Question:
It’s possible to feel worse on Paxil before you feel better. But if the side effects are unbearable, you should contact the prescribing physician & have you switch to another anti-depressant. Christine
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (due in great part to my association with the 9/11 disaster). My psych has prescribed 200 mg of Neurontin (mood stabilizer) 4 x day and 10 mg of Paxil daily. I am on my 7th day of these dosages and the Paxil seems to be doing more harm than good. It makes me feel lightheaded and queasy , it makes me feel a pressure on the back of my head and at times seems to even heighten my anxiety. My doc had me switch the time I take it from 8am to 10pm (or at bedtime). The day I did this , I went about 38 hours without the drug and felt a whole lot better. Are these feelings typical when you first start Paxil usage ? I’m inclined to stop the drug entirely and just deal with the anxiety & panic therapeutically maybe taking a Xanax when needed. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Response:
Hi all, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (due in great part to my association with the 9/11 disaster). My psych has prescribed 200 mg of Neurontin (mood stabilizer) 4 x day and 10 mg of Paxil daily. I am on my 7th day of these dosages and the Paxil seems to be doing more harm than good. It makes me feel lightheaded and queasy , it makes me feel a pressure on the back of my head and at times seems to even heighten my anxiety. My doc had me switch the time I take it from 8am to 10pm (or at bedtime). The day I did this , I went about 38 hours without the drug and felt a whole lot better. Are these feelings typical when you first start Paxil usage ? I’m inclined to stop the drug entirely and just deal with the anxiety & panic therapeutically maybe taking a Xanax when needed. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Response:
Hi, JPA: … My psych has prescribed 200 mg of Neurontin (mood stabilizer) 4 x day and 10 mg of Paxil daily.
It seems as if maybe you are more in need of an anti-anxiety med (the Xanax you mention below) than mood stabilizing. But I don’t know anything about your presenting symptoms other than what you just wrote, and I’m not a physician or psychologist. At any rate, two psychiatrists whom I trust have told me that Neurontin (an anti-seizure med) is fairly useless for "mood stabilizing". Just an opinion… … the Paxil … makes me feel lightheaded and queasy , it makes me feel a pressure on the back of my head and at times seems to even heighten my anxiety.
These are all normal weaning-on side effects of Paxil. Please know that they are not harmful in the long run. After a few weeks they will lessen and probably disappear. At least, that was my experience. I had indigestion and bad headaches the first few weeks on Paxil, and some dizziness. It all went away about a month into the med. You might want to stay on the Paxil at least a few more weeks and see how you feel then. Many of us have used small doses of Xanax regularly at first, to help wean onto an SSRI, because the latter can caused heightened anxiety before your body acclimates to it. Good luck! You can always come here and vent or inquire. – Anne
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (due in great part to my association with the 9/11 disaster). My psych has prescribed 200 mg of Neurontin (mood stabilizer) 4 x day and 10 mg of Paxil daily. I am on my 7th day of these dosages and the Paxil seems to be doing more harm than good. It makes me feel lightheaded and queasy , it makes me feel a pressure on the back of my head and at times seems to even heighten my anxiety. My doc had me switch the time I take it from 8am to 10pm (or at bedtime). The day I did this , I went about 38 hours without the drug and felt a whole lot better. Are these feelings typical when you first start Paxil usage ? I’m inclined to stop the drug entirely and just deal with the anxiety & panic therapeutically maybe taking a Xanax when needed. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
All antidepressants make you feel worse before they make you feel better. This is why *starting low & going slow* is generally recommended. The ideal dose to start Paxil is 5 mg. After having stayed there for a week one can raise the dose *slowly*, in weekly increments of 5 mg for instance or ah whatever pace feels more confortable. Having a benzo like Xanax on the side, at least during the weaning period, is recommended too. It will take Paxil up to eight weeks to fully kick in but most people get to feel better much earlier. OTOH Xanax as an only med can also work well, be it as a maintenance med at a regular daily dose or *as needed*. If depression is part of the problem Paxil is a good choice for many though. The bottom line is: if you want to find out whether Paxil will work for you you should either go back to 5 mg or stay at 10 and then raise the dose slowly in 5 mg increments and givce it a few weeks. Philip
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (due in great part to my association with the 9/11 disaster). My psych has prescribed 200 mg of Neurontin (mood stabilizer) 4 x day and 10 mg of Paxil daily. I am on my 7th day of these dosages and the Paxil seems to be doing more harm than good. It makes me feel lightheaded and queasy , it makes me feel a pressure on the back of my head and at times seems to even heighten my anxiety. My doc had me switch the time I take it from 8am to 10pm (or at bedtime). The day I did this , I went about 38 hours without the drug and felt a whole lot better. Are these feelings typical when you first start Paxil usage ? I’m inclined to stop the drug entirely and just deal with the anxiety & panic therapeutically maybe taking a Xanax when needed. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Hello, You had some input allready on how to wean on paxil. You can try to go back to 5 mg. and stay there till you feel better. When I started paxil I had some nasty side-effects as well. I am on 40 mg. now for more then a year and it really helped me. Now I am glad I did not stop. But I can see your point. You take something to feel better and it makes you feel worse. I would most certainly give it a try,anyway. Take care and let us know how you do Anna
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (due in great part to my association with the 9/11 disaster). My psych has prescribed 200 mg of Neurontin (mood stabilizer) 4 x day and 10 mg of Paxil daily. I am on my 7th day of these dosages and the Paxil seems to be doing more harm than good. It makes me feel lightheaded and queasy , it makes me feel a pressure on the back of my head and at times seems to even heighten my anxiety. My doc had me switch the time I take it from 8am to 10pm (or at bedtime). The day I did this , I went about 38 hours without the drug and felt a whole lot better. Are these feelings typical when you first start Paxil usage ? I’m inclined to stop the drug entirely and just deal with the anxiety & panic therapeutically maybe taking a Xanax when needed. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Hi JPA, I’ve been on Paxil now for around 3 weeks and I completely understand where you are coming from. I started out at 5mg a day for around 10 days, and then bumped up to 10 mg (where I still am at). I was initially very nauseous (ginerale helped, as well as taking paxil with food), higher anxiety level, diarrhea, yawning and tired, delayed orgasm, sore jaw (from tension) …. but these symptoms did subside and I now truly feel that the drug is doing me some good. My first attempt at Paxil (around a year ago) – I started out at 20mg and the side effects made me quit taking the drug. After reading about the drug in this newsgroup I went back to my doctor and we started me out at 5mg this time. In my experience, the initial side effects were somewhat unpleasant – but now they are pretty much all but gone – and I really feel the drug is effectively helping my anxiety. Bottom line, if you can stick out the first week or so, you can then determine if the drug is for you. If it is, it can literally change your life – I’m starting to feel more like the "old me" again …. something I haven’t felt in some time. Best of luck, I hope things work out for you. Cobalt
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