Posted by bluebayoula on June 18, 2008, at 23:07:05
In reply to Anyone do better on Pristiq than Effexor XR?, posted by BearFan on June 8, 2008, at 18:06:47
Hello I'm new to the board but have lurked off and on for years so I thought I might share my Pristiq experience. I too am anxious to find more information and experiences to compare mine to.
I'm a middle-aged female diagnosed with ADHD, first as a child around 3rd grade, then later as a non-traditional college student in my mid 30's. I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety for the last 6 years.
Today I finished my second week on Pristiq. I recently started Paxil 60 mg daily took it for 3 weeks then switched to Pristiq directly without tapering. I have taken either Lexapro or Celexa for the last 6 years and recently started seeing a psychiatrist because I wanted to start being treated for my ADHD again. He prescribed Adderall 30 mg. 2x daily and had me switch from Celexa to Lexapro and prescribed Temazapan for sleep. After 6 mos. and an improvment in ADHD symptoms I asked my psych to help me with a problem I was having with anxiety and depression (this was present long before the Adderall) stating that I felt that I was angry and feeling aggressive all the time. Additionally, I'm under enormous pressure at work and I believe that I have PTSD from a pretty horrific experience in Hurricane Katrina.
I started Paxil and after a few weeks found it worked wonders on my anxiety symptoms. It had some unexpected benefits by causing me to lose weight because I no longer obsess about food. Losing weight has been a pleasant surprise. Paxil made me feel mellow and relaxed and I liked the sensation but I couldn't make myself focus on work. It became easy to piddle away my day and I wouldn't last long at my job doing that so I felt I needed to change. I noticed that people around me responded positively to my new relaxed demeanor. Nevertheless, when I returned to my psych for a med check I told him about my experience and asked to switch to Effexor.
My psych had offered Effexor initially when I asked for help with the anger/aggression but I turned it down having taken it previously and experienced the withdrawal it's known for. I did a little research and found out that it can help with ADHD and depression so I thought I'd try it again. Instead my psych offered Pristiq stating he's been getting good feedback from his patients who've been describing it as "clean".
My experience with Pristiq: Doesn't do much for anxiety, at least not at two weeks out, so that'll be discussed at next med check in a couple of weeks. I'd like to find a happy medium where overwhelming anxiety is tempered but not to the point that I don't care about much of anything.
Antidepressant effect is high-medium. Still not to the degree of Paxil but it's only been two weeks. ADHD - very good. I believe it fills the gaps where Adderall leaves off. I seem to very productive these days. I can't remember being this focused and I'm enjoying my new found productivity. Someone described me as "articulate" the other day and that's not how I would normally describe myself. I'm still losing weight because the obsessive thoughts about food are greatly diminished. Anxiety, I nearly had a full-blown anxiety attack during a fire drill last week while going down the stairs. This is a part of what I believe to be PTSD from Katrina (we were trapped for days).I hope this report is helpful and that others report their experiences too.
Thanks,
CD
> Just wondering if any patients actually did significantly better on Pristiq compared to regular Effexor XR? I tried Pristiq for a several days and just found my anxiety increasing rapidly so I discontinued it (didn't seem as calming as regular Effexor).
poster:bluebayoula
thread:833675
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080617/msgs/835386.html