Vortioxetine and Diarrhea: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Anonymous
• July 21, 2016

For Depression "Started at 5 mg for a week and then went up to 10 after stopping Pristiq. The first two weeks, I experienced extreme nausea and diarrhea, but it eventually subsided. I also was very lightheaded the first few days adjusting to the medication. Now the only side effect I have noticed is extreme fatigue. My mood has improved quite a bit, just not any improvement in motivation."

• Azi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 31, 2021

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "I started taking Trintellix 3 weeks ago. Initial dose 5 mg up to 15 mg in the third week. It's the worst antidepressant I have ever tried. This is what I've been having when I switched to Trintellix: I am so dizzy, racing thoughts, and my anxiety is much, much worse. I can't eat. I'm even scared to leave the house because I'm so afraid to throw up or have intense diarrhea. I can't wait to see my psychiatrist next week to stop this madness."

• Mar...
• September 18, 2017

Vortioxetine for Depression "I started at a 1/4 dose (2.5 mg) and couldn't make it past day 6. I didn't have the vomiting that others report, but it destroyed my appetite and then gave me diarrhea. Fastest 5 lbs I ever lost. But moreover, it felt like I'd taken a bad amphetamine. It made me INCREDIBLY anxious; heart racing; waking at 5 AM in a panic. I've taken SSRIs before-this was something more/different. There were a few glimmers around day 5 when I felt my mood was better (kind of like the kick you get from a cup of coffee), but the rest was unmanageable."

• Sta...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 17, 2016

For Depression "This is the third med I've tried for anxiety and mild depression. Been on it for a week, and I hate it so much. I am so dizzy, I have major diarrhea, and feel worse than I started. Contacting my doc in the am and changing asap."

• Hav...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 10, 2016

For Depression "This is the only drug that I have found in my life that has worked. It was hard to get started on this med. Itching and hives for 2 weeks, then 1 month of diarrhea (basically just passing water), nausea (but not extreme). Start at a low dose. Seriously, I do not see how anyone can hold a job while starting this medication. I have a MTHFR gene mutation, and I am sensitive to medications, so take that into consideration. It has helped a lot with depression but not with anxiety. It has been the only drug that has NOT caused increased anxiety and agitation. Psychological side effects are much more bothersome to me when trying to get on a med than the physical side effects. It was darn near chemotherapy. Still increasing the dose slowly."

• No ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 22, 2019

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Seems like since I've been on this drug for a week on 5 mg, my depression has gotten worse, and I'm mentally so off and cry all the time. I thought I needed to be admitted or something. I don't know if I should just stop taking it against what the doctor said or not. I have no appetite, no nausea, but did have diarrhea. I am a paraplegic, so knowing how my bowels are going to be is hard to know depending on what and how much I eat. I was in bed for 4 days and didn't eat anything. I'm tired of being more depressed, though it's not what I need. I feel like my life is over! HELP!"

• Jac...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 26, 2016

For Depression "I am having such a hard time with antidepressants (low tolerance). I have been on Trintellix for 6 weeks-started on 5 mg, currently on 10 mg. From day one, I have had severe side effects: constant nausea, headaches, diarrhea, extreme fatigue, weakness, and restlessness, to name just a few. My mood has been so bad, wanting to crawl out of my skin, crying and very agitated and hostile. My constant nausea has finally stopped, but now I can't eat anything as I feel sick. I am stopping taking Trintellix as I am concerned about how angry I have become since being on this drug. I am angry at anything and everything. I have never had this kind of reaction to any of the other ADs and am worried about how intense the anger is."

• Ilo...
• March 19, 2017

For Depression "I've been depressed for about 14 years. I was on Wellbutrin along with Cymbalta. I was doing well, but sleeping a lot. My NP suggested Trintellix. She weaned me off of Cymbalta and started me on 5 mg of Trintellix for a week, then upped to 10 for 2 weeks, then started on 20 mg. I immediately started having terrible mood swings, with anger and irritability. I have since gone back to 10 mg, however, I cry at the drop of a hat, I have no energy, I have muscle aches, and I have a terrible neck ache. My anxiety level has been through the roof and I have no appetite. I believe this medication has also given me diarrhea. This medication is horrible."

• Kay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 28, 2015

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "No antidepressants were working for me, so the Dr. put me on Brintellix. Diarrhea started three hours after the first dose and continued for 12 days. I was on the medication for 16 days total. By day 4, I had involuntary muscle twitches, which turned into head jerking. By day 14, I had my first seizure while driving, then had another seizure at work, which caused me to lose my job yesterday (liability issues). This was a scary medicine for me, and I'm more depressed now because I lost my job on account of it."

