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Pristiq (Desvenlafaxine) - Reviews, Ratings, Comments by Patients

 
 



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Below are Pristiq (Desvenlafaxine) reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 11 ratings/reviews, Pristiq has an overall score of 7.27. The effectiveness score is 7.82 and the side effect score is 7.45. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence.
 

Pristiq review by 35 year old male patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Moderately Effective
Side effects:   Moderate Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Depression
Dosage & duration:   100mg taken once a day for the period of 6 months
Other conditions:   none
Other drugs taken:   none
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   The drug helped to lift me out of the worst part of the depression, but it's not a complete cure.
Side effects:   Nausea that varied from day to day. Some days were almost unnoticeable while others were almost intolerable. Didn't get any better the longer I took the meds. Constipation and Diaohhrea. Swings between the two which is really annoying.
Comments:   No medication is a complete cure for depression. I had tried at least half a dozen other medications before we settled on this one.

 

Pristiq review by 52 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Depression
Dosage & duration:   50mg taken once daily for the period of I have been taking this drug for 6 month
Other conditions:   anxiety
Other drugs taken:   xanax
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   This is an NSRI, different from an SSRI because it works on more than one brain chemical. When an SSRI is ineffective or a patient finds that after a period of time a working drug stops working and symptoms of depression return they may be advised to try an NSRI. This was the case with me. I have been treated for my depression for years and had done extremely well for periods of time on several different drugs at different times. Moving from one to the next as I bottomed out on each. Celexa and Lexapro being the most recent. When Lexapro let me down after a couple of years I was advised to try Pristiq which was just released only a few months before my doctor suggested it. I was extremely hesitant as I did not want to go through another adjustment period of sleeplessness, headaches, possible weight gain, sexual issues, etc. You know the drill if you have taken drugs for deperession. So I chose to stay on my Lexapro and be depressed, hoping that it would start working again at a higher dose. Wrong. Getting to the end of my rope with my depression I finally decided to bite the bullet and try the Prestiq. My depression disappeared within 3 weeks leaving me feeling better than I had in months. I began smiling again and fully functioning doing the things I enjoy and had let slide. My sense of well being and hopefulness for the future returned.
Side effects:   Honestly, none for me. I sleep, did not gain an ounce, in fact I lost a small amount of weight even though I did not need to, no sexual side effect at all! Only thing that was tough was waiting for the dosage level to become theraputic in my system, which as I mentioned took about 3 weeks.
Comments:   I was instructed to continue on the Lexapro at a lower dose for one week. At the 2nd week add my dose of Pristiq to the lower dose of Lexapro, at the 3rd week drop the Lexapro completely and continue on my dose of Pristiq. This was done while staying in contact with my prescribing doctor. Now I take 1 50mg tablet everyday of Pristiq, and am doing very well.

 

Pristiq review by 34 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   depression
Dosage & duration:   50mg taken once a day for the period of about 5 months
Other conditions:   anxiety
Other drugs taken:   none
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   No side effects, other anti-depresson pills usually made me stop taking them because of the side effects, but Prestiq had none. I actually felt better after taking my pill, I was more bubbly and felt like my old self. I was also less aggravated and could think more clearly.
Side effects:   I did not have any bad side effects. The only bad thing I can say about Prestiq is it is expensive about $50 a month even with insurance. There is no generic as of yet.
Comments:   I would take one pill before bed time each day. I have noticed as with other anti-depressants I would have to take them at bed-time or they would keep me awake. I didn't notice any problems with prestiq when taken in the morning.

 

Pristiq review by 49 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Marginally Effective
Side effects:   Severe Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   stress-related anxiety
Dosage & duration:   25 mg 1x/day to start taken 1x/day for the period of 1 day
Other conditions:   N/A
Other drugs taken:   N/A
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   A feeling of relaxed euphoria; i.e., not worrying about anything and feeling slightly "buzzed"
Side effects:   Rushing sound in temples, along with intermittent headache twinges in the temple area; tightness/spasms in the jaw and throat area; impaired ability to focus; when combined with caffiene from one cup of coffee, resulted in racing pulse for several hours until the drug wore off
Comments:   Dr. advised me to start with half the recommended dosage (25 mg of 50 mg, or half a pill 1x/day) and work up to 50 mg/day. After taking one dosage (25 mg) and experiencing the side effects, I notified the Dr. and stopped taking the medication. One dose of 25 mg. taken at noon lasted until noon the following day (24 hours).

