withdrawl from paxil

[shadycat]

I have read many of the questions concerning the withdrawal of Paxil.  My mother has been on Paxil - 40 mg for many years.  Really no improvement in the anxiety or the depression.  I then did some research on the internet and found a web site on the Mayo Clinic.  They suggested having a CYP450 genotyping test.  This test can determine whether a particular antidepressant will or not work for you.  You have 2 enzymes that are produced in the liver.  The doctor never heard of it but I insisted that he run the test.  Low and behold - the test showed my mother was a "slow" metabolizer of Paxil and was literally doing nothing for her.  A list of other medications that would not help were Prozac, Luvox, Paxil and a few more.  The test showed that her body would do better on Zoloft or Effexor.  We have started weaning her off from 40 miligrams per day to 20 miligrams per day for the first week.  The second week she will start taking 12.5 mg of paxil each night and then 12.5 mg of paxil every other night for the third week.  He started her on 25 miligrams of Zoloft for the first week and then it will go up to 50 miligrams.  She is having some sleeping issues and confusion but I am hoping this will dissipate as one medication goes out of her body and the other one starts to kick in.  To top it off, she is diabetic so you have to watch anti-depressants because they can have effects on you also.  PLEASE, ask your doctor for this test.

[xyborx]

I'm really impressed by this Doctor, if only they could all be so intelligent and humane.

[m_i_strongenuf]

Hi shadycat~

which rx is your mom going to try next? i took effexor for many years (after trying almost all of the others on the market) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - that's how i got interested in psych and went back to school for my AA in Psychology! LOL weird huh? Anyway, it worked wonders..

when I weaned off about a year and a1/2 ago (slowly of course!) I had very little withdrawal symptoms because it had been effective enough that I was naturally producing the "brain" juice we need to function.

Good luck to both of you! Look forward to hearing how she's doing with new meds!

~shelly~

[GoingToMakeIt]

Very interesting. I went through many before I found 1 that worked. Wish I would have known about this test. I am on Zooloft, too. Helps a lot. Apparently I'm not producing enough 'brain juice' yet.  My dose is  usually 50mg.