Paxil to Prozac?

[jmana]

Hi~ I am new to this site. I am having a hard time coming off paxil. I have been on it for 8yrs for depression/OCD/Panic disorder. It has worked wonders for me. And for that I am truly thankful. But now 8yrs later, I am 50lbs heavier and have my libido is Nil. I want to come off paxil or switch to something else. Has anyone successfully done this? I have only taken off 3mg of paxil for two weeks now and I'm dizzy and I awake at 3:00 am with tremors/fear. I was wondering if adding Prozac while decressing the Paxil would make if easier? I ask my Dr. and he doesn't have a clue.

Anyone's advice would be great.

[smithhood27]

I have read all the articles and yours is the most similar to mine.  I was switched to Prozac 20mg from Paxil 40mg.  Totally stopped taking the Paxil.  I was on that for more than 15 years with doses up and down.  I really want to stop taking it, I gained a lot of weight and I crave sweets.  I have been on the Prozac for almost 2 weeks now, I have the dizzy, swimming head, slight headache, some insomnia, and beginning to feel inpatient a little.  I am older now, dealing with an aging disabled mother who lives with my and my husband.  My four children are grown and out on their own, so I only have the worry about them!  Keep me posted on your progress or lack of progress so we can compare!  And good luck!

[Cherik72]

I just started this same process I've been on 37.5 mg of Paxil for at least 6 years and my doct cut me down to 25 mg Paxil and 10 ,mg Prozac for first week....I'm on day 2 and I'm shaky, dizzy, beyond exhausted and hungrier then ever....also have had a medium headache....did any of this happen to you? If so, how long did it last for?

[Paxiled]

First, I know of no evidence valerian is addictive.  It affects GABA in a different and largely unknown way, as plants have too many constituent ingredients for humans to understand with current science.  Benzos work much more directly and strongly on GABA sensors, whereas valerian probably encourages the production of GABA, but nobody really knows.  If it were addictive, it would be on the list of controlled substances, which it isn't.  On the other hand, it's probably better used as M4 suggested, as needed, whereas herbs such as passionflower and hops and others are better for long term regulation of the nervous system.  But going natural will take you work and a combination of both nutrients and relaxation modalities, so I would recommend, if you go that way, to see a naturopath if you're not well versed on natural medicine.  As for the Paxil, my guess is it might be pooping out, but these meds also don't usually eradicate anxiety attacks, they reduce them.  They don't cure, they treat symptoms.  If there's a cure it's talk therapy, though there are no guarantees with that either.  The normal medication route to take here would be to up the Paxil to 20mg; that's the standard dose anyway, if you wanted to stay on it.  If you don't, taper off it carefully with your psychiatrist's aid because it can be difficult to quit.  Paxil is thought to be the strongest ssri, so whether Prozac would work once you've been on Paxil is problematic, but you can only find out by trying.  It is easier to quit, and tends to have fewer reported side effects.  But what you'll experience nobody can predict, since people react differently.  I was on Paxil for several years, and the side effects changed, and for me no other ssri has ever worked at all.  It's just weird with these.  For others, everything works.  Just no predicting.  Good luck.

[M4Y0U]

What you should do with Paxil is taper off slowly, or at least this is the recommended solution. You can quit cold turkey but you most likely endure a terrible time.

What you can do to help while tapering off is taking a vitamin B complex, fish oild (omega-3) and D vitamin if you lack sun exposure. Those all have impact on your mood and won't interact with your medication. Valerian is okay to take with your medication but it is normally used for occasional insomnia, anxiety and the likes. You can get really addicted to valerian as it uses pretty much the same mechanism that the benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium, Ativan etc. use. That is upping your GABA levels. Melatonin is ok to take with your medication too and combined with valerian but it is used for occasional insomnia as well. I wouldn't recommend taking it every night as it can disrupt your brain to normally produce it's own melatonin (which is an hormone by the way, often called the sleep hormone). This thought on melatonin tho is relative to your age and own brain chemistry. You might already be producing low quantity of melatonin which in this case I would suggest taking melatonin 90 minutes before going to bed every night and try to sleep in a complete dark without any light or fake light source as light have a strong impact on melatonin production. In the day we don't produce it because of light and in the night we produce it because of the absence of light. This is what regulates our circadian rhythm or biological clock if you like.

Once you are off the med you can try various herbs and amino acids like St John' Wort (herb) and 5-HTP (amino acid). 5-HTP is the chemical precursor as well as metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin from tryptophan. It goes like this: tryptophan - 5-HTP - serotonin and then melatonin is synthesized from serotonin. In no way melatonin will help in upping you serotonin levels as it uses serotonin for it's synthesis.

Hope all this information will help you and remember to consult your doctor before getting on a natural product to see if there's is an interaction a medication you might already be taking,
M4

[abe51]

i have been on paxil for about 8 years I am taking 10mg daily .I was doing fine but  lately I have been getting anxiety attacks for 2 nights and couldnt sleep and grassping for air and fast heart beat and preassure over my head . so I called my doctor and I told him the story and he suggest to switch to prozac . Here is the question is this a good idea to switch to prozac I am afraid to quit paxil which paroxetene is what I am taking the generic . I tried to quit paxil slowly cutting down per week I managed to stay away from it about 7 days then I couldnt any more I got back to it looks like to me is adictive I dont know what should  I do best from now.  how do i quit and what herbs should I replace taking  paxil would valerian work or melatonin what is the solution my phylosophy is quitting I dont like chemical  medicine  in my body unless I have to ... any comments

[6FT2]

I have been taking 60 for the last 7 months and so and I haven't noticed any adverse side-effects...but then again, people react differently to these kinds of meds.  Me and Zoloft is not good friends...

[stephanie773]

i just switched from 40mg of prozac i been on it for about 8 months i just upped it to 60 because my anxiety and ocd was just getting worse does anyone feel ok on the 60 just a little bit nervous about taking a higher dose

[starr28]

Hi,

I switched over from paxil to prozac by gradually decreasing the paxil and starting the prozac at a low dose and then after a couple weeks, I decreased the paxil again and
increased the prozac.  I did this until I was completely off the paxil and onto the prozac and it worked great for me!  I did all this under my pdoc's suggestion by the way.

best wishes to you,
starr28

[kstti]

I have been on prozac for 5 months.i decided to stop taking it and I have been feeling bad.I feel like Ihave the flu my bones ache.Just feel really bad.What can happen if you stop taking it abruptly.If I feel this bad i dont want to deal with prozac again. How long do these symtoms last.I dont want to take it again.Anyone have any suggestions

[jmana]

Thank you so much for your comments/advise. I am on 20mg of paxil and have cut down to 17mg, this is week three on 17mg. Not to bad of withdrawels, except I wake up sometimes in the night with fear. But the last three nights have been fine. So I think if all goes well I will go down another 3mg for three weeks, starting next week. If I begin to have terrible side effects then I will tell my Dr. I want to incorporate the Prozac while I come off Paxil. If any one else has done this please let me know.

Thanks so much,

Jmana

[jmana]

Thank you so much for your comments/advise. I am on 20mg of paxil and have cut down to 17mg, this is week three on 17mg. Not to bad of withdrawels, except I wake up sometimes in the night with fear. But the last three nights have been fine. So I think if all goes well I will go down another 3mg for three weeks, starting next week. If I begin to have terrible side effects then I will tell my Dr. I want to incorporate the Prozac while I come off Paxil. If any one else has done this please let me know.

Thanks so much,

Jmana

[mimimimi]

hi i have just come off citalopram to prozac
the prozac is supposed to help the withdrawal from othe ssri's
i had terrible withdrawal from citalopram, electric shock feelings in myhead, pins and needles ANGER all for about ten days then that subsided and the prozac started to kick in
still getting a little angry, still depressed but im getting better each day.
your doc should know this.  
its a well known fact they give people prozac to help come off other ssri's.  and then apparantely if you want to come off meds altogether prozac is supposed to be one of the easiest.
i am gonna stay on my meds tho coz i know i need them
let me know how you get on, i will try and find the web page that explains some of this x

[benisnotmyname]

i can relate.  I was on Paxil for 8 yrs too.  My dosage was upped the last 2 years and it helped awhile but then tapered off.  When I cut back to half and then start up effexor I still got real dizzy, really tired, depressed, and missed a week of work while I slept most of the time.   It was not fun at all.  You need to cut pills, whatever, to taper off as little at a time with 2-3 weeks before tapering down again--you can tell when it's okay better than a doc because different people have way different reactions to reducing meds.  As far as sex drive, I think they all mess it up.  I have found that you need to really follow the "use it or lose it" approach to sex and supplements help.
I don't know what paxil dose you are at, but my doc basically had me get down to 1/2 dose then started easing in the effexor 75mg at a time.  Since both paxil and prozac are SSRIs, you are probably okay taking both.  Make sure you do a web search for prozac and paxil and look at drug interaction precautions.  Maybe search "paxil prozac interaction" instead.