Fetzima for Major Depressive Disorder User Reviews (Page 4)

• goo...
• August 26, 2020

"Mixed feelings. Took a while for Fetzima to take effect, I was very nauseous. It helped some with moving on from anxiety, and I didn't have the bad nightmares I had on other medication (my sleep has actually been really excellent). I felt more motivated and stable on good days. As for depression, it helped some. It's hard to say as it's 2020 and I've had physical health issues. Main concern: it might have caused elevated heart rate/abnormal BP I experienced on the dose of 80 mg. This may be due to my thyroid disease. I am switching off of it due to this and concerns of how expensive it is. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have good insurance and check the cost of the co-pay. I didn't have the huge appetite that I've experienced on other meds. I think side effects were limited. I'd consider going back on this in the future if it weren't for the $ and worries about tachycardia. It's definitely better than many I've tried-that list is ever approaching 30. Good luck to everyone with med change in this pandemic!"

• Lis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 22, 2016

"I have had depression for about 13 years now, or I guess it started out as anxiety. I have been on every medication you can name. Most had side effects and had to be switched, but nothing serious. I was on Celexa for about ten years, and then about three years ago, it just stopped working. That is when I was diagnosed with major depression. I don't have a marriage anymore after twenty-two years, lost my job after nine years, can hardly get out of bed most days. I'm not living, I'm surviving. My doctor put me on Fetzima, and after not seeing any improvement at 40 mg, he moved me up to 80 mg. I started not being able to urinate without forcing it out and had to go every two hours. I have never had bladder problems before. I got off the pills."

• ful...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 15, 2020

"This medication, Fetzima, was given to me in sample boxes by my doctor. The starting dose was 20 mg for a week, then went up to 40 mg. After a few weeks on 40 mg, I found myself feeling suicidal. I tapered down to 20 mg, but there were not enough samples left for a full taper. My doctor kept giving me a prescription for 20 mg of Fetzima for 30 days, and the cost was $150. I was shocked, it's not covered by most benefits, and I couldn't afford the $150 a month on top of my other bills. I've tried a series of medications and have yet to find ones that work. The only ones that have seemed to help a bit have been Prozac and Effexor."

• Map...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 4, 2015

"Developed a condition of depressive ice disorder that I couldn't even get out of bed - odd for a type A person of high activity, but doctors decided it was a form of norepinephrine depression related to a high dose and bad reaction to fludrocortisone. I had to take Fetzima, which was the only medicine of 13 tried to have sufficient efficacy. It was truly amazing that a chemical imbalance can result in this inertia. However... early on, jitteriness, nausea, insomnia, irritability, and lower anxiety threshold made me wonder if this was a good decision.... After 9 months, efficacy there - good enough for me to do the heavy lifting to get myself into new habits, new social situations, etc. Irritability itself waned, sleep problems continued, causing more problems."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 19, 2023

"I have taken everything since my son was born in 1997. Had no problems before then. I had just gone through TMS treatments in 2015 and switched to Fetzima. This was the most anxious I have been on any med. After 2 weeks, I went from 40 to 20 mg. I took it at night. I had no problems. It helped my depression at a low dose. I think I am one of maybe 10 people that can take it. The problem is I just got married, and when I switched insurances, they did not want to pay. So my doctor and I decided to switch to Cymbalta 30. It was an easy switch until the Cymbalta kicked in. It was like going from energized to popping sleeping pills all day. I had to switch from Cymbalta to Wellbutrin. Fetzima is very hard to get past the anxiety in the beginning, but I took it for 7 years with no problems. I was told the med did not pick up like expected and wasn’t sure if there would be a generic. The only negative thing I can say is most of these drugs cause emotional blunting."

• Pil...
• January 26, 2018

"I took Fetzima for about 8 or 9 months for a bout of depression I had. Unlike other antidepressants that I had tried in the past, this medicine took a really long time to kick in. I would say I didn't get better in my depression until about 3 months after taking. And Fetzima did work. However, not without side effects. Most particularly, the sexual side effects and what seemed like some type of problem cutting off my urination. I'm a guy, by the way. All in all, it did work and helped me feel better. But after nearly 9 months of it, the side effects became too bothersome, so I switched off. I wouldn't go back on it again unless I was completely desperate."

• Pms...
• September 5, 2015

"Not that great of a drug! I am finally off of it and can say it was terrible. It worked okay in the beginning, but it made me so unstable and miserable. Another drawback was that any small amount of alcohol would leave me feeling out of control. I'm off of everything and feeling great mentally. I suffer from neuropathy, anxiety, and depression, but I think the depression and anxiety came from the Fetzima. Dr. gave me Cymbalta 60, which was too much (bad reaction), so I'm going to try 30 mg for my pain and neuropathy to see what happens."

• som...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 8, 2015

"Took Fetzima 40 mg for the first time last night, kept waking up all night, horrible gas, woke in the morning (5 am) and had to throw up, also had excessive sweating, headache, overall sour stomach. Will not continue taking medication, have never had such a bad reaction to an antidepressant before today."

• Eme...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 23, 2021

"I've been on this medication for approx a month now. Sleeping a bit better, thoughts are a bit clearer, but I feel so angry and aggressive. Anxiety is through the roof, and it's making my home/work life a pure nightmare. I feel nauseous most mornings, and a couple of times my chest became very tight with excessive sweating. It's early, but so far not impressed at all."

• Tmg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 26, 2017

"The three days that I took this medication for my depression, I had a horrible experience. I felt as though the medicine turned me into someone that I didn't recognize. I became so angry and irate that I could rip someone's head off. I couldn't control my feelings. Crying, sadness, angry, and felt like I was manic. I even quit my job. My life is now ruined."

