Hi all

Day 2 of taking desvenlafaxine. Has anyone else used this and noticed stomach pain? Feels like I’ve been doing situps all night.

JTQ said:

Hi all

Day 2 of taking desvenlafaxine. Has anyone else used this and noticed stomach pain? Feels like I’ve been doing situps all night.

No. Not at all. First day I took it I felt like my muscles were melting which turned into not feeling so arthtritic once the initial burst wore off.

Interesting.. I’ve felt a little lethargic but otherwise fine (apart from the said abdominal pain).

Not sure if I’m just having a good day today or if it’s kicked in super quickly, but today (so far) seems better than yesterday.

JTQ said:

Hi all

Day 2 of taking desvenlafaxine. Has anyone else used this and noticed stomach pain? Feels like I’ve been doing situps all night.

Is your core locked up? Back issues? Might be some sort of pinched nerve symptom.

JTQ said:

Interesting.. I’ve felt a little lethargic but otherwise fine (apart from the said abdominal pain).

Not sure if I’m just having a good day today or if it’s kicked in super quickly, but today (so far) seems better than yesterday.

I have found it very effective. And it doesn’t need a couple of weeks to be metabolised like other meds.

Not really locked up much.. I noticed just before that my upper back felt a little tight, and I’m yawning a little more than normal (that’s a listed side effect) but noticed the upper half of my body seems to tense up when I yawn.

Quite an unusual feeling. But not something I’m concerned about.

JTQ said:

Not really locked up much.. I noticed just before that my upper back felt a little tight, and I’m yawning a little more than normal (that’s a listed side effect) but noticed the upper half of my body seems to tense up when I yawn.

Quite an unusual feeling. But not something I’m concerned about.

as it is a nor-epenephrine reuptake inhibitor I would suggest that it is exposing the extent of any lopsided posture you have. Due to a few accidents mine was quite sever but with the medication and proper stretching that seems to finally be coming under control. The last couple of days have seen such a significant improvement that I am wondering if the anxiety side of my condition has been primarily posture stimulated. I certainly feel like I could consider lowering my dose with a little more work on my back.

If you have significant postural issues you may see the yawny last as long as the postural issue remains. Up until the last couple of days I have been generally sleepy on it but after I managed to stretch my hip into a better position I am feeling much more lucid and motivated. If the yawny continues I would be looking for shoulder or hip muscles that need stretching. The last year or so has been a cycle of-‘small spurts of exercise followed by laying on my side stretching my shoulder and hip out plus a lot of sleeping. Sleeping seems to have been what the undeveloped muscles needed to improve their condition.

Thanks for the info there, appreciated :)

My sis is a massage therapist and knows the muscle structure a lot better than I do, so I’ll meet with her for a chat as well.

If I may ask, how long have you been on it for?

JTQ said:

Thanks for the info there, appreciated :)

My sis is a massage therapist and knows the muscle structure a lot better than I do, so I’ll meet with her for a chat as well.

If I may ask, how long have you been on it for?

Hell yeah!!! I just made a masseur friend who threw me a couple of sessions which helped a great deal.

JTQ said:

Hi all

Day 2 of taking desvenlafaxine. Has anyone else used this and noticed stomach pain? Feels like I’ve been doing situps all night.

That’d be the serotonin receptors in your gut responding to the drug.

poikilotherm said:

JTQ said:

Hi all

Day 2 of taking desvenlafaxine. Has anyone else used this and noticed stomach pain? Feels like I’ve been doing situps all night.

That’d be the serotonin receptors in your gut responding to the drug.

Yeh? I had forgotten about that possibility… I haven’t had this effect from any other AD previously used. But yeh, makes sense. Hopefully it’ll go away soon. Every time I got to stand up, it feels like I’ve been kicked in the gut by an angry mule.

There are serotonin receptors in your gut? Well there you go!

Divine Angel said:

There are serotonin receptors in your gut? Well there you go!

They are fnerkin everywhere. Almost.

poikilotherm said:

Divine Angel said:

There are serotonin receptors in your gut? Well there you go!

