taking Pristiq for 3 days now. Some side effects I've had are dry mouth, dilated pupils, trouble sleeping (going to start taking it early morning now), and sweating during the nighttime. I just spoke to my doctor, who said to cut my 50 mg dose pills in half and start taking half in the morning to see if the side effects subside. The good things are: I have energy, no more food cravings, no more crying episodes, and I feel more at ease during stressful moments."

• Pin...
• October 4, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I have been on Pristiq for 8 months, 50 mg. Also on Wellbutrin 400 mg for 2 months. Pristiq has been wonderful. The Wellbutrin added to it just made it that much better. In the beginning, I didn't have any side effects. Now I'm having trouble with insomnia and jaw/neck clenching. I am going to start taking the Pristiq in the mornings, as a lot of people have mentioned it's better. I'm going to see if that makes a difference in the insomnia. If not, I'm going back to the doctor and get something to help me sleep. Other than that, Pristiq has been great. No depression. No mood swings. No anxiety. My boyfriend has noticed these changes too. Good luck to everyone."

• 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."

• Anonymous
• September 6, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Panic Disorder "Pristiq did a good job reducing my symptoms dramatically. However, it gave me so much in return, which made my life complicated! I mean 50 lb weight gain over a year that keeps growing every month. I also cannot sleep at night as I could before. I see very vivid dreams and nightmares almost every night! It makes me wake up feeling tired. In addition, I had withdrawal symptoms when I once forgot to take my dose. I had vertigo, nausea, headache. I absolutely could not function."

• Meg...
• April 30, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Anxiety "I'm 24 and have been taking Pristiq for about 6 weeks now. The first 3 weeks were hell. I went through horrible emotional spells. I would cry, then get angry for no reason. I would just want to be left alone. My husband and my family were so worried about me. I wasn't myself at all, my mood changed so frequently. Now I am feeling balanced - I haven't had an anxiety attack for about 4 weeks now. I never thought I would get here. The only thing I am experiencing now is trouble sleeping, but that's been going on a while, and a slight decrease in my sex drive. If that doesn't change in the next couple of weeks, my doctor wants to put me on Wellbutrin, we'll see how that goes."

• ALS...
• April 4, 2011

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "I took one pill in the morning and had severe anxiety, insomnia, and hallucinations in the evening and throughout the night. I have never experienced any of these issues before - either with medicines or without - and it is very scary to me that one tiny pill affected me so dramatically."

• Lee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 26, 2018

Desvenlafaxine for Depression "Taking the drug wasn't too bad. Experienced some minor constipation and a case of dry mouth. However, when I tried to stop taking it, I experienced the worst insomnia I have ever had in my life, which led to intense depressive feelings. I was never warned the drug would be such a horror to try to quit and am upset I was not given this information. Perhaps not the greatest for short-term use due to withdrawal problems."

• Anonymous
• July 31, 2010

Desvenlafaxine for Anxiety "I took Pristiq for six days due to OCD/anxiety. While I think that this drug did help with my symptoms, it made my blood pressure go through the roof. My blood pressure has always been normal (no higher than 120/80). I think that this is a side effect that needs to be mentioned more frequently. The side effects are too much! (I also had sweating and problems sleeping even when I took it at night)."

• Anonymous
• April 17, 2009

Desvenlafaxine for Anxiety "I'm surprised to see so many people having sleep issues. I spent two weeks on about three hours of sleep before I started taking the drug (that's three hours total, not three hours a night). Now I take it at bedtime, and I have a hard time sleeping without it."