I need something badly for my anxiety, I just couldnt manage it without something to help me. I started on Paxil 5 weeks ago.

Since Ive started it Ive been having a number of side effects such as excessive daytime sleepiness, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, nervousness, and overall malaise. It has improved my ability to fall asleep though, and that was a big problem for a while.

What I wanted to know is, is it normal or expected to feel a little worse before you start to feel better in the beginning? And, how long does it take to reach the full effect on this stuff? Does it vary from person to person?

Any imput would be greatly appreaciated.

Steph

when I started anti-depressents last year, they started me on Paxil too. I could tell the first day something was wrong, but the third or fourth day I was a wreck (which is saying a lot since I was in bad shape when I started them ) . I called my dr and said I'd rather feel like how I felt before then feel this way - that's when we knew Paxil was not for me. He switched me to Lexapro and within a week or so I was feeling much better, and I had very little side effects - if any- from the Lexapro. I would suggest you talk to your dr. about this. Yes, it does take 6 - 8 weeks to get the full effects, but the side effects shouldn't outweigh any benefit your getting (IMHO).

And like everything, it does vary from person to person. My friend is on Paxil and doing great with it, had no side effects at all.

I think different anti-depressants work for different people. It does take a while to get used to them, I'd give it another week or two and then talk to your doctor about switching if the side effects are bothering you.

I was on Paxil for about a year and for me it worked very well EXCEPT that I gained about 20 lbs. Also do NOT quit this cold turkey like I did. Not fun. They say it isn't addictive, but I think otherwise.

I would think that 5 weeks should have been plenty of time. It sounds like your side effects are worse than they should be, so I recommend talking to your doctor. Something you need to be aware of is that certain painkillers do not go with Paxil and other SSRIs. Utram used with Paxil puts one at a high risk of serotonin syndrome, so make sure you double check your meds with your pharmacist for interactions.

I use Lexapro, which I love. My family loves me more when I take my Lexapro. My cats still look at me like I'm nuts, though.

pt,

That's very funny. You made my day.

best regards, lm

I was on paxil and for me it was an evil pill. It gave me constipation and completely killed my labito. I also quit cold turkey, boy was that a mistake! I had road rage and was acting liking a physco. When people made me mad I wanted to beat the crap out of them. And believe it was very hard not to act on that impulse.

Plus the anxiety attacks came back twice as bad. I changed to prozac which was better, then eventually to zoloft. After a while I just decided I didn't need it anymore. Haven't been on anything for a few years now.

The first one I was put on was Xanax and they had me taking it 4 times a day, I could hardly get out of bed, let alone take care of my 5 kids. Then they told me to use it as needed, which didn't take care of the problem. So, then I was given 10mg of Paxil. I do not remember side effects to it, but it was well over 10 years ago when I first took it. I was on it for 5 yrs at which point I was taking 40mgs and still having panic. After going gluten-free for 4 months, I weaned myself off of Paxil and didn't take anything until Dec 06, when I was put on Celexa. I had nausea, achy muscles and joints, and was very tired for over 1 week, then things leveled out. It did stop my terrible stomach cramps that were stress related, yet I am not sure that I feel it is working as well as it should. I do have one side effect that we are not sure is related to Celexa--a terrible ringing in my ears that has been going on now for 1 1/2 months. I spoke with the makers of Celexa, Forester Labs and they tell me that 1% of Celexa users do report ringing of the ears. I then asked what percentage of users are the listed side effects and she told me 2%. So, I am guessing ringing in the ears very likely could be from my Celexa. Doc thinks maybe allergies are doing it, so I am on Loratadine and I will give it a few weeks and see what happens--if the ringing doesn't go away, I will have to ask for something other than Celexa.

Having run the gamut of Anti-depressants, I have plenty to say about the subject. When I first felt depressed...perhaps 7 years ago, I was put on Paxil. I reacted very badly to Paxil and they added Klonopin (a Benzodiazepine, which paradoxically CAUSES depression).
When I didn't get better, they tried different ADs on me....I'm not sure if I can even remember them all...Paxil, Celexa, Remeron, Serzone and Lexapro. They tried me on anti-anxiety Benzo's...Klonopin(Depressing) Ativan (less depressing) and Xanax. They tried me on a mood stabilizer...Lamictal.
They even tried an atypical anti-psychotic (Zyprexa and no I'm not psychotic) on me, which made me gain 30 lbs in like a week.

So...in a nutshell what happened to me was..they put me on an AD...then put me on another drug to counteract the effects of the initial AD...then sent me on an odyssey to find a drug that would stop my “complaining”. When I didn’t come back telling the doctor how great I felt, they added another drug. Pretty soon I didn’t feel anything. Eventually I figured out the drugs WERE the problem and cold turkey’d everything...ending up in the hospital after not sleeping for a week
(Never do this). Not telling you this to scare you, I just wish someone would’ve told me about the evils of pharmacology before I popped that first pill. I almost lost everything and this happens ALL the time.

There are many things you should know about ADs. First they work great for some, they have horrible effects on others. No way to know beforehand which you are. They drastically affect your body in unexpected ways. They mess with your hormone control system by flooding your brain with serotonin. If you are lucky enough to still have sexual feelings, you may not be able to act on them.

