effexor and lexapro

[bosnianworrier]

I am quitting effexor (slowly but surely) and am down to 50 mg from 150. The only problem I have is depressed mood which my shrink says is a withdrawal symptom.

I plan to be med free as long as I can and if I have to get back on meds ever again (been on them for 11 years continuously) it will be lexapro first because I used to take celexa and it was working better than others.

My doctor said if I get too depressed to start lexapro right away. He gave me samples. I know effexor shouldn't be taken with tricycline AD but what about SSRI's? My shrink said it should be OK but he didn't look too confident.

Anyone took effexor together with ssri's?

[Paxiled]

Also don't necessarily Lexapro to work just like Celexa.  Though they share the same basic chemical structure, Lexapro has been altered, and many people do react to them differently.

[M4Y0U]

Hello there,

Effexor is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). It already do the job of the SSRI's but it acts on the norepinephrine too. Mixing both, especially in high dose, could result in a serotonin syndrome/toxicity. The chance are low with a low 50mg dose of Effexor and starting dose of Lexapro but i see no point in taking both together.  I would avoid taking both together and choose one or the other.

Please note that I'm not a doctor but you did say yours wasn't too confident and i am not too confident too. My bet would be to start Lexapro only after complete stop of Effexor.

Best regards,
M4