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May 07, 2015 at 07:47 PM
#1
Long title there. I've been taking SNRI antidepressants for the last 12 years or so - Effexor XR then Cymbalta. I have depression and fibromyalgia.
I'm just wondering if you have had problems with your blood pressure and suspected that it was due to a side effect of a psych med. With both the Effexor XR and the Cymbalta, I took them for 3-4 years and then over a period of a few months my blood pressure seemed to suddenly get much higher. My primary care doctor is working with me to try to find a combination of blood pressure medications that will get my blood pressure back to normal, but it seems to be sticking in the 150/100 range. I need the Cymbalta for fibromyalgia pain, but I also don't need to have high blood pressure. Experience, comments, suggestions welcome. Thank you. |
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Perpetually Pondering
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Member Since Apr 2013
Location: New England
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May 07, 2015 at 09:25 PM
#2
I don't have personal experience with either. What about Lyrica? Granted I've read about the chance for low bp, but also read it helps reduce the chance for clots. And Cymbalta and Lyrica are the only two meds that I am aware of that treat fibro.
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May 08, 2015 at 12:10 AM
#3
I took gabapentin (precursor to Lyrica) and it didn't help my pain at all. Maybe that doesn't mean that Lyrica wouldn't work, but I've been hesitant to try it for that reason.
In any case, if I stopped the Cymbalta, I'd have to 1) taper off it  and 2) find another antidepressant, so I've been hoping to avoid that.Thanks for answering. I think my primary care doctor is going to wait until I collect another week's worth of blood pressure measurements before deciding what to do. |
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Member
Member Since Jul 2014
Location: Australia
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May 08, 2015 at 04:04 AM
#4
I have been on Effexor XR (150mg/day) for about seven years.
I was diagnosed with hypertension before that and it has not made any difference to my hypertension (regular monitoring from my GP when I pick up re-fill prescriptions for my hypertension meds). __________________ The world is everything that is the case. (Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus) Knowledge is power. (Hobbes, Leviathan ) |
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Moderator
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Member Since Mar 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
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May 08, 2015 at 04:10 PM
#5
I've been on Effexor XR 375 mg since 1999 and never had an issue with high bloodpressure, but my pharmacist keeps warning me about it, so I know it can be an issue.
splitimage __________________  "I danced in the morning when the world was begun. I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun". From my favourite hymn. "If you see the wonder in a fairy tale, you can take the future even if you fail." Abba 
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Member
Member Since Oct 2014
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 42
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May 08, 2015 at 04:34 PM
#6
There are medications that can be used as an adjunct to lower BP. Propranolol is one that was very effective for me, and I believe it's more mild than Lyrica.
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May 08, 2015 at 06:57 PM
#7
Thanks for the idea, Danny. I didn't say in my original post what meds I am taking for my blood pressure, but one of them is a beta blocker like propranolol, so I couldn't take both.
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Poohbah
Member Since Mar 2015
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
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May 09, 2015 at 03:47 AM
#8
Propranolol also helps anxiety if you happen to have that. It can cause cognitive dulling though. That's why I went off it.
__________________ Diagnoses: Bipolar I, GAD, binge eating disorder (or something), substance abuse, and ADHD. “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” ― Aristotle |
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