Holistic vs. Modern Medicine... and other ramblings - Panic Disorders Message Board

ChrisL · 06-18-2003, 09:27 AM

I was diagnosed with Panic disorder several months ago. It runs in the family so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that it afflicted me as well. My first shrink put me on 25mg of Paxil, which i quit after a couple of weeks due to the side effects, insomnia, weight loss (i'm already too skinny), and ejaculatory delay, which my girlfriend enjoyed, but unfortunately I can't say the same

Its possible I threw the towel in too soon, but.....
Anyway, I started taking .5mg of klonopin 3x/day, and this immediately helped. I was the old Chris again. However, after a few months of taking the medicine, the anxiety started to creep back into my life. The anxiety started to hit me during stressful times, but now I'm anxious all day long. I can't relax for 10 minutes. Ironically, this has affected sexual performance as well, the main reason I quit paxil in the first place. I went back to the dr. and he said its time for an SSRI (Paxil again). I'm too scared to take it, and I've read so many horror stories about the drug that I won't mess with it.

so here's my dilemna: Do I continue to take the klonopin along with the CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) and fight through the attacks or do I give Paxil another chance? I will continue with CBT regardless of my decision, although it hasn't helped yet. One other note, my dr. prescribed me PaxilCR this time at a lower dosage, 12mg.

I appreciate your help. also, its been harder for me to perform sexually while being anxious....is this common? I thought sex was a stress reliever.

RightLittleMadam · 06-18-2003, 09:40 AM

What about looking into another SSRI, like Zoloft or Prozac? There are different options out there if one doesn't work for you.

Janik · 06-18-2003, 06:29 PM

Sex can be a stress reliever... unless you have performance anxiety, which could be your case.

I encourage you to keep going to your cbt sessions. I remember how in the beginning I had a deep mistrust of the theory behind it, but I kept going and eventually came around. Sometimes the exercises were meaningless, but now I keep going back to them, I find them very helpful.

I also think that trying a different SSRI is a good idea. Though they are supposed to acheive the same purpose, the mechanisms differ, so maybe you won't get side effects from a different one.

If the Klonopin is not helping anymore, don't just stop taking it. Ask your doctor if he can give you another benzo as a substitute. And don't take more that what's been prescribed.