on paxil with abilify and dr refuse to switch any other medication

[Ness2018]

20 years off and on paxil but decided not to get off anymore because i get very ill
dr saying its relapsing illness and basically its depression even though im not sad its same thing
paxil stopped working few months ago and i asked the dr to switch lexapro since i didnt try to switch
to anything for 10 years, i tried cymbalta before with different dr and it did nothing for me
i was hoping that with lexapro will have less side effects also, i gained little weight on paxil and its impossible to get it off no matter what you to do i dont care what doctor says about it, anyway he refused to give me lexapro
he claims all the meds are exact same and if i want to change meds i need to go to different doctor
not sure what to do but would love to hear opinions, btw i feel better now with the abilify added to paxil but side effects got much worse

[Paxiled]

Go see a different psychiatrist.  If what you say is true, the one you have needs to have his license revoked.  If all these drugs were the same they all wouldn't have been able to get a patent and FDA approval -- you can only do that by proving it's different than what's already on the market.  Paxil and Effexor are the two most difficult drugs to stop taking for the most people, so if you're going to stop taking Paxil you really want to have the best psychopharmacologist you can find guiding you through the withdrawal process just in case.  It can take a really long time to stop taking especially given the length of time you've been on it.  Cymbalta is better at treating depression than it is if you just have anxiety, as it's more stimulating, but do know that once you've been on Paxil for a long time it can be harder to find another drug that will work.  Effexor and Paxil for some unknown reason are just stronger on the brain than the others, which doesn't mean it will be like that for you but it might be and it doesn't mean the others won't be harder on some people than Paxil.  It does depend on the person, but statistically, the most severe withdrawals for the most people by far are with Paxil and Effexor.  Whether Lexapro has fewer side effects or just different ones is again dependent on you, not anyone else.  It might be, it might not be.  You have to try it to find out.  You might want to wait some period of time after stopping the Paxil successfully before you try something else just to give your brain some time to try to adapt to normal first.  Up to you and how bad your problem is.  I gained a ton on Paxil and you're right, only stopping it ended that.  Abilify does have a high side effect profile, but the fact it works some for you indicates you may in fact have a depression problem going on.  We're not psychiatrists on here, we can only talk from our own research, the docs we've had, the experiences we've had.  But if a doc said that to me, I'd react as you did, think he was a quack, and find a different one because what he said defies your own experience and everyone's experience and all evidence -- if he was right, the Cymbalta would have worked the same as Paxil, right?  Those two drugs don't even affect the same neurotransmitters.  Your doc sounds like a nutcase to this idiot.