Had Taken Pristiq, And Came Off. Tried Venlafexine But Get Dry Mouth, Headache And Increased Heart Rate. Suggest?

Posted on Mon, 7 Oct 2013

Question: I formerly had taken Pristiq, due to insurance not paying for it any longer I came off for 3 months to see how I could do on my own. I have come back trying Venlafexine but believe the side effects in 4 days will make me stop. What is Desvelafexine? Isn't that more like Pristiq? My side effects in 4 days include extreme dry mouth, headache and feeling really tired as well as increased heart rate. I want something that will be close to Pristiq that my insurance will cover.

Answered by Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi (39 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Hello

Detailed Answer:
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Pristiq or Desvenlafexine is a drug of SNRI group. It is a good antidepressant and anti anxiety drug. Pristiq or Desvenlafexine are same, pristiq is brand name. Venlafexine is also a drug of same group. Infact Desvenlafexine is improved salt of Venfexine, it is D-Enantiomer of venlafexine.

Some times during initial days of therapy side effects like dry mouth, headache, tiredness, palpitations are seen with venlafexine. These side effects are also seen with Desvenlafexine but comparatively less in severity. Wait for few days like a week or 10 days and you will develop tolerance to these side effects. Other thing that can be done is to start with lower doses and then escalate the doses after 7 days.

If your insurance is not covering Pristiq you can go for other drugs similar to it like Duloxetine which is also very effective. Other drugs like SSRIs can also be taken they have good therapeutic effects.

Hope this helps you, if you have more questions you can ask again.

Thanks

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar