Paxil CR for anxiety

[molly123]

Originally Posted by PennyD

Hi Molly,
Just wanted you to know I have the Paxil CR samples from my doctor will begin taking it tomorrow. Your encouragement was what prompted me to try the SSRI's again. I pray this will help me. I have been in this situation for 5 months and I would really like to get back to some form of normal! LIke you said in your post I do not handel stress or bad news as well as I did before. I will still take the Klonopin per my doctor with the Paxil CR for a few weeks to make sure I can take the Paxil CR and then wean off the Klonopin. Thanks again for your replies. I sure trust my experience with the Paxil CR will be as smooth as yours has been as far as side effects go. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Penny

Hi Penny,
Glad that you were able to get some samples to try. I hope you will do well on it too and start feeling better. After feeling so bad for so many months, I think you deserve to start feeling good - good enough to take the dogs out too!

Whether you take a SSRI, a benzo drug, HRT, or herbals, each of us have to decide for herself what is the best approach to manage her peri-meno symptoms and gain back some normalcy in her life. After some stability has been maintained and you finally realize you are not dying, and you have a clear mind and some energy again, then it would be time to look into other alteratives, if needed.

Keep us posted...

Molly

[PennyD]

Originally Posted by molly123

Hi Penny,
Glad that you were able to get some samples to try. I hope you will do well on it too and start feeling better. After feeling so bad for so many months, I think you deserve to start feeling good - good enough to take the dogs out too!

Whether you take a SSRI, a benzo drug, HRT, or herbals, each of us have to decide for herself what is the best approach to manage her peri-meno symptoms and gain back some normalcy in her life. After some stability has been maintained and you finally realize you are not dying, and you have a clear mind and some energy again, then it would be time to look into other alteratives, if needed.

Keep us posted...

Molly

Hi Molly,
Well so far so good! I took my first Paxil CR at 10am this morning. Around noon I felt very sleepy for about 15 minutes. Thank God no nausea!!! That side effect is my worst nightmare!! I feel maybe just a bit "wired" but not bad. Over all I feel ok! Isn't that great! My first hour on Zoloft was awful! I had bad nausea and stomach pains. I am just praying I can tolerate this Paxil CR and get my recovery underway and get off the Klonopin. I did take my .5 of Klonopin at lunch today like always. When you started taking the Paxil CR were you taking the ativan everyday? If so did you stop taking the Ativan or wean off of it? I am so anxious to get off the Klonopin. Again thank you for your encouragement. It was just what I needed to try the SSRIs again!
Penny

[molly123]

Originally Posted by PennyD

Hi Molly,
Well so far so good! I took my first Paxil CR at 10am this morning. Around noon I felt very sleepy for about 15 minutes. Thank God no nausea!!! That side effect is my worst nightmare!! I feel maybe just a bit "wired" but not bad. Over all I feel ok! Isn't that great! My first hour on Zoloft was awful! I had bad nausea and stomach pains. I am just praying I can tolerate this Paxil CR and get my recovery underway and get off the Klonopin. I did take my .5 of Klonopin at lunch today like always. When you started taking the Paxil CR were you taking the ativan everyday? If so did you stop taking the Ativan or wean off of it? I am so anxious to get off the Klonopin. Again thank you for your encouragement. It was just what I needed to try the SSRIs again!
Penny

Hi Penny,

Well, glad that it's so far so good!! If you didn't feel sickly from any side effects by lunch time, I don't think you will have any! Let's hope! My dr. said it was OK to take an anxiety pill while taking the Paxil if I needed to. I think I took only about .25 mg of Ativan (.5 mg was a whole pill) two or three times the first week I was on the Paxil. I really tried to refrain from taking it. I started the Paxil on 12/13 and the last time I took an Ativan was on 12/20. I never took a complete dosage of Ativan nor was I taking it everyday. I would always start by cutting one in 1/2. I took it only when I really, really felt I needed it - when I was freaking out, climbing the walls!

Even though I started feeling bad in Aug., I really didn't start taking the Ativan until around Oct/Nov. (first of all, I forgot I had Ativan and didn't think it was anxiety - the internal shakiness just did not seem like the typical anxiety attacks I've experienced before.) So , I was on Ativan really for about a month's time on/off with minimal dosages.

