ask: I have been taking Pristiq 50 mg for about 6 months for depression. My hot flashes and night sweats have been increasing at a terrible rate. I just read that Pristiq is susposed to help with hot flashes. What gives? Please help me.
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Anonymous
March 16, 2009 - 2:25pm
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Dear Anon: Your question got cut off, would you mind reposting so we can help you better?
March 16, 2009 - 9:51pmThis Comment
Dear Anonymous,
It seems that I didn't get the whole question, but I will answer (with some assumptions)
You mention that you are on Pristiq 50 mg per day and it is not helping with hot flashes and night sweats as you had heard it might. My assumptions are that you are perimenopausal and that Pristiq might have been prescribed for reasons other than to relieve menopausal symptoms.
My short answer is that Pristiq, an antidepressant, has been shown in some studies to help relieve some of the symptoms of menopause for some women. Other studies have not found this. You have been taking a reasonable dose for a good amount of time and it is NOT working for you in this way. In the medication information given with Pristiq- Hyperhydrosis (sweating) and Hot flushes (flashes) were both side effects found to occur more often than with placebo in double-blind placebo-controlled studies. This medication (and many other antidepressants) can make these symptoms worse.
Now, if you are taking this medication for another condition, such as depression or anxiety (psychiatric term for worry or nervousness), then you have some choices to make. If you are taking it simply for relief of the hot flashes, I would recommend stopping it under the supervision of your doctor. DO NOT STOP COLD TURKEY or you will likely have uncomfortable physical and mental symptoms that occur when stopping most antidepressants without a taper.
Most likely, the medication is for another condition, like depression. If it is effective for treating that condition, you and your doctor have to weigh the risks and benefits of continuing this medication. If it's helping you, probably you should continue the Pristiq if you can tolerate the side effects without too much disruption in your functioning. You also have plenty of other choices that might not have the same undesirable side effects.
I want to make one more comment about the use of antidepressants for menopausal symptoms. It is an "off label usage", meaning the FDA has not approved any of these medications for this type of treatment. That doesn't mean it's illegal or unethical to use the meds this way. It just means that the pharmaceutical companies haven't sought this "indication" or if they have, there haven't been enough convincing studies of efficacy and safety for this condition.
Doctors, including myself, prescribe "off-label" all the time. For instance I might prescribe a medication to a 16 yr old which has not been FDA approved for use in people under 18.
I hope this helps you. If you have further questions, please write back.
Sincerely,
March 19, 2009 - 11:43amTanya Feinberg, M.D.
www.drfeinbergmd.com
I got the full question and this woman was taking the medication for depression, but wondered why her hot flashes and night sweats were actually worsening. This doesn't change my answer, however.
March 19, 2009 - 1:06pmI was also taking Pristiq for my depression brought on by excessive sweaty armpits and hyperhidrosis. It was a viscous cycle as it just made me sweat more. I would reccomend trying something else
June 17, 2009 - 6:53pmi am starting my first dose of pristiq today, & i am very nervous.
i'll be taking it mostly for depression, but also for anxiety, with klonopin to use "just in case"
i was diagnosed as bipolar, mostly due to my over-emotional-ness, which can be a tell tale sign of some types of bipolar,
but now that i am being medicated for bipolar, i feel like instead of a roller coaster of ups & downs, i am mostly just downs,
so we are experimenting with anti-depressants to see if we can pull me out of the dumps without pulling me off of my
bipolar meds.
last month we tried Zoloft, & i hated it. it made me sleepy, nauseated, & more lethargic than usual....
I have problems with lethargy as it is, & lack of motivation/desire to do anything, irritability, anxiety, disorganization, procrastination, I just can't seem to find the desire, energy, or reason to complete anything i finish, & the inability to rope myself into getting anything done....
I feel like I make list after list of everything I need to complete, but never get anything- in it's entirety- completed.
