"i&#039;ve been taking pristiq (50 mg) for the past 8 or 9 weeks for depression. for the past 10 years, i&#039;d taken effexor xr (450 mg) for depression and panic attacks. it completely kicked the panic.  i was also taking 450 mg of wellbutrin sr with the effexor and still take it along with the pristiq. the first 4 days were awful since i had stopped the effexor cold turkey, but after a couple of weeks, i began feeling better on the pristiq. so far, pristiq is working well for me, i have more energy, which is huge for me (i also have fibromyalgia and sleep disorders). "