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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by joe333111 on June 1, 2001, at 14:01:44
Hello,
I am currently taking effexor 75 mg with some success.
issues: depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance
I have 3 questions:1. Is a higher dose 225mg xr more effective?
The research ive read is mixed.
2. Is it effective to combine to help augment
with serzone or remeron, if so what doses?
***My thinking was go to 225mg eff, plus 100mg
serzone pm and 100mg am. Feedback on this idea???
3.Long term effectiveness of effexor?
I've heard a lot of people say their antidepressants
work well for a couple years then simply STOP?
withdrawl dosn't concern me so much as tolerance.Thankyou very much!
Posted by SalArmy4me on June 1, 2001, at 15:02:26
In reply to effexor with other drugs, posted by joe333111 on June 1, 2001, at 14:01:44
I'm trying to address the long-term and tolerance issue:
Sutor, Bruce MD et al. Major Depression in Medically Ill Patients. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 73(4):329-337, Apr 1998:
"Venlafaxine is a newer agent that inhibits reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine but, unlike the TCAs, has minimal histaminergic or cholinergic activity; thus, it is a better tolerated agent for many patients. The side-effect profile of venlafaxine is similar to that of the SSRIs, but venlafaxine also has the dose-related side effect of increased mean blood pressure. Thus, close observation of blood pressure is necessary in patients with hypertension or illnesses that could be exacerbated by an increased blood pressure, particularly when doses of 200 mg/day are used."Schweitzer, Isaac MB BS, MD, FRANZCP *. Burrows, Graham AO, KSJ, MB BS, MD, FRANZCP. Sustained Response to Open-Label Venlafaxine in Drug-Resistant Major Depression. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 21(2):185-189, April 2001:
"Long-term safety data have been pooled from 19 studies in which 422 depressed patients were given venlafaxine for at least 1 year. Significantly fewer patients withdrew from venlafaxine than from placebo or the reference antidepressants, primarily because of fewer adverse events or poor responses.
The safety profile during the extension phase of the study was similar to that found in the initial phase and in other studies and was well-tolerated overall. Of the adverse events reported, 7.8% were rated as severe and 0.3% as life-threatening. The most common study events were somnolence (21%), headache (18%), insomnia (16%), sweating (16%), constipation (14%), dry mouth (11%), nausea (10%), and dizziness (10%). Fifteen patients (6%) experienced serious events, in one patient death by suicide, and in three patients nonfatal overdoses with other medications. There were no statistically significant changes in mean systolic or diastolic blood pressure or pulse during the extension period. A slight, statistically significant decrease was noted in weight at month 4.
In conclusion, patients with resistant depression treated with venlafaxine maintained their response for up to 12 months and showed some evidence of further improvement."
This is the end of the thread.
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