Who invented effexor

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals scientist first synthesized venlafaxine HCI in the early s. It was soon discovered to be an effective treatment of depression. It was prescribed as a single dose taking each day, which produced slightly lower nausea rates, especially when the therapy was just beginning. To date, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the medication to treat major depressive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and GAD generalized anxiety disorder.

However, some doctors prescribed the medication for off-label uses that include:. Now that the medication has been in use for over two decades, there are significant advantages and disadvantages to taking Effexor. Some of these include:. Many patients experience severe withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking Effexor venlafaxine HCI.

The most common symptoms include irritability, vomiting, nausea, nightmares, paresthesia a tingling, prickly sensation on the skin , headaches, and feeling dizzy. Many of these withdrawal symptoms occur just hours after reducing or stopping the usual dose of Elektra plus. Because of that, drivers and those operating machines are urged to stop that activity or adhere to a strict drug routine that can minimize the potential of experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Like all other medications and over-the-counter remedies, Effexor has serious side effects that should be considered before, during and after taking the drug.

However, the many side effects caused by Effexor venlafaxine HCI often do not require medical attention. This is because the body normally adjusts to the medication quickly and the side effects can go away over time.

However, some significant major side effects require immediate medical attention. However, there are serious to severe major side effects that Effexor produces that could affect the health and well-being of the patient. More common major side effects include:. Effexor discontinuation syndrome SSRI withdrawal is a common occurrence. Typically, these symptoms tend to be nonspecific and very broad whenever the patient discontinued taking Effexor venlafaxine HCI.

To avoid SSRI discontinuation syndrome, it is important that:. Nearly every prescription medication, including Effexor venlafaxine HCI , will have contraindications, where patient suffering from a medical condition, experiencing symptoms, or taking other medications should avoid taking the antidepressant altogether.

Patients should avoid taking Effexor venlafaxine HCI if they suffer from any one of the following:. Even today, plaintiffs are claiming that the drug is dangerous because it produces suicidal ideation and thoughts of self-harm. Scientist and doctors have known for a long time that Effexor can produce violent behavior toward others and to the patient taking the medication. In fact, most SSRIs serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been known to produce violent occurrences.

However, lawyers have often found it difficult to prove the correlation between violent behavior and taking Effexor venlafaxine HCI when presenting evidence in court.

Some plaintiffs are claiming that Effexor venlafaxine HCI causes birth defects. To date, there are many lawsuits yet to be heard in both federal and state court concerning the correlation between birth defects and taking Effexor venlafaxine HCI during pregnancy.

December — Parents of a son born with serious life-threatening heart defects as files a monetary compensation lawsuit against Pfizer, Inc. The lawsuit was filed in the U. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Lawyers working on behalf of the Missouri plaintiffs are also asking for punitive damages to hold Pfizer morally accountable for their failure to warn the public of serious birth defects caused by their dangerous drug.

The plaintiffs in the case are alleging that Pfizer, Inc. Makers of Effexor venlafaxine HCI failed to warn them of the serious side effects of the product including its correlation with birth defects. Lawsuit documents reveal that the suit is based on negligence, failure to warn, and product liability.

Lawyers have built the case on behalf of their plaintiffs by stating that the Minnesota mother had been prescribed and took Effexor during her pregnancy. Since childbirth, the newborn required numerous surgeries to repair multiple defects and will likely require additional surgeries in the years ahead.

The plaintiffs are suggesting that had the mother known or been made aware of known Effexor side effects on newborns and fetuses, she would have never taken the medication and likely would have chosen alternative methods for treating her depression.

There is also an extended-release version distributed in capsules of Venlafaxine extended release is chemically the same as normal venlafaxine. The extended release version sometimes referred to as controlled release controls the release of the drug into the gastrointestinal tract over a longer period of time than normal venlafaxine.

This results in a lower peak plasma concentration. Studies have shown that the extended release formula has a lower incidence of patients suffering from nausea as a side effect resulting in a lower number of patients stopping their treatment due to nausea.

Generic venlafaxine is available in the United States as of August and in Canada as of December A generic form of the extended-release version is available in Canada as of January and will become available in the United States in Venlafaxine is a very effective anti-depressant for many persons; however, it seems to be especially effective for those with treatment-resistant depression.

Some of these persons have taken two or more antidepressants prior to venlafaxine with no relief. Patients suffering with severe long-term depression typically respond better to venlafaxine than other drugs. However, venlafaxine has been reported to be more difficult to discontinue than other anti-depressants. In addition, a September Consumer Reports study ranked venlafaxine as the most effective among six commonly prescribed antidepressants. Like most psychiatric medications, however, the results of such studies alone should not be relied upon by potential patients, as responses to psychiatric medications can vary significantly from individual to individual.

As with most antidepressants, lack of sexual desire is a common side effect. Venlafaxine can raise blood pressure at high doses, so it is usually not the drug of choice for persons with hypertension. It has a higher rate of treatment emergent mania than many modern antidepressants, and many people find it to be a more activating medication one that increases energy or wakefulness than other antidepressants.

