Transcription
In today's video, I'm going to tell you what you need to know about the combination product Olevity. It contains both bupropion and dextromethorphan.
So, first of all, what are these two medications? Bupropion is an antidepressant classified as an NDRI. This means that this medication increases the concentration of norepinephrine and dopamine in the body. Dextromethorphan is commonly used to relieve coughs associated with colds and influenza, but we also know this medication can affect serotonin levels. So, we can see by this brief description that I just gave about these two medications, when you take this medication, you're really affecting the three main neurotransmitters that affect depression.
So now, what is the official indication of Olevity? Well, you may have guessed it, it's officially indicated to treat major depressive disorder, or MDD.
Now, before we get into the dosing of this medication, there are a couple precautions that need to be mentioned. There is a chance that this medication could increase your blood pressure, so patients who use Olevity that have existing blood pressure issues should use this medication cautiously and monitor their blood pressure. It's not recommended to use Olevity in patients who have severe liver impairment or severe kidney impairment. Dizziness may occur while using Olevity, so it's important to make sure you know how the medication makes you feel before you do something like take a dose and drive or operate heavy machinery. And lastly, there is a risk of experiencing serotonin syndrome while using this medication, but this would be more common if you are also using other medications that affect serotonin levels.
Now, aside from the precautions, the main contraindications, or reasons you would not be able to use Olevity, would be if a patient had seizure disorder, bulimia, or anorexia.
Now let's talk dosing. Initially, you would use 45 milligrams of dextromethorphan and 105 milligrams of bupropion, taken as one tablet once daily for the first three days. I should note here as well that this medication is typically taken in the morning. After some time on one tablet once daily, the dose is then increased to one tablet twice daily, and we have to make sure that the doses are taken at least eight hours apart. And the maximum dose is two tablets daily.
Now, I'd quickly like to discuss a couple common side effects that happen with this medication, so that happened over five percent of the time, and also share a couple serious side effects that could occur. Diarrhea seems to happen in seven percent of patients, and dry mouth seems to happen in six percent of patients. Eight percent of people using this medication may experience a headache, and six percent may experience sexual dysfunction, which I find interesting because bupropion is typically known to be a good option if patients are trying to avoid sexual dysfunction.
Now, it's more serious side effects: dizziness can happen all the way up to sixteen percent of the time. Like I mentioned, some people may experience hypertension, or an increase in their blood pressure. And also seizure, hypomania, and mania are a risk with this medication.
That's all we're going to talk about today with Olevity. Take care.