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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by in_denial on December 21, 2012, at 15:59:44
Hello, Its been a few years since posting here.
During the past 12 or so years, I've been diagnosed with Depression, add (inattentive type) and social anxiety. Im currently on generic effexor xr 150, generic klonopin 1mg up to twice per day and adderral 15mg up to twice a day. I've been on this cocktail for about 7 years with very few changes. I went up on the effexor in the past but always went back down to 150mg because of jittery feelings on higher doses. I visited my primary doc today and explained that I have little emotion anymore. I look forward to nothing and get little enjoyment out of life and have been feeling very depressed lately. He asked if i was suicidal. I said no but i constantly feel like a robot and that my life is pointless.
I asked about increasing Effexor dose or possibly supplementing something else in the mix. He was ready to kick up Effexor to 300mg then asked if I've heard about Pristiq. I did not. He said he had a lot of patients that pooped out on Effexor, successfully transfer with little or no side effect (compared to Effexor). He said he would prescribe Prestiq 100mg for a month to see how I respond. He said its like 300mg of Effexor. I told him I got nasty withdrawals when running out or trying to stop Effexor in the past (brain zaps, feelings of going insane, sweating, etc.). He said not to worry, because they are in the same family and I should not experience any of this.
When I got home, I researched immediately. First, I see most people would go from 150 mg Effexor to 50mg Pristiq to start. I already purchased the 100mg Pristiq pills. Since they are tabs, I thought I could just split the pills (if 100mg is too much too fast). Several posts on other websites explicitly warn against splitting these tabs because of their slow release properties. Most of the posts on this website concerning Effexor to Pristiq appear to be several years old, so I was hoping to get some up-to-date info. Please forgive me if there are current discussions with same exact info (I tried to find them). Thank you!
P.S. for what it's worth, I credit Effexor, in part, to saving my career and family. As bad as i feel at times, I don't think I could have coped without it. Same with the Klonopin (although I usually only take one pill at night)
Posted by Phillipa on December 21, 2012, at 17:44:18
In reply to Effexor to Pritiq, posted by in_denial on December 21, 2012, at 15:59:44
Did you go to the pristiq site to see if time release or can be split?. So you definitely feel more depressed now? Phillipa
Posted by Lou Pilder on December 21, 2012, at 19:12:12
In reply to Effexor to Pritiq, posted by in_denial on December 21, 2012, at 15:59:44
> Hello, Its been a few years since posting here.
>
> During the past 12 or so years, I've been diagnosed with Depression, add (inattentive type) and social anxiety. Im currently on generic effexor xr 150, generic klonopin 1mg up to twice per day and adderral 15mg up to twice a day. I've been on this cocktail for about 7 years with very few changes. I went up on the effexor in the past but always went back down to 150mg because of jittery feelings on higher doses. I visited my primary doc today and explained that I have little emotion anymore. I look forward to nothing and get little enjoyment out of life and have been feeling very depressed lately. He asked if i was suicidal. I said no but i constantly feel like a robot and that my life is pointless.
>
> I asked about increasing Effexor dose or possibly supplementing something else in the mix. He was ready to kick up Effexor to 300mg then asked if I've heard about Pristiq. I did not. He said he had a lot of patients that pooped out on Effexor, successfully transfer with little or no side effect (compared to Effexor). He said he would prescribe Prestiq 100mg for a month to see how I respond. He said its like 300mg of Effexor. I told him I got nasty withdrawals when running out or trying to stop Effexor in the past (brain zaps, feelings of going insane, sweating, etc.). He said not to worry, because they are in the same family and I should not experience any of this.
>
> When I got home, I researched immediately. First, I see most people would go from 150 mg Effexor to 50mg Pristiq to start. I already purchased the 100mg Pristiq pills. Since they are tabs, I thought I could just split the pills (if 100mg is too much too fast). Several posts on other websites explicitly warn against splitting these tabs because of their slow release properties. Most of the posts on this website concerning Effexor to Pristiq appear to be several years old, so I was hoping to get some up-to-date info. Please forgive me if there are current discussions with same exact info (I tried to find them). Thank you!
>
> P.S. for what it's worth, I credit Effexor, in part, to saving my career and family. As bad as i feel at times, I don't think I could have coped without it. Same with the Klonopin (although I usually only take one pill at night)in_denial,
You wrote,[...I have little emotion..I look forward to nothing..get lttle enjoyment out of life...feeling very depressed lately...I constantly feel like a robot and my life is pointless...].
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on December 21, 2012, at 19:12:31
In reply to Re: Effexor to Pritiq » in_denial, posted by Phillipa on December 21, 2012, at 17:44:18
Why not trust your doctor and take the 100mg
I beleive that 100mg pristiq is = to 150mg of effexor in round figures, so a straight swap should be fine
Dont split the pills, swallow them whole
Posted by in_denial on December 22, 2012, at 6:01:14
In reply to Re: Effexor to Pritiq, posted by jono_in_adelaide on December 21, 2012, at 19:12:31
> Why not trust your doctor and take the 100mg
>
> I beleive that 100mg pristiq is = to 150mg of effexor in round figures, so a straight swap should be fine
>
> Dont split the pills, swallow them wholeThank you for the replys!
I do trust him. However, he's an osteopath, not a pdoc. I was double checking as this was the first time I've heard of Prestiq. Plus, I had severe withdrawal from Effexor in the past...I don't want to risk it.
I just took the whole pill this a short while ago.
Phillipa, the site and everything I read said that you should not split these pills. I've read several stories about people that did and the med hit them very fast. There is some special coating on the tablet.
On a side note, I could not see my original post from my tablet or computer (even after reloading pages, etc.). I only found your responses by searching by my username. When I click on the Medications forum tab, the newest post is from 12/15 from another user about Abilify. Any ideas about that?
Thank you!
This is the end of the thread.
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