Is pristiq stroger than effexor?

[Anon54]

Pristiq is effexors active metabolite so in theory it should feel the same with maybe less side effects.

I posted a thread & it was closed. someone says that usually drs will start ya on effexor & move ya up to prtistiq if effexor is working well but ya need something a bit stronger.

it's confusing though because if pristiq if effexors active ingredient shouldnt it be the same strenth anyway

I found Pristiq to be to stimulated & not in a good way like the recreational stimulants.
so does this mean effexor is a little less stimulating & may be worth a try?

it doesnt make sense to me because like i said ya essentially getting an effext from the same active metabolte.

btw effexor is suppose to be almost idential to tramadol. i used it for a few months & it wored great. & it wasnt because of its opiate effect. i was clearly getting the mood lift from its SNRI properties. I know what opiates feel like. Ive had my fair share.

 

[Allein]

I started taking Effexor a couple of months back and part from the normal side effects (nuasea, tirdness etc) I'v found it quite effective.

It is not the same as Tramadol at all, I'm no doctor but Effexor has a much stronger SNRI effect for one thng, the rest I'll leave to one of our more learned friends, I know it alsoi lowers siesure thresh hold so don't go taking Tramaodol at the same time.

As for Pristiq the trails, I just read dont show as good a result as with Effexor but more than any other group of drrugs ADs seem to have differing effects on different people, one of the pristiq trial even showed a statistical link to ethnic backgrounds

 

[Doug2113]

Be careful with Effexor. I have a friend who was on it for a while and she said it was a horrible drug that needed to be taken off the market. She said that when she was coming off of it, she had voices in her head telling her to kill herself. I've also heard this from other people online.

 

[Allein]

^^^

For me having been through numerous ADs and suffered saide effects from hullicinations to internal beeding Effecor (venlafaxine) has proven to work really well for me albeit along side some "over the phone" CBT work.

It stopped my suicidal thoughts and ideation very quickly and I feel a whole lot better, as for comming off it, I'll worry about that then

 

[Doug2113]

Ya, they said it wasn't that big of a deal staying on it. Just coming off of it was just horrible. I'm not sure if it's physically painful or just mentally so, but I've had multiple people tell me to not do that one.

 

[effie]

If you found Pristiq stimulating Anon54, you are likely to find Effexor stimulating. Venlafaxine/desvenlafaxine is a stimulating antidepressant. As I said in your other thread, going backwards from Pristiq to Effexor doesn't make a whole lot of sense (usually you go the other way if Effexor works but isn't strong enough) but it is possible that the side effects will be less on Effexor. However, if you want a less stimulating antidpressant, you're better off speaking to your doctor and trying something else entirely.. It is the same metabolite, but it is the same as citalopram/escitalopram in a way - some people get better effects from just the active part of the drug. Or it could be a drug copany scam to get more money. I've not read enough studies, sorry..

Doug - venlafaxine does have a bad rep for coming off it, and it can be unpleasant for some people, but not everyone and it can be very effective (as atm has found). It is a very personal choice which antidepressant to go on, and one that should be made between you and a doctor.

Anon54 - venlafaxine is an SNRI like tramadol, but tramadol also has opioid action along with a load of other things and is a complicated drug. I wouldn't compare them. If you enjoyed tramadol recreationally, it likely wasn't due to it's SNRI effects.

You really need to talk this over with your doctor I'm afrad. We've had a lot of threads on antidepressants lately, but we are not experts - this is a forum focussing on harm reduction related to recreational drugs. I closed your other thread for this reason, and also because it wasn't entirely clear what you were asking. I hope we have helped you a little more this time, but this really isn't the right place for this kind of thread, sorry..

In the future, it's usually better to pm the person closing your thread rather than starting a new one - we are generally happy to re-open a thread if you clarify things or put forward a good (polite!) argument as to why we should

If you have any queries, feel free to shoot me a pm. Good luck on finding an antidepressant that suits you!