• MCa...
• April 16, 2021

Vortioxetine for Depression "I was on Viibryd and doing well, but my insurance stopped covering it at the start of the year. My doctor recommended Trintellix since it was the most similar. One dose at bedtime last night, and I will never take it again. My stomach started feeling queasy about 30 minutes after taking the pill, which progressed to stomach pain, explosive diarrhea, and awful gas as the night wore on. When I finally quit running to the bathroom, the stomach pain made it difficult to fall asleep. When I finally fell asleep about 90 minutes later, I experienced nightmares and hallucination-like episodes, where even when I startled awake, I was convinced I could still see the nightmares happening. Happened a couple of times and made for a terrible night’s sleep. When I got up the next morning, I started vomiting. I will never take another pill of this. Already have a call in with my doctor to get something different."

• Pix...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 25, 2018

Vortioxetine for Depression "Worst experience on an antidepressant that I have ever had! First day, I took the med, and 1 1/2 hours later I was shaking violently, vomiting, and had diarrhea all at once. My anxiety went through the roof and I had 4 panic attacks the first day! It took a week and my symptoms just escalated each day! I have been on everything and I’ve experienced the worst side effects on Trintellix than on Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Prozac, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Prestiqe, and more."

• Bah...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 19, 2021

Vortioxetine "I have C-PTSD, with depression, anxiety, mood swings, and aggressive thoughts but no suicidal thoughts. I'm a 47-year-old female. I am antidepressant medication resistant. I've been on this one for almost 2 weeks. I've only experienced 2 side effects. Not bad in the grand scheme of things, I suppose. I haven't gained or lost my appetite in the normal sense. I can't eat anything good, i.e., greasy, fried, dairy, or sweets. I have had diarrhea for the last 5 days, and I mean that in the 'food poisoning you feel in your soul' type of way. They evacuate my stomach, through my digestive system, like a bullet train during morning rush. 'Be somewhere safe, because I'm coming through.' They have all taken a piece of my soul down with them. Either I'm used to the smell, or the express train is moving faster than the speed of smell. Either way, be warned. I have lost 11 lbs. 2 lbs is the food and 9 lbs is my soul. You will most definitely feel cleaned out. Other than that, the medicine is great!!"

• Lul...
• January 7, 2019

Vortioxetine for Depression "Zoloft at a high dosage had always been effective for me to pull out of a major depressive episode. I recently started Zoloft again after a year of upheaval that led to anxiety and major depression. This time I felt like a zombie. The doctor started Trintellix. Initially, I was very nauseated, and it caused diarrhea. This was at 5 mg. This got better, and the doctor bumped me up to 20 mg. I have noticed I have more energy, but 20 mg makes me feel angered easily. So, I tried 10 mg. Not sure how this did. Anyway, at any dose - I have increased hunger. I gained 5 pounds in the first 3 weeks alone; now, I gained 10 pounds. I just don't like the medicine. I don't like any antidepressants due to side effects. The side effects outweigh the benefits for me. I think I will try without them. I think anxiety is more of an issue for me than depression. I have Klonopin for that as needed, which is not often. I take Trazodone for sleep, and it is effective."

• 22V...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 9, 2017

Vortioxetine for Depression "Wish I could rate this poisonous chemical a minus ZERO... got free samples for 6 weeks at 5 mg. I've missed so much work trying to adjust to flu-like symptoms, leg cramps, diarrhea, more depressed. The pharmaceutical rep told my doctor he himself was on it. Imagine that, just to push this medication onto lab rats such as myself. I'm now trying to connect with a withdrawal specialist, waiting for a call back. As I've tried to cut the pill into 3 sections, within an hour I'm vomiting, I'm dehydrated, and reporting this medication to the FDA and any other agency that will take this seriously. My primary, only a DO, has no experience in antidepressants. He just passed along samples talked into by his drug rep. I HATE what this med has done to me."

• Kit...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2019

Vortioxetine for Depression "I had some real trouble with depression on Lexapro that I had been taking for years. So the doctor prescribed Trintellix 10 mg as a new drug, which he said is well tolerated and does not have sexual side effects. I am an eternal optimist and thought I would not experience any side effects: I have itchy skin, nausea, and had diarrhea for the first two weeks. I started with 5 mg and then went to 10 mg the second week. So I have been on 10 mg for 4 weeks now. The depression seems worse now, and I feel restless. A bit more anxiety too. I am going to discontinue this now as I have given it a fair shot, and it did not work. Other medications have not worked either, so now I am going to the gym every morning and trying to eat better and hope for the best."

• She...
• April 25, 2017

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "All I can add is all I want to do is sleep!!! Nausea and diarrhea and general feeling of being sleepwalking through the day. Hard time concentrating, not sure how I'm going to be able to find work since I don't feel like doing anything. But at least I'm calm and feel things will get better. Now to just wake up."

