Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
disconinuation of Paxil
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.
disconinuation of Paxil
by Cindy, May 15, 2000 12:00AM
I have been taking Paxil for three years now, and due to a mixup with the (non)filling of the prescription (each place says it was filled by another...yet I was unable to pick it up from anywhere!), I have been completely without for three or four days. As I am planning on becoming pregnant and, may indeed already be a few days pregnant from insemination, my pharmacist says I need to be off Paxil anyway. My question is, how long will I suffer these adverse affects (extreme exhaustion, crying, irritability, sensitivity to noise, chest tightness, gas, fluid build-up in sinuses an lungs, etc.) and will there be any permanet damage to anything...my heart,etc. i recall the neurologist whom I no longer see once telling me it would be "Very dangerous" to go "cold turkey" as I am. WHAT were the dangers and what shoud I do, especially if pregnant? Am I nearly through "withdrawal"? What else may I expect? Thank you very much.
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS MD-JM, May 16, 2000 12:00AM
Cindy,
Paxil may have a flu-like syndrome associated with it for a few days to a week. This is not life threatening in any way but may be very uncomfortable. There is no permanent organ damage associated with Paxil. Withdrawal symptoms can be more likely to happen and may be more severe if one is taking a high dose and/or have been on it for a long duration of time; this is why it is generally recommended that the medication be tapered under the direct supervision of a physician. Paxil is a pregnancy category C medication which means there are no human studies available on the medication and the risk/benefit ratio needs to be determined. I hope this was helpful. Please discuss this issue further with your treating physician.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Paxil, Pregnancy category C
Paxil may have a flu-like syndrome associated with it for a few days to a week. This is not life threatening in any way but may be very uncomfortable. There is no permanent organ damage associated with Paxil. Withdrawal symptoms can be more likely to happen and may be more severe if one is taking a high dose and/or have been on it for a long duration of time; this is why it is generally recommended that the medication be tapered under the direct supervision of a physician. Paxil is a pregnancy category C medication which means there are no human studies available on the medication and the risk/benefit ratio needs to be determined. I hope this was helpful. Please discuss this issue further with your treating physician.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Paxil, Pregnancy category C
http://www.swhite.cwc.net/paxil/index.html
All the best
Stephen White