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Is Venlafaxine Effective for Treating ADHD?

ByPrimary Researcher

Executive Summary

  • One of the common off-label prescriptions for antidepressants is ADHD.
  • We evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of antidepressants for ADHD or Venlafaxine ADHD.

Introduction

Ever since antidepressants were first introduced, they began expanding in their off-label applications. A major off-label prescription has become for treating ADHD. This article investigates whether antidepressants like the antidepressant Venlafaxine are effective for ADHD as the medical establishment has claimed.

Studies into Venlafaxine for ADHD

This is the result of a study reported in the NIH’s publication site PubMed for Venlafaxine that states it is effective.

An open clinical trial was undertaken to examine whether venlafaxine was safe and effective in the treatment of adults with ADHD. Ten subjects who met DSM-IV criteria for ADHD were enrolled in this 8-week trial. Individuals were started on 37.5 mg of venlafaxine b.i.d. If moderate ADHD symptoms persisted at the end of Week 4, the dose of venlafaxine was increased to 75 mg b.i.d. Assessments of ADHD symptomatology included the ADHD Rating Scale, Self-Report Version (ARS) and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale. Results: Nine patients completed the study. At the end of the study, 7 patients were receiving 37.5 mg b.i.d. of venlafaxine. Repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that treatment with venlafaxine was associated with significant reductions in ADHD symptomatology (p < .02 for the ARS; p < .005 for the CGI). Of the 9 subjects who completed the trial, 7 were considered responders. Venlafaxine was well tolerated, and most patients experienced only mild side effects.

This is a curious study conclusion, as the First 8 weeks is a short period. Secondly, side effects from Venlafaxine are normally quite significant but mentioned here as if they were only mild.

Antidepressants Prescribed for ADHD

According to WebMD, antidepressants like the antidepressant Venlafaxine for ADHD tend to be prescribed when amphetamines like Ritalin or Adderall are found to be ineffective. This is explained in the following quotation.

A lot of adults with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) take stimulant drugs to manage their symptoms. But if you don’t get better with those medicines, or you don’t like how they make you feel, your doctor may suggest you try an antidepressant.

Sometimes the MDs prescribe antidepressants for ADHD because the patient has a variety of symptoms. There is also an overlap between ADHD and depression. Both are marked by problems in concentration and overall attention spans. Some adults with ADHD also have depression and anxiety. Antidepressant drugs might be an option if that’s your situation since they can treat these conditions as well as ADHD.

When it comes to improving your concentration or attention span, antidepressants usually don’t work as well as stimulants and other drugs made specifically to treat ADHD.

While part of this statement is correct — the part about having antidepressants for ADHD not working as well as stimulants to treat this condition — the problematic part of this statement is that studies have not even found a relationship between these neurotransmitters and depression. WebMD leaves out this information — because pharmaceutical companies fund WebMD to keep saying this to readers long after this hypothesis has been proven to be false. GoodRx addresses this same topic in the following quotation.

Both ADHD and depression are linked to low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which is involved in pleasure, concentration, motivation, and movement. Many of the medications used to treat depression and ADHD aim to increase dopamine levels.