Effexor XR and high blood pressure

[Holly]

I was on Cymbalta for two and a half years and had to start Accupril for high blood pressure a tear ago. This past spring my blood pressure soared through the roof (180/135!) after taking an OTC decongestant and my doctor added a beta-blocker (propranolol) to my regimen. I packed on about 15 pounds that I could not get rid of and was feeling listless, lethargic and uninspired so I talked to my psychiatrist about weaning off the Cymbalta.

So many others on the web reported an awful withdrawal period from Cymbalta (I was only taking 30 mg a day), but with the expectation I'd feel crappy for a few days, I didn't find it difficult to detox from the Cymbalta. I was a little edgy, but the Propranolol (Inderal is the brand name) has taken away all of the heart-racing, rapid-pulse reactions my anxiety used to induce. It is like my body no longer cooperates when my mind wants to have a panic attack and I now am able to notice my panic-thoughts and choose not to react. My blood pressure returned to normal within 8 days (checked by my GP) and I am hoping to get off the Accupril soon.

Beta blockers are an old medicine that were originally a BP treatment, but some people take them for social anxiety/stage fright. I could not be more delighted in how propranolol has subsided my anxiety and helped me ditch the Cymbalta. I am WAY more engaged in my life and productive.

[carol]

My BP went off the charts on effexor!! I always had low blood pressure. Three months ago I stopped effexor completely and my blood pressure is still high (190/88). If effexor is causing hypertention, is it permanent?

[Bill]

carol wrote:

My BP went off the charts on effexor!! I always had low blood pressure. Three months ago I stopped effexor completely and my blood pressure is still high (190/88). If effexor is causing hypertention, is it permanent?

It took abt 2 weeks for my BP to come down to normal, but my heart rate took over 4 weeks to go down.
Effexor effected my PSA (prostrate) readings, as it went up on effexor, and back down again after I stopped taking effexor.

[Zoetropez]

Thank God I'm not alone! I have been on Effexor XR for a while now and looking down my chart for the past two years I was always at 120/80 despite having white-coat anxiety. Then all of a sudden my BP is at 140/110 or thereabouts. These SSRIs help, but they do a lot of damage too, and getting off of them is near impossible, and that's coming from someone who has cold turkey-ed "hard drugs" in my younger days with no problem. I also have no history of BP problems in my family, I run 3-5 miles per day and thought I was otherwise healthy. No idea what to do, but somebody should file a class action suit, IMHO.

[ARC]

So I lowered my dose and my bp went down but still somewhat high...I guess I am going to have to go completely off...I am sooo tired of the bp issue...My doctor tried to tell me it couldn't possibly be the effexor...chest xray, renal artery doplar --- going in for a stress test and heart ultra sound...so far (not a big surprise) nothing actually wrong with me...I'm with Zoe --- class action at this point. Criminal

[Zoetropez]

Of course it couldn't be the Effexor that's responsible for the high BP, after all, he probably wrote the prescriptio with one of those stupid free drug company Effexor pens, and learned all about it on an Effexor-sponsored "learning junket" in Maui, etc. Once I even saw an Effexor clock in a doc's office. That should've been my cue to run. I'm going to try the half-dose thing but it doesn't seem to work for you and I'm TERRIFIED of the Wd symptoms. This stuff is garbage and should carry a black box warning at the very least. Good luck to everybody stuck on this sheeeet.

ARC wrote:

So I lowered my dose and my bp went down but still somewhat high...I guess I am going to have to go completely off...I am sooo tired of the bp issue...My doctor tried to tell me it couldn't possibly be the effexor...chest xray, renal artery doplar --- going in for a stress test and heart ultra sound...so far (not a big surprise) nothing actually wrong with me...I'm with Zoe --- class action at this point. Criminal

[ARC]

Zoe soooo true...come to think of it my first two weeks were "free samples" WTF??? I have been coming down VERY slowly...had my doc write the scrip for 37.5 pills and started taking my dose spread through out the day and then lowering it one less pill every other day ....then down to two a day...than two every other day and now one a day...I'm still worried about coming off completely ...not just for withdrawals but I don't want to start all over with depression etc. Working with a naturapath with an amino acid protocol to replace anti-depressants. I'll let you all know how my test results come out (stress test tomorrow) and how the amino protocol is working!