It's getting to the point where I am frustrating my family, I can't ever remember when I am supposed to do anything, all of my "To Do's" kind of just get lost in the jumble that is my life... & I am frustrating my boss, I'll make shift changes & totally just space-cadet it & forget i made the changes, i've lost countless relationship opportunities from forgetting certain dates or times i'm supposed to call someone, as well as psyching myself out anxiety-wise to the point where i'll just make up excuses to not go on certain dates or do certain things.
& the culmination of this all just makes my depression worse.
i feel like i will never be able to regulate my systems & feel... "normal"
whew, besides this rant, i am very curious to hear whether or not Pristiq had any "good" sort of effect on your energy level?
i can only HOPE it will help mine,
maybe with at least a TINY nudge in the right direction, i can try to get the dominoes of my life to fall into place.
who knows.
any feedback will be great.
June 29, 2009 - 6:38pmAnon, thank you so much for your story.
Certainly your life is a roller coaster and I'm so sorry that your depression and anxiety have lost your relationships and job opportunities. I hope others who have or are taking Pristiq will give you feedback on how it's working for them. I know that some of the side effects of Pristiq are similar to Zoloft, like nausea and lethargy but every medication is different in it's effect on people. I do hope this works well for you.
Please don't forget to notify your doctor immediately, if you feel more depressed on this medication or have thoughts of self-harm.
Do you take physical exercise and do you have a good diet? Do you include a little sunshine if you can, on a daily basis?
I know you said your family is frustrated with all this, but are they supportive, in general? It's vital for you to have a support network you can rely on.
Please keep us updated on Empowher and please check in with us regularly! I'll be looking out for your posts and we wish you the very best.
June 29, 2009 - 7:24pmI just wanted to say that you are not alone, your post could have possibly been posted by me as well and I would imagine many others...Feel free to email me kbossaert@aol.com if you want to commiserate with a kindred soul! All the best!
October 5, 2009 - 7:57pmhi. our lives are identical! I know exactly how you feel, and would love to talk to you. I have recently started taking prestiq and am not having a very good feeling about it.
January 24, 2010 - 4:35pmMy daughter 32 years old was seeking counseling for marital problems. A PCP put her on a low dosage of Alprazolam 0.5mg on 5/20/2009. The medication was changed to 50mg Pristiq on July 30th 2009 by a different PCP in the same practice. That same PCP increased the dosage to 100mg on 1/29/2009 and prescribed Xanax 0.5mg for jitters. She was finishing her 50mg and began taking her first dosage of 100mg on Feb 24th and by Feb 26th she hung herself. She died March 1st.
April 8, 2010 - 10:21amShe worked full time, raised two children, had a very active lifestyle. If you met her for 5 minutes you would be best friends She had a vibrant personality and many friends. She was doing well working it out with her husband from an affair 11/2 years before. I know what your thinking... what was she doing on that MDM in the first place my thoughts exactly. Now she's dead. So if it happen to her how many other are out there not saying anything. That is the purpose to me replying.
My advice is these drugs for depression are very dangerous. They should only be prescribed by a Pschcologist who know and understands and follows up with patients. The drug has to be a good fit, not just the latest on the market. Monitoring the patient has to be a group assignment. I know you want your privacy but at what cost. Let others close to you know you are on this drug. They need to stay close to you in the early going. They should not to take for granted any change in behavior. This goes double when the dosage is changed up or down. Suicidal thoughts are not just a side effect. Blured vision, and runny noses are side effects.
Pristiq is a new drug out since 2008 FDA approved. If I were you I'd find a drug that's been proven over the years to be effective.
You may want to Google "the use of Pristiq in Europe" and find they won't approve it there. Maybe try counceling without the use of drugs. If the use of an anti depression drug can cause a suicide It's working against it's purpose.
HelpingHand,
I am so, so sorry for your loss. I hope that others who are taking a medicine for stress or depression will read your words and take heed. This is a true loss and the only thing good that can come out of it is by doing exactly what you are doing: Spreading information to help others.
Thank you, HelpingHand. Keep up the good fight. And again, my deepest sympathies on the loss of your daughter.
April 8, 2010 - 10:28am