• Mag...
• December 12, 2015

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Second day on medication and can already tell a huge difference. I'm hoping the heavy sleeping last night (I have a 1-month-old and slept through his crying) is a temporary thing. I have less appetite too and a touch of diarrhea, which could all just be coincidence. Definitely hope we finally found the medicine that works, we've been trying different ones for over 3 years now since Cymbalta stopped working for me."

• bob...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 15, 2017

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "I'm on my fifth day, 5 mg. Side effects too unbearable to try and continue to see if the effects subside. Unbearable nausea, diarrhea makes it impossible to leave the house. I was hopeful this medication would be beneficial, I've tried so many without success."

• Sch...
• December 20, 2018

Vortioxetine for Depression "Omg!!! This drug has been a nightmare for me! I didn't even realize it until today. I read the side effects of the medication. I have every single one of them: severe migraines, eye pain, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. I have been going through so much in my life that I literally didn't know that it was the Trintellix that might have been causing the migraines, eye pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting that I have been having since I've been on it the last several months! I just put it with stress and sinusitis. I was on Lexapro for many years. I was suffering from very bad depression because of a lot of bad things that were going on in my life this past summer. I thought it was time for a change of medication. A nurse practitioner put me on Prozac, and that made me agitated. Another nurse practitioner put me on Trintellix. At first, I thought it made me feel better because it made me very active. I was doing things at home, getting out of bed, which I wasn't doing when I was on Lexapro."

• Jun...
• April 22, 2018

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "This has been the worst medication of my life. In September, I started Zoloft for anxiety and depression and started becoming much more depressed than before, therefore, my doctor had me try an SNRI instead because I have been on three other SSRIs. Within 20-30 minutes of taking 5 mg of Trintellix, I had stomach pain and GI discomfort. For over four hours, I experienced horrible pain, was extremely nauseous and throwing up/dry heaving, and experienced horrible diarrhea. The side effects were so horrendous I lasted only a week on the medicine, hoping the symptoms would lessen, but after a week, I couldn’t endure any more time suffering from the side effects."

• Jil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 8, 2021

Vortioxetine for Depression "I had the most strange experience with this med. It gave me such severe diarrhea that I ended up with hemorrhoids. The hemorrhoids then became so severe that I had a rectal banding procedure. At the time, I had no idea that the med was causing this. The rectal banding ulcerated, and I ended up hospitalized to have the banding removed. It took forever to heal until I put 2 and 2 together and got off the Trintellix. Once off, I healed very quickly."

• psy...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 7, 2015

Vortioxetine for Depression "Was on Brintellix 5 mg for two months. Had some improvement, and the side effects weren't too bad but included nausea, diarrhea, insomnia, jittery feelings, and loss of libido. Bumped it up to 10 mg at the advice of my doctor and again had more improvement, but the side effects increased and the hives started. At first, I didn't realize it was the medication, though I had read the precautions. My memory and focus seemed better overall. After 4 months of the 10 mg, I noticed a personality change. I became lazy, had no motivation, and procrastinated important tasks. This was completely out of character for me. As time went on, this got worse. Plus, the cost was outrageous! I have been off of the Brintellix for two weeks now and am improving."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 17, 2016

For Depression "Started 2 weeks on 5 mgs and then 6 weeks on 10 mgs. The only positive was that I stopped crying every day (was dealing with benzo withdrawal). Had headaches, diarrhea, constipation, worsening depression (at 5 weeks I laid in bed for 5 days, didn't want to eat/sleep/cook/clean - my initial problem was anxiety, not so much depression, med made me way more depressed), many migraine auras, pressure in my head, ear ringing, fear, worsening anxiety, only felt better once I cut back to 5 mgs, then off 2 weeks now. Still have some mounting anxiety, but hopefully will subside or I may try a low dose of amitriptyline. I am sensitive to antidepressants, they make my anxiety worse."

• Gaz...
• October 12, 2017

Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Been on Trintellix 5 mg for about three weeks and going to increase to 10 mg tomorrow. The first week, I got stomach pain, but not nausea. The second week, I got diarrhea for 4 days, and then I started to have headaches and a panic attack in the evening. I take Xanax for that. I was diagnosed with atypical depression after several tests to rule out other illnesses. It took me about a year, and I got more fatigued that I could barely walk. I was constantly hungry, used to wake up in the middle of the night, and had constant thoughts that I couldn't get rid of. My depression was triggered by prolonged school anxiety. I tried Zoloft and Cipralex, but they gave me bad side effects. Trintellix is slowly increasing my energy and mood."

• Anonymous
• July 13, 2016

For Depression "Over the years, I've taken a lot of different antidepressants, and Brintellix was the worst antidepressant I've ever taken. The side effects were unbearable: constant gas, diarrhea, nausea, and throwing up. The relief was slight, the side effects were enormous and disrupted my entire life. I could barely go to work, much less go out with friends, and dating was out of the question. I started on Fetzima, and my mental and physical state was back to normal."