I have been on Effexor for years with great results but recently felt like I needed more or it wasn't working as well, Dr told me to just switch to Pristiq, I am on day three with alot of what feels like withdrawl symptoms. Should I take some Effexor with the pristiq and slowly lower the Effexor dose untill I am just on Pristiq again just to get through this rough time of side effects??
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Q: if I switched to pristiq from effexor and having alot of side effects should I take effexor also?
Answers (3)
12/24/08 8:47am
You definitely should not take Effexor and Pristiq together. They are very similar medications. If you are having withdrawal symptoms, talk to your doctor about how to deal with them.
Best of luck,
Casey
2/22/09 12:21pm
My doc seemed to think there would not be the terrible withdrawal symptoms when I switched from Effexor to Pristiq because they are so similar. And the withdrawal symptoms ARE less than they were when I'd flat-out miss a dose or two of effexor (which was unbearable hell). But there are definitely still side effects. I have mild to moderate dizziness, headache which is probably from sleeping too much to avoid the dizzy creepy feeling. And I got my first taste of what has been described as "brain shivers." It was just three or four rapid-fire sensations that I described to my husband at the time as feeling like my brain just had an electrical surge. Let's hope this doesn't last as long as quitting cold turkey. Also hoping that Pristiq doesn't come with the same ball-and-chain. (If I were conspiracy minded, I'd think the drug companies were actually adding something to make us unable to quit this stuff!)
6/ 1/09 1:59pm
I've been on Effexor for years, and have had good results. However, my doctor recently suggested I take Pristiq instead of Effexor, because she expected the side effects of Pristiq to be less. I tried to cold-turkey switch from Pristiq to Effexor but that was horrible: severe depressive bouts from the Effexor withdrawal. I ended up taking both for a week, and gradually tapering off the Effexor. That worked much better. The Pristiq doesn't seem to be doing anything for the anxiety I occasionally feel, though.
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i went from lexapro to zoloft to effexor to pristiq. to be honest i believe the lexapro was the best out of all four. ive had depression for 4 years and seems like everytime im put on a new med my old symptoms come back. on pristiq i wont leave the house or barely socialise i also get severly anxious on pristiq, the only thing pristiq really does is give me a dry mouth, and noticed im constantly using mouthwash. yet on lexapro im willing to solve world peace and am always up to chat but my teeth would chatter a bit. i also believe taking a multi-vitamen everyday helps aswell. stay away from taurine and aggressive music. if anybody has any other ideas on whats the best thing for depression and anxiety please let me know.
stef