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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by BrianS on August 3, 2005, at 19:04:55
Any success stories on Paxil? How bad are the side effects? I've been off Effexor for about 7 months and it's been HELL. I'm going to start taking Paxil for social anxiety. Is this a good idea?? I've been doing research and have been reading the other threads on this site and it all seems so HOPELESS, like all the meds are harmful and that there's no cure out there for me. I don't know what to do.
Please, I need as much advice and support as I can get.Thanks,
Brian S
Posted by barosky on August 3, 2005, at 23:52:24
In reply to GOING TO START PAXIL--GOOD IDEA OR NOT????, posted by BrianS on August 3, 2005, at 19:04:55
Paxil and Effexor are horrible in my opinion, i've been on one, and that was paxill.. I don't understand why doctors perscribe it over drugs like prozac which has no withdrawal problems, i'd be alot better now if I was on prozac initially instead of paxil. But there are many treatments for SAD, maoi's included, try prozac if it's approved for SAD, i'm not sure.. I know it worked for my minor SAD, but I didn't take it for that reason
Posted by med_empowered on August 4, 2005, at 5:52:31
In reply to Re: GOING TO START PAXIL--GOOD IDEA OR NOT????, posted by barosky on August 3, 2005, at 23:52:24
the biggest problem with both effexor and paxil, at least in my experience, is the withdrawal. Effexor, especially at high doses, tends to be harsh when you taper; some people aren't able to completely taper off of it. Paxil has a super-short half-life, so you get all the usual SSRI withdrawal symptoms...only you get them FASTER and they're more INTENSE. Paxil worked for me for a little while..it wasn't GREAT, but it did help. You can minimize Paxil problems by taking it at the same time, every day (i.e: 9am EVERY DAY). Another option, which is what I did with celexa, is to break the tab and do a 2X daily dosing...it seems to make the experience a little smoother.
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on August 4, 2005, at 8:26:06
In reply to GOING TO START PAXIL--GOOD IDEA OR NOT????, posted by BrianS on August 3, 2005, at 19:04:55
I took paxil for 1.5 yrs. It helped some with my generalized anxiety disorder and depression, but after a while it didn't seem to be helping anymore (BTW, this has been the case with most everything I tried, so you might not run into this). I did have to take a high dose (50mg) to work against my anxiety and I had to add wellbutrin to deal with the sleepiness that such a high dose brought.
I do have to echo what the 1st two posters said. Withdrawal was a nightmare. I became suicidally depressed and spacey for at least a month. In fact, I would not have gone on it if I knew that is what my withdrawal would look like. My pdoc said that a lot of pdocs hardly ever start out prescribing paxil anymore because of withdrawal issues.
Paxil is the one most marketed for anxiety, but the other SSRI's can be good too. You might consider Lexapro. That has been somewhat helpful for me too.
Best,
EE
Posted by emme on August 4, 2005, at 10:34:24
In reply to GOING TO START PAXIL--GOOD IDEA OR NOT????, posted by BrianS on August 3, 2005, at 19:04:55
I found Paxil extremely helpful. I only needed 10 mg. Within about a week, my anxiety was greatly improved and my depression was much improved in about a month.
It pooped out on me after several months and retrial has not been successful. My doctor believes I'm in the bipolar spectrum and repeated AD poop-outs are believed by some to be one indication of a biplar spectrum disorder.
Withdrawal is hell for many. My withdrawal consisted only of some head zaps for about 2 weeks. It was annoying, but not too bad. I don't know if your difficulty discontinuing Effexor mean that you'll also have the same problems with Paxil. I found stopping Effexor much more difficult than Paxil.
One of my friends has tolerated it well for a long time without apparent loss of efficacy. She has stopped it in the past and then gone back to it. She had no withdrawal symptoms. Another friend was saved from severe depression by it and was able to discontinue it after a while. (These folks do not post on support boards).
Unfortunately, there is really only one way to find out if it will help you or not, or if you will have withdrawal problems or not. But there are success stories. Good luck.
emme
Posted by blueberry on August 4, 2005, at 19:13:36
In reply to GOING TO START PAXIL--GOOD IDEA OR NOT????, posted by BrianS on August 3, 2005, at 19:04:55
I was on paxil for about a year. It made a major depressive bout go away and stay away, and it did make me comfortable around people. It came on slow though. It started working for me in about 3 weeks. Lack of libido and difficulty in having sex were the reasons I eventually quit. I had the usual ssri withdrawals, especially the dizziness thing, but they weren't too bad and only last a few days. I had tapered over a couple months from 20mg down to zero in small steps by cutting pills to size. After trying all of the ssri's, prozac is the only one that doesn't bother my sex life.
This is the end of the thread.
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