Ending PAXIL CR on to PROZAC

[Dara]

Dear Forum Doctor,

I posted a few weeks earlier questioning my continuing use of Paxil CR.  After much thought, my Doctor and I decided it was time for change.
He started me on 10mg Prozac, I take this for anxiety/depression.

My question is in regards to how I feel during the transition from one drug to another.
I was told weaning was not necessary switching from Paxil to Prozac, just discontinue Paxil and take Prozac at the next dosage time.  1 week ago this is what I did.  The first day or so, not too much trama, however, by day 3 the nausea, head-spinning, tingling sensations, dizziness and just plain feeling sick-in-the-head and out-of-it feelings took over.

Since I am new to this kind of med transition, can you tell me if what I am physically feeling is pretty usual when changing medications.  I just don't want to lift my head up, it's like the hangover from down below, that won't go away or lessen.
If this is what happens during the change, can you lighten my load by saying about how long this will last?  Please tell me I won't feel like this forever.  

Is there anything I can do about the nausea?  Something to help me get through the day a bit easier?

How long before Paxil Cr is out of my system, and Prozac is at it's potential?

Is prozac a good med for my anxiety?

How long for the withdraw effects to pass?

Doctor, you and this sight is such a blessing to me, thank you.

[peas]

Why Your Doctors Do Not Know:

http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:Xwy9WWelf8cC:www.du.edu/~pyesawic/Paxil%2520Business%2520Legal%2520Paper.doc+seizures+paxil+2002&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Extract:

"....These reactions are unexpected to the victims and even their physicians because SKB has deliberately or recklessly failed to properly warn of these. Some of the common complaints and side effects of Paxil included jolting electric zaps, dizziness, motor instability, extreme nausea, vomiting, high fever, abdominal discomfort, flu-like symptoms, agitation, anxiety, insomnia, aggression, nightmares, suicidal ideation, akathisia, tremor, seizures, and confusion."......

"....The first area in which the issue lies in within the area of fraud and deceit. The judge openly recognized that hands down SKB knowingly mischaracterized, and miscoded withdrawal syndromes occurring during clinical trials, and failed to alert the medical community that a significant number of individuals experienced.That SKB knowingly and continues to misrepresent and actively updated both patients, physicians, and the medical community abroad the side effects associated with Paxil...."

[peas]

Withdrawal from ALL SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil, etc) needs to be taken VERY slowly indeed.  Unlike Paxil, Prozac does not give immediate withdrawal symptoms because it has a longer half-life and so does not leave the body as suddenly as Paxil.  The danger in this is that it might be tempting to disgard slow weaning off, thus suffering similar withdrawal symptoms at a later date.

Extracts:

http://www.rense.com/general29/ei.htm

"What frightens me more than anything at this point of realization is millions of patients going into withdrawal from these drugs. The rapid or abrupt withdrawal from these antidepressants can produce suicide, mania, seizures, psychotic breaks, etc. at an even greater rate than while on the drugs. Extreme caution MUST be taken.

Here are the suicide rates. Keep in mind as you read through these that the rate of 11 out of 100,000 persons per year is the suicide rate for the population at large.

*752 per 100,000 for those treated with atypical antipsychotics--risperidone (Risperdal), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and quetiapine (Seroquel);

*718 per 100, 000 for those treated with the SSRIs - Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa)

*425 per 100, 000 for those treated for "social anxiety disorder" with nefazodone (Serzone), mirtazapine (Remeron), and bupropion (Wellbutrin/Zyban);

*136 per 100,000 for those treated for panic disorder--with benzodiazepine alprazolam (Xanax);

*105 per 100, 000 persons for those treated for obesessive-compulsive disorder with anticonvulsant valproate (Depakote).

These figures clearly speak for themselves. The massive numbers of wrongful death suits will obviously follow. At least loved ones will know why they have lost those who meant so much to them via such tragic circumstances.

Keep in mind as you read through this data that the new antipsychotics listed here are basically a combination of the older antipsychotics and the SSRIs. They too have a STRONG effect upon serotonin levels. Also the most likely reason researchers saw an even higher rate of suicide in placebo with the antipsychotics is that these patients were likely being abruptly discontinued from their older antipsychotics for the clinical trials. This abrupt withdrawal causes suicide."


http://www.drugawareness.org/Oldsite/healy.html

"In the first clinical trial of its kind, Dr David Healy, director of the North Wales Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Wales, gave Prozac to a volunteer group of mentally healthy adults and found even their behaviour was affected. He said: 'We can make healthy volunteers belligerent, fearful, suicidal, and even pose a risk to others.'

Healy says between one in 20 and one in 10 people who take Prozac can be affected by akathisia, whereby they become mentally restless or manic and lose all inhibitions about their actions..."

AKATHISIA (SSRI INDUCED - Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Luvox, Celexa):

http://www.breggin.com/paxilproductliability.html

" (5) SSRI-induced akathisia, an internal sensation of agitation or discomfort that drives a person to move about, and also to lose impulse control. During akathisia, the inner experience of agitation includes many unusual physical feelings, such as electricity in the head or body. The person suffering from akathisia typically feels compelled to move the feet when sitting, to stand, or to pace. Akathisia is known to increase the risk of suicide and violence."

http://www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/07/19/zoloft/index1.html

"Akathisia is like being tortured from within," says Peter Breggin, a Maryland psychiatrist and prominent critic of Prozac and other psychiatric medications. "It's like the screeching of chalk down a board, only it's going down your spinal column.

"This agitation or akathisia drives a person into extreme states of irritability, anger, and frustration," Breggin continues. "People can become more depressed and more despairing; their impulse control loosens and they do stupid things. So the violent impulses that an ordinary person would control come pouring out or even appear for the first time.".....

In his article, Pfizer's researcher Lane described the suicide risk of SSRIs -- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the class of drug to which Prozac and Zoloft belong -- in this way: "It may be less of a question of patients experiencing ... suicidal ideation, than patients feeling that 'death is a welcome result' when the acutely discomforting symptoms of akathisia are experienced on top of already distressing disorders."

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

It sounds like a withdrawal syndrome. The best guess at this point is that you are not taking enough prozac to cover the Paxil withdrawal, and going up to 20 mg. a day, or a little more, might give you immediate relief.  Talk to your doctor about this possibility.

It is a good medication and when you stop it eventually, it is much easier than Paxil.  The effect of Prozac as a continuation of Paxil is almost immediate..you don't have to wait for its positive effect.

Sometimes Prozac is a stimulant, and that can be confused with anxiety.  So watch that closely.