Pristiq Compared to Alternatives

For Depression: I am a 77 year old male. My Grandfather and my Father suffered from Depression. I have suffered from depression all of my life. I was first diagnosed with severe clinical depression about 1975. I was put on ELAVIL and the results were very good and I took it for about 12 years. At that time the ELAVIL stopped working and my Doctor put me on NORTRIPTYLINE. That seemed to stop the depression and worked for a long time. When it stopped working, my Doctor put me on PAXCIL. Then, a Psychiatrist added WELLBUTRIN XL. Then my PDOC replaced the generic PAXCIL with PRISTIQ. For the first time in 40 years, my depression has gone!

For Depression: On my first day of Pristiq, I noticed an immediate surge of energy (coupled with a racing heart and a feeling of disorientation). I am somewhat sensitive to mediciations generally so I was prepared to inherit some of the side effects. What I have experienced in my first week is tiredness, irritability/difficult sleeping, grinding teeth, nausea (vomited 5 times on night 1, which settled on second day), loss of appetite and general stiffness around my neck and back. I trust these symptoms will settle in the coming weeks but thought it may be valuable to share my first week, for those who are a little sensitive to medication. In regards to my mental state, I can safely say my mood has been moderately chilled, unfazed and without any anxiety.

For Depression: Have had back pain for years. Was on prescribed pain meds for years too. No longer on pain meds for about a year now but use kratom some. Prescribed Celexa for several years and seemed to stop working. My doctor put me on 60mg Cymbalta a couple months ago. No real side effects and It seems to put me in a better mood that I haven't experienced in many many years. I think the prior pain med and recreational drugs turned against. I feel more "corrected", clearer minded and content on the Cymbalta.

For Depression: I've been on Cymbalta 60ng for about the 5 years, it was working fine for me I thought - until people started telling me that I was snappy. But I had a lot of trials in life happening all at once. Any how I decided to switch and what a nightmare it has been. New Psych tried me on Lamictal for a bit, that made me hyper and jittery, so I thought I'd try zoloft since my sister has been on it. Sometimes meds can work the same.. but, Yikes ...not for me..I'm in an awful depression and working on getting back on Cymbalta, what I hope will, work for me. I guess the old saying goes, "if it's not broken why fix it?" I will keep you all in my prayers and hope you will do the same.

For Depression: Just take these reviews with a grain of salt. A lot of reviews after taking one day, couple weeks etc. you need a full three months for maximum effectiveness. Not that it takes that long to start getting relief. Side effects are common while your body adjusts. Some of them will go away. I had no troublesome side effects with Zoloft. I always have to start out gradually. Maybe even more than they say bc I’m sensitive to meds. I got big relief from depression. Panic attacks went away. OCD went away. The cons are it made me not very motivated, felt kind of numb to strong feelings. Not feeling urgency about my life. I wouldn’t take it again for years bc it blocked my clear perspective. But it was great to get me stabilized. Things that really help but can’t completely replace anti dep is fish oil, vit d, exercise, sunlight, folate like spinach , lentils really good. Also diet really helps. Get a book called the good mood diet. Best wishes

For Depression: I'm a 31 year old Male who has had challenges with depression and anxiety throughout my life. I have been on several different meds in my past, including lexapro, paxil, effexor, wellbutrin, prozac, zoloft, and some others as well. Of all of these meds, I've found zoloft works the best for me. However the worst thing I experience with zoloft is decreased libido, as with all of the other meds I've tried, except for wellbutrin. This side effect truly sucks. Zoloft also kind of makes me feel robotic and emotionally numb. Currently I'm experimenting with another medication (viibryd) in attempt to find a med that works without having sexual side effects. However zoloft is my fallback option, because this med at least stabilizes me and helps function in society. Therefore I give this med a 7 out of 10. My advice to everyone is to keep being patient with meds and realize that it might take some time and trial and error. And always keep hanging in there no matter what. Good luck.