Dr. Bob's Psychopharmacology Tips

Venlafaxine for ADD

Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 08:49:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ivan Goldberg <psydoc@psycom.net>
Subject: Venlafaxine for ADD

At this year's NCDEU meeting, three groups reported on the successful use of venlafaxine for the treatment of ADD. I have used this agent in some people with both ADD and a depression with good results. Pindolol potentiation of venlafaxine may allow this treatment to be effective in just a week or so.

Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 21:18:12 EST
From: HRudMD@aol.com (Howard Rudominer, M.D.)
Subject: Choice of second-line meds for ADHD

I see no reason to try venlafaxine (Effexor) since it has not been tested well enough in children with ADHD.

From: "McGough, James J." <JMCGOUGH@npih.medsch.ucla.edu>
Subject: Venlafaxine for ADD
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 96 15:36:00 PDT

There are no large studies to support the use of venlafaxine in either children or adults for ADHD. There certainly is ample evidence to support its use on a theoretical basis, but given the great number of studies that support the efficacy of stimulants and TCAs for this condition, I would be hesitant to jump to a relatively untested and expensive medicine.

Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 17:46:37 -0500
From: gsdavids@niagara.com (George Davidson)
Subject: Venlafaxine for ADD

I treat a large number of adults with ADHD. Most seem to need, or end up benefitting from, SSRIs... When I say SSRIs, I guess I throw venlafaxine in with them, since for all practical purposes it seems to work as well, at least in my hands.

I have treated a number of ADHD patients with venlafaxine, with considerable success. I don't use it so much as a first line drug, due partly to expense and partly to not being on the government formulary for people on social assistance and many drug plans. I find its incidence of side effects about the same as for the SSRIs, and there seems to be a need to start slowly at low doses.

The dose in my patients with ADHD is usually 37.5 mg bid, with some on 75 mg bid. ADHD itself seems to benefit from lower doses of antidepressants -- co-existing depression seems, in my experience, to need more.

Date: 09 Jul 96 10:46:26 EDT
From: Raymond Behr <71514.3051@compuserve.com>
Subject: Venlafaxine for ADD

My own experience has not been particularly good in the few kids that I've treated with comorbid depression. It helps the depression but not the attentional problems.

Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 17:29:40 -0700
From: "Jim Ellison" <jellison@interserv.com>
Subject: Venlafaxine for ADD

There was a positive study reported in the Psychopharmacology Bulletin (not the last issue but the one before). The subjects were adults -- I've seen some good results in the few I've tried.

Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 19:10:18 -0700
From: "Kenneth W. Steinhoff" <ksteinho@uci.edu>
Subject: Venlafaxine for ADD

Theoretically the noradrenergic effect should be helpful for attention. The problem is that the noradrenergic effect doesn't kick in until higher doses. In prepubertal children this frequently has already led to a serotonergic disinhibition. The disinhibition also can look a lot like ADHD, which muddies the waters.

I've used it some. In a number of cases I found it to be helpful with attention in both kids and adults. But I would be very careful with the younger children.

This topic is indexed under the following subjects:

URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Venlafaxine-for-ADD.html
Original tips copyright 1994-97 original authors.
Web page copyright 1995-97 Robert Hsiung.