They are fnerkin everywhere. Almost.

Has this sort of seratonin medication been tested against obesity poik?

Divine Angel said:

There are serotonin receptors in your gut? Well there you go!

+1 I just thought it was a brian thing.

Postpocelipse said:

poikilotherm said:

Divine Angel said:

There are serotonin receptors in your gut? Well there you go!

They are fnerkin everywhere. Almost.

Has this sort of seratonin medication been tested against obesity poik?

Yes. Doesn’t change weight.

poikilotherm said:

Postpocelipse said:

poikilotherm said:

They are fnerkin everywhere. Almost.

Has this sort of seratonin medication been tested against obesity poik?

Yes. Doesn’t change weight.

I was thinking changes to appetite rather than directly effecting weight.

ADs can have side effects that can cause weight gain or loss, but I don’t think it’s the main chemical that does it itself, but more of a side effect somehow i forget how all this stuff works yada yada yada…

JTQ said:

ADs can have side effects that can cause weight gain or loss, but I don’t think it’s the main chemical that does it itself, but more of a side effect somehow i forget how all this stuff works yada yada yada…

As I mentioned I was thinking more of a appetite regulating effect. Sleep and appetite have both stabilised for myself.

Peak Warming Man said:

Divine Angel said:

There are serotonin receptors in your gut? Well there you go!

+1 I just thought it was a brian thing.

Br J Pharmacol. 1995 May;115(1):47-56.
A comparative study of functional 5-HT4 receptors in human colon, rat oesophagus and rat ileum.
McLean PG1, Coupar IM, Molenaar P.

Gastroenterology. 2007 Jan;132(1):397-414.
The serotonin signaling system: from basic understanding to drug development for functional GI disorders.
Gershon MD1, Tack J.

Am J Psychiatry. 1995 Jun;152(6):850-5.
Platelet serotonin-2A receptors
Pandey GN1, Pandey SC, Dwivedi Y, Sharma RP, Janicak PG, Davis JM.

correlation; causation

The largest section of the Wikipedia desvenlafaxine page is devoted to a list of adverse effects.

My opinion on medicine is that if it doesn’t have any side effects then it doesn’t have any effect at all, the worse the side effects the stronger it is.

I’m only familiar with some SSRIs and antipsychotics, not SNRIs.

mollwollfumble said:

I’m only familiar with some SSRIs and antipsychotics, not SNRIs.

Do you take anti-psychotics yourself Moll? Bipolar?

I’m not really sure how to look at this one now.

Some websites say stomach cramps are part of an allergic reaction and need a quick visit to the quacks, and others say it’s just a norma listed side effect and may go away within a couple of days or weeks.

If I’m sitting still, generally I’m okay, but it’s when I try to get up (using stomach muscles), it feels like I’ve been kicked in the gut.

If it’s still there >2 weeks after starting, go back to quack.

JTQ said:

I’m not really sure how to look at this one now.

Some websites say stomach cramps are part of an allergic reaction and need a quick visit to the quacks, and others say it’s just a norma listed side effect and may go away within a couple of days or weeks.

If I’m sitting still, generally I’m okay, but it’s when I try to get up (using stomach muscles), it feels like I’ve been kicked in the gut.

I wouldn’t worry about it

It’s probably just a tumour pressing in a nerve

wookiemeister said:

JTQ said:

I’m not really sure how to look at this one now.

Some websites say stomach cramps are part of an allergic reaction and need a quick visit to the quacks, and others say it’s just a norma listed side effect and may go away within a couple of days or weeks.

If I’m sitting still, generally I’m okay, but it’s when I try to get up (using stomach muscles), it feels like I’ve been kicked in the gut.

I wouldn’t worry about it

It’s probably just a tumour pressing in a nerve

That’s a relief then. Did have me worried, but thanks for putting my mind at ease :)

Phil_C said:

mollwollfumble said:

I’m only familiar with some SSRIs and antipsychotics, not SNRIs.

Do you take anti-psychotics yourself Moll? Bipolar?

