Discussions that mention paxil

I was explaining to a friend how my head has felt lately and all I could think of was that my brain feels fatigued..........it feels as if something is squeezing it............and along with that feeling comes the lack of concentration..........of course it is mostly like from Celexa withdrawal or Paxil start up...........but it is the side effect that scares me most and seems to be hanging around the longest............

Can anyone else relate to this?

Thanks,

Kaytee:-)

Quote from KayT:

I was explaining to a friend how my head has felt lately and all I could think of was that my brain feels fatigued..........it feels as if something is squeezing it............and along with that feeling comes the lack of concentration..........of course it is mostly like from Celexa withdrawal or Paxil start up...........but it is the side effect that scares me most and seems to be hanging around the longest............

Can anyone else relate to this?

Thanks,

Kaytee:-)

Dear KayT,
Yes, it is me again. I know, "He won't go away". You are doing fine, you don't have any of the symptoms that I had, not even close. Keep it up, it is going to pass.

Sickman :)

Quote from Sickman:

Dear KayT,
Yes, it is me again. I know, "He won't go away". You are doing fine, you don't have any of the symptoms that I had, not even close. Keep it up, it is going to pass.

Sickman :)

Thanks Sickman,

I feel pretty bad today..........my concentration level is low.........seems like another slump along the pathway to feel better.............I have an appt with a Psychiatrist next Tuesday.........decided I'd feel better having a Psych handle my meds.........my primary doctor is great..........but I don't feel she has the expertise that a Psych would...........don't really want to change much at this point but want to be able to ask my questions to the person who is prescribing the meds............

I had a nice talk with my counselor friend today..........I was feeling pretty scared again and she always make me feel a bit better.........she says the withdrawal from the Celexa should ease up in the next week or so and the Paxil should start working within the next three weeks..........maybe you should copy this and send it to me every other day:-) I know I sound like a broken record on here...........but I have felt so strange lately and had such a wide gammet of side effects that I go from calm one day to scared the next..........my worse fear is that same old anxiety fear I have always had..........losing it...............so she must be right..........the Paxil must not have reached it's theraputic level yet........

We did discuss me dropping the Paxil down by 5mg to see if that helps with the concentration/short term memory side effect..........not sure I'm going to do that.........but I do feel better in the am and then about 1-2 hours after taking the Paxil I start feeling like I can't think straight again...........

Sorry to ramble.
Thanks for the post,

Kaytee:-)

Sickman, you out there?

I am feeling pretty bad today..........my anxiety hasn't been this high in a very long time...............I felt as if I couldn't think straight all day........would go to do something then forget what it was I was going to do..........short term memory issues...........anyhow.............I phoned my doc and advised how bad I was feeling and the response was to give it another week.............If my concentration level is this bad now, I fear how bad it will be in another week.

I take the Paxil in the morning..........so today I looked for a pattern to my symptoms..............and I noticed one............I get up and take my Paxil right before I got to work...........about an hour or two in to work I begin feeling the lack of concentration...........strange head stuff.........this stays with me until it eases up around 8pm at night........when I wake in the morning I am feeling better (not the greatest, but definitely thinking clearer) then I take the Paxil again..........and start the whole process all over..........to me that would indicate that the Paxil is doing this to me.............

I am going to get a better perspective on this tomorrow..........going to get in to see the Pdoc............the nurse asked them to see me asap........because I explained that I don't think I should go on like this without getting some type of consultation from an expert about these meds.............my regulard doc is great.........but I don't feel she has the knowledge or experience with these drugs and that is probably why I am in the boat I'm in..........

My doc did give me Xanax.............do you know much about this drug and will it help calm some of these side effects?? I'm almost scared to add it to the mix............

Thanks,

Kaytee:-)

Quote from KayT:

Sickman, you out there?

I am feeling pretty bad today..........my anxiety hasn't been this high in a very long time...............I felt as if I couldn't think straight all day........would go to do something then forget what it was I was going to do..........short term memory issues...........anyhow.............I phoned my doc and advised how bad I was feeling and the response was to give it another week.............If my concentration level is this bad now, I fear how bad it will be in another week.

