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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Paxil withdrawal
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 withdrawal
by debbie, Oct 20, 1999 12:00AM
I have been taking 20 mg of paxil and .5 to .75 mg of clonazepam per day for anxiety attacks for approx 6 months. My doctor suggested i try Serzone because of the weight gain and sexual dysfunction i have experienced with paxil(otherwise, it has been great). he told me to stop paxil cold turkey and go immediately to serzone, but i am afraid to try it, so i am trying to wean myself off of the paxil gradually. I had 15mg per day last week, i have had 10 mg per day for the past two days (am feeling a little fuzzy, but nothing too dramatic). If i keep feeling ok, i will go to 5 next week and none the week after. Does this sound reasonable to you? What are the drugs that are recommended that will help lessen the withdrawal symptoms should they worsen? My doctor will practically prescribe what i ask for, and he seems unconcerned about quitting paxil and going straight to serzone. What is your opinion? Thanks for your answer. I like my doctor a lot, but i don't think he is really up on these drugs - he is going by whatever my physchologist tells him to prescribe, and i'm not sure he's really an expert on these drugs.
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS.MD-AJ, Oct 21, 1999 12:00AM
Debbie,
It is unfortunate that even though you found Paxil helpful for your anxiety, it has caused sexual dysfunction and weight gain. The abrupt discontinuation of Paxil may be associated with dizziness, paresthesias, irritability, etc. To decrease the risk of this "discontinuation syndrome", which can occur with other medications, it is often advised that doses should be decreased slowly, e.g. by 10 mg each week until 10 mg a day is reached, then taking 5 mg a day for another week before stopping. This is a very conservative approach, as many people discontinue the medication at 10 or 20 mg without problems. Many people also start the Serzone as the Paxil is tapered, to avoid recurrence of anxiety. You may want to request medication follow-up with a psychiatrist who is familiar with psychotropic medications.
It is unfortunate that even though you found Paxil helpful for your anxiety, it has caused sexual dysfunction and weight gain. The abrupt discontinuation of Paxil may be associated with dizziness, paresthesias, irritability, etc. To decrease the risk of this "discontinuation syndrome", which can occur with other medications, it is often advised that doses should be decreased slowly, e.g. by 10 mg each week until 10 mg a day is reached, then taking 5 mg a day for another week before stopping. This is a very conservative approach, as many people discontinue the medication at 10 or 20 mg without problems. Many people also start the Serzone as the Paxil is tapered, to avoid recurrence of anxiety. You may want to request medication follow-up with a psychiatrist who is familiar with psychotropic medications.
Member Comments (1)
by jeane, Oct 30, 1999 12:00AM
I tapered off Paxil as suggested above and had no problems.
