I haven't taken Pristiq, but I have taken Effexor and Cymbalta. Pristiq is sort of "next-generation" Effexor. It's a form of the same molecule.

The psych nurse that I used to go to for meds management had encouraged me at one time to switch from Cymbalta to Pristiq. She thought it was a better antidepressant based on the results with her patients. I didn't, because Cymbalta had just become generic at that time, and I was concerned about cost.

Here's my story with the SNRI meds and high blood pressure. I took Effexor ER for about 6 years and the last year I developed high blood pressure. I assumed it was because of my age. I switched to Cymbalta and started taking a low dose of blood pressure medication.

I have now been taking Cymbalta for about 7 years and for the last year or so, my blood pressure has not been controlled, even though my doctor keeps changing the meds.

I'm beginning to get the impression that these SNRI meds are having more of an effect on my blood pressure after I've been taking them for a long time, but I don't know if that's really true.

I stick with an SNRI antidepressant because I also have fibromyalgia and they work very well for me for controlling the pain from that.

So all in all, this may not have helped you very much.

If you don't already have high blood pressure, I wouldn't be concerned.