Vortioxetine and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 5)

• odi...
• February 11, 2017

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "I had been on Celexa from 2002 to 2014, 20 mg a day. My doctor told me about Brintellix (now Trintellix), and I switched to it about 2 and a half years ago. Since I am also on Wellbutrin, I only needed 5 mg of Trintellix a day. Can't say that it makes me feel perfect, but it helped with my depression and anxiety disorder. Today is the first day that I have not been on Trintellix, but still on Wellbutrin, and I am feeling about as even keel as I have in a while, not experiencing anxiety or depression at all. I'll see how it goes in the next few days, but if I keep on feeling like this, I will stay just on the Wellbutrin and not go back to Trintellix."

• Pet...
• March 15, 2016

For Depression "Was put on Brintellix, took for 3.5 days, and in that time, it sent my anxiety through the roof. I ended up losing any confidence I had and basically had a breakdown. While it increased my energy, I couldn't sleep, and it brought back all the fear of my life before."

• cam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 26, 2018

For Depression "Have only just recently started on this medication, and it has got a few bumps that you need to overcome, but funnily enough, it seems mainly like physical side effects, like slight nausea and tiredness, but almost none mentally. I felt better emotionally almost straight away, some slight anxiety, but nothing major, and the fatigue seems to have passed, and the nausea is only slightly annoying - not like you want to vomit - just a niggling kind of tense stomach, which ginger seems to iron out well enough. Fingers crossed!"

• Omn...
• May 3, 2017

For Depression "I have been on this for a few days. From the first dose, I noticed that in about 2 hours, I was extremely anxious, almost a panic attack. So far, it's happened each time and lasted a few hours. I'm still trying it to see if it improves, otherwise, I'll have to stop taking it."

• Zar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 19, 2021

Vortioxetine for Depression "I wrote a detailed explanation, which was apparently too long for this forum, so long story short, 1st week was good, 2nd week developed extreme anxiety, high BP, high heart rate, insomnia, and horrible akathisia. Had high hopes, but ended up being a nightmare. Akathisia was a nightmare. Will probably work for most, but beware that it may cause akathisia."

• Gra...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 25, 2017

For Depression "My doctor prescribed this medication for my depression. However, it has caused major anxiety and agitation. These two warnings are listed on the Trintellix web page. So be careful! You may be exchanging one problem for another!"

• Fle...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 21, 2019

For Depression "Take my comment with a grain of salt. And take into consideration I only took this for 3-4 days, 10 mg tabs alongside Circadin 2 mg. As long as I took it with food, I found no nausea or vomiting. Took at night time, however, I would find the next morning and most of the next day to have diarrhea or loose stools every time I ate food. But my side effect, which made me stop taking it, was on the 3rd night of taking it. I woke up at 4 a.m. and went into a panic attack and semi-passed out, and for days after, my anxiety was pretty high, which I didn't have going into taking these meds. Also, I had a cup of coffee whilst on this stuff, and being a former drug addict, I have some idea of what drugs feel like, and this stuff mixed with coffee made me BUZZ like a low dose of speed without the visual impairment. I'm sure for others it works fine, but for me I got off straight away. Still waiting for the anxiety to leave my system, and I'm on day 5-36 hours after the last pill and 30 hours since the panic attack."

• Orl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 27, 2018

For Depression "Trintellix did not work for me. I took 5 mg for a week and 10 mg for a week without any benefit. When the dose was increased to 15 mg, I experienced severe anxiety. The worst side effect was developing blurry vision and eye pain. A visit to my ophthalmologist confirmed a significant change in my eye pressure. It's called intraocular hypertension and is listed as a side effect. When I discontinued the Trintellix, I became more anxious and was sweating as if I were menopausal. I've been off the medication for a week. My eyes still hurt, and I'm hoping the pressure in my eye goes back to normal."

