Migraine

Hi Teri. I read in The Pill Book that Cymbalta is broken down in the liver and Effexor leaves the body through the urine. Can you tell me where to find more information on how exactly these medicines travel through our body? I mean like - after Cymbalta goes through the liver, then where? And does Effexor never go through the liver, or just straight to the kidneys? This may sound stupid, but I am a very curious person, plus I have some strange "side effects" from Effexor that I did not have with Cymbalta. At least I think it is the Effexor causing it. It is rather personal, so I would really just like to research more on this, I just am not having any luck. I was hoping you could point me in the right direction.

Thanks so much,
Sherry

Hi, Sherry,

Truthfully, drug metabolism and excretion goes deeper into pharmacology than my background goes. The basics are pretty much the extent of my knowledge. For any medication, the methods of metabolism and excretion are published in the prescribing info.

Here's that information for Effexor and Cymbalta...

Effexor:
Metabolism: liver extensively; CYP450: 2D6 substrate/weak inhibitor; Info: active metabolite

Excretion: urine 87% (5% unchanged); Half-life: 5h (venlafaxine), 11h (O-desmethylvenlafaxine)


Cymbalta:
Metabolism: liver, extensive; CYP450: 1A2, 2D6 substrate; 1A2 (weak), 2D6 (moderate) inhibitor

Excretion: urine 70% (<1% unchanged), feces 20%; Half-life: 12h

To learn more about this, I'd suggest looking for online information on basic pharmacology, either in online articles or in books. You might also check with your pharmacist to see if he or she can explain it better than I can.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the info. I am just a curious person by nature, and I was trying to figure something out.

I hope you are having a good day>

Sherry