I take the Paxil in the morning..........so today I looked for a pattern to my symptoms..............and I noticed one............I get up and take my Paxil right before I got to work...........about an hour or two in to work I begin feeling the lack of concentration...........strange head stuff.........this stays with me until it eases up around 8pm at night........when I wake in the morning I am feeling better (not the greatest, but definitely thinking clearer) then I take the Paxil again..........and start the whole process all over..........to me that would indicate that the Paxil is doing this to me.............

I am going to get a better perspective on this tomorrow..........going to get in to see the Pdoc............the nurse asked them to see me asap........because I explained that I don't think I should go on like this without getting some type of consultation from an expert about these meds.............my regulard doc is great.........but I don't feel she has the knowledge or experience with these drugs and that is probably why I am in the boat I'm in..........

My doc did give me Xanax.............do you know much about this drug and will it help calm some of these side effects?? I'm almost scared to add it to the mix............

Thanks,

Kaytee:-)

Hi KayT,
Yes I am very familiar with xanax. I take 1mg every 6 hours. I take it with 20mg of Celexa once a day and 300mg nuerontin every 6 hours also. I have taken xanax with serzone, buspar, remeron and effexor along with many anti-biotics, and blood pressure medications. It will definately calm the side effects and I am glad that you are going to see a Psyc now. You should have no problem with the mix of the two drugs. If for some reason you need to stay with a drug like xanax, it would be better if the Psyc could move you before long to Klonopin because it lasts longer. The xanax only last 5-7 hours. Klonopin lasts for 24 hours. Just for your own information, if Ativan is suggested it only last about 10-12 hours. Everyones concern is that these are benzos are are addicting but everything is addicting as you are finding. Never under any circumstance quit a benzo cold turkey and always keep your Psyc informed on what you are doing. What strenght of xanax did he give you and how are you to take it? It should have a sedating effect on you for awhile until you get use to it. I would get a doctors excuse if needed (not specific to your problem, but to say you were sick) if needed and take a few days off to get use to xanax if that is what the Psyc is going to use. The Psyc will know the procedure you need to follow for this and you should be feeling better soon. Glad to see you are getting some real help for this. It is miserable but you will get through this fine. Chin up

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Hi Sickman and anyone else who can relate...........

Saw the Psych today...........he said the Celexa was not out of me and the withdrawal side effects should be gone...........he wanted to increase the Paxil of which I said no way because I am already in a fog and don't feel like I can think straight on 20mg...........so he mentioned switching me to Zoloft..........not sure how I feel about that either............I'm wondering If I need to just hang in there and give the Paxil a chance to work........everything I have read says it takes 4-6 weeks for the side effects to ease up and the Paxil to kick in..........anyone out there still have side effects after 26 days on Paxil??

I feel okay tonight..........kind of down and frustrated.........went to my regular doc as well..........she says to give the Paxil until Dec 31 to fully kick in...........told me I don't seem like I'm in a fog and seem to be thinking clear to her...........it is just a side effect and that I need to hang in there..........

Any advise would be great............I'm not sure whether to give up on the Paxil or hang in there and feel crappy another 10 days............

Kaytee:-)

Hi KayT,
I would just hang in there if I where you at this point. The Celexa is different from the others medications, being a much stronger seritonin drug. Give the paxil a chance and see. I personally would not except another change to an srri if this does not work. I would be going for a benzo, like Klonopin with the problems you have been having. A very low dosage of a benzo with the paxil will probably resolve your continuing problems. You might even ask you Psyc. about a low dosage of xanax on an as needed basis, not more then 0.25mg tablets to help you transition through this. You may find that you need the benzo continiously along with the the paxil if your condition warrants. I don't mean getting addicted, I mean that your symptoms can not be stopped without it. Then I would rather see you try Klonopin instead of xanax and you can make this switch fairly easily having not been on the xanax for long. I do not like what I have read about Zoloft and I would not take it personally at all. If you would like to read about it, go to the "Drug Interactions" posting on this site and read the 100 plus posts concerning Zoloft. You may have to skim down the site to find it, I haven't been there for over a week. Keep a positive attitude and push ahead. You have chosen the right track by getting some help and getting involved in the decisions of your medications. Keep it up.