[JDC]

So very thankful I found this forum! I have been telling everyone in my family that I haven't really been feeling right physically for the past two years, despite the fact that my mental state is great! I had been having some awful headaches for about the past month. When I went in for my annual OB checkup, the doc noticed that my blood pressure was up for the second year in a row. They knew that because it was 115/65 the year before that. Started thinking about what could be causing it and realized that I had started with Effexor (presribed by my Ob as a change to my good-old Prozac, which had always worked, but which was now causing problems with libido). I started charting my blood pressure and then went to my regular GP with the intention of having him take me off the Effexor. He told me that it was simply the fact that I was taking the med the wrong way. The container for 75 mg. a day called for only one pill (when it should have been 2). He said that I was going through withdrawal every day. He prescribed the XR 75, but at the same time prescribed 10mg of Lisinopril for the BP. I have been taking the Lisinopril for two weeks with no reduction in BP or in the awful symptoms of a head feeling as if it could explode at any moment. I called the GP last week to complain about the lact of change in my situation. He had the nurse tell me that I should continue with the Lisinopril and the Effexor, but oh, by the way, your bloodwork showed that you have reduced kidney function! Still, no plans to see me until Dec. 31.
I took it for the XR for the first time on Sunday (had trouble with insurance of course) and my blood pressure shot up to 179/120. I couldn't go to sleep that night for fear that I wouldn't wake up. I ended up spending the whole day in the emergency room yesterday trying to get the BP down. After two doses of Clonadine (sp.) and something like Lobedoll (again sp.) and an Atavan to calm me down, I left with BP at 138/92.
I don't know how many people have commented on this list about the fact that the blood pressure risk is not in the pamphlet, at least not the one that I recently received. Why do these doctors keep pushing this drug? I know that our moods are much better, but at what risk? Is happiness worth dying for? I'm 40 years old!

[arc]

yep all tests reveal i am healthy...no reason at all for bp...doc wanted me to go on bp med but i dont want to add more to my list of problems and when i take my reading b4 i take my dose i am at 120 over 75.... i am starting on every other day of 37.5 dose...heres hoping!

[Rhea]

I began Effexor xr about four months ago. My depression has been all but eliminated , however, at my dosage of 300 mg daily, my bp has gone from prehypertensive 145/74 to 180/110
and my resting heart rate is 120. If the Effexor is doing this, how many meds does a person take to aleviate the side effects of another? I have quit before and fallen into the deepest depression that I have been in in my life. Any Ideas?

[Rhea]

cjb wrote:

Has anyone had any experience with Effexor xr becoming ineffective after year of use? I have noticed weight gain, sleepiness, loss of memory, low energy, and lack of desire to do anything! Wondered if there were others with same issues? Definitely wondered if anyone believe Effexor XR looses effectiveness??

I believe that with any medication you can build a tolerance, and the need to increase the dosage of the medication you are currently on, or change to a different medication is inevitable

[angie]

sounds like we are all in the same boat! i have been taking effexor for the past 2 years along w/ lamictal, the latter which helps w/ anger and irritability, while the effexor is more for depression. my blood pressure is way up, too, even though it's always been low and have always exercised regularly and eat pretty well. went down from 225 mg, to 150, but bp is still up 130-140/90. i want to go off, too, but my mood has been so much better and i have tons more energy. haven't gained any weight at all. but around the same time i went on effexor, i also was diagnosed w/ low thyroid and am on thyroid meds - found out low thyroid can also cause depression and irritability. kind of want to go off effexor to see if thyroid meds help alone. but i'm so afraid of withdrawal. forgot to take it one day and felt like shit - zombie-like, buzzy, etc. and i agree doctors don't know anything. one tells you one thing, the other another. what's the solution!

[Thompson]

Hang in there. You are not alone (as you can tell). I went to the BP doc last Friday and asked him about BP and Effexor. He had never heard of such a connection and "seriously doubted" there was any connection.$200 please. And when I looked up at the clock, guess what time it was? That's right, Lexapro. The entire office was on Lexapro time. Free clocks for the drug-dealing docs.
On a personal note, I have been weaning off 225 sowly for about a year now and am down to about 37.5 or so. It feels as though there are suddenly a lot more loose parts in my head. And when I miss a dose, it's ZAP! time.

angie wrote:

sounds like we are all in the same boat! i have been taking effexor for the past 2 years along w/ lamictal, the latter which helps w/ anger and irritability, while the effexor is more for depression. my blood pressure is way up, too, even though it's always been low and have always exercised regularly and eat pretty well. went down from 225 mg, to 150, but bp is still up 130-140/90. i want to go off, too, but my mood has been so much better and i have tons more energy. haven't gained any weight at all. but around the same time i went on effexor, i also was diagnosed w/ low thyroid and am on thyroid meds - found out low thyroid can also cause depression and irritability. kind of want to go off effexor to see if thyroid meds help alone. but i'm so afraid of withdrawal. forgot to take it one day and felt like shit - zombie-like, buzzy, etc. and i agree doctors don't know anything. one tells you one thing, the other another. what's the solution!