Desvenlafaxine Viatris (Desvenlafaxine)
Complete patient guide for uses, dosage, side effects, and safety information
Prescription RequiredQuick Facts
What Is Desvenlafaxine Viatris Used For?
Desvenlafaxine Viatris contains the active ingredient desvenlafaxine and belongs to a class of medications called Serotonin-Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs). It is prescribed to help treat depression and prevent its return.
Primary Uses
Desvenlafaxine Viatris is used in the treatment and prevention of relapse of depression. Depression can affect your whole body and may cause emotional and physical symptoms such as feeling low in spirit, being unable to enjoy life, poor appetite or overeating, disturbed sleep, loss of sex drive, lack of energy and feeling guilty over nothing.
How It Works
Serotonin and noradrenaline are chemical messengers that allow certain nerves in the brain to work. Desvenlafaxine Viatris extended release tablets increase the level of these two messengers. Experts think this is how it helps to restore your feeling of wellness.
Good to know: This medicine helps to control your condition, so it is important to keep taking your medicine even if you feel well.
How to Take Desvenlafaxine Viatris
Take Desvenlafaxine Viatris exactly as prescribed by your doctor. The tablets are designed to release the medication slowly throughout the day.
Dosage Instructions
The usual dose is 50 mg taken once daily with or without food. Swallow tablets whole with a glass of water or other non-alcoholic liquid. Do not divide, crush, chew or place the tablets in water. Take at approximately the same time each day, either in the morning or evening. Your doctor will gradually increase your dose if needed. If you have kidney problems, you may need a lower dose.
What If You Miss a Dose?
If you miss your dose and it is less than 12 hours until your next dose, skip the dose you missed and take your next dose when you are meant to. Otherwise, take it as soon as you remember, and then go back to taking as you would normally. Do not take a double dose to make up for the dose you missed as this may increase the chance of getting an unwanted side effect.
Important: Do not be concerned if you see a tablet ‘shell’ in your faeces after taking Desvenlafaxine Viatris. The active ingredient is slowly released as the tablet travels through your digestive system, and the undissolved shell is eliminated normally.
Available Tablet Strengths
Side Effects
Like all medications, this medicine can cause side effects. Most are mild and temporary, but some require medical attention.
Common Side Effects
These side effects occur relatively frequently and usually don’t require emergency care:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Difficulty passing urine
- Difficulty sleeping, abnormal sleepiness or abnormal dreams
- Sexual function problems such as decreased sex drive, delayed ejaculation, problems achieving erection or difficulties achieving orgasm
- Nervousness or anxiety
- Feeling jittery or irritable
- Yawning
- Disturbances in concentration
- Fainting or dizziness after standing up
- Fatigue
- Rapid heartbeat
- Chills
- Headache
- Excessive sweating
- Hot flushes
- Rash
- Weight loss or weight gain
- Blurred vision
- Ringing in the ears
- Altered taste, dry mouth
Seek immediate medical attention if you experience:
- Muscle spasms, stiffness, weakness or movement disorders
- Abnormal facial movements such as tongue thrusting, repetitive chewing, jaw swinging, or grimacing
- Feeling of apathy or not caring about things
- Feeling detached from yourself
- Hallucinations
- Confusion
- Agitation
- Unusually overactive
- Problems with breathing, shortness of breath
- Bleeding or bruising more easily than normal
- Numbness or pins and needles
- Sensitivity to sunlight
- Palpitations, shortness of breath, intense chest pain, or irregular heartbeats
- Severe upper abdominal pain
- Swollen and tender abdomen
- Fever
- Rise or decrease in blood pressure
- Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat or other parts of the body
- Seizures or fits
- Symptoms of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (high fever, stiffness of muscles, altered mental status, autonomic dysfunction)
- Symptoms of serotonin syndrome (headache, shivering, diarrhea, muscle stiffness, high fever and seizures)
Important Warnings
There are important safety considerations and medical conditions you should discuss with your doctor before taking Desvenlafaxine Viatris.
Who Should Not Take Desvenlafaxine Viatris
Do not take if you are allergic to desvenlafaxine, venlafaxine, or any of the ingredients. Do not take if you are taking other medications for depression known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors, even if you have stopped taking them within the last 14 days.