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Thanks for the reply Sickman,

I feel bad again today.........just feel weird in my head........low concentration............and a lot of Nausea..........no appetite..........

I have wondered if maybe 20mg is to high of a dose for my system. When the Pdoc wanted to increase the Paxil yesterday I said "no way". If it is spacing me out on 20mg then who knows what it will do to me on 30mg..........I am considering tapering down to 15mg or 10 and seeing how I feel........maybe that will alleviate some of these bad side effects and I can always work my way back up to 20 later..............any thoughts on this from anyone out there?

Thanks,

Kaytee

Quote from KayT:

Thanks for the reply Sickman,

I feel bad again today.........just feel weird in my head........low concentration............and a lot of Nausea..........no appetite..........

I have wondered if maybe 20mg is to high of a dose for my system. When the Pdoc wanted to increase the Paxil yesterday I said "no way". If it is spacing me out on 20mg then who knows what it will do to me on 30mg..........I am considering tapering down to 15mg or 10 and seeing how I feel........maybe that will alleviate some of these bad side effects and I can always work my way back up to 20 later..............any thoughts on this from anyone out there?

Thanks,

Kaytee

Dear KayT,
Stay where you are at. You are going off of one with side effects and getting used to another. Don't start moving your meds around or you will not be able to judge your new drug effects from the side effects in the near future. You need to become stable at a dosage before fooling around with the new medication. If you drop it, it may cause the celexa side effects to really become unbearable. Stable out for anther couple of weeks. I know it is hard but you have to let the effects of the celexa wear off to telll where you really are with the paxil. Don't get yourself in a position that you won't know which way to turn or either will the Doctor for that matter if you start doing things on your own. Chin up and I hope you feel better soon.

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Quote from Sickman:

Dear KayT,
Stay where you are at. You are going off of one with side effects and getting used to another. Don't start moving your meds around or you will not be able to judge your new drug effects from the side effects in the near future. You need to become stable at a dosage before fooling around with the new medication. If you drop it, it may cause the celexa side effects to really become unbearable. Stable out for anther couple of weeks. I know it is hard but you have to let the effects of the celexa wear off to telll where you really are with the paxil. Don't get yourself in a position that you won't know which way to turn or either will the Doctor for that matter if you start doing things on your own. Chin up and I hope you feel better soon.

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Hi Sickman,

I spoke to the another Pdoc today and what they think has happened with me is that when I was switched directly over to the Celexa that it double dosed me for a while which has made the side effects much worse..........they suggested that I drop down to 15mg for three days then to 10mg...........and that should level me out to where I am not overdosed...............and then they can slowly wean me back up.......

They explained that the Celexa builds up in my system.........and after almost three years of taking it...........it has taken a while for it to come out of my system.............what should have been done is probably a 5-10mg of Paxil and then titrate up slowly...........giving the Celexa time to leave my system so I was not dosed higher thus causing much more intense side effects...............also a titrate down from the Celexa should have been done...........thus making the side effects less intense and me not feel so bad................

The pattern I have noticed in the past three weeks is as follows:

First week of my switch: 8am I take the Paxil...........by 10 am I feel like I'm off in the twilight zone and not much of an appetite..........around 6pm or so it eases off and the side effects are more tolerable.

Second week of my switch: 8 am take the Paxil.........by 10am in the twilight zone and less of an appetite.........8pm it eases off and is more tolerable.

Third week of my switch: 8am take the Paxil............don't feel better until around 10-11pm or maybe even morning (probably eases up while I sleep)..........almost no appetite.

Fourth week of my switch- which has been the last few days.............take Paxil at 8am..........by 10 am in the twilight zone.......lucky if I feel a bit better in the morning before I take it again........appetite gone...........

