paxi/antidepressant use anyone?

[dexterraz]

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hello everyone. I feel alone here...though I KNOW I am not...I take paxil, because without it I'd be insane lol, well does anyone out there take it too? I find myself numb and emotionless on it but otherwise I'd be a basket case...I don't want any of you all to put yourself out like that, so if you'd rather PM me, I'd appreciate it. The correlation here? I am pre-med.

 

[CalBeE]

I know people who take Paxil/Prozac/Zoloft, and yes, it changes things dramatically.

I think what some physicians recommend nowadays is to take SSRI and undergo behavioral modification therapy at the same time. The latter is sorta like help you to think in a different light...not sure if it's helpful though.

However, I've seen an article from a few years ago where OCD patients undergoing behavioral modification therapy had altered brain activity patterns, and are similar to patients taking SSRI. So it may be helpful afterall.

 

[5639953]

I know people who take Paxil/Prozac/Zoloft, and yes, it changes things dramatically

To the better or to the worse? with all the side effects.

 

[dexterraz]

for me a dramatic change, I've got my life back...but I am still just oh so numb. I wish I could fly away, or dig a hole and never come out somedays.

 

[Runtita]

How long have you been on Paxil and at what dosage?

I'm on Zoloft (amen!) and I know I was in that "numb" state for a few months before I began to drift back towards actually being able to cry, etc. (9-11 happened when I was in that state...what a hard thing to experience while NOT being able to cry!)

I'm also lucky in that the lowest dose works for me- 50 mg. Perhaps you could ask your dr. about cutting your dose?

Also, I tried going without Zoloft after being on it for a year or so, and I regressed back to depression. I've got both nature and nurture working against me. I do notice that now I can skip a day or two and I don't notice a behavioral shift, so maybe I will one day be able to live without it...but I've been on it for 2 1/2 years now.

With Zoloft, I am very zen...very balanced and able to roll with life. Not to the point of not caring, but I'm able to continue functioning through good and bad things without relapsing into my depressive behavior. I am now able to experience sadness but mostly joy. The world is good!

I did see a therapist for a few months, too, while I was dealing with getting a handle on my depression. I highly recommend this to anyone who might just need an outside person to talk to...someone who can be impartial and help you to realize that you aren't such a terrible person after all!

 

[CalBeE]

Originally posted by 5639953
To the better or to the worse? with all the side effects.

SSRI in general has less side effects than previous generation of anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications. However, too high of a dosage will make one hyper.

Overall though, I think there are positive responses to SSRI's, especially for those with more serious depression and anxiety conditions.

 

[DannGee]

have you considered wellbutrin? it seems to work via a different mechanism (altering dopamine reuptake), and thus has a different set of side effects. it doesn't seem to produce the "numbness" that's often experienced with SSRIs. also notable is the fact that it's less likely to have sexual side effects which sometimes make managing depression more difficult.

 

[TTSD]

Paxil + beer makes TTSD sleep well.

 

[meanderson]

The effectiveness of Paxil and other ssri's in combating anxiety is very dependent on the individual. Many people seem to think paxil does *something* for GAD, but a person switching from a strong benzo to an ssri would be like quitting Golden Grain in favor of wine coolers.

I'm not arguing that the effectiveness of benzos outweighs the potential addiction/dependency and withdrawl problems associated with them, but nobody can deny that for counteracting anxiety they are very effective. If you feel you have to have maintenance does of benzodiazapenes, however, stick with one of the very long acting benzos like tranxene. Don't mess with Klonopin or Xanax.

 

[beanbean]

Please don't offer medical advice on these forums. Advising someone what medications are best for them is the responsibility of their physician.

To the OP: if you feel you are having some side effects from your medication talk to your doctor. There are many options available in the realm of antidepressive drugs and therapy. It is up to you and your physician to pick the best treatment plan for you.

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by beanbean
Please don't offer medical advice on these forums. Advising someone what medications are best for them is the responsibility of their physician.

Indeed. But not to play the devil's advocate, I was always under the impression the dispensing of SSRI's is pretty much trial and error that relies on both the physician AND patient. I don't mean the doctor chooses a drug out of the hat, but I mean a lot of times it requires feedback and a certain amount of trial from the patient to determine side-effects and proper dosage that works for them.

And there have been reports on the synergism of various SSRI's in combination for particular disorders.

However, multi-modal therapies is also something else you have to consider when treating depression. Because quite frankly, just putting them on SSRI's is probably the equivalent of just putting them onto picker-uppper drugs. It's just a temporary fix.

More and more research is coming out exploring depression as a multi-factorial crash of, well, essentially your entire Hypothalmus, Pituitary and to a degree your adrenal cortex as well. Well hell, your entire neuroendocrine system goes ape-kaka.

What's interesting about these research are the suggestions not only of inter-depedancy/suppression, but the idea that just about every research likes to contradict each other in some way =). In short, depression is one crazy son of a donkey's *****.

 

[DrMom]

If you guys want to share anecdotes about these meds, that's okay, but realize that this is not a forum for getting medical advice. If you have questions or problems with your meds, please contact your physician.

 

[felipe5]

I've been really interested in taking Omega-3 supplements, preferably molecularly distilled ones available online (to avoid burping up fish-stank)......anyone here taking these supplements??? They are supposedly the hot-**** in terms of natural supplements that work the mind.......studies have shown that populations that still thrive on algae-consuming fish ( ie not farm raised) have a crazy-low prevalence rate of mental health problems. Apparently the only adverse side effect is soft-stool......hmmmmmmmmmm, too good to be true????

 

[meanderson]

Originally posted by beanbean
Please don't offer medical advice on these forums. Advising someone what medications are best for them is the responsibility of their physician.

Couple of points:

1) What does it matter if we say "this ssri is better than this one", or "stay away from this anti-psychotic/depressant/anxiety drug". The physician will still have to write a script anyways, so it's not like we are making the diagnosis and have any real input. And as another poster pointed out, ssri scripts are trial and error for the most part anyway. Woman comes in with sagging mood and general anxiety. The pcp is just going to start her on whatever ssri he happens to have the most samples of most likely, and then change it later if things don't improve.

2) Sadly, some pcp's have really screwed patients suffering from general anxiety over by prescribing medications that they have no business prescribing. There are over 6 million people addicted to controlled prescription drugs in this country. Almost a third of these six million are addicted to benzodiazapenes. A relatively small % of these 2 million are people with severe panic disorder who were treated by psychs. The rest are people with generalized anxiety who were given a script "take as needed" by their friendly FP. Plenty of studies have shown that fp/im's should not write for strong benzo's, and anyone who is aware of these studies should feel no shame in making this clear to patients with depression/anxiety.

 

[dexterraz]

really was not expecting so many replies...all in all, thankyou very much. i am on the lowest possible dosage, 12.5 mgs a day, and i feel great, but at times truly numb. the littlest things that used to set me off just don't matter anymore...:eep sigh::...now back to chugging away at biology...sigh...the life of a troubled and depressed doctor wannabe...