paxil vs prozac

[piper6622]

I am on Paxil 20 mg and it has changed my life- I feel terriffic on this drug got my life back but gained over 50lbs over an 8 year period and can't seem to lose any of it!!!!!! My Dr suggested to taper off paxil and go onto Prozac that this drug is weight nuetral- Has anyone done this and what is thier suggestion to me? PLEASE help I am scared to come off paxil becausr of how much it has helped my life but I cannot afford to keep gaining weight I feel stuck not sure what the besst thing to do is-

[andrelle]

i was on paxil and gained 60 lbs. my doctor switched to prozac and it worked great and i lost 20lbs.

[Scerica]

Paxil destroyed me!!!  I just got home from the doctor's because I have been trying to wean off of it for one month now and it's been the worst month of my life.  So, I go to the doctor's today and now he took me off paxil and put me on prozac.  Said that it is not as addicting and will help me through the paxil withdrawl.  ???  He said give it a month and then stop taking prozac and getting off prozac is much easier because it stays in your system longer.  I am soo sick of taking pills.  I went there for help and I left with more pills.  Whatever..

[Paxiled]

If it's working, why change?  Prozac isn't known for being that great for anxiety, more for depression, but it might work, but going off paxil isn't easy.  If you're happy, you're happy.  But i doubt you'll lose the weight -- it's really hard.  The only reason to go off the med, really, is if you think you don't need meds anymore.  If you still need them, since they're a crapshoot and difficult to come off of, I'd stick with what's working if that's the only bad side effect you're having.

[cj29]

There are always pluses and minuses to medications like Paxil.  In the past 8 years, have you tried eating right and exercising regularly to try to maintain weight?  I know that it can really be a bear while on SSRIs.  If you do decide to switch, just ensure you do it SLOWLY...in my opinion, both of these meds work, but of course we are all affected differently...keep us posted!