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Re: Lexapro to Pristiq and how do they compare?

Posted by jl on August 21, 2009, at 23:24:41

In reply to Re: Lexapro to Pristiq and how do they compare?, posted by johnj1 on August 21, 2009, at 21:51:52

There are no questions, none whatsoever, that I've been depressed for a very long time (I also have PTSD) - all of which have been confirmed over and over again by a very large number of doctors. There's also a very strong history of depression in my family.

I believe I mentioned I've got Sleep Apena in my original post (sorry, but I can't see it from this screen) and that was first diagnosed 9 years ago - I've been on a CPAP machine ever since then. Actually, I use a BiPAP machine. The sleep disorders (Sleep Apnea, PLMD, insomnia, and hypersomnia) have become much worse since then and I've had countless sleep studies over the years - the most recent being a week ago. The PLMD is what gives me insomnia (it takes about two hours for me to fall asleep) and keeps me awake all night long (I'm not aware of it). While the sleep study said that my BiPAP pressure should be raised to 19 over 15, the sleep doc now thinks that I may need to use oxygen when I sleep - he's having me monitor my oxygen levels all weekend (he provided a device to use when I saw him today that will measure those levels). While I have a very, very high compliance rate for using my CPAP machine, I still wake up horribly exhausted and feeling miserable. I get almost no REM sleep at all and never drop into anything that remotely resembles deep sleep (below stage 2 sleep).

I also take another medication, Requip, to help with the PLMD (which is severe). In the past, I've used Klonopin (which didn't work) and Mirapex (which worked very well) for that.

I'm still very worried about starting Pristiq. I just came from the pharmacist and was told that Pristiq is very similar to Effexor - which I absolutely will never take again. As a result, I don't think I'm going to take it tonight until I also get to speak with my pdoc and find out more about how Pristiq compares to Effexor as far as side effects and withdrawals. The pharmacist said that Pristiq is not many people (at least locally) are using Pristiq and those that do say it's less effective that Effexor for depression.

Hope this explains things.


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Psycho-Babble Medication | Framed

poster:jl thread:913371
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090818/msgs/913431.html