• Anonymous
• May 6, 2018

Vortioxetine for Depression "From the start, I can't sleep. My stomach feels like it's on fire, I can't eat or am throwing up when I do eat. I've lost 14 lbs in one month due to not eating. My heart beats super fast, I'm dizzy and unsteady, and the worst of all, it does nothing for anxiety. It has made it worse. Also, the drug interactions, I throw up the pain medication for my back, codeine. You can't take basic medications for colds, allergies, headache, or body ache. After taking or trying to take 20 mg for a month, I just want to crawl in a hole. This is NOT a good medicine. Had a slight improvement with depression, but not worth it."

• Ran...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 3, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "I've been taking Trintellix 10 mg for about 3 months, after changing medication 2 times because of sexual problems. Now I feel a lot more energetic and motivated, which was a big help, since I didn't have the power to get up from bed and face everyday life. On the other hand, my anxiety has not improved at all, and I still get panic attacks quite frequently."

• Kat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 9, 2018

For Depression "I was taking it for about a month. I stopped taking it because I didn't feel like myself at all. It made my anxiety worse. It didn't really help with my depression at all either. It made me feel more numb than anything."

• EMB...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 30, 2021

For Depression "My doctor prescribed me to start with a gradual increase of 10 mg of Brintellix (vortioxetine), so in 3 days, I was on a full tablet. On the third day, I had a panic attack due to uncomfortable side effects - increased heartbeat, chest burn, severe nausea, and headache. Had to take a beta blocker to calm down. Followed doc's advice to restart with a smaller dose and a longer period to reach a full tablet in 10 days. Week 1 and 2: sense of reduced generalized anxiety. I felt slight improvement. However... mood swings. Constant condition of feeling hot and minor nausea during the day. Exhausting. Week 3 and 4: increased anxiety and shortness of breath. Worst symptoms: two episodes of unexplained extreme aggression while talking on the phone - I quickly lost my temper and was yelling and swearing for almost no reason. Smashed my phone against the wall and floor three times. Was difficult to stop - took time to wind down. My doctor recommended stopping and switching to another drug."

• Ear...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 27, 2021

For Depression "The psychiatrist has put me on Brintellix (vortioxetine - Trintellix) for what he considered was GAD/Moderate Depression, although my GP and I never agreed on the 'depression' part. Had terrible anxiety in the three weeks I was on it. Could be that my GP and I were right in that my issue was mainly GAD. Could be that I couldn't be on it longer. I don't know. What I do know is that I had to go to the hospital for my anxiety/panic symptoms, which were out of control. I was then put on Zoloft and Diazepam. Zoloft started working on week 7, so I could successfully quit the benzo (after a quick taper). Not a great experience."

• Bel...
• January 11, 2016

"I started taking Brintellix in March 2015, almost 1 year, and I feel great. I was very scared at first and skeptical to take Brintellix. But I can honestly say it changed my life. I started taking 10 mg for the first few months. Then my doctor switched me to 20 mg. I have my energy and focus back and couldn't be happier. At that certain time of the month for women, it is difficult with anxiety, but after it goes away."

• BGa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 5, 2019

Vortioxetine "Word of caution to anyone who plans on using Trintellix to treat generalized or social anxiety - not only did this medication not improve my symptoms, I believe it has made them worse. I was formerly on 50 mg of Zoloft for a number of years and was doing well on it minus the brain fog and detachment issues that many experience. My doctor suggested I try this drug to get rid of some of those symptoms... In reality, I wake up with a slight headache every day (magnified 10x after drinking), am more anxious, and have had tightening in the chest. Long story short, this is not an SSRI and does not treat the same symptoms. I'm now going to try Lexapro to see if that's a better drug for me."

• Sni...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 8, 2018

For Major Depressive Disorder "Suffer from anxiety and hormonal depression, but a trauma in the family turned this into PTSD and severe depression. I have tried many SSRIs with varying results (in order of most effective - fluoxetine, escitalopram, citalopram, sertraline) and one bad experience with duloxetine (everything went very bleak) - but terrible brain fog and binge eating carbs stopped fluoxetine after initial good results. Became a reclusive zombie on escitalopram and had awful withdrawals when trying to stop. Heard Brintellix had fewer side effects and less brain fog. The first few days were rocky (5mg), mainly mood very erratic. Stuck 5mg out for two weeks and now 10 days into 10mg and I am starting to feel better. Side effects have gone, although still little attacks of anxiety. Overall, I'd say it seems to be helping and I will definitely keep taking it, as it gets better every day."

