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Kava and Effexor

ColeScar

Kava Curious
Just started my first day of Effexor for panic / anxiety attacks. Cuirious if anyone knows of any interaction between these two!?? Have a bag of kava coming in today and would like a shell! Thanks
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Just started my first day of Effexor for panic / anxiety attacks. Cuirious if anyone knows of any interaction between these two!?? Have a bag of kava coming in today and would like a shell! Thanks
Been on it officially for a year, no issues to date. Metabolic tests came back okay as well.
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Thank you for doing the work to provide me with this
You're most welcome, and if I can give you some good news about it, I've had excellent results even at the lowest dosage. I was averse to any type of anti-depressant for the majority of my life because I've seen my mother and my wife run the gauntlet with anti-depressants. I shunned them until I could barely function. I didn't know how low I was until I started.
 

ColeScar

Kava Curious
That’s amazing! I am at the starter of 37 mg.
I also just received this bit of information... “Effexor XR (Venlafaxine) does interact with kava. Kava may increase the effects of Effexor. Tell your doctor that you are going to be using kava and get an amended daily scrip and whatever other advice they can give you. It's a similar thing to how they tell people on heart medications not to eat grapefruits because it increases the effects of that medication. Human bodys have a kind of "blocker" for meds we take. Only some of the portion you take is actually let in and the dose is adjusted to meet your body's needs based on how much the average person's body will let in. Grapefruits and Kava will open those doors the blocker creates and let way more of it in than intended by your doctor. Increasing the effects.”
So in essence this would make the Effexor and kava more strong?
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
That’s amazing! I am at the starter of 37 mg.
I also just received this bit of information... “Effexor XR (Venlafaxine) does interact with kava. Kava may increase the effects of Effexor. Tell your doctor that you are going to be using kava and get an amended daily scrip and whatever other advice they can give you. It's a similar thing to how they tell people on heart medications not to eat grapefruits because it increases the effects of that medication. Human bodys have a kind of "blocker" for meds we take. Only some of the portion you take is actually let in and the dose is adjusted to meet your body's needs based on how much the average person's body will let in. Grapefruits and Kava will open those doors the blocker creates and let way more of it in than intended by your doctor. Increasing the effects.”
So in essence this would make the Effexor and kava more strong?
The short of it is Yes and no. The science on the inhibition ability of kava is quite fuzzy due to in vitro studies using such high levels of kavalactones where we would likely never see them in the body. The main portion of venlafaxine is metabolized by CYP2D6. This enzyme, while it is mentioned in a select few studies, doesn't seem to be effected by kava's inhibition abilities. The other three, CYP3A4, CYP2C19, and CYP2C9 have been shown to be affected by kava in vitro, however these results only showed inhibition at CYP2E1 when tested in vivo. So, if it does anything with effexor it will be light and possibly cause it's efficacy to be a bit enhanced. Possibly. I'm not a MD, so I can't put a "seal of approval" on that.

Over the years we've seen little to no reports of anti-depressants causing issues with kava. That's no guarantee, but we're still here to tell you about it.
 

Orz[EST]

Kava Enthusiast
Over the years we've seen little to no reports of anti-depressants causing issues with kava. L
Well, kava might well modify effects of venlafaxine to an extent. Kava may have mild but significant MAO B inhibition that might potentiate venlafaxine's noradrenaline reuptake inhibition.

I understand that noradrenaline reuptake is quite well tolerated, generally.

Of couse, kava is very complex etc. and antidepressants mechanism of action might not be as much related to serotonin and noradrenaline, maybe BDNF and neurosteroid site (of allopregnenolone) are more important. Haven't read about venlafaxine specifically.
 

Orz[EST]

Kava Enthusiast
Allopregnanolone's scientific overview without excess details:

 

Steve Mariotti

Kavapithecus Krunkarensis
Review Maestro
Effexor, Cymbalta, Pristiq (all SNRI's) and kava have no bad interaction. Great blood work for years taking these variously over the years.
 

Blergs

Kava Curious
Effexor made me feel soo fucked many years back, never again! I'll stick with kava and bud. Wish you luck though
 
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