# Which SNRI increases Dopamine the most - Effexor or Cymbalta?



## Samburi1 (Jan 26, 2013)

Which SNRI out of Effexor and Cymbalta increases dopamine the most and has the most/best effect on dopamine? 

After googling I've found that Effexor tends to have an effect on dopamine at higher levels from approx 150mg and up, is it the same for Cymbalta or is it a different med and will have an effect on dopamine at a low level?

PS - Sorry I did post a similar question earlier but I can't see a way to edit it with the additional info in this one or delete it so I've started a new thread.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Probably none of them. Ever considered wellbutrin?


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

yay said:


> Probably none of them. Ever considered wellbutrin?


Actually Effexor, Cymbalta and Zoloft and probably others do act as DRI's at the high dosages.

@Dragons Den. I've taken all three at high dosages and I felt that the DRI effect was so low as to be insignificant. I'd have to find the graph again, but I do believe that at the 225-300 mg range Effexor has quite a bit more of a DRI than an equivalent dose of Cymbalta. However I was at that dose and didn't notice anything worthwhile, the NRI effect becomes quite strong.

If you are looking to raise dopamine I would also suggest an SSRI+Wellbutrin Personally I think that it is superior to an SNRI in every way. Just my thoughts.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Why don't they simply throw celexa and wellbutrin in 1 pill and sell it?

They could call it something like: Celbutrin or Wellbuxa. The next generation of antidepressant medication.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

yay said:


> Why don't they simply throw celexa and wellbutrin in 1 pill and sell it?
> 
> They could call it something like: Celbutrin or Wellbuxa. The next generation of antidepressant medication.


because that's a dumba$$ idea. I take wellbutrin BECAUSE it has no serotonergic effects. The next generation of antidepressants will be the Triple Reuptake inhibitors, SNDRI's. Useless drugs that are exactly what you are proposing. They are clearly unneeded and inferior because if you take and SSRI+Wellbutrin, you could fine tune the dose of each for maximum efficacy. If it were all mixed into one pill then patients would be forced to take the pre-selected formula which will only be the right combination of drugs and dosages for the minority of people. You might also be aware that Celexa and Wellbutrin are indicated for different illnesses, so mixing them together would create a drug that would never be prescribed.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

They could develop a pill which is shaped like a triangle. 1 arm for every drug. This way if you want less SSRI effect you simply cut off a bit of the SSRI arm with a knife. This makes antidepressant medicine become interactive. You can fine tune your drug according to your wishes.

They could call it:

Triangle Antidepressant Eraser

or

Pyrazoide


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

^why don't you start a pharmaceutical company make your ideas a reality. Please find a cure for stupidity as well.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

istayhome said:


> ^why don't you start a pharmaceutical company make your ideas a reality. Please find a cure for stupidity as well.


Maybe I will.

I cannot promise that my drugs will help depression but I can promise that they'd have the coolest names in the entire market. A cool name and a nice colorful wrapping is also worth much in my opinion.

My first release to hit the market would be called: LUNATOR.
It would be a huge success cause it can be used for pretty much every mental disorder.
Lunator comes as instant release biteable liquid caps and also an XL version which only needs to be taken once a week for maximum convenience.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

None of the above mentioned meds have dopamine re-uptake properties which are close to the Methylphenidate class. You'd probably get more dopamine reuptake action from a low dose of Concerta, Ritalin, or Focalin than you could from the max fda approved dosage of Wellbutrin, Zoloft, or Effexor.


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## Samburi1 (Jan 26, 2013)

Thanks for the replies (which went a bit off topic) but I like the idea and cool names. I would give them a try 

I'm in the UK so Wellbutrin is not an option as it's called Zyban here and it's not licensed for depression only to quit smoking - which I don't so that's out.

I came here because depression and meds are still such a stigma over here compared to the US and the US seems to have a much better understanding of the meds and their benefits etc.

Any other ideas and comments (or an answer to my original question) appreciated.


