Venlafaxine and abdominal pain

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saramarie25

Hi there,

:welcome: to NMP, Sara,

Quote:

I have recently gone from 75mg to 150mg.

Not in one jump, I hope. :ohmy:

Quote:

I feel OK apart from being a bit more tired but I've developed abdominal pain in the upper part of my belly. It's not bad like proper tummy ache or ache you get with food poisoning for example, but it's annoying and constantly aching.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had abdominal pain when starting or increasing venlafaxine and how long before it went away.

Stomach/gut issues are fairly common at the beginning. Serotonin isn't only a brain neurotransmitter, it has many roles in the body. Nor is the brain the most serotonergic organ. The gut makes about 50 times more serotonin than the brain. It is controlled by its own mini brain, the enteric nervous system (ENS) which can be more affected by antidepressants (ADs) initially than the brain is. Constipation, or diarrhoea are also fairly common initial AD side-effects. SSRIs/SNRIs may also effect the mix of gut microbes which can also cause upset stomachs, etc, for a while. Most of these initial side-effects begin to diminish within a couple of weeks, but may return for a while after dose increases. The usual remedies for upset stomach should help.

BTW - the ENS is also a major player in anxiety disorder and depression and may through its connections with the heart and lungs via the vagus nerves trigger anxiety symptoms such as rapid pulse and shortness of breath in addition to gut related anxiety symptoms. Electronic vagus nerve stimulators which impact the ability of the ENS to communicate with the brain have proven to be an effective for treatment resistant depression, though less so for anxiety disorders.