There is an additional risk if a physician misinterprets patient expression of adverse effects such as panic or akathisia as symptoms of worsening depression rather than effects of the medication and increases dose. Assessment of patient history and comorbid risk factors such as drug abuse are recommended when evaluating the safety of venlafaxine for individual patients. These cautions are emphasized in Wyeth's information sheet with special precautions if prescribed to children. The extent of this effect and the actual risk are not known as studies may exclude individuals with higher risk.

In the UK , one study evaluated whether risk factors for suicide were more prevalent among patients prescribed venlafaxine than patients prescribed other antidepressants.

Results showed patients prescribed venlafaxine were more likely to have attempted suicide in the previous year, although it was concluded that venlafaxine had been selectively prescribed to a patient population with a higher burden of suicide risk factors to begin with, and that this might have led to a higher future risk of suicide independent of any drug effect.

Studies with baseline data are required to determine the actual risk with venlafaxine. Another risk is Serotonin syndrome. This is a rare, however serious side effect that can be caused by interactions with other Central Nervous System depressant drugs and is potentially fatal.

For example, the drug abuse by at risk patients of certain non-prescription drugs can cause this serious effect and emphasizes the importance of good medical history sharing between General Practitioners and Psychiatrists as both may prescribe Venlafaxine.

Involvement of family in awareness of risk factors is highlighted in Wyeth information sheets on Effexor. It has no significant CNS stimulant activity in rodents. In primate drug discrimination studies, venlafaxine showed no significant stimulant or depressant abuse liability. Notwithstanding these in-vitro and non-human research findings, some patients using venlafaxine may become dependent on this drug.

This is especially noted if a patient misses a dose, but can also occur when reduction of dosage is done with a doctor's care. This may result in experiencing withdrawal symptoms described as severe discontinuation syndrome. The high risk of withdrawal symptoms may reflect venlafaxine's short half-life. Sudden discontinuation of venlafaxine has a high risk of causing potentially severe withdrawal symptoms. As the drug has direct impact on mood i. Most patients overdosing with venlafaxine develop only mild symptoms.

However, severe toxicity is reported with the most common symptoms being CNS depression , serotonin toxicity, seizure , or cardiac conduction abnormalities. Doses of mg or more are likely to cause moderate toxicity. On May 31 , The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency MHRA UK has concluded its review into all the latest safety evidence relating to venlafaxine particularly looked at the risks associated with overdose. The advice are, the need for specialist supervision in those severely depressed or hospitalized patients who need doses mg or more; cardiac contra-indications are more targeted towards high risk groups; patients with uncontrolled hypertension should not take venlafaxine, and blood pressure monitoring is recommended for all patients; and updated advice on possible drug interactions.

Published retrospective studies report that venlafaxine overdosage may be associated with an increased risk of fatal outcome compared to that observed with SSRI antidepressant products, but lower than that for tricyclic antidepressants. Healthcare professionals are advised to prescribe Effexor and Effexor XR in the smallest quantity of capsules consistent with good patient management to reduce the risk of overdose.

A report in the British Medical Journal in by Dr. Nicholas Buckley and colleagues at the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Canberra Hospital, Australia studying fatal toxicity index deaths per million prescriptions found that venlafaxines fatal toxicity is higher than that of other serotoninergic antidepressants but it is similar to that of some of the less toxic tricyclic antidepressants.

Overall they found serious toxicity could occur following venlafaxine overdose with reports of deaths, arrythmias, and seizures. They did, however, state that this type of data is open to criticism pointing out that mortality data may be influenced by previous literature and that "less toxic" drugs may be preferentially prescribed to patients at higher risk of poisoning and suicide but they are also less likely to be listed as the sole cause of death from overdose.

It also assumes that drugs are taken in overdose with similar frequency and in similar amounts. They suggested "clinicians need to consider whether factors in their patients reduce or compensate for this risk before prescribing venlafaxine.

The February 27, Vancouver Sun reported that the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre has alerted doctors that the drug poses a significant risk of death from overdose, saying that venlafaxine "appears more toxic than it was originally hoped". There is no specific antidote for venlafaxine and management is generally supportive, providing treatment for the immediate symptoms.

Administration of activated charcoal can prevent absorption of the drug. Monitoring of cardiac rhythm and vital signs is indicated. Seizures are managed with benzodiazepines or other anti-convulsants. Forced diuresis , hemodialysis , exchange transfusion , or hemoperfusion are unlikely to be of benefit in hastening the removal of venlafaxine, due to the drug's high volume of distribution. Psychology Wiki Explore. Animal defensive behavior Kinesis Animal escape behavior Cooperative breeding Sexual cannibalism Cannibalism zoology Animal aggressive behavior.

Recent Blogs Community portal forum. Register Don't have an account? Edit source History Talk 0. Relative toxicity of venlafaxine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in overdose compared to tricyclic antidepressants. QJM 96 5 : PMID Postmortem tissue concentrations of venlafaxine.

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