![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by kara lynne on September 23, 2003, at 2:48:18
I've started the (12.5?) mg tablet. Although it's causing a lot of fatigue, it's the first one I've been able to feel any benefit from in many years. It was two nights ago and may not reapeat itself but I'm curious enough to keep trying. My doc says that for some reason the cr form really does have less s.e's than the regular.
Just checking: Any luck? What time of day do you take it? How much do you take? Do you take stims or anything else with it? Any comments appreciated.
Posted by JonW on September 23, 2003, at 21:17:10
In reply to Any success with Paxil CR?, posted by kara lynne on September 23, 2003, at 2:48:18
> I've started the (12.5?) mg tablet. Although it's causing a lot of fatigue, it's the first one I've been able to feel any benefit from in many years. It was two nights ago and may not reapeat itself but I'm curious enough to keep trying. My doc says that for some reason the cr form really does have less s.e's than the regular.
Have you ever tried Lexapro? I got a very good response from just 10mg of that stuff, but like I said in my other post, I just don't like the SSRIs -- emotional blunting, sexual side-effects, etc... That's how they treat *me* anyway! What did I ever do to them? :)
Actually, Lexapro is my favorite SSRI. I find Paxil a little more effective for me, though (I have depression, social anxiety, ADD, irritable and agitated at times, highly emotional and reactive, etc...is that a good description?). But with the Lexapro, you can get away with a very low dose and avoid a lot of the side-effects. That was my experience... I know some people hate the drug.
I must say, though, Paxil was one of the single most effective drugs I've ever been on... second only to Nardil, but very close. Truth be told, the sexual dysfunction was probably the biggest deal breaker for me with those drugs (that, and the inability to sleep on Nardil). I will say fewer sex side-effects for me with the CR than the regular Paxil, and even better in that department on Lexapro... none were great, though :)
See how you do with the Paxil CR. My experience would say it's a great drug. I found it to really increase its effect with time... it was very subtle after the first 4 weeks or so... but after 8 and 12 weeks I kept noting more improvement. The other side-effects I experienced with Paxil were sedation, fatigue, emotional blunting, and problems with memory. Depending on your situation, not a bad tradeoff for sanity...
Anyway, give the drug a chance, it could turn out to be a miracle for you... with side-effects you can live with. If not, and you haven't tried Lexapro, I'd keep that in mind. I also like to plug therapy as an adjunct to medication... I think the combination of the two is great! Well, this post turned out much longer that I thought it was going to be... sorry about that! I'm feeling quite loquacious this evening :)
Hang in there,
Jon :)
Posted by kara lynne on September 23, 2003, at 21:51:48
In reply to Re: Any success with Paxil CR? » kara lynne, posted by JonW on September 23, 2003, at 21:17:10
Jon,
Thank you so much for your encouraging reply. Well, as encouraging as it can be considering you ended up going off it due to side effects! I'm kind of bummed out today because I feel really groggy and 'blunted' myself--and two days ago I almost felt...well... postively *normal* for the first time in almost 2 years. I can't take another one of these 'fooled ya!' responses, where something looks like it's going to work and then doesn't. That's almost worse than not working at all.Interestingly, I felt an *increase* in sexual desire at first, much appreciated as I thought I would never feel anything again in the last few months--due to depression and meds. But that too is just a sweet memory today.
I did try Lexapro, but found the muscle tension intolerable. I found that it exacerbated some chronic pain symptoms I have going on as well.
So I'm going to try and keep going with the Paxil CR, I guess--this is only the beginning of my 2nd week. But I'm so grateful you wrote and encouraged to hear that you had a dramatic improvement from paxil--at least in some areas.
Like you say, some of these things you can trade in for sanity. But I have been so fatigued lately that I would hate to find sanity only to sleep through it all!
Oh, and may I ask you what dosage you ended up with on the Paxil C.R.? And did it make a difference what time you took it?
Thanks again, Jon.
Posted by JonW on September 24, 2003, at 23:18:44
In reply to Re: Any success with Paxil CR?/ Jon, posted by kara lynne on September 23, 2003, at 21:51:48
>I can't take another one of these 'fooled ya!' responses, where something looks like it's going to work and then doesn't. That's almost worse than not working at all.
I've been there before... for several years, actually. It can be so frustrating to have a few fleeting days of what it's like to be happy, only to return to the reality of life on yet another anti-depressant that's yet to kick in. Don't give up, though. It really is worth it in the end. I never believed anyone who told me that, but it turned out to be true. Don't get me wrong, I'm not out of the woods yet, but I am on solid ground with a decent view :)
Have you ever been on any anti-convulsants? In particular, Tegretol, Trileptal or Lamictal? If you continue to get half-assed or inconsistent results with the ADs... look into the anti-convulsants. My favorite is Trileptal -- very effective with essentially no side-effects. As opposed to the drug I'm on, moclobemide, which also has essentially no side-effects, but doesn't appear to be very effective. Works for me, though. Anyway, just a thought.
> Oh, and may I ask you what dosage you ended up with on the Paxil C.R.? And did it make a difference what time you took it?
I took 37.5 of Paxil CR. I honestly forget if I took it in the morning or the evening. It shouldn't matter when you take it as far as efficacy is concerned, but it's possible you'd be less sedated during the day if you take it at night.
Take care,
Jon :)
Posted by kara lynne on September 25, 2003, at 14:04:49
In reply to Re: Any success with Paxil CR? » kara lynne, posted by JonW on September 24, 2003, at 23:18:44
Hi Jon,
I did try Lamictal for a little while. It worked great at the very beginning, but then I just felt kind of tingly and spacy from it. I wouldn't be opposed to trying it again, or maybe the Trileptal since you say it has so few side effects.I also tried Moclobomide though and *hated* it. I hope. It felt like my brain was under water and I had a lot of de-realization and de-personalization. I don't want to sound too negative about something that's working for you--I'm glad you're ok on it!
Thanks again.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.