PAXIL

Dear Doctor,
I have been taking Paxil CR @ 25mg for 2 months for anxiety and depression.  Before that I was taking 50mg of Paxil CR, but was taken off of it because of the lack of interest in life.

After two months, I am still in the 'zone' of a foogy head, a feeling of detachment from people around me, a sense of depression, a constant undercurrent of anxiety, vibrating in my limbs,  my face tingles and I find myself tired and not always to friendly.
My question to you is, will these feelings and sensations pass?  Have I not given it enough time for my body to adjust to it?
Do you feel I am reacting the way intended?  Do you think a dosage adjustment would help down or up?
I was taking Zoloft in between  the Paxil 50mg and Paxil at 25mg, it did wonders on my mood, but increased my anxiousness.
My Doctor had mentioned Prozac as an alternative, but I don't know if that would be right for me due to my anxiety.

Thankyou for your time, I certainly need your advice, I would like to find a med I am comfortable on and can function without the constant worry and nervousness, and a med that doen't drown 'me' out.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

You have used Paxil long enough to get a therapeutic effect and if it still causing problems, you probably don't want to wait for more than 2 or three weeks before considering another change.

The fact that Zoloft helped is important information.  There are four or five equally effective medications to try in addition to Prozac, and one of them will be the right one.  It is a matter of trial and error.

Ask your doctor about Buspar and Celexa as alternative.

[joyce45]

Personally, I found Prozac with Xanax as needed to be a perfect combo for me.  I had been on Paxil, tried Zoloft, and Celexa.  There's no med that works as well as Xanax [alprazolam] for anxiety. I never used too much and was always careful about that. I never had any side effects either. It's the best thing for insomnia also.

[shubunkin]

Yes, Xanax maybe a great drug for anxiety and sleeping but personally I would rather live with the anxiety than the withdrawels I am having trying to come off of it just from 1.5 mg. It can help but should be a last resort and be used VERY CAREFULLY! It is safe until you decide to stop it. So do the research before hand, not after like I did and it was too late.

[peas]

Please see extracts of articles added to threads above and below this which outline adverse effects, withdrawal symptoms (discontinuation syndrome) and an expert's advice on options for withdrawal, including the amounts of prozac required per amount of paxil changeover.