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## Samburi1 (Jan 26, 2013)

yay said:


> Maybe I will.
> 
> I cannot promise that my drugs will help depression but I can promise that they'd have the coolest names in the entire market. A cool name and a nice colorful wrapping is also worth much in my opinion.
> 
> ...


Loving this idea, especially the once a week version, what about inventing an injection you have every three months or something?


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

istayhome said:


> because that's a dumba$$ idea. I take wellbutrin BECAUSE it has no serotonergic effects. The next generation of antidepressants will be the Triple Reuptake inhibitors, SNDRI's.


We already have that. Cocaine, maybe I should try that.


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## Samburi1 (Jan 26, 2013)

I decided to look at natural medicines for the three seratonin, dopamine and norepinephrine out of curiosity and Cocaine came up first and tops! I didn't realise it was a 'natural' remedy - it must be okay to take then lol


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Dragons Den said:


> I decided to look at natural medicines for the three seratonin, dopamine and norepinephrine out of curiosity and Cocaine came up first and tops! I didn't realise it was a 'natural' remedy - it must be okay to take then lol


Well I drink Coca Tea, I prefer it very much to coffee. I am still quite depressed though, and no coca tea doesn't get a person high.


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## yay (Dec 31, 2012)

Dragons Den said:


> Loving this idea, especially the once a week version, what about inventing an injection you have every three months or something?


Can you read minds???

My next release would have been exactly that: LUNATOR 3M injectables.
I injection every 3 months and you're guaranteed to spend the entire time in bliss otherwise you're getting your money back.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

http://www.emedexpert.com/compare/effexor-vs-cymbalta.shtml
http://healthquestions.medhelp.org/cymbalta-and-neurotransmitters

From what I can tell based on these and some other reading (by the way Dragon's Den, did you try using Google to find an answer to your own question as it took me about 5 minutes to find some pretty concrete answers)

Cymbalta will not act as a DRI at any dose. It's a decent SNRI at any dose and has a greater effect on NE than Effexor. Also Cymbalta actually LOWERS dopamine levels due to the inverse relationship of SE and DA.

Effexor only acts as an SSRI until you get 150+mg at which point minor NRI effects kick in. at 300+ mg it has a tiny effect and raises DA levels a tiny bit.

So Effexor is what you would take for DA but the effect is so mild and you need such a high dose that it is not worthwhile.

Cymbalta may be a better choice as something sort of more "activating" die to the NRI effects at lower doses.

If you want decent DRI effects you're going to have to get some ritalin.


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## Warbiewarbs (Jan 22, 2016)

yay said:


> Why don't they simply throw celexa and wellbutrin in 1 pill and sell it?
> 
> They could call it something like: Celbutrin or Wellbuxa. The next generation of antidepressant medication.


This post made my day. Love the humour


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## SSRIManiac (Jun 14, 2014)

Probably neither one is significant but Cymbalta has a higher norepinephrine affinity fold. I don't have the numbers but greater than Effexor. Fetzima at approximately 1.3 ratio which is higher than both and binds to NE more than SERT with similar side effects of Strattera.. As the doses are increased SNRIs have some dopaminergic effects but not significant.. Effexor takes like 300mg to have some of that effect..

Wellbutrin would be a great alternative.


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## xDan (Apr 8, 2015)

Zoloft at doses over 100mg increases dopamine more so than any of the SSRIs and SNRIs.


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## Lauris (Nov 1, 2015)

Prozac indirectly increases dopamine by antagonism/inhibition of 5HT2C, which is one of the reasons why prozac is effective for depression via blocking of this receptor and resulting in dopamine and NE release. 
Research indicates that depressed people have abnormally high number of 5-HT2C receptors in the prefrontal cortex and most SSRI's actually stimulate it this receptor even more, which inhibits dopamine and NE release.

You could also throw Agomelatine into the mix, since it antagonizes 5-HT2C receptors as well resulting in even more increase of dopamine and norepinephrine 
Tianeptine is not an SSRI, but increases mesombolic D2 and D3 dopamine significantly.


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