"i suffer from depression and panic disorder. i take pristiq with ativan. i&#039;ve been taking pristiq for 5 months.  just within the last 2 weeks i was told to up it to 100mg because the 50mg just was not taking away my depression.  i have noticed a lot more of an effect from the 100mg.  i think you just need to get it into you system for a couple of months, until you have no side effects and if it isn&#039;t taking away the depression then start upping it gradually. what i did was i took 1 pill in the morning, and 1 at night.  now i am finally taking 2 in the morning, and so far so good.  the depression is lifting. i&#039;ve also lost 30 lbs since pristiq. ps. never had any noticeable side effects. just one complaint: constipation."