Posted by Cam W. on April 17, 2000, at 19:51:47
In reply to Re: Decongestant drug interaction?, posted by Fran on April 17, 2000, at 14:00:36
> > > Hi Jenny,
> My daughter was told not to take Seldane with Effexor a couple of years ago. Wish I knew the chemistry, but do not, but telling the Pdoc what meds and natural substances you are taking is always a must. If you forget something ask the pharmicist. Because each patient's chemestry is different, care should be taken when taking multiple drugs. Keeping notes of how drugs effect you (on a calender or in a journal)is a good idea. Believe me it is so easy to forget even after a few days.
> Good luck.Fran - You have some good advice about disclosing all medications (prescription, non-prescription and herbal) to both your doctor and pharmacist.
As to your doctor's advice about not combining Effexor with Seldane may be a little overcautious, but not unwarranted. Both of these drugs are metabolized by liver enzymes of the cytochrome family (CYP-3A3/4 to be exact). Effexor only weakly inhibits this system and probably does not affect the metabolism of Seldane that much, if any.
If the the antidepressant were Serzone, Luvox or Prozac and was taken with Seldane, the combination could be deadly. These antidepressants are potent inhibitors of CYP-3A3/4. This means that they stop the body from producing this enzyme and the Seldane would not be metabolized as effectively and blood levels could build up. High blood levels of Seldane can affect the heart (prolongation of the Q-T interval). It is this reason that Seldane was pulled from the OTC market in Canada. When Seldane was taken with Erythromycin (an antibiotic with potent CYP-3A3/4 inhibition) it did cause a few deaths from heart attacks.
Like I said, the chance of this happening with Effexor and Seldane is small, but it would be safer not to take the two together (just in case). I, myself, would not take the combination of Effexor and Seldane because even though the risk of heart problems is small, there is still a risk. Like you said, individual chemistry does figure into the equation.
- Cam W.
poster:Cam W.
thread:29829
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000411/msgs/30385.html