The pattern indicates that I am overdosed between the Celexa that is still in my system and the Paxil going in.........and also going through withdrawal..........I feel 70-80 percent better when the Paxil has been in my system around 18-21 hours and is at its half life.............I almost feel normal........very tolerable side effects..........so that is why the change.........to ease off the side effects and allow me to increase at a lower pace...............

Please tell me this makes sense...........it did to me when it was explained........it all made perfect sense............this was not handled right from the beginning thus leadining to more withdrawal side effects and more start up side effects...........

You mentioned much of this when I first started posting, but I assumed my doc knew what she was doing.

Let me know what you think, I know you will:-) heehee

Kaytee:-)

Quote from Sickman:

Dear KayT, :bouncing:

Slowly going off of one and slowly going on one is the way it is supposed to be done. I thought you had gone this far that you should stay where you are at but you Doctor makes since that the combination of the two with the Celexa still in your system could be causing your discomfort. The main thing is you feel comfortable and better with her conclusion and you seem that you will be able to form a bond of trust in her. Hard to find one like that now days. Let us know now and then how you are doing and get some good rest now. God Bless you :angel:

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Thanks Sickman,

I was hoping it made sense to someone besides just me. As bad as I've felt lately I didn't want to throw myself in to another mess and make things worse..........I dropped the Paxil to 15 last night, took a Xanax and went to bed.......this am I don't feel near as spacey......most likely because there is less in my system..........I am a bit shakey and still no appetite........but am hopeful that in a few days this transition will help ease up some of these side effects and I will be able to tolerate them better. I was trying to find on the net info on how long Celexa stays in your system..........I know it has a half life of 37 hours..........what I was looking for is once it builds up how long does it take for it to be completely out of your body? In your research have you found a definitive answer to that? I thought I'd read somewhere that it was around 30 days............

Thanks again,

Kaytee:-)

Quote from KayT:

Thanks Sickman,

I was hoping it made sense to someone besides just me. As bad as I've felt lately I didn't want to throw myself in to another mess and make things worse..........I dropped the Paxil to 15 last night, took a Xanax and went to bed.......this am I don't feel near as spacey......most likely because there is less in my system..........I am a bit shakey and still no appetite........but am hopeful that in a few days this transition will help ease up some of these side effects and I will be able to tolerate them better. I was trying to find on the net info on how long Celexa stays in your system..........I know it has a half life of 37 hours..........what I was looking for is once it builds up how long does it take for it to be completely out of your body? In your research have you found a definitive answer to that? I thought I'd read somewhere that it was around 30 days............

Thanks again,

Kaytee:-)

Dear kayT,
20mg, 37hrs is at 10mg, 37hrs is at 5mg, 37hr is at 2.5mg, 37hrs is at 1.25 mg,etc. Out of system in about 7-8 or so days. That is the problem with stopping cold turkey, the body can not adjust to the chemical change that fast. This change is going to vary with everyone, like everything else with these medications. To many variables. I would not obsess with finding an answer to this mysterious question. I would not worry about it anymore and just move on to acceptance of the paxil. You'll be fine now. Good feelings. Good Holidays.

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Quote from Sickman:

Dear KayT, :bouncing:

Slowly going off of one and slowly going on one is the way it is supposed to be done. I thought you had gone this far that you should stay where you are at but you Doctor makes since that the combination of the two with the Celexa still in your system could be causing your discomfort. The main thing is you feel comfortable and better with her conclusion and you seem that you will be able to form a bond of trust in her. Hard to find one like that now days. Let us know now and then how you are doing and get some good rest now. God Bless you :angel:

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

A question about Xanax........The doctor prescribed me .25mg..........I have taken it a few times at night..........but today I had very bad anxiety hit me this afternoon and I felt like checking my self in to the mental health unit (you know how that goes, felt like I was losing it)............gosh..........I don't remember feeling that severe of panic in a very long time........scared the hell out of me........anyhow...........I have been scared to take the Xanax during the day because it knocked me out the first few times I took it..........but I thought of the posts I've read on here and took it and now I am much calmer.............do you think I should be taking this continuosly for a while to offset the anxiety?