 

Pristiq review by 24 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Considerably Effective
Side effects:   Mild Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Depression/anxiety
Dosage & duration:   50mg taken daily for the period of 6 months
Other conditions:   n/a
Other drugs taken:   xanax, loestrin
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   depression decreased while on this drug
Side effects:   I experienced minimal side effects, the only side effect was loss of appetite and weight loss which in my opinion isn't exactly a bad thing. The other side effect that I experienced was loss of emotion, I was neither happy nor sad. This is what made me stop taking the medication. I switched to zoloft which worked just made me gain 18 lbs and now in the process in switching to something else.
Comments:   see above

 

Pristiq review by 53 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Ineffective
Side effects:   Moderate Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   severe depression
Dosage & duration:   50mg taken 50 mg once daily for the period of little more than 2 weeks
Other conditions:   none
Other drugs taken:   none
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   I had no benefits
Side effects:   Nausea, dizziness, increased anxiety, and extreme irritibility.
Comments:   I could not control my irritability. It was out of control. I felt like I was not myself. When starting my third week on this med, I stopped. By day two I felt much better. Would not try this drug again. Had only slight nausea after stopping this medications that quickly went away. My depression worsened on this med. Would not recommend.

 

Pristiq review by 47 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Considerably Effective
Side effects:   Mild Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   depression
Dosage & duration:   40 mg taken once daily for the period of two years
Other conditions:   ADHD
Other drugs taken:   Vyvanse
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Pristiq elevated mood and energy levels.
Side effects:   Increased anxiety
Comments:   Pristiq was prescribed at a 20 mg dose and then increased to 40 mg dose. I continue to take it as it has been the most effective medication for alleviating symptoms of depression that I have tried, including Prozac, Effexor, Wellbutrin and Lexapro.

 

Pristiq review by 34 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   Moderate Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   depression
Dosage & duration:   50 mg per day taken daily for the period of 6 months and still taking
Other conditions:   N/A
Other drugs taken:   N/A
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   It has helped greatly with my depression. I had taken Wellburin for years and it stopped working. Pristiq has helped get my life back.
Side effects:   I had terrible side effects for 2-3 weeks. I couldn't think straight and could not sleep. My doctor suggested taking the pill every other day until I felt like I could handle the dosing. I am glad I stuck with it.
Comments:   Feeling better

 

Pristiq review by 47 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Considerably Effective
Side effects:   Mild Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   depression
Dosage & duration:   40 mg taken once daily for the period of two years
Other conditions:   ADHD
Other drugs taken:   Vyvanse
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Pristiq elevated mood and energy levels.
Side effects:   Increased anxiety
Comments:   Pristiq was prescribed at a 20 mg dose and then increased to 40 mg dose. I continue to take it as it has been the most effective medication for alleviating symptoms of depression that I have tried, including Prozac, Effexor, Wellbutrin and Lexapro.

 

Pristiq review by 40 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   Moderate Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Migraine Headaches
Dosage & duration:   75 mg taken once a day for the period of 1 year
Other conditions:   irritabilty, PMDD
Other drugs taken:   tylenol
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   My headaches were less frequent, less severe, my PMDD symptoms decreased drastically.
Side effects:   When coming off of the drug, my eyes hurt (felt like there was pressure on my eye-balls), had severe dizzy and nauseau.
Comments:   I was given the drug to take once a day to help with severe migraines that were triggered due to stress and severe PMS symptoms.

 

Pristiq review by 53 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   ADD & Anxiety
Dosage & duration:   50 mg taken daily for the period of 1 Year
Other conditions:   None
Other drugs taken:   Estrogen
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Immediate relielf from anxiety.....even better after a couple of weeks. May focus is better on this drug than all the years (about 15) I have been treated for ADD.
Side effects:   None as long as you don't miss any doses. Missing more than one dose results in vertigo. I'm sure there are very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it.
Comments:   I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in my early 30's. I tried different treatments...ritalin (terrible side effects), adderall (didn't work well alone), Adderall with Effexor (Worked great but is hell on your sex life) and then Adderall with Wellbutrin. I took the Adderall with Welbutrin for 10 years but had to take ambien to sleep. Heart palpatations are another side effect of that combo. Menepause hit a couple of years ago and nothing seemed to work well and I developed major anxiety issues. I started on Estrogen replacement and then asked my Dr what we could try that was closer to the Effexor I tried years ago. That's when we tried Pristiq. He seemed amazed at the results. I do not need a "drug cocktail" anymore....I felt like Elvis for years. I love my life again!
 


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