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Suggest Treatment For Hypertension And Cholesterol While On Cymbalta-60 And Trazodone-100
Question: I am taking Cymbalta 60 mg and trazodone 100mg daily (past 1 year). Now I am developing some hypertension and high cholesterol I never had before. Do you think this could be serotonin syndrome?
Brief Answer:
Hypertension can have different reasons
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for using health care magic.
Both cymbalta and Trazodone act by increasing serotonin and theorotically its possible to cause a serotonin syndrome. However in the doses that you have mentioned ; 60mg and 100mg respectively; the chances of developing serotonin syndrome are very rare. Moreover hypertension is not the only symptoms of serotonin syndrome. People with serotonin syndrome will have:
Autonomic effects: Hyperthermia, nausea, diarrhoea, shivering, sweating, vasoconstriction, tachycardia.
Cognitive effects: mental confusion, hallucinations, headache, agitation, hypomania, coma
Somatic effects: myoclonus, hyperreflexia, tremor.
If none of the other symptoms are present and only hypertension is present, then its possible that finding of hypertension could just be a coincidence and hypertension is frequently present at the age of 67 yers.
What is advisable is starting an anti hypertensive like amlodepine or telmisartan to reduce the blood pressure and then to continue it for a few months with regular BP monitoring. Cholesterol has no relationship with serotonin syndrome and can be controlled with medicines such as atorvastatin.
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
Hypertension can have different reasons
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for using health care magic.
Both cymbalta and Trazodone act by increasing serotonin and theorotically its possible to cause a serotonin syndrome. However in the doses that you have mentioned ; 60mg and 100mg respectively; the chances of developing serotonin syndrome are very rare. Moreover hypertension is not the only symptoms of serotonin syndrome. People with serotonin syndrome will have:
Autonomic effects: Hyperthermia, nausea, diarrhoea, shivering, sweating, vasoconstriction, tachycardia.
Cognitive effects: mental confusion, hallucinations, headache, agitation, hypomania, coma
Somatic effects: myoclonus, hyperreflexia, tremor.
If none of the other symptoms are present and only hypertension is present, then its possible that finding of hypertension could just be a coincidence and hypertension is frequently present at the age of 67 yers.
What is advisable is starting an anti hypertensive like amlodepine or telmisartan to reduce the blood pressure and then to continue it for a few months with regular BP monitoring. Cholesterol has no relationship with serotonin syndrome and can be controlled with medicines such as atorvastatin.
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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