And I really don't know why the bad panic hit me............but my guess is it's from the drop to 15mg of Paxil.........it seems as If I can't win here........either way I go I feel bad.........it's like a choice between side effects and Panic............and the sad part is that I wasn't feeling extremely horrible when this all started..........I just noticed that my anxiety was slipping back in every once in a while and decided I better switch meds since the Celexa seemd to have quit working............now I wish I'd stay where I was...........but hindsight...........you know how that goes........

So here I am again wondering If I should be dropping the Paxil or just hanging in there while taking the Xanax to calm my nerves............I did find out today that I am most likely through the worst of it and if I'd hang in there with the Paxil things should ease up soon...........

Maybe once the Paxil adjusts to dropping to 15 it won't cause the Panic anymore.........or another theory could be that I am so frightened by all of this that I am making things worse by worrying and worrying about side effects............

Come on Sickman, give me a swift hard kick in the %$# here!

Thanks,

Kaytee:-)

Quote from KayT:

A question about Xanax........The doctor prescribed me .25mg..........I have taken it a few times at night..........but today I had very bad anxiety hit me this afternoon and I felt like checking my self in to the mental health unit (you know how that goes, felt like I was losing it)............gosh..........I don't remember feeling that severe of panic in a very long time........scared the hell out of me........anyhow...........I have been scared to take the Xanax during the day because it knocked me out the first few times I took it..........but I thought of the posts I've read on here and took it and now I am much calmer.............do you think I should be taking this continuosly for a while to offset the anxiety?

And I really don't know why the bad panic hit me............but my guess is it's from the drop to 15mg of Paxil.........it seems as If I can't win here........either way I go I feel bad.........it's like a choice between side effects and Panic............and the sad part is that I wasn't feeling extremely horrible when this all started..........I just noticed that my anxiety was slipping back in every once in a while and decided I better switch meds since the Celexa seemd to have quit working............now I wish I'd stay where I was...........but hindsight...........you know how that goes........

So here I am again wondering If I should be dropping the Paxil or just hanging in there while taking the Xanax to calm my nerves............I did find out today that I am most likely through the worst of it and if I'd hang in there with the Paxil things should ease up soon...........

Maybe once the Paxil adjusts to dropping to 15 it won't cause the Panic anymore.........or another theory could be that I am so frightened by all of this that I am making things worse by worrying and worrying about side effects............

Come on Sickman, give me a swift hard kick in the %$# here!

Thanks,

Kaytee:-)

Dear KayT,
Is your Psychratrist giving you xanax as a full dosage to take on a regular schedule or is that an as needed basis? Is you Psychratrist willing to give you xanax or a benzo on a regular basis? At some point in this all, one has to realize that may be condition not the withdrawals of Celexa or the moving to paxil. Being frightened can cause this but this is in fact a symptom of panic attacks. Your Celexa may not have stopped working for you, you may just have reached a point were the srri drugs will help some but not enough to stop the painc attacks. This is something that I know you don't want to hear but I don't think you want to live like you are now either. If this is the case then maybe you should ask about adding Klonopin first, instead of xanax. If xanax is the only thing that will work, then that is what you will have to have. The sedation only lasts for a while and then you get used to the medication and this goes away. You are having so much problem with this, I just think you should stop asking about the celexa withdrawals and the paxil and start telling the Pdoc that you can't get straight without the xanax. You have to realize that you must stop the attacks or get them to a managable state. I am running out of answers for you and I would be fooling myself if I thought that my panic attacks could be controlled with an srri alone. For many people this works but as you said the xanax calmed you, the paxil alone may not be going to have enough panic stopping power. You can hang in there longer taking the xanax as needed to see, but if this does not work out then all I can say is the benzo is your best answer to getting your life back. Although xanax was developed for short term usage, many have been on it for years. 0.25mg a few times a day is a low dosage and the sedation will wear off but the panic attack relief will remain. I just don't know what else to tell you. I wish I could be more positive but sometimes it is just this way. Take the xanax while you are working this out, so you can manage better and keep talking to the Pdoc about the continuing panic attacks. Let me know how you do.

