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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Reducing Venlafaxine Dosage Cause Recurrence Of Depression?

My wife takes Venlafaxine (225mg) as a part of her treatment for depression. She recently spent 20 days in ICU related to a tick bite causing infection identified as ehrlichia chaffeensis. She had serious kidney damage and was given dialysis treatments. Her kidneys are recovering but are not fully healed as of yet. A doctor at the rehabilitation hospital decreased the Venlafaxine to 112.5mg as a cautionary measure for her kidneys. We have not been able to contact her psychiatrist who prescribed the 225mg. My wife is concerned about her depression returning. Hope I have explained this sufficiently. Ray Walker
Mon, 19 Sep 2016
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Diabetologist,  's  Response
Hi Ray Walker,
Your wife's reduction of dose is warranted. In mild to moderate renal impairment, the reduction in dose should be 25-50%.
The reduction in dose doesn't affect the depression control as the drug levels remain high because of less excretion by kidneys.
You say the kidneys are recovering but you don't mention the exact value; I would suggest you to meet the psychiatrist as soon as possible along with renal function tests so that he can take a call on dose reduction. But for now, don't worry about depression recurrence.
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Does Reducing Venlafaxine Dosage Cause Recurrence Of Depression?

Hi Ray Walker, Your wife s reduction of dose is warranted. In mild to moderate renal impairment, the reduction in dose should be 25-50%. The reduction in dose doesn t affect the depression control as the drug levels remain high because of less excretion by kidneys. You say the kidneys are recovering but you don t mention the exact value; I would suggest you to meet the psychiatrist as soon as possible along with renal function tests so that he can take a call on dose reduction. But for now, don t worry about depression recurrence.