Venlafaxine

Venlafaxine is an antidepressant out there in the United States below the trade identify of Effexor or Effexor XR. Purpose

Venlafaxine is used to treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder. It has additionally been used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and irritable bowel syndrome. Description

Venlafaxine is an antidepressant. It has actions common to both the cyclic antidepressants resembling imipramine (Tofranil) and amitriptyline (Elavil,) and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) similar to fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and paroxetine (Paxil). It's believed to derive its actions by growing levels of each norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain.

The therapeutic effects of venlafaxine, like other antidepressants, appear slowly. Most benefit is often not evident for at the very least two weeks after beginning the drug. Individuals taking venlafaxine should concentrate on this and continue taking the drug as directed even if they don't see fast improvement.

Venlafaxine is damaged down by the liver and eradicated from the body by the kidneys. Consequently, the dose of venlafaxine should be lowered in folks with liver or kidney disease.

Venlafaxine is available in 25-mg, 37.5-mg, 50-mg, seventy five-mg, and 100-mg fast-release tablets and seventy five-mg and a hundred and fifty-mg extended-motion capsules. Advisable dosage

The really useful initial dose of venlafaxine is seventy five mg day by day taken as two or three equal doses. The dose may be elevated in 75-mg increments every four days as wanted until symptoms of depression or anxiety resolve. Most commonly, dosages vary between a hundred and fifty mg to 225 mg daily. though in severe situations, 375 mg per day may be needed. Once sufferers are stabilized using the rapid-acting tablets, they may be converted over to the appropriate dose of extended-launch capsules.

In folks with liver disease, the every day dosage of venlafaxine should be cut in half. In patients with kidney disease, the day by day dosage of venlafaxine needs to be reduced 25–50%, relying upon the extent of kidney damage. When stopping venlafaxine, the dosage needs to be reduced gradually over a period of at the very least two weeks earlier than the drug is completely stopped. Precautions

Patients taking venlafaxine should be monitored closely for insomnia, nervousness, mania, important weight loss, seizures , and thoughts of suicide.

Caution must also be exercised when prescribing venlafaxine to patients with impaired liver or kidney function, the aged (over age 60) kids, people with known manic-depressive disorder or a historical past of seizures, people with diabetes, and individuals expressing ideas of committing suicide.

Individuals shouldn't take MAO inhibitors equivalent to Nardil throughout venlafaxine therapy, for two weeks previous to beginning venlafaxine therapy, and for five weeks after stopping venlafaxine therapy.

Care should be taken to weigh the risks and benefit of this drug in women who are, or want to become, pregnant, as effectively as in breast-feeding mothers.

People with diabetes should monitor their blood or urine sugar more rigorously, since venlafaxine might affect blood sugar.

Until an individual understands the consequences that This external link was removed for your protection might have, he or she ought to avoid driving, operating dangerous machinery, or participating in hazardous activities. Alcohol should not be used while taking venlafaxine. Unwanted side effects

Extra common unwanted effects include decreased sexual drive, restlessness, difficulty sitting still, pores and skin rash, hives, and itching.

Less common unwanted side effects include fever and/or chills, and pain in joints or muscles.

Uncommon unwanted effects include pain or enlargement of breasts and/or irregular milk production in girls, seizures, quick coronary heart rate, irregular heartbeats, red or purple spots on the skin, low blood sugar and its symptoms (anxiety, chills, cold sweats, confusion, problem concentrating, drowsiness, excess hunger, rapid heart rate, headache, shakiness or unsteadiness, severe fatigue ), low blood sodium and its symptoms (together with confusion, seizures, drowsiness, dry mouth, extreme thirst, decreased vitality), serotonin syndrome (often no less than three of the following: diarrhea, fever, sweatiness, mood or conduct changes, overactive reflexes, quick heart fee, restlessness, shivering or shaking), excitability, agitation, irritability, pressured talking, issue respiratory, and odd body or facial movements. Interactions

Venlafaxine interacts with a long listing of other medications. Anybody starting this drug should assessment the other drugs they're taking with their physician and pharmacist for possible interactions. Patients ought to at all times inform all their health care providers, including dentists, that they are taking venlafaxine.

Dangerously high blood pressure, rapid adjustments in heart rate, high fever, muscle stiffness, and sudden muscle spasms have resulted from the combination of antidepressants, equivalent to venlafaxine, and members of one other class of antidepressants referred to as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. Because of these serious adversarial reactions, venlafaxine ought to never be taken in combination with MAO inhibitors. Patient taking any MAO inhibitors, for instance Nardil (phenelzine sulfate) or Parmate (tranylcypromine sulfate), should stop the MAO inhibitor then wait not much less than 14 days earlier than starting venlafaxine or a tricyclic antidepressant. The same holds true when discontinuing venlafaxine and starting an MAO inhibitor.

Another medication equivalent to trazodone (Desyrel), sibutramine (Meridia), and sumatriptan (Imitrex) also interact with venlafaxine and trigger a syndrome referred to as neuroleptic malignant syndrome, characterised by irritability, muscle stiffness, shivering, muscle spasms, and altered consciousness.

The sedative This external link was removed for your protection (drowsiness, lack of mental clarity) of venlafaxine are increased by other central nervous system depressants similar to alcohol, sedatives, sleeping drugs, or other medications used for mental problems akin to schizophrenia.