• Ver...
• April 20, 2018

"I'm on lamotrigine, and as unsure as it could be, my own reaction. I suffered horrible symptoms for 3 weeks - migraines that lasted for literally 2 weeks straight - eye pain (I do have glaucoma) - upset stomach - once vomited - after coming off, severe violent mood swings leading to outbursts - neck pain, back pain, which on week 4 has not gone away yet - muscle pain - muscle flinching as if my brain was giving shock through my body - severe confusion to the point I couldn't tell what happened and didn't really happen - weakness to the point I could hardly get up - severe chest pain - always out of breath - sore nose as if stinging - blurry eyes - watery and burning eyes - broken sleep - thoughts of losing sanity - weight gain - out of control hunger - chills - sweats - shaking - shivering - difficulty warming up. This was only 2 weeks, by week 4, I'm only now starting to feel better."

• Meg...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 17, 2024

"I've been on Fetzima for about 5 months now. At first, it worked well, but my depression started to get worse. Every time they tried to increase my dose, I got serotonin syndrome. They even tried to put me on Seroquel as a supplement, and I ended up in the hospital with serotonin syndrome. I will be requesting to get off of this medication when I see my psychiatrist this week because I can't keep doing this."

• SJd...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 19, 2022

"I’ve been on Fetzima 80 mg for 4 months now. It is awful. It did improve my mood initially, but that was short-lived. Now, the depression is back with an extra boost of irritability and anxiety. The worse side effects, however, are extreme difficulty urinating, non-existent libido, and trouble concentrating."

• Wav...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 27, 2016

"I'm not sure about Fetzima's effectiveness, as I'm on day four of treatment. As for side effects, I noticed that I started sweating more on day 3 (40 mg), a lack of appetite, and some minor nausea. Occasionally, I'll get anxious, but I'm not sure if it's specific to the Fetzima or my general anxiety."

• MM1...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 13, 2023

"I took this for almost one year. I had some side effects at the beginning: dry mouth, lost my voice, ringing in ears, stomach pain. These symptoms wore off after a couple of weeks and I started to feel more functional, less anxious, and less reactive. My body aches were also almost gone. I would recommend staying away from alcohol on this medication. Once, I woke up with my heart pounding. It was beating very fast and it was actually scary. I also started to get these painful migraine headaches, a dull headache, and pain behind my eye once or twice a month. I stopped taking it because my insurance was not working for over a week and I could not get it. I decided to just stay off and see how I feel. I do think it improved my quality of life, my focus, and productivity. But I also take Vyvanse, and that helps for now. If I fall back into depression, I would take it again. Even with the side effects."

• Nit...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 2, 2022

"The worst drug I have ever taken, and I have taken at least 50. Caused extreme anger/rage outbursts over simple things. It jacked my heart up 45 beats, I was having serious AFib. Not to mention, after four years, I have never experienced a drug this physically addicting. More physical and intense withdrawals than coming off Benzos, by far intense stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, migraine, dizzy, just feel horrible, and this is a taper. This medicine turned me into a very scary human being, and discontinuing it is just as scary. Don't take this medicine, if you do, be prepared to deal with insane rage."

• roj...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 9, 2022

"Tried Fetzima after trying several other antidepressants (Prozac, Lexapro, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Cymbalta, Viibryd, Mirtazapine, Pristiq, etc.). I started on 20 mg and unfortunately had to go off due to side effects: high blood pressure, intense headaches, difficulty urinating, random sweating. If it weren’t for the high blood pressure, I would’ve waited out the side effects, but I couldn’t handle that. It also reduced my appetite, which would’ve been good for weight loss if I stayed on it. I’m probably gonna go back on Pristiq. I had hopes for this med, but the side effects were too much for me. I also have bad luck when it comes to side effects, so."

• Mia...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 16, 2022

"I was prescribed Fetzima 20 mg ER yesterday. I have only taken one pill and will never take one again. I had a heavy onset of 'highness' or 'altered perception' 30 minutes after taking it (took at 12 pm). I was really happy for two hours, then the nausea, headache, and panic kicked in. I violently threw up, almost went to the ER because I couldn't breathe from throwing up. Constant stomach pain and inability to eat. Hypertension. I finally fell asleep at 3 am to be up at 7 am with heart racing and feeling wired again. It's 3 pm, and I feel like I've had a bad trip on a drug. Never again."

• fet...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 23, 2021

"Horrible. My anxiety and depression increased substantially, I lost almost 5 lbs in a week because of the uncontrolled anxiety it so ignorantly gave me. I was crying constantly and unable to sleep due to constant panic attacks during the night. I stopped taking it and have started Zoloft about 3 days ago. I want my life back pre-Fetzima and never, ever want to look at this drug again."

• Veg...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 21, 2016

"I have had a good experience with increased energy and motivation and decreased muscle pain."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 4, 2014

"It worked 'okay', however, the sweating on this medication is way more than I can take."

• Mel...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 6, 2017

"This has been a miracle drug for me. No side effects except dry mouth. Helps control my anxiety, as well as MDD."

• Cee...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 10, 2019

"I have C-PTSD and have tried every antidepressant under the sun. Fetzima is the first that helps with my mental health."

• Tal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 18, 2019

"Fetzima turned me into a sweaty, hot, nightmare-filled rage monster. I hope this drug works for other people, but definitely was not for me."

• Bin...
• September 23, 2015

"This medication made me feel shaky, nervous, and very angry. It was horrible. I went back to Effexor XR 225 mg. I am much better."