Prozac or Paxil more calming and less panic inducing?

[Merlin1974]

Hi I have been on effexor and felt my heart racing and always jittery.  
I felt very hyper and had to take 2mg benzos to keep me from getting overly anxious.

I have been given a choice to try paxil or prozac.
My main goal is to be calm again and not have this inner fear and stop being so sensitive.
It is essentially a combination of GAD, social anxiety, depression that is deep routed.

Any insight would really help me.
Thanks!

[Paxiled]

Effexor,  because it targets norepinephrine, can be very stimulating.  I would give the Prozac a try first, because it's the only one of these snris and ssris that has a relatively long half life in the body.  Because of that, it seems to be easier to quit and has fewer of the more unpleasant side effects.  But as the above person said, we all react to meds differently, so no one can tell you what any of these will do to you, only a generalization about most people.  If the Prozac doesn't help, I'd probably try Lexapro next, for similar reasons of reportedly having fewer side effects.  I'd use the stronger and more difficult meds last, not first, out of caution, but that's just me.  Others may differ, and your mileage may vary.

[remar]

We're all different and respond to the same meds differently. I did well on Effexor for awhile and then it started causing problems. I did very well on Paxil but did have weight gain, not all people do of course. It helped my anxiety very much. I've never tried Prozac but know that several people here at MH do well on it. Hopefully more people will give you their experiences with these meds. Which ever one you choose I hope you do well on it. Remar