SSRIs are first line therapy for anxiety because they have less “dependence inducing potential” than the much maligned Benzodiazepines. The truth is, for true anxiety disorders, nothing works as well as a Benzodiazepine. If you truly have panic disorder or GAD. Xanax is king, despite it’s nasty reputation. The trick with something like Xanax is dosage....high enough to assuage the anxiety, but low enough you are not overly sedated.

The dependency issue with Benzodiazepines is drastically overstated. In my opinion SSRIs like Paxil are VASTLY harder to withdrawal from. Paxil especially has a nasty reputation for withdrawal.

This sounds like a horrible story, with no happy ending...but wait...there’s more... actually I got better and so will you. I learned some valuable lessons.
I learned the one rule you MUST follow when taking psychoactive medication...never EVER take anything that makes you feel worse. I learned that side effects are REAL and are dramatically understated and underreported by pharmaceutical companies. I learned that it’s more about the MONEY than actually making people feel better, especially in today’s HMO infested fast food medicine.

If I had to choose, I’d choose the tried and true Benzodiazepine over the much overused SSRIs. I’d select something less sedating like Ativan or Xanax over the depression inducing Klonopin(It’s true, in clinical studies 7% of people who took Klonopin DEVELOPED depression and they gave me that as a treatment)
Start low, go slow and listen to what your body is telling you.

I also ended up taking a tranquilizer, which helped with the anxiety attacks allot better than the AD.
I took lorazapan, I think that's the generic name, not sure what the brand name is.

Ultimately I just had to take control over my life and change the things that caused the panic/anxiety attacks. I know it is very hard to do, I've been there.

For me, the winning combo was Paxil + an anxiety med called Busiperone. I had taken Desipramine, Serzone, Zoloft, and maybe 4 others in the past - they worked for a short time.
It took me about 3 weeks to adjust to the sleeping, nausea, and other issues. I remember it well, as it was the only combo that ever really worked for a long period of time.
Busiperone (sp?) made me really nauseous, but after a few weeks, it subsided. The sleep problem slowly went away, and I was headed for better days.
And, yes, everyone is different. It may have worked for me, but I can see here that a lot of people had problems with it.

Hope things go smoothly for you !

i've been taking antidepressants for the most part of 18 years. i have a lot of trouble with side effects, so i have been through alot of different ones. xanax is pretty good for anxiety. personally, i think that if your anxiety is bad enough, who cares whether or not the xanax is addictive-----that can be dealt with later-----get the anxiety under control for now.

I have anxiety/depression and SSRIs (Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac) didn't help. Welbutrin made me nearly crawl out of my skin.

Finally have gotten great results from Seroquel which is actually classified as an anti-psychotic but has more and more research backing it as a good anti-depressant, especially when the depression is accompanied by anxiety and insomnia as mine is.

WARNING IF YOU TRY SEROQUEL: DO NOT let your doctor start you out on the doses suggested in the package insert!!!! You will be knocked out for several days. Ask to start out at a small dose, 50mg say, and titrate up by 25-50 every few days. The first doc that started me went by the book and I literally had to think about picking each foot up to take a step for several days. Thank God, another doctor several months later convinced me to try starting it more slowly. It has been a lifesaver.

I took Cymbalta for the longest time and I eventually realized that it was making me feel very flat. Add to that feeling a carb craving while being diagnosed with celiac...UGH.

I've been on Fluoxetine for about two months and I notice that my energy level is up most days. However, struggling with weight gain hasn't been easy and I think that's one of the factors involved in my anxious/depressive moods. We'll see what happens. I'm so glad that I found this post; sad that others struggle as well but glad that I'm not the only one.

I've been on Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Paxil, Elavil, Trazadone, and Cymbalta. If your body isn't adjusting to the Paxil, maybe you should ask to try something else. Sometimes it takes awhile to find just the right one (hence the aforementioned list). Right now I am taking Cymbalta, which my psychiatrist prescribed to deal with my fibromyalgia symptoms and depression before I realized that the gluten was causing the fibromyalgia. Cymbalta not only hits the depression, but it has norepinephrin to fight the pain of fibromyalgia (your symptoms sound like fibromyalgia to me). Elavil was the first one I took seventeen years ago. It worked well, and I eventually went off of it, but got depressed again further down the road. That's when the doc tried Wellbutrin (didn't do a thing) and Paxil (completely destroyed my sex life). He then settled on Lexapro, which was fine, but he eventually wanted me to try Celexa (maybe for the ADD?). I came down with full-blown fibromyalgia symptoms, so he switched to Cymbalta for the depression and pain and added Trazadone for sleep, because I wasn't getting much sleep. I can take up to three Trazadones a night, but I usually only take one. This combination works well for me. The fibromyalgia symptoms are nearly gone with the gluten free diet. It's all very strange how gluten causes so many symptoms.

I take a genericd version of Zoloft and love it! My mood wings (due to nerves and PMDD) are much better and it's done wonders for mine and hubby's love life....

Anna