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 :)
poster:JonW
thread:262588
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/262794.html