paxil to zoloft

[threesacharm]

Hi,
I am a 31 year old female suffering from panic disorder.  7 years ago i was put on zoloft.  through those years I was on an average dose of 25mg.  i was basically panic free for that time.  all of the sudden about 6 months ago i had a major panic attack.  a few months prior to that i had to start taking the "generic" form of zoloft because of insurance purposes.  i know there are things in my life that probably triggered the attack, but i also feel that the zoloft generic didn't quite work for me...after not feeling better for a while after going from 25mg of zoloft to 75mg, my doctor switched me to paxil 10mg.  that was working somewhat but about 2 weeks ago i had 2 more full blown panic attacks.  i went up to 20 mg.  what is happening now is i take the paxil at night and i wake up every morning now with instant anxiety.  by around 3:00pm i start actually feeling normal...my doctor thinks that the paxil is actually making things worse for me.  she is going to get me off of the paxil and back onto the zoloft, but this time, i found out that my insurance covers the name brand.  she said i will, for a little bit be on paxil and zoloft to wean down off of the paxil.  this makes me nervous because of taking 2 meds at the same time plus taking ativan as needed.  will this be safe or can i just go from paxil to zoloft since i haven't really be on a high dose of paxil for a long period of time?  i am just wanting to feel better.  it is hard to live like this.  i have 3 beautiful children and a wonderful husband at home and i just want to be normal again!!!

[fuzzy882]

The weaning process should not be long, as long as you are under a dr.s care please don't worry. If you have been through this before than you know that this is going to take some time. Right?  I, myself, dont believe that there is a difference between the generic and the name brand, but all people are different.  When this did happen to you before, did you go into any type of therapy?  I see you were young also when this started happening to you. I was right about your age, married with baby in tow, when this panic and anxiety became my worst nightmare. I was put on different medications to try and finally found the right combo. and went on with my life.  WRONG, that was over 30 yrs. ago and here I am again. Something was missing, the medication did it's job but I didnt do mine. I had to figure this out as to why, with help, Im truly starting to finally GET IT.  
I know you didnt say if you were getting any type of therapy. And Im not one to shove it down your throat, but if you haven't, please do try.

And, Please stay in touch on here, there are so many wonderful people on here to help.

[threesacharm]

i have been in therepy a couple of times, but i never seem to click with the therepist.  i am in the process of searching for one right now.  i really need to talk to someone though because like you said, the meds can only do so much.  i really want to learn how to deal with my panic attacks.  every time i have one its like i never had one before.  you would think by now i would be used to them.  i always try to tell myself that what i am experiencing (racing heart, etc.) is all normal with panic but of course i can't help but think everytime that i am dying.  anyway, thank you for the advice, i will certainly keep in touch.