Stimulants Effexor and adderall

[Virgogirlxx]

Hi, my friend was prescribed venlaflaxine XR (generic for Effexor) 37.5 mg about two years ago for her anxiety. It has worked very well. She seems to be doing a lot better, but her one issue is that when she needs to take Adderall to study well for a test, the 20mg Adderall doesn't work. Before when she wasn't on this anti depressant -Adderall would always work for her. I've read threads and people say that 37.5 mg is low dose so it shouldn't effect the Adderall but she says it does. It causes hot flashes and does not help her concentrate. So she has been experimenting recently by taking the Effexor every other day and not taking the Effexor on the days she would take Adderall. Needless to say, the Adderall still doesn't work. She has heard of the see-saw effect but she don't know how to resolve this issue.. would she take more of the Effexor (double her dose) on the days she needs Adderall or stick to not taking the Effexor? The Effexor has helped her a lot so she doesnt plan on switching. If anyone else has any advice she and I would greatly appreciate it!!

 

[nauticaustin]

I suspect it may be the sudden increase of Serotonin in her system. The SNRI (Effexor), acts as a re-uptake inhibitor at the post-synapse, and the Adderall acts as a re-uptake inhibitor at the pre-synapse.. in addition to exciting the dendrite to release more Serotonin, Norepinephrine and Dopamine...

So, normally taking the Adderall would release all the catecholamines (Serotonin, Norepinephrine and Dopamine) plus make sure they stay active, by preventing the SRT, NAT, and DAT from re-uptaking the excessive amounts of these neurotransmitters. NOTE: It inhibits re-uptake at the pre-synapse.

The Effexor, which is a SNRI (Serotonin, Norepinephrine Re-uptake Inhibitor), doesn't *release* the chemicals, but it inhibits the re-uptake at the POST-synapse.

Now, you are probably thinking "Wouldn't that be a good thing?" ... and the answer is generally, yes. But not since Effexor has such as STRONG receptor affinity for Serotonin..

Now many people realize that the more Serotonin density in your brain, the more Vasopressin, and Oxytocin are released as well. Which are happy chemicals that actually make you sleepy, groggy, etc...

 

[sekio]

Adderall doesn't effect serotonin concentrations at normal doses.

Effexor is a SNRI and will block some of the norepinephrine releasing effects of amphetamine. The effexor binds to the norepinephrine reuptake pump and blocks it, so amphetamine can't bind and reverse it. There's no way to get around it by skipping doses of Effexor because it has such a long half life - you need to wait for weeks before it clears out of your body completely.

It could also be that she's developing tolerance to the amphetamine, that's a common thing too. You can try increasing your dose but there's no guarantee it will work any better. The thing to do may be switch to coffee.

 

[Lucy Bookit]

I have taken effexor for years and have never had any issues with adderall working. In fact, I was on effexor when I first started bingeing, and I'm now prescribed it for hypersomnia both by my psychiatrist. I think it may be tolerance, as sekio said. To give a reference point, I take 300mg effexor daily and 60mg of adderall daily.

Do not stop taking your effexor!​ It will cause extremely uncomfortable withdrawals with brain zaps and depression--could lead to suicidal thoughts for her. This withdrawal would occur a few hours after a missed dose, and it was so bad I'd usually return home and take it if I could. In my experience, it was worse than opiate withdrawal.

 

[sacsky]

@ sekio

I know people who take cymbalta + adderall and do well on it. Stephen Stahl also recommends heroic combos where he lists stuff like SNRI + Amphetamine or NDRI + Amphetamine.

So if a NDRI would make amphetamines of no effect then why should he recommend such combos?

Some people also take SNRI + Ritalin or Wellbutrin + Ritalin.