Medical Conditions to Discuss
Check with your doctor if you have: other medications that you are taking, a history of fits (seizures or convulsions), a personal history or family history of bipolar disorder, blood pressure problems, glaucoma (increased pressure in the eye), a tendency to bleed more than normal or you are taking a blood thinning medication, raised cholesterol or lipid levels, problems with your kidneys or liver, problems with your heart, low sodium levels in your blood, or any other medical conditions.
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Desvenlafaxine Viatris is not recommended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding. If you take this medication mid to late in pregnancy, you may develop pre-eclampsia (persistent high blood pressure). Taking it in the last month of pregnancy may cause heavy bleeding during and/or after delivery. Newborn babies whose mothers have been taking this medication may have breathing difficulties, rapid breathing, seizures, lack of oxygen in their blood, physical and/or behavioral problems, vomiting and diarrhea. The medication passes into breast milk and may affect the breast-fed baby.
Suicide Risk: Watch carefully for signs that your depression is getting worse, especially in the first few weeks of treatment or if your dose has changed. Tell your doctor immediately if you have any thoughts about suicide or doing harm to yourself.
Drug Interactions
Some medicines may interfere with Desvenlafaxine Viatris and affect how it works. Always tell your doctor about all medications you are taking.
Serious Interaction: It is important that you do not take Desvenlafaxine Viatris with monoamine oxidase inhibitors or within 14 days of taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor as this may result in a serious life-threatening condition.
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (such as moclobemide, phenelzine and tranylcypromine)
- Other medications for bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder or pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder, including St John’s wort
- Drugs that affect serotonin levels (tramadol, dextromethorphan, fentanyl, methadone and pentazocine)
- Medicines used to treat ADHD (such as dexamphetamine and lisdexamphetamine)
- Medicines for weight loss, including sibutramine
- Triptans (used to treat migraine)
- Linezolid (used to treat infections)
- Drugs that affect bleeding tendency (aspirin, NSAIDs, warfarin)
- Opioids (used to manage pain)
Alcohol & Driving
Desvenlafaxine Viatris can affect your ability to drive and may interact with alcohol, so precautions are necessary.
Alcohol
Avoid drinking alcohol while you are taking Desvenlafaxine Viatris. Tell your doctor if you drink alcohol.
Driving and Operating Machinery
Be careful before you drive or use any machines or tools until you know how Desvenlafaxine Viatris affects you. The medication may cause dizziness in some people and may make you feel drowsy.
Storage
Keep your Desvenlafaxine Viatris tablets in their blister pack until it is time to take them, as the tablets may not last as well if you take them out of the blister pack. Store in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 25°C, away from moisture, heat or sunlight. Do not store in the bathroom, near a sink, in the car or on window sills. Keep all medication where young children cannot reach it – a locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above the ground is a good place to store medicines.
Overdose Information
If you think that you or anyone else has used too much Desvenlafaxine Viatris, urgent medical attention may be needed. You should immediately phone the Poisons Information Centre (Australia telephone 13 11 26) for advice, contact your doctor, or go to the Emergency Department at your nearest hospital. You should do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Although you may begin to feel better after two weeks, it may take several weeks before you feel much better. It is important to give Desvenlafaxine Viatris time to work.
Yes, the usual dose of 50 mg can be taken once daily with or without food.
Do not stop using this medicine without the advice of your doctor. Side effects are known to occur when people stop taking Desvenlafaxine Viatris, especially when they suddenly stop therapy. These can include headache, nausea, dizziness, tiredness, irritability, anxiety, abnormal dreams, diarrhea, excessive sweating, visual impairment, and high blood pressure. Your doctor may want to slowly decrease your dose to help avoid these side effects.
No, you should avoid drinking alcohol while you are taking Desvenlafaxine Viatris. Tell your doctor if you drink alcohol.
Weight changes can occur with Desvenlafaxine Viatris. Both weight loss and weight gain are listed as possible side effects.
If you miss your dose and it is less than 12 hours until your next dose, skip the dose you missed and take your next dose when you are meant to. Otherwise, take it as soon as you remember, and then go back to taking as you would normally. Do not take a double dose to make up for the dose you missed.
No, you should swallow the tablets whole with a glass of water or other non-alcoholic liquid. Do not divide, crush, chew or place the tablets in water as this is an extended release formulation designed to release the medication slowly.
Important Disclaimer
This information is intended for general educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider or pharmacist before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately.