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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Switch from Celexa to Paxil
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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Switch from Celexa to Paxil
by Treehugger, Jun 13, 2002 12:00AM
On June 5 I asked for your opinion on switching to Celexa from Paxil. I discussed this with my Dr. and he thought it was worth trying Celexa. Although the Paxil had worked great on and off it kept "pooping out". I am on Day 3 in the switch - Celexa (20 mg) and Paxil (10mg) both in the am.
I may be expecting too much - but I am nervous about what I have been feeling. I am having some extra anxiety shortly after I wake up - but I am trying to use my psycholgical technigues to work with that. I then take my meds, then I get very sleepy (hard to deal with when you have to go to work) At work I am still sleepy, sometimes spacey and sometimes feel like I want to cry.
What is happening? Did I make a mistake switching from the Paxil? Should I stick with the Celexa and see what happens? Just thought I'd try to get some input before I discuss it with my Dr.
I may be expecting too much - but I am nervous about what I have been feeling. I am having some extra anxiety shortly after I wake up - but I am trying to use my psycholgical technigues to work with that. I then take my meds, then I get very sleepy (hard to deal with when you have to go to work) At work I am still sleepy, sometimes spacey and sometimes feel like I want to cry.
What is happening? Did I make a mistake switching from the Paxil? Should I stick with the Celexa and see what happens? Just thought I'd try to get some input before I discuss it with my Dr.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Jun 18, 2002 12:00AM
, Jun 18, 2002 12:00AM
Probably too early to think it was a mistake. If the sleepiness is a new symptom, you might try taking the Celexa at night and the Paxil in the morning. If you stick with this for a few more days in the morning, the sleepiness will probably go away.
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I've been taking Effexor XR, similar to Paxil, for a year and a half now. My disorder has been sort of a "heal one thing, hurt another" and we have still not found the best combination of medicine for me. I can tell you, however, that when I took TOO MUCH Effexor, I got seriously depressed.. It was also a time when I had a distant love interest, but my emotions were all over the place and I cried every night. I think that sometimes with SSRI medicines, like Paxil, Celexa, Effexor (they work on serotonin), it is possible to get too much of that desired effect and you can have overload on your emotions. You may want to make sure you don't have too much of the combination of the two in your system at once. I can tell you that I now happily take Effexor 75mg, but on 150mg, I am a rollercoaster of emotion.
Good luck,
Charlie