Hi all,
I have been on 120 mg of verapamil for about 5 weeks. It seems to have helped with my daily cluster headaches (which I never had - until MAV showed up last Nov). It has not touched the dizzies and unsteadiness I experience every day (motion triggered mostly).
I talked to my neuro last Friday and I told him about Hain’s approach and flowchart and asked if Effexor is a possibility since it seems to work well for the visual vertigo symptoms. He prescribed Effexor 37.5 mg.
(Sidebar: I had to tell him I needed the extended release capsule not the immediate release tablet, which concerned me because I would have thought he would know that ER is the way to go but I’m realizing so few know what to do with this illness).
Anyway I have not started Effexor yet but just read that there is a moderate interaction between Effexor and verapamil. It seems the verapamil can compromise (slow down) the metabolism of Effexor, where you may have an increased level of Effexor in your system.
I am frustrated because I’m wondering now if I should have started on propranolol instead of verapamil in the first place.
There is no interaction between propranolol and Effexor (which leads me to believe this is partially why Hain has this combo listed in his flowchart).
I know this forum cannot provide medical advice but anecdotally any thoughts or experiences on propranolol/ Effexor combo? I think @nin is on this combo. Does anyone take verapamil and Effexor together (in the last 5 years, feel like I’m setting parameters for a research paper ).
I’m just really bummed out because I feel like I wasted time titrating up to the ideal verapamil dose and may need to dump it?
Please note I recognize that many people on this forum have spent a lot more time on medications and had to dump them and start over for various reasons.
Wish my neuro was a little more helpful in this department. I think we held off on propranolol because of potential depressive side effects, but at this point, I just need an actual plan here.
Thanks very much in advance for your help!