Posted by SLS on January 25, 2005, at 10:00:18
In reply to A POSITIVE EFFEXOR XR EXPERIENCE~, posted by FaithT on January 24, 2005, at 4:53:08
Hi.
In my ridiculous opinion, Effexor is a great drug when compared to the other alternatives medicine currently offers us. Of course it has its drawbacks. Some of the side effects it shares with the SSRIs. Statistically, however, Effexor has demonstrated two important properties:
1. It gets more people well than the SSRIs.
2. It brings more people closer to true remission than the SSRIs, especially at 300mg.Effexor is a potent drug from this standpoint. A study of more than 2000 people report this as a robust observation. Some of the most often cited investigators in the field of mood disorders participated. I don't have the time to retrieve the abstract, but one can find it on Medline as a study of venlafaxine.
One of the drawbacks of Effexor is that like so many other drugs offered by medicine, a withdrawal syndrome can develop upon its discontinuation. It is far from unique in this regard. Many different types of drugs that treat unrelated medical conditions produce a withdrawal syndrome upon discontinuation. For Effexor, this syndrome can be minimized by using a gradual taper in combination with strategies like using Prozac as a surrogate buffer. There are others.
- Scott
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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2001) 178: 234-241
© 2001 The Royal College of PsychiatristsRemission rates during treatment with venlafaxine or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
MICHAEL E. THASE, MD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, PAA. RICHARD ENTSUAH, PhD and RICHARD L. RUDOLPH, MD
Clinical Research and Development, Wyeth-Ayerst Research, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Correspondence: Michael E. Thase, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2593, USA
Declaration of interest M.E.T. is a paid consultant to Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, the employer of A.R.E. and R.L.R.
ABSTRACT
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Background It had been suggested that the antidepressant venlafaxine, which inhibits reuptake of both serotonin and (at higher doses) noradrenaline, may result in better outcomes than treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).Aims To compare remission rates during treatment with SSRIs or venlafaxine.
Method Data from eight comparable randomised, double-blind studies of major depressive disorder were pooled to compare remission rates (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score 7) during treatment with venlafaxine (n=851), SSRIs (fluoxetine, paroxetine, fluvoxamine; n=748) or placebo (four studies; n=446).
Results Remission rates were: venlafaxine, 45% (382/851); SSRIs, 35% (260/748); placebo, 25% (110/446) (P < 0.001; odds ratio for remission is 1.50 (1.3-1.9), favouring venlafaxine v. SSRIs). The difference between venlafaxine and the SSRIs was significant at week 2, whereas the difference between SSRIs and placebo reached significance at week 4. Results were not dependent on any one study or the definition of remission.
Conclusions Remission rates were significantly higher with venlafaxine than with an SSRI
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