Wyeth's homicide pill latest ...Limits urged for Effexor prescriptions

[Guest guest]

Wyeth's homicide pill latest ... " Limits urged for Effexor

prescriptions "

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/health/4286941.html

© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Doctors should limit the number of Effexor pills they

prescribe patients to reduce the risk of overdose, the

antidepressant's manufacturer and federal health officials said

Wednesday.

There have been reports of deaths and serious injuries in patients

who overdosed on Effexor, also called venlafaxine, predominantly when

taken with alcohol and/or other drugs, Wyeth and the Food and Drug

Administration said.

To limit the risk of overdose, doctors should prescribe the " smallest

quantity of capsules consistent with good patient management, " Wyeth

wrote in a letter to doctors dated Oct. 17 and released Wednesday by

the FDA.

Overdosing on any antidepressant can be fatal. But there may be a

greater risk of deadly overdose associated with Effexor than with

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors _ antidepressants like

Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Lexapro, Wyeth said. The risk may be less

than that with older antidepressants called tricyclics, it added.

Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., said it was unclear whether the

increased risk of deadly overdose can be attributed to Effexor or to

the characteristics of patients treated with the drug.

[Guest guest]

Wyeth's homicide pill latest ... " Limits urged for Effexor

prescriptions "

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/health/4286941.html

© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Doctors should limit the number of Effexor pills they

prescribe patients to reduce the risk of overdose, the

antidepressant's manufacturer and federal health officials said

Wednesday.

There have been reports of deaths and serious injuries in patients

who overdosed on Effexor, also called venlafaxine, predominantly when

taken with alcohol and/or other drugs, Wyeth and the Food and Drug

Administration said.

To limit the risk of overdose, doctors should prescribe the " smallest

quantity of capsules consistent with good patient management, " Wyeth

wrote in a letter to doctors dated Oct. 17 and released Wednesday by

the FDA.

Overdosing on any antidepressant can be fatal. But there may be a

greater risk of deadly overdose associated with Effexor than with

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors _ antidepressants like

Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Lexapro, Wyeth said. The risk may be less

than that with older antidepressants called tricyclics, it added.

Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., said it was unclear whether the

increased risk of deadly overdose can be attributed to Effexor or to

the characteristics of patients treated with the drug.

[Guest guest]

Wyeth's homicide pill latest ... " Limits urged for Effexor

prescriptions "

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/health/4286941.html

© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Doctors should limit the number of Effexor pills they

prescribe patients to reduce the risk of overdose, the

antidepressant's manufacturer and federal health officials said

Wednesday.

There have been reports of deaths and serious injuries in patients

who overdosed on Effexor, also called venlafaxine, predominantly when

taken with alcohol and/or other drugs, Wyeth and the Food and Drug

Administration said.

To limit the risk of overdose, doctors should prescribe the " smallest

quantity of capsules consistent with good patient management, " Wyeth

wrote in a letter to doctors dated Oct. 17 and released Wednesday by

the FDA.

Overdosing on any antidepressant can be fatal. But there may be a

greater risk of deadly overdose associated with Effexor than with

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors _ antidepressants like

Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Lexapro, Wyeth said. The risk may be less

than that with older antidepressants called tricyclics, it added.

Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., said it was unclear whether the

increased risk of deadly overdose can be attributed to Effexor or to

the characteristics of patients treated with the drug.

[Guest guest]

Wyeth's homicide pill latest ... " Limits urged for Effexor

prescriptions "

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/health/4286941.html

© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Doctors should limit the number of Effexor pills they

prescribe patients to reduce the risk of overdose, the

antidepressant's manufacturer and federal health officials said

Wednesday.

There have been reports of deaths and serious injuries in patients

who overdosed on Effexor, also called venlafaxine, predominantly when

taken with alcohol and/or other drugs, Wyeth and the Food and Drug

Administration said.

To limit the risk of overdose, doctors should prescribe the " smallest

quantity of capsules consistent with good patient management, " Wyeth

wrote in a letter to doctors dated Oct. 17 and released Wednesday by

the FDA.

Overdosing on any antidepressant can be fatal. But there may be a

greater risk of deadly overdose associated with Effexor than with

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors _ antidepressants like

Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Lexapro, Wyeth said. The risk may be less

than that with older antidepressants called tricyclics, it added.

Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., said it was unclear whether the

increased risk of deadly overdose can be attributed to Effexor or to

the characteristics of patients treated with the drug.