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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sukarno on January 4, 2014, at 5:22:35
I remember before I tried Effexor, the nurse checked my blood pressure first and it was normal.
I then tried it at a dose of 25mg but I split the tablet into 4 pieces and took 6.25mg.
I had a hard time sleeping that night and my heart rate was 90bpm instead of the usual 60bpm (a 50% increase).
A day or two later I experienced a sharp, constant, painful headache all over my head so I went to the pharmacy to check my blood pressure: 150/94 (!)
I told the pdoc and he told me to quit taking it.
I'm curious why I had such a bad reaction to such a low dose (6.25mg!). Am I just hypersensitive to it?
Should I have tried a lower dose? I really wanted it to work because I heard it gives you more motivation since it is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.
I remember nortriptyline is also a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and it made me very motivated, so I tried Effexor because I thought the relatively newer drugs had a better side effect profile.
Any experiences with high blood pressure from Effexor? My bp was normal before taking it. The headache was pretty bad.. hadn't had a headache that bad before in my life (except with migraines).
Posted by Phillipa on January 4, 2014, at 9:19:24
In reply to Experience with venlafaxine (Effexor), posted by sukarno on January 4, 2014, at 5:22:35
Were you taking anything else with it? No idea about the headache? I think it is known for increasing BP though. PJ
Posted by ed_uk2010 on January 5, 2014, at 14:17:22
In reply to Experience with venlafaxine (Effexor), posted by sukarno on January 4, 2014, at 5:22:35
>I remember nortriptyline is also a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and it made me very motivated, so I tried Effexor because I thought the relatively newer drugs had a better side effect profile.
Nortriptyline blocks alpha-1 receptors, so some of the noradrenergic side effects are reduced eg. risk of hypertension etc. Nortriptyline may sometimes cause postural hypotension instead. Unfortunately, nortriptyline causes dry mouth, weight gain, constipation and drowsiness more often than Effexor. Newer drugs are sometimes better, but sometimes worse.
This is the end of the thread.
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