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Quote from Sickman:

Dear KayT,
Is your Psychratrist giving you xanax as a full dosage to take on a regular schedule or is that an as needed basis? Is you Psychratrist willing to give you xanax or a benzo on a regular basis? At some point in this all, one has to realize that may be condition not the withdrawals of Celexa or the moving to paxil. Being frightened can cause this but this is in fact a symptom of panic attacks. Your Celexa may not have stopped working for you, you may just have reached a point were the srri drugs will help some but not enough to stop the painc attacks. This is something that I know you don't want to hear but I don't think you want to live like you are now either. If this is the case then maybe you should ask about adding Klonopin first, instead of xanax. If xanax is the only thing that will work, then that is what you will have to have. The sedation only lasts for a while and then you get used to the medication and this goes away. You are having so much problem with this, I just think you should stop asking about the celexa withdrawals and the paxil and start telling the Pdoc that you can't get straight without the xanax. You have to realize that you must stop the attacks or get them to a managable state. I am running out of answers for you and I would be fooling myself if I thought that my panic attacks could be controlled with an srri alone. For many people this works but as you said the xanax calmed you, the paxil alone may not be going to have enough panic stopping power. You can hang in there longer taking the xanax as needed to see, but if this does not work out then all I can say is the benzo is your best answer to getting your life back. Although xanax was developed for short term usage, many have been on it for years. 0.25mg a few times a day is a low dosage and the sedation will wear off but the panic attack relief will remain. I just don't know what else to tell you. I wish I could be more positive but sometimes it is just this way. Take the xanax while you are working this out, so you can manage better and keep talking to the Pdoc about the continuing panic attacks. Let me know how you do.

Sincerely,

Sickman :)

Thanks for the advise. You know, after I took the Xanax I felt better and as the evening passed I calmed down enough that I felt like I could think straight..........my doc gave me xanax on an as needed basis.........but told me to take it as much as I needed while going through this switch...........I have had the same thoughts..........that maybe I should have just stayed on the Celexa and tried Xanax or ativan on an as needed basis...........Klonopin scares me a bit because I was on it probably 8-9 years ago............like .25 or .5 at bedtime each night along with imipramine.........this kept my anxiety in check.........but when I found out I was pregnant..........the Psych took me off both cold turkey...........and I was so sick........it was terrible........and my obgyn ended up keeping me on a trace of the Klonopin to stop the withdrawal..........the klonopin really hung on to me..........but it did work great........and maybe if I hadn't been cut cold turkey the withdrawal wouldn't have been so bad...........guess I really shouldn't judge it by that experience...........the xanax is good but I can tell it doesn't last near as long as Klonopin did.............

For right now I am going to stick with 15mg of Paxil for about a week and see how I feel...........maybe things will level out............if not I will go from there..........probably the biggest mistake I've made during all of this is being cautious about taking the xanax..........have only taken maybe 5 of them since this all began...........and at bedtime..........so I didn't really see how it helped until yesterday...........I hadn't felt that much anxiety, especially the panicy feeling in a very long time..........so I gave in and took the xanax...........probably 30 minutes or so later I felt my body begin to calm.............and about 2 hours later I felt quite a bit better (you've read the pattern I listed, once the Paxil wears down in my system by evening the side effects ease up and I feel better). I don't want to get to the point where I don't know what is doing what to me...........I know the Paxil side effects are really bothering me, especially the one where I felt in a daze all of the time........it seems better now that I dropped the dose a bit..........so maybe that will help me through this..........and if it doesn't work out..........then I may try a benzo for a while and get back to counseling to see if I can work my way through this.............

Your words of wisdom and just plain encouragement have helped me through this............thank you.

As far as the Xanax, the addiction thing is what made me be so cautious.........and also I'm not sure my doc would be willing to give it to me on a regular basis, but maybe an as needed basis............

Talk to ya soon I'm sure,

Have a great Saturday!

Kaytee:-)