paxil side effects

Hi-
I started taking paxil 2 weeks ago.  I started on 10mg, and now I am up to 20mg.  I take the medicine at night as it makes me very tired.  Even if I sleep 9 hours per night, I still feel very tired during the day, and have very little energy.  Should this side effect wear off over time?  Can I take something with the paxil to boost my energy level like ginseng?  Also, my legs seem to bother me.  All the muscles in my thighs ache since I started taking this medicine.  Is this a usual side effect?  Can I expect that it too will get better with time?  Previous to taking Paxil, I tried Celexa for 1 month, but it made every muscle in my body ache.  After one month on it, I wasn't feeling any better, so my doctor switched me to Paxil.  What do you think about the muscle aches I experience with SSRIs?

[HFHS MD - RG]

Dear Moonie,


Paxil may have sedating properties that may carryover through the next morning. If you are able to function and can tolerate the side effects of your present medication, you may opt to stay on the medication and monitor if these symptoms improve over time as they often do after 1-2 weeks. If not, I advise that you re-consult your physician to consider other medications which would be more tolerable.

The different SSRIs report incidences of muscle aches in their initial study but this is not a common adverse effect. However, if you are experiencing this side effect and you find it intolerable, your physician may need to consider other medications that do not belong to the SSRI category. There are many other nonSSRI antidepressants which your physician can discuss with you.

Sincerely,

HFHS MD - RG