"i want to share my experience because i was terrified when i first started pristiq. it was the first time i&#039;d taken an antidepressant following a severe depressive episode. i read so many negative things about pristiq and people over analysing it. it took 6 weeks to work and yes i had dry mouth, headaches and nausea but they passed after a few days. the anxiety went away gradually and i felt like i could control it again. the depression lifted too and i could function. i went cold turkey to come off it (dr supervised) and yep side effects but no big deal. the brain zaps were full on but they lasted about 4 days. i feel great. of course i&#039;m doing lots of exercise and eating well too...but pristiq helped."