Effexor gave me high blood pressure

[michellemarie]

Also, when I was hospitalized last year, I had an EKG with abnormal pulse readings, but did not have high blood pressure at that point. The doctors sent me home as being "normal." I felt that the doctors were seeing how young I was and immediately rejecting my case as being serious because young, skinny, otherwise healthy girls don't have heart attacks or heart failure.

It has only been in the past couple months that I have been measuring my blood pressure at pharmacies that I have noticed the spike in blood pressure. Even after discontinuing the drug and being off it for two weeks I have pulse that's twice that of my boyfriend's, and my blood pressure will not go down.

 

[michellemarie]

And I realize now how weak my case is with the lack of evidence, on paper, that I have high blood pressure, because I can't go to a doctor right now and last year when I was hospitalized, my blood pressure was not as bad.

 

[mb94]

Effexor is the anti-depressant of last resort and is usually only given after other anti-depressants don't work. It does have many known side effects including bad withdrawl symptoms but all anti-depressants have bad withdrawl side effects and you should NEVER stop taking them when you are not under the care of a doctor because you are at an increased risk of depression, mania, mental instability and physical withdrawl symptoms. I hope you were smart enough to not go cold turkey since that can be terrible for you. A doctor would wean you off of Effexor and possibly switch you over to a different anti-depressant. You need to be working with a doctor. If you can't afford one then go to a free clinic or mental health service agency in your community.

The high blood pressure thing usually only happens in very high doses and it should go back to normal when you are off the drug. No lasting harm and no need for a lawsuit. If you had read the information when they prescribed you the drug you would have known that. And that you shouldn't stop taking it without being under a doctors care.

Go get help. From your frequent postings in a short amount of time it sounds like you are in a manic state. You're not in your right mind right now. Your brain is having a chemical meltdown because it is expecting something that isn't there. Anti-depressants are serious business. You can't just stop taking them. Once you do get over the withdrawl symptoms you'll still have the depression to deal with. You can't do it on your own.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

ha, thanks for the well-intended response.

In 2 hours time you have managed to create chaos, it is now time to get a grip.

Please answer the following quesitons.
In what state do you live?

MI

How old are you?

24

Why are you taking Effexor?

Depression

Who is prescribing it to you, a psychiatrist?

A psychiatrist, yes

What other drugs have you tried in the past?

I used to be on Concerta combined with effexor but discontinued because I felt it was making my heart problems worse


Have you been hospitalized or evaluated?

Yes

Who is supervising your withdrawl?

Me, and my boyfriend. I have no health insurance anymore. I had to taper down my dose last week due to lack of health insurance and am now going it alone with no medication.


Have you ever had any adverse durg reactions?

No. Not besides this.


What Rx do you currently take?

I was taking 300 mg Effexor and my doctor switched me to Cymbalta last year (structurally the same drug). I was taking 90 mg of Cymbalta before I quit.


What other OTC, recreational, herbal, diets?

None


What do you mean by stage II hypertension?

All pharmacy machines that read your blood pressure tell me I have stage II hypertension! (I have confirmed this by going to several machines in several different stores. Not a great legal grounds for my claim, but I can't go to a doctor right now about it because of the lack of health insurance.)

What is your BP? Are you keeping a chart?

My blood pressure, the last time I checked a few days ago, was 170/110. I am not keeping a chart.

When were your last labs done?

Around a year ago


How do your know your HR is 140 when resting? Are you measuring your BP then, what is it then?

I am using a stopwatch, counting my pulse for 6 seconds, and multiplying that number by ten to get my heart rate.

Effexor is not usually the first choice in antidepressants, because of its sideeffects but given your reaction at least 2 classes of antidepressants are contrindicated, tricyclics and SSNRI's, you need a psychiatrist to find the correct Rx for you and it may be another type of medication entirely as opposed to antidepressant.
On Monday go to your local mental health clinic, every county has one for people who have are low income without insurance. Get evaluated there again.
You are not on Effexor, you are on Cymbalta and you need to be supervised by a psychiatrist during withdrawl. As you noted, Cymbalta is an SSNRI, that means it increases the presence of both Serotonin and Norephedrine, it is contraindicated with both hypertension and anxiety. You may also want to have your thyroid function checked in addition to a full set of labs and liver function.

You have no grounds for any lawsuit because you have not followed your doctors instructions nor have you been supervised or monitored by a medical proivider.

If you cannot wait until Monday, go to an ER they cannot turn you away. Be sure to bring your medication with you even if it is empty bottles and be ready to sign a release for your medical records. If you show up there with 170/110 BP and 140 HR they will do something.

 

[michellemarie]

thanks......

 

[michellemarie]

what i find interesting is that my doctor told me that my worries about withdrawal were unfounded and that I was worrying about nothing.... This was before Wyeth was subpoenaed by the U.S. supreme court and all of the effexor controversy unfolded. If I had known what was going to happen to me, I would definitely have not ever gone on the drug.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Here is a link to another thread along with citaitons, for a different medicaiton which also target's NE and Tachycardia resulting from non/poor metabolism of the medicaiton resulting in tachycardia that doesn't go away after withdrawl from the Rx. THis is why I asked re adverse drug reactions and another reason there is no lawsuit.
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=201998
also try slow metered breathing (Pursed lip breathing), that should help lower BP & HR and ease anxiety.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

what i find interesting is that my doctor told me that my worries about withdrawal were unfounded and that I was worrying about nothing.... This was before Wyeth was subpoenaed by the U.S. supreme court and all of the effexor controversy unfolded. If I had known what was going to happen to me, I would definitely have not ever gone on the drug.

It has been known as "Side Effecter" for years, this is your personal chemistry and you inability to metabolize the medication or possibly a thryroid problem.

 

[michellemarie]

that is scary. In reality I don't actually care about legal compensation. I just want to feel better. I will be going to the mental health clinic monday....

 

[rmet4nzkx]

that is scary. In reality I don't actually care about legal compensation. I just want to feel better. I will be going to the mental health clinic monday....

Or the ER if you need to go sooner
or call a crisis hot line
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[loveumms]

You will not have any case since one of the side effects written on the label is increase in blood pressure (although in studies it was less then 5 mmHg). Another side effect is tachycardia (increased pulse) and anxiety.

You NEED really need to see a doctor b/c it is very dangerous to just stop a medication, especially antidepressants, cold turkey.



http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/cymbalta_ad.htm
http://cymbalta.drugs.com/