Posted by medlib on March 3, 2003, at 18:15:32
In reply to Re: Dopamine agonists » Michael Bell, posted by daizy on March 3, 2003, at 10:10:41
Hi Daizy--
Effexor is a weird drug--not an SSRI, but sort of a sequential TCA. At low dose levels E. affects serotonin reuptake. At mid-level doses it affects primarily norepinephrine-transmitting neurons, though it still retains significant serotonin action. At high doses (300mg/day and up) it has a weak effect on dopamine. Some docs feel that E.'s effect on dopamine is too small to be of clinical significance.
From your reaction to E., I would guess that you're taking a mid-level dose (somewhere in the 150-275 range?) where the NE effect predominates. I haven't read the applications for E. as an anti-anxiety agent, but I would think that the recommended dose range would have to be quite low (where only serotonin is affected) or quite high (where, supposedly, dopamine effects kick in).
Anxiety is not one of my multiple problems; but, if it were, and I was offered a choice between, say, Effexor and Klonopin for it, I wouldn't have to think for more than a few seconds before choosing Klonopin. Others on this board have posted some helpful links on SA; you might want to google the archives for them. Do let your pdoc know about your reaction to E.
Hope you find something that works!---medlib, who's ridden musical meds merry-go-round too long.
poster:medlib
thread:205134
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030301/msgs/205588.html