Anyone Know About Paxil And/or Effexor For Ptsd / Anxiety?

[Lionheart]

I have cPTSD with severe Major Depression, Agoraphobia, Social Phobia, and Anxiety/Panic and I'm thinking of trying Paxil or Effexor. I'd like to talk with others who have experience with either of these medications. My main concern Is if they help with anxiety!?!

Thanks!!!

 

[mamachick]

As you know, they work different for each of us.
Two of my sisters were on Paxil and worked great for anxiety. One sister went on Paxil when she went into recovery for alcoholism and learned that she had began drinking to deal with extreme anxiety. The other had panic attacks out of seemingly nowhere.

I was prescribed a medication and my insurance denied and said I had to take Effexor. It caused my normally low blood pressure to go sky high. About 9 yrs later, exact same thing happened. I have tried many that had bad side effects but could not remember which did what. Land me in ER twice and then insurance would pay for prescribed meds. (dr likely had it buried in record somewhere).

They all effect us so uniquely. I know so many have benefitted from Prozac. I took it for a few days and could not get on an escalator. A few days later, almost had panic attack while starting over a bridge while driving. Got off that quick time.

From what I know, Paxil has worked well for anxiety. Im sure others will share.

 

[Lionheart]

Thanks @brat17

I will talk to my psychiatrist about these medications.... I've not taken either but, I have been asked about taking them a few times. SSRI's and SNRI's have helped me with depression, but I still have had bad anxiety.

It may be awhile before I get to see my doctor so, I am trying to research medications for anxiety/PTSD/depression etc.

 

[mamachick]

These kind of meds are all so quirky. I wish there was some consistency in results and side effects. I know my own trial and errors. Hope you get some feedback-sure you will!

 

[joeylittle]

I'm thinking of trying Paxil or Effexor.

Effexor is not a med that you want to start taking just to see if it works. I'd recommend looking at Cymbalta first - the discontinuation syndrome issues are not quite as intense. However, it is just true with the SNRIs that many, many people find them incredibly painful to come off of; some so much that they don't ever make it off the medication. Cymbalta seems to lose efficacy after 4-5 years, and becomes easier to get off of, after that. Effexor is an older, blunter drug. When I went on it, after trying many other options, it was with the understanding that I'd be on it for a good long while.

I found Cymbalta and Effexor to be equally effective for my anxiety; but I have never had a very pronounced anxiety issue.

Have you talked with your doctor about or considered Seroquel? Also, Abilify? And Lithium? They all are associated with weight-gain, but almost anything that takes a serious bite out of anxiety will have weight gain as a side effect.

I've never been on Paxil; I know people who have benefitted from it, but they had a more run-of-the-mill psych situation; more situationally-based depression and anxiety.

I wish there was some consistency in results and side effects.

For sure.

The one thing that has gotten useful is the specific genetic testing that allows them to understand what kind of metabolizer you are - which, in turn, can point you towards certain drugs as having a better likelihood of working. It will also help you understand whether your are treatment-resistant, or just need to try a whole different approach to dosing/class.

 

[Lola Nocheprieta]

t is just true with the SNRIs that many, many people find them incredibly painful to come off of;

Yes, that! The serotonin "rebound" effect. Miss a dose and the depression starts to come right back. And no matter how hard you titrate, how slowly you come off an SSRI/SNRI, or cross taper (going down on one drug while going up on the replacement drug), it can be a shitstorm of pain and side effects to get off of.

That said, finding the right drug combo is like the holy grail if you are open to medication. If something works for you, that's awesome. Just don't ever skip doses with SSRIs or SNRIs.

Personally, I have treatment resistant (refractory) MDD, and GAD (as well as other alphabitties.) What helped me initially (like, 15-20 years ago) when Wellbutrin wasn't working out well enough and I had gone through a slew of other antidepressants, was citalopram (Celexa.) Didn't have a clue about the difficulty with missed doses, getting off, etc. Then we added buspirone (BuSpar, I think) as an anti-anxiety. Good. That was good. Limped along with that for a few years until I realized how big of a problem this chronic, low level, unconscious anxiety still was. We increases the BuSpar and BAM! So good! I can actually work again!

So, I really get the piece about needing to address the anxiety, and how a little tweak can make all the difference. Some drugs just work synergistically, they activate and amplify each other. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds. Like cake and ice cream.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific with respect to Effexor/Paxil. Never took Paxil, and took Effexor about 17-18 years ago and didn't realize it was contributing to my downward spiral until I got off of it.

Good luck, Lion my friend!

 

[Lionheart]

Thank you so much for the replies @joeylittle and @Lola Nocheprieta . :)

I am currently on 60 mgs of Cymbalta and it works pretty good for depression, although I still have pronounced anxiety with intense reactivity. I also have sensory sensitivity with chemicals being one of things that I am sensitive to so low doses tend to work well.

Right now, the issues seems to be anxiety/social phobia and hypersensitivity to sound, light, temperature, and strangely enough, movement.

I presently take 10 mgs of Abilify and have had excellent results with it (everything tends to roll right off like water off a duck's back) and so perhaps it can be tweaked up a bit to address anxiety, ...I don't know. :unsure:

Short term, Ativan works well and long-term, I seem to be treatment resistant.:confused: Vistaril does not work very well for me and neither does Buspar:( and I am really not very fond of benzos because I cannot function well on them; I tend to get mind fog along with drowsiness.

I had heard that Paxil was good for anxiety and that is why I asked about it and Effexor is another one that I've not had any experience with.

I do have occasional panic attacks but, anxiety attacks :nailbiting: are much more common and frequent.

I am open to suggestions and I appreciate your experience and insight.

Thanks again,
Lion

 

[mamachick]

There was a video on this web site 2-4 yrs ago, it was a psychiatrist ( I don't believe in the US) who talked about anti depressants causing chemical brain damage. I have looked for that video again and can't find it anywhere. If anyone knows if it is still available on this site-please let me know how to find, or even if it has been taken off the site.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@Lionheart777 I recommend NOT ever coming off of Cymbalta. I was on it for 4 yrs, and honestly I hate psych meds, but that one worked wonders for me for my depression, even though it was prescribed for my pain issues. But, coming off it, I litterly prayed for death. The withdrawals were so bad, that it's the reason that I would never ever take another psych drug. NEVER again.

Effexor is another drug, I would never take, because of the withdrawls it causes. Again, really bad. Paxil, caused me to have severe anxiety. Basically I'm med sensitive.

I know that we are all different, and we all react to drugs differently too. I just hate the psych meds for this very reason. It takes time to find one that works, then it fails to work after awhile, then it starts the merry go round of finding the right combo. Or you're on so many different ones because of all of the side effects each one can cause.

 

[joeylittle]

Agree with @She Cat - you're on cymbalta. Effexor isn't going to make a big difference in what you are describing, I don't think.

I am currently on 60 mgs of Cymbalta and it works pretty good for depression, although I still have pronounced anxiety with intense reactivity. I also have sensory sensitivity with chemicals being one of things that I am sensitive to so low doses tend to work well.

Have you gone up to 120mg ever? Might be worth a try.

I presently take 10 mgs of Abilify and have had excellent results with it (everything tends to roll right off like water off a duck's back) and so perhaps it can be tweaked up a bit to address anxiety, ...I don't know

I would also recommend you try this, before adding a new med. It's important to rule out dosage changes on your current meds, before switching, in my opinion.

What else do you do to manage the anxiety that's not med-related?

 

[Lionheart]

Have you gone up to 120mg ever? Might be worth a try.

I would also recommend you try this, before adding a new med. It's important to rule