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24 year old son, highly decorated Afghanistan Vet was prescribed Venlafaxine, lorazapan and Propanol all at once for GERD, Mitral Valve Prolapse and PTSD by the VA. Within a week and a half, an active 4.0 student in college/scuba diver/camp counseler was a walking zombie. Suffering memory lapses. Falling asleep all the time. No appetite. I told him to get off the Venlafaxine and lorazapan immediately. Possibly substitute depression meds with something much less powerful and additive. Your thoughts?
Hi there
I completely agree. Some patients who are on these sedatives such as the Lorazepam (Ativan) and Effexor (Venlafaxine) will have a hard time adjusting. The Ativan is making him 'walk around like a zombie' as it has some very heavy sedating qualities. The thing about Effexor is that he does not need to come off of this drug or the Ativan at one time without tapering down his dosage. His Dr can help him do this and put him on something different. Every drug is not for everybody. There are newer medications out on the market that do not have the effects that these 2 do, and I think his dr might need to rethink his regimen as this one is obviously not working. So yes, your thinking is correct.
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Would wellbutrin, or prozac at a low dosage be the best route to take as an introductory depression med that wont interact with his heart meds? If not these meds, any other specific med recommendation???
Hello
It depends on whether or not his Dr wants to keep him in the same class of drugs or not. Effexor is a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSNRIs). If the Dr will put him on a different class of drugs, then he could try something different such as Pristiq (a new drug). Prozac interacts somewhat with Inderal and really is not recommended and neither is Wellbutrin.
Nurse (RN)
18 years experience in many areas of Nursing. Both Hospital and Private Practice experience.