You should ask your dr. to help you wean off of the Klonopin. I guess it depends on how long you have been on it. I know I felt much better pretty much right away when I was on the Paxil (before the month's prescription was used up even!). I don't know if it is really the Paxil that is helping or it is just a coincidence with the timing of when my hormones finally decided to calm down a bit...anyway, I have been feeling fine now on Day 30!!

Good luck, keep your fingers and toes crossed, and please give me an update!

Molly

[PennyD]

[QUOTE=molly123]Hi Penny,

Well, glad that it's so far so good!! If you didn't feel sickly from any side effects by lunch time, I don't think you will have any! Let's hope! My dr. said it was OK to take an anxiety pill while taking the Paxil if I needed to. I think I took only about .25 mg of Ativan (.5 mg was a whole pill) two or three times the first week I was on the Paxil. I really tried to refrain from taking it. I started the Paxil on 12/13 and the last time I took an Ativan was on 12/20. I never took a complete dosage of Ativan nor was I taking it everyday. I would always start by cutting one in 1/2. I took it only when I really, really felt I needed it - when I was freaking out, climbing the walls!

Even though I started feeling bad in Aug., I really didn't start taking the Ativan until around Oct/Nov. (first of all, I forgot I had Ativan and didn't think it was anxiety - the internal shakiness just did not seem like the typical anxiety attacks I've experienced before.) So , I was on Ativan really for about a month's time on/off with minimal dosages.

You should ask your dr. to help you wean off of the Klonopin. I guess it depends on how long you have been on it. I know I felt much better pretty much right away when I was on the Paxil (before the month's prescription was used up even!). I don't know if it is really the Paxil that is helping or it is just a coincidence with the timing of when my hormones finally decided to calm down a bit...anyway, I have been feeling fine now on Day 30!!

Good luck, keep your fingers and toes crossed, and please give me an update!

Molly[/QUOTEMolly,
It is 7:51 pm and still doing great!! The only effects I have felt from the Paxil CR were the short period of being sleepy and a little bit of a "wired" feeling! I am so thankful. I have felt much better today. I have been able to think more clearly, in turn the production of my work today was more in line with what I was used to. I know I will have to wean off the Klonopin. I have talked with my doctor about it before as well as my client who is a pharmicist. I have tried to cut it back twice and it didn't work. So I know how to wean it off I just have to make sure the Paxil CR works. So that is my plan. Well, I am off to bed and I am a thankful person that the Paxil CR had no bad side effects. I will keep you posted on tomorrow! Thanks for the support!
Penny

[Direne]

Originally Posted by molly123

Direne,
What kind of withdrawal symptoms did you experience? I think you said you were on it for 18 months. When did you realize it was time for you to get off of Paxil? I also hope the Paxil didn't cause anything life threatening... and what other remedies are you taking to help with your peri-meno symptoms?

I also never thought this phase of my life would be so horrible. Never actually even thought of it. It is a comfort to know that there are many of us going through the same thing though. I felt so alone at one time. I also hope I will continue to feel good. I did notice that each time when I felt bad, it was also a result of some situation that caused me stress/anxiety - it seems to have bought it on - I know that I'm definitely unable to handle any bad news or stressful situations like before.

Take care,
Molly

Morning Molly, I'm sorry I'm just getting back to you. I was busy yesterday. You ask about my symptoms, I started having bizarre thinking. I had been feeling bad and the dr upped my dose and although I had had some of that side effect during the entire time it got really bad. I knew the thoughts were irrational but it scared me that the drug was controlling my mind like that so I decided to go off of it. It became that the drug effects were worse than the initial reason I was put on it. I now have panic attacks which I didn't have before. My hope is you will do fine, just be aware of the way you are feeling and don't stay on it for a long time. It seems to me that once you are on a drug like that, from my research, the drs. just bounce you from one to another. I am taking a low dose estrogen and am seeing the dr. soon to see how she feels about the natural hormones. Although I was leary about going on HRT, it can't be any worse than the Paxil was for me. I am also taking Xanax for the anxiety on an as needed basis. I am glad to find others that are going through what I am. It's good to know we are not alone.

Direne