Seratonin Sydrome??????

[kenosway]

I was recentally put on paxil for anxiety, and the second day of taking the medication had a horrible reaction, ended up in the ER by ambulance-my Dr says it was Seratonin syndrome and to stop the Paxil- I did and and waiting for it to clear my system before trying something different- but I want to be sure a different med I may be trying will not give me similar reaction- He is suggesting Effexor--But I want to make sure Effexor does not cause the Seratonin syndrome too?????????any suggestions would be appreciated.......

[OliveOyl]

Omega 3 fatty acid intake helped my son tremendously.  It does take a while to build up in your system - about three weeks for my son. There is a product called Omega Brite that has the highest concentrations available.  This is what he takes.

[annelrm]

I was on paxil for a couple of months and was very sick from it but the doctors said to keep taking it, I finally got off it on my own and felt better for 3 weeks then I started getting sick again with anxiety.  I also tried effexor a few years ago and it gave me a constant headache that would not go away, then when I got off of it I felt like I was on speed for a day or so.  Ive tried a lot of different med and none of them worked, they all made me sick,  I am now trying a different approach, a natural approach and it seems to be working.  I would recommend doing some research on other alternatives

[ontherecord]

Effexor also inhibits the reuptake of serotonin, just like Paxil, except Effexor also inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrine.  Given your reaction, you may want to try an antidepressant like Wellbutrin, which has absolutely no known effect on serotonin.  There are also numerous tricyclics which may or may not be warranted in your case.  Talk to an experienced psychiatrist and take care.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Most medications that strongly effect serotonin blood levels can induce these syndrome.  Ask your doctor about Wellbutrin as a safer antidepressant for you.