20 Facts About Venlafaxine

Venlafaxine, sold under the brand name Effexor among others, is an antidepressant medication of the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor class.

Venlafaxine was approved for medical use in the United States in 1993.

Venlafaxine is used primarily for the treatment of depression, general anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, and vasomotor symptoms.

Venlafaxine is an antidepressant agent that can safely be used in patients with stroke history.

Venlafaxine has been used off label for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy and migraine prevention .

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Venlafaxine was similar in efficacy to the atypical antidepressant bupropion; however, the remission rate was lower for venlafaxine.

Venlafaxine has been shown to have an optimal efficacity and tolerability towards the lower end of their licensed dose range.

Venlafaxine is not recommended in patients hypersensitive to it, nor should it be taken by anyone who is allergic to the inactive ingredients, which include gelatin, cellulose, ethylcellulose, iron oxide, titanium dioxide and hypromellose.

Venlafaxine might interact with tramadol or other opioids, trazodone, so caution is needed while mixing multiple serotonergic agents together.

Venlafaxine has a higher rate of moderate to severe discontinuation symptoms relative to other antidepressants .

Venlafaxine-induced serotonin syndrome has been reported when venlafaxine has been taken in isolation in overdose.

Venlafaxine should be taken with caution when using St John's wort.

Venlafaxine is neither recommended nor approved for the treatment of major depressive episodes in bipolar disorder, as it can induce mania or mixed episodes.

Venlafaxine appears to be more likely than the SSRIs and bupropion to induce mania and mixed episodes in bipolar patients.

Venlafaxine can be abused as recreational drug, with damages that can manifest within a month.

Venlafaxine is usually categorized as a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, but it has been referred to as a serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor .

Venlafaxine indirectly affects opioid receptors as well as the alpha2-adrenergic receptor, and was shown to increase pain threshold in mice.

Venlafaxine is a substrate of P-glycoprotein, which pumps it out of the brain.

Venlafaxine is structurally and pharmacologically related to the atypical opioid analgesic tramadol, and more distantly to the newly released opioid tapentadol, but not to any of the conventional antidepressant drugs, including tricyclic antidepressants, SSRIs, MAOIs, or RIMAs.

Venlafaxine extended release is chemically the same as normal venlafaxine.