Because I am a cancer pt the doctor changed me from effexor xr to pristiq because it will not cause as much work for my internal organs. He felt that the less my kidney/liver has to detox the better. The drug is being used for multiple reasons - depression, migraine prevention and to combat the hot flashes/night sweats from my cancer treatment. Over all I have been happy with the treatment and it has been very effective in treating the menopause symptoms. I have gone from waking up 6-8 times per night with night sweats to only waking up 1-2 times. For me this has changed my life because I can sleep again. I have had no side effects but do realize that I will need to be weaned off of the drug if and when my doctor chooses to take me off of it.
