Posted by BrittPark on October 9, 2002, at 19:14:09
In reply to familial depression- there must be some other way, posted by amy_oz on October 9, 2002, at 18:11:22
I'm glad you're responding so well to the Paxil. Keep taking it. From your family history it certainly seems like you're a candidate for lifetime medication. You'll have to weigh the cost/benefit of continuing medication. One thing you can try is to find another AD that has a side-effect profile you find more tolerable. There is a risk to doing that in that what you change to might not work, and worse, if you decide to go back to Paxil, it may not work again. Another thing you can try that is less risky is adding something like Wellbutrin to your medication and see if it helps with the sexual side-effects.
Whatever you decide to do give the Paxil at least 12 months before discontinuing. By then you'll have a much better idea of what the steady state side-effects are like.
Don't forget, also, that progress is being made in the treatment of depression. Someday there will be an actual cure for depression. Unfortunately there isn't one now.
I've been taking imipramine for 20 years now with a few breaks and have very few side-effects the worst being dry mouth which causes problems with one's teeth. My dentist bills over the last 20 years have been very high ;).
There is now about 14 years of accumulated data about taking SSRIs and I haven't heard of any bad long term effects. There's also lots of data about TCA lifers (like me) and again very little evidence of any bad long term effects (except the teeth), and TCAs are considerably harsher than SSRIs.
Keep well,
Britt
poster:BrittPark
thread:122969
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021006/msgs/122973.html