• Sas...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 24, 2019

For Depression "I just took it for three days, started experiencing increased anxiety, and now stopped it. I am having eye focusing problems where I can’t work with a computer screen as the focus keeps shifting. Upon searching, I found similar effects on YouTube videos. It is criminal not to report this specific issue under possible side effects. It’s been 3 days after stopping. Hoping it settles down because otherwise, I would be disabled."

• Nic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 15, 2018

"I have been trying to find the right medication for my anxiety and had no luck until this one. I am not gaining weight, my sex drive is definitely back, and I’m happy. I’m on 10 mg and still dealing with some anxiety. I will be going to 20 mg in a few weeks, so interested to see how it works."

• Qza...
• May 21, 2018

For Depression "I was only on vortioxetine for a week. Initially, I had no symptoms, but then a few days in, I started having anxiety problems beginning in the late afternoon, and then two mild panic attacks after waking up in the middle of the night (I had had a major panic attack on the third day of trying Lexapro the previous week, so maybe I was also hypervigilant and more anxious about having another in general). I was trying to manage the anxiety issues in hopes that once I got to a steady concentration, it would improve, but then by the night of day six, and again on the night of day seven when I had increased from 5 mg to 10 mg, I started having what I have come to find are called 'brain zaps,' even though I understand this to be usually a withdrawal effect. I had to stop taking it. I did notice maybe some improved energy during the day and early afternoon before the anxiety would set in, and improved athletic performance, of all things. I could see this working for people, but it was way overstimulating for me, like I was on speed."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 30, 2016

For Major Depressive Disorder "I suffer from anxiety and depression. Doc suggested this drug, crying daily, filled with terror. The only thing it did was stop the daily crying and provide an odd clarity. Severe depression at week 5, after having gone up to 10 mgs after 2 weeks of 5 mgs. So many side effects: nausea, headache, and terrible depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, diarrhea, constipation, ear ringing, withdrawn. I will note that I am very sensitive to antidepressants, have tried mirtazapine, Seroquel, one day of Pristiq and one day of Cymbalta-all of which made me incredibly anxious, panic-stricken, irrational. Amitriptyline is the only one that I have tried at a low dose for IBS that agreed with me, up until migraine auras in week."

• Gin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 24, 2020

"Started 4 days ago on vortioxetine 10 mg to help with insomnia. Had a jittery feeling for 30 mins during the day. Yesterday, so tired, tried to stay awake until 10 pm, but this morning after a rough sleep, the jittery feeling started before my alarm went off. It set off my anxiety & had to take 1 Ativan, so couldn't go to work. Saw Dr. today & told her I will stick to my usual method of taking Restavit or Phenergan to sleep instead of continuing with this medication. She initially suggested trying it longer, but I don't even suffer from depression & my anxiety is mild and rare."

• Gin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 24, 2020

"Started 4 days ago on vortioxetine 10 mg to help with insomnia. Had a jittery feeling for 30 mins during the day. Yesterday, so tired, tried to stay awake until 10 pm, but this morning after a rough sleep, the jittery feeling started before my alarm went off. It set off my anxiety & had to take 1 Ativan, so couldn't go to work. Saw Dr. today & told her I will stick to my usual method of taking Restavit or Phenergan to sleep instead of continuing with this medication. She initially suggested trying it longer, but I don't even suffer from depression & my anxiety is mild and rare."

• Nic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 23, 2017

For Major Depressive Disorder "Starting 5 mg tomorrow after tapering off Lexapro for these last two weeks. I'm very nervous about nausea/diarrhea as I've already lost a lot of weight due to my depression. Already feeling very emotional and having constant anxiety from Lexapro withdrawal. Fingers crossed I get good results."

• Wor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2017

Vortioxetine for Depression "This is by far the worst medication I've tried. I got severe nausea from it every day, even after 6 weeks. It made me extremely agitated and mean and grouchy, and it raised my anxiety a ton!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 23, 2019

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Great for depression, but my anxiety, which was gone when I was on Prozac, is now back and is very strong."