Why does venlafaxine have such a short half life?

Posted by bean9494 @bean9494, Apr 5, 2023

My daughter turned 18 on April 1st and that day i forgot to take my venlafaxine, which i usually do at 9 am. At 5 pm I experienced a whole body flush of adrenaline and a wave of anxiety. Though nothing of it and went to bed at 11 am. In the morning I had extreme anxiety, sweat, trembling, tingling in arms and legs, tight chest headache. I then realised what i had done so took the next dose as usual. However, 3 days later I’m still in the same boat and quite desperate. Search online showed a really short half life which means i am essentially starting again. Other than trial and error, I can’t see anything that would help with this scenario. If venlafaxine is so widely used, can you not engineer a longer half life or provide some suggestions to help?

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Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Apr 6, 2023

@bean9494 Having side effects from a missed dose of medication can certainly be scary! How are you feeling today?

It's not easy to stay on top of our medications, sometimes. "Life gets in the way", as they say. The excitement of your daughter's birthday may have given you a bit more of a response to everyday life, and perhaps the missed dose left more of a hole in your mood. Or, with everything going on, your body is reacting more. Do you think that is possible?

Typically, most medications are made to get our bodies to a certain blood level, and we take them consistently to stay close to that level. I am not a medical professional, and would never claim to be. I know in my experience, when I have missed a dose of critical medication, I get very anxious, and as I go back to the regularly scheduled dosing, I am hyper-watching the side effects, to see if there is a detrimental side to it all. Just that anxiety can cause things to feel skewed out of place. Do you think that may be what you are experiencing?

Lastly, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am glad you posted here, and trust others will also chime in with their experiences on missed doses.
Ginger