Moll if you don’t mind me asking what experience do you have with psychotics?

Time for a change … desvenlafaxine (pristiq) Sun/Mon last week caused major abdominal pain. So kicked it to the curb, and picked up escitalopram (lexapro) instead.

I’ve had escitalopram before, but no recollection of any of the effects it had on me. I’m sure the effects were discussed at some point on the old forum, but good old ABC, took everything down and everything’s kaput. My sister was on it a few years ago and had a good response from it, but last night she told me I stopped taking it because apparently I told her back then (about 8-10 years ago?) that it caused suicidal thoughts due to a high level of testosterone (??) in the tabs. I don’t remember anything about this, but then again, I don’t remember what I did yesterday.

Escitalopram 10mg – day 1 – Took the tab at about 8:00am, and about 10:30am started feeling nauseous and very dizzy. This lasted about an hour, then gradually went away. No other side effects as yet.

I’m not going to list a day-by-day history of this, so don’t stress over that… but I’d like to simply ask here, if anyone has used it, what were/are your experiences with it?

Hey JTQ. I’ve never taken Lexapro so can’t help you with that. I did take desvenlafaxine for a while before moving onto another SNRI. I have had the greatest success with SNRIs. At the moment I am taking duloxetine (brand name Cymbalta).

You seem to experience a lot more of the side-effects than I do. I think you have to keep in mind that these side-effects are possibly part of a placebo effect perhaps influenced by some degree of anxiety.

Cheers Phil :)

Has anyone else had any experience with Escitalopram/Lexapro?

Escitalopram/Lexapro … feeling nausea, dizziness (both common side effects), and my eyes feel like they’re moving around on their own, I’m having trouble keeping them still. Quite frustrating when I’m trying to read. Is this one a normal side effect of ADs?

JTQ said:

Escitalopram/Lexapro … feeling nausea, dizziness (both common side effects), and my eyes feel like they’re moving around on their own, I’m having trouble keeping them still. Quite frustrating when I’m trying to read. Is this one a normal side effect of ADs?

Call the doc. Doesn’t sound right re eye movement.

poikilotherm said:

JTQ said:

Escitalopram/Lexapro … feeling nausea, dizziness (both common side effects), and my eyes feel like they’re moving around on their own, I’m having trouble keeping them still. Quite frustrating when I’m trying to read. Is this one a normal side effect of ADs?

Call the doc. Doesn’t sound right re eye movement.

Ok thanks. Will see how soon they have a free appointment. Knowing the doc I’d normally visit, probably nothing til tomorrow night at least.

Just thinking… add lethargy to the list as well. Getting up and moving around seems like a major chore and muscles kind of aching, almost all over.

JTQ said:

poikilotherm said:

JTQ said:

Escitalopram/Lexapro … feeling nausea, dizziness (both common side effects), and my eyes feel like they’re moving around on their own, I’m having trouble keeping them still. Quite frustrating when I’m trying to read. Is this one a normal side effect of ADs?

Call the doc. Doesn’t sound right re eye movement.

Ok thanks. Will see how soon they have a free appointment. Knowing the doc I’d normally visit, probably nothing til tomorrow night at least.

If it (the involuntary eye movement) gets worse go to hospital.

poikilotherm said:

If it (the involuntary eye movement) gets worse go to hospital.

Ok will do. Cheers

Morning, all

Just a quick question about meds…

Escitalopram has a half-life of 27-36 hours. I’m currently on 20mg.

I missed my dose yesterday morning, so had it 3:30pm when I remembered about it.

Is it safe to have now, 10:00am? Or should I skip today’s and just start fresh tomorrow at the usual morning time?

Take today’s dose and continue as usual.

Just curious… does anyone know if there’s any interactions between Lexapro/Escitalopram and caffeine?

Needing a super-clear mind for my current task at work (programming and lots of complex formulas) and would like a small can of V, as that used to help really well :)

JTQ said:

any interactions between Lexapro/Escitalopram and caffeine?

No.

Thanks :)