Posted by Racer on May 7, 2007, at 21:07:20
In reply to need advice, posted by gakay2 on May 7, 2007, at 19:38:00
Well, people also kill people on no drug at all, right?
The real answer, though, to the question I think you have here is that ALL the SSRIs have been associated with something bad happening. The first one to be approved as an antidepressant, Prozac, was associated with higher suicide rates from shortly after it hit the market. That does not mean that everyone who takes it gets suicidal or homicidal. It doesn't even mean that Prozac *caused* the suicidal ideas or behaviors. Paxil, Lexapro, and Zoloft are all SSRIs, so they all have the same association with Bad Things. If you didn't kill him while taking Paxil or Lexapro, there's a pretty good chance you'll let him live while taking Zoloft, too...
As for the idea behind swapping you, it's a good one. The fact that you responded to Paxil makes it a good guess that another serotonergic drug will help as well, so trying various SSRIs makes a lot of sense. What side effects did you have on Paxil? Sometimes side effects help with ideas of what other meds might be helpful. Or not, of course. For what it's worth, Paxil helped me, and Lexapro left me pretty much sitting in a corner and neither talking nor eating. They may belong in the same class of drugs, but they are all different.
In general, a lot of people find Paxil and Lexapro more sedating, and Zoloft a bit more activating. If the Zoloft doesn't work out, I like Prozac, but it might also be worth trying Celexa -- it's the parent drug to Lexapro, but it's still different. Lexapro is part of Celexa, so it's supposed to work better with fewer side effects. That doesn't mean that's what actually ends up happening.
Good luck, and welcome to Babble!
poster:Racer
thread:756622
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070502/msgs/756653.html