utopia

Just posting that I've been on desvenlafaxine (pristiq) for a few weeks and my depression and anxiety had lifted tremendously. started on 50 mg the first two weeks but after a few days after the two week mark i was very irritable and am now on 100 mg but am still amazed by the level of stability in my thinking.

Ive often been against medication but I was desperate (losing the will to live or feel hope desperate) and now feel centred and very sane and more balanced, still it feels foreign and there is usually pangs of nausea and dizziness.

wondering if anyone has tried pristiq? im now in my mid 20s but i tried a large range of antidepressants for 4 years when i was a teenager (16-20) but never got any benefit other than a zombie like numbness. i theorise being in alanon from just when i turned 20 until now bout 6 years has made the medication much more effective?

Ceres

I'm not on that medication. However, I'm on an anti-depressant that also helps with anxiety. Also, a mood stabilizer. I'm replying because Like you, it's kind of amazing. The difference. I'm stable. There I said it! I'm no more nuttier that most anyway. The medications help quell my irrational thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. making me more of who I really am. I'm just maintaining now after 2 1/2 years. Only see my doc twice a year to get refills. :-)

ranae1221

My grandma tried Pristiq for awhile, and it really didn't do much for her. I know others though that it has helped them.

But I wanted to say yay! to feeling better. That is great news. I also remember how much better I felt once I found the right mix of medications. I've been on them since 2001 and now and then require some tuning, but overall the medications have made such a huge difference.

Zencat

Psychiatric medication with therapy groups and having a duel-disorder treatment plan has been a life saver for me.

I would think it dose help greatly being in alanon.

I've tried medication alone to treat my duel-disorder and didn't have any good results. IMO taking mood stabilizing medication without some kind of treatment plan that address making healthy changes in behavior...is short changing ones self out the full benefits of mental health treatment.

Ceres

"without some kind of treatment plan that address making healthy changes in behavior...is short changing ones self out the full benefits of mental health treatment."

I agree. With that said, I've had therapists out the a*s since 15. AA's been the best treatment yet. :-) Just my 2-cents.

utopia

I have to confess I self prescribed the higher dose of 100 mg because I had a down day and got frustratted (it shocked me cos i told a digruntled man on the bus in a wheelchair to f**k off and punched a bus chair---and this is rEAALLY unsusal for me to acutally act out that ) but after a couple of days on the high dose I was feeling calm, detached and content in sorts but my house and self-care fell into complete disregard,,,i felt contented to just sit and stare at the wall in osmosis,,its interesting to have my house and self look like a depressed person but feel nonchalant about it and kinda comfortable,,,after my partner and friends talked some sense into me i realised playing around with my dosage was maybe a bit silly???

im just not used to the casual blues that "normal" people exp, like, oh gee, ill just go gfor a walk or read a book??

ive gone back to 50 mg as the doctor prescribed and see him in a couple of weeks (plus my therapist next week who thinks it was good) but i havent told them i doubled the dose for half a week but guess i should.....whats most interesting is the feeling of blase=ness about it. like oh yeh, i doubled it when i dont feel that was a big deal?

i still feel better insulated against my raging anxious depression, notice the overwhelming weight of GUILT i carried around is gone, wonder how to initiate action again for self care when im sort of "meh" about things.

Ceres

It takes a while for the medication to take effect as you know. I did what I could in the meantime. Tried not to isolate, changed my routine a litte. If you're going to get the 200mg eventually - Just think at 50mg you're not even halfway there.

And hey! <whip flash> No more screwing around with yer dosage. ;-)

utopia

thanks alizerin, well ive been good and sticking to the prescribed dose and each day the blues have crept back in, im now in that alltoo familiar place of irritability and the clouds closing in, my partner tries to be supportive and i want to push him away as much as i can lean on him. wish they could make medication work quicker....it was like coming out of a prison i didnt even know ive been in for so many years and then being locked away again in darkness..

utopia

ive spoken to my GP and been prescribed to go to 100 mg, feeling a slightly more buzzed feeling in my head at times when i would normally sink into the blues...mostly i feel like i'm entering an alternate dimension. i know it's the same reality, but it feels so different like a totally different alernate universe...i didnt realise the extent of my daily pain and anxious misery, it was like walking around with an arrow in my chest...i was surprised that i made dinner for myself tonight and my self worth didnt depend on it! it was just a matter of fact and nonchalant way...my partner has noticed i seem less strained and i notice i dont feel wracked with guilt but im not over burderned with care....its like i care about others but i dont care one iota what they think. this is leading me somewhere i hope but i dont really mind.

Ceres

Yeah,

The difference for me was much more settle. I was a tornado with emotions. Going 0-60 in a second. Now, with the medication stabilized, I notice a HUGE difference when I'm getting out of sorts. I've now got me a "pause" button. So - Stop+pause=react.

Things are much calmer, go figure. Not perfect! But, better. I chalk some of this up to my recovery program also of course.

utopia

blase or stable. blase or stable... blah blah blah

Sid

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I just started on an anti-depressant for the first time two weeks ago. I know they said it takes time, so I am trying to get by the best I can in the meantime. I do feel I have felt some results, as I didn't feel as down or nutty last week as I did the first. I know I have to make other healthy changes as well, such as support groups (AA, this site, etc.) eating healthy and excercise. In any event I took a bit of comfort from your post that hopefully with a little more time I too will feel an amazing difference.

Ceres

Yay Sid, You sound like you're right on track. All the other changes are important too. The more we do for ourselves the better we get. Of course this is always easier said than done. ;-)