Paxil Side Effects

[MikeLowry]

I recently started 40MG a day of a Paxil equivalent. I had a cancer scare and got a little freaked out so the doctor told me that I should try it out. Since starting on it I don't sleep well although I don't wake up tired and I eat constantly. I decided to stop taking it last week and w/in a few days I was dizzy, felt as though I was wearing heavy prescription glasses, and my pupils starting dialating like crazy. Have any of you doctors or others that have used/prescibed this before saw this?

[RyanC]

Yes, its called withdrawal. You never, never, never stop taking a drug, SSRI, without somewhat tapering the dose over a period of time.

[Phanekim]

side effects are:

gastrointestinal symptoms, decreased libido, sexual dysfunction, acute anxiety (symptoms are acute), insomnia, tremors.

Compared to most antidepressants, SSRI/class of drugs paxil is in, are usually most preferred because side effects are most minor, and the severly depressed consider the action/benefits outweight the negative side effects.

Also, it should take a little while before the SSRI takes effect, it could take up to 6 weeks i believe, most take around 3.

I do reccommend that you stick with it (doctors are no dummies). noncompliance is probably the most prevalent problem because this drug takes 3 or more weeks to get started. As a result, most people are not able to bear the side effects in this 3 week period.

feel free to ask for more questions.

[MikeLowry]

So after it fully kicks in the sleeping problems will decrease? Should I be worried that my body reacted so harshly from me coming off of it?

[Stereolab]

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So after it fully kicks in the sleeping problems will decrease? Should I be worried that my body reacted so harshly from me coming off of it?

[/ QUOTE ]

I took Zoloft, a different SSRI, and I would sleep for 5 hours and wake up really really energetic. This stopped after a few days. Usually most side effects subside after a certain period of use.

You shouldn't worry about your body's reaction. Its natural to have your body do wierd things when you quit cold turkey with these SSRIs.

[Phanekim]

Quick answer: Yes all the side effects i've listed are for taking paxil.

WIth limited information here is what I can tell you. THe dizziness and the insomnia are a byproduct of the paxil. the reason you are probably likely feeling those symptoms are due to the fact that paxil as with zoloft etc are slow acting. In short, the remaining paxil in your body is most likely producing those effects, because paxil takes a long time to get "absorbed" into body. It also takes a long time to "get rid of". sorry this is meant so you can understand it. thus, the paxil is taking a while to be excreted out of your body, thus you are just feeling the results of it being absorbed and it has not yet been passed through your body.

By reading your description, I also can assume your cancer scare produced a panic attack. Usually, docs have two routes. They may choose a stronger faster acting drug than paxil like wellbutrin (valium like effects) or something where the effects are lighter butslower acting like paxil.

THe problem is, a panic attack person is more likely to freak out at the side effects of the slower acting type before the benefits are reaped. The fast acting can have severe side effects and may add to the already existing paranoia. Another issue of concern I see is the prescription dosage. Paxil is usually once a day. it comes in 10, 20 , 30 40 mg tabs. You usually see average dosages ranging from 20 to 50. most docs will prescribe 20 or 40. 40 might be a little bit too strong. Talk to your doctor about that.

Another thing to look out for is if you are taking any other medication. coumadin/warfarin's effectiveness is increased. These are blood thinners to prevent strokes...might want to watch out with aspirin while you are at it. Also, are you taking any peptic ulcer medication like pepcid? That will increase effects of paxil as well. Those things might make the paxil side effects stronger than they really are.

[MikeLowry]

I have been back on the medicine for four days now and my eyes are still dialated. I do use Excedrine Migrane/Tension Headache frequently for headaches should I stop?

[Phanekim]

As to this question, I cannot give a definite answer due to lack of information. But we can go through the scenarios.

How long have you been taking Paxil? If you had been taking it for a while then stopped then started 4 days ago. I reccommend that you not stop it and stay on schedule.

However, if you had taken it only a short time then stopped and started 4 days ago. Then I do not think your paxil levels are high enough to make a difference, and stopping/noncompliance is fine.

Just from a pharmacist perspective , 40 mg dosage daily is quite high, espeically for a non-controll release (i'm assuming). Control release in drugs usually means that the body absorbs the drug at even amounts thus you don't get spikes in effectiveness. With all that said, 40 mg is extremely high (not dangerous at all) especially if you do not have prior SSRI (zoloft etc) usage.

Secondly, I am a bit surprised he prescribed paxil for panic disorder? Again, this would be up to doctor's personal assessment. Again this is a result of whether this is caused by internal or external factors.

Lets say depression. Paxil is extremely effective for those who have a chemical imbalance due to internal factors (genetically predisposed or whatever the cause). Some people are externally factored (death of loved one). Usually the drugs are meant for long term usage and meant for the former. With the latter, usually its prescribed and then the dosage is decreased slowly to avoid withdrawl.
Similar to this are the difference between true OCD and OCD personality disorder. ADHD vs ADD. Your assumed panic disorder might factor in.

Also, I cannot see if the nausea or symptom reporting is a result of your own panic disorder or truly happening. Again doctors need to see you up front to determine.

Overall, to summarize, if you have been taking paxil for a long time before this, it is best not to discontinue. If you haven't been taking it for a long time, then discontinuing is ok and contact your doctor. What you have to consider is, if the drug's side effects are worth the elimination of whatever disorder (panic) that you are facing. It seems you panic disorder might have been simply you worrying about your health and panicking causing your doctor to overprescribe. But I have no visible way of telling.

The execedrin question i can answer. excedrin is a combination of aspirin/tylenol/caffiene. There are benefits to this because with combination drugs you get a higher perceived effectiveness without ever reaching dangerous levels in yoru blood. If its anything, its the caffiene thats causing the headaches. If you have been taking this drug a lot, its equivalent to having coffee withdrawl and can be making paxil's side effects seem worse especially whenever u aren't taking the excedrine.

Overall, my gut instinct tells me you had a cancer scare, freaked out a bit and your doctor prescribed something too strong. Its equivalent of me going into a doctor and saying i'm really down on myself (temporary like a bad test score) and he prescribes anti depressants that i really dont need.

But like i said, if you have been taking it for a long time, do not stop. If you haven't, its ok to noncomply. in both cases contact your doctor, i think your dosage is too high.

[ItalianFX]

Back in Dec. I took myself off of 2 years worth of Effexor. I reduced the dose over a few months, but as soon as I went from something to nothing, it was like I was hit by a train. I would get dizzy, hot flashes, and very irritable. The way I dealt with it was just to deal with it and try to keep myself as comfortable as possible. It took about a week and a half and since then I've been perfectly fine.

[Milo]

A few comments:

Paxil is a fairly safe medication, and few people have significant side effects. Many people experience nausea and jitteriness for the first few days, which is why the dosage is often titrated up slowly. As others have pointed out, never quit taking a medication without discussing it with your MD. Titrating down may be needed with many meds.

Excedrin has a fair bit of caffiene in it. You may be experiencing the effects of this, or of the interaction between the two meds. Talk to your MD.

Sexual dysfunction is relatively common, more so in men over 30 or 40. Very little can be done to slow the sex drive of 20 year-olds. Sexual functioning bounces back after you get off the medication.

If your doc wrote the rx for Paxil due to panic, you may want to consider therapy. In the long run, this is the best treatment for anxiety.

If you are experiencing, or begin to experience, suicidal thoughts, contact your MD or mental health professional immediately. It is important to develop a safety plan.