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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Paxil Tremors
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Paxil Tremors
by TheBubs, Jul 13, 2005 12:00AM
My 97 year old Mom was just prescribed Paxil, 10 mg. The RX was given for depression. She took one pill Friday (July 8th) about noon and one Saturday morning and by late Saturday (July 9th) she was having severe "Parkinson like" tremors about every 30-45 minutes. Each tremor lasted about 20-45 seconds.
She took no more Paxil (only two pills total) and her tremors have not subsided as of today. Today, (7/12) the space/time between each bout of tremor has lengthened, she is only having 3-4 a day as of today but the tremors are much more severe. She is responsive and aware but during the tremors she has lost bowel and bladder control.
I took her to her Internest this Monday (July 11th) and he did a neurological exam and said it was a normal exam. I called the pharmacist and he said Paxil has a short half-life and should have been out of her system in 24 hours. These symptoms have been ongoing for 3 days with no let up. Her MD said he is "not worried" but I am.
What to do now? What could be causing this reaction so long after taking the drug? When can we expect these tremors to subside? A neurologist? Not certain she can tolerate an MRI!
She took no more Paxil (only two pills total) and her tremors have not subsided as of today. Today, (7/12) the space/time between each bout of tremor has lengthened, she is only having 3-4 a day as of today but the tremors are much more severe. She is responsive and aware but during the tremors she has lost bowel and bladder control.
I took her to her Internest this Monday (July 11th) and he did a neurological exam and said it was a normal exam. I called the pharmacist and he said Paxil has a short half-life and should have been out of her system in 24 hours. These symptoms have been ongoing for 3 days with no let up. Her MD said he is "not worried" but I am.
What to do now? What could be causing this reaction so long after taking the drug? When can we expect these tremors to subside? A neurologist? Not certain she can tolerate an MRI!
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Jul 14, 2005 12:00AM
, Jul 14, 2005 12:00AM
Your pharmacist is right, it should be out of her system. The timing certainly implicates the Paxil, and in a woman of that age, this kind of response would not be totally unexpected. But the continuation suggests something else.....if I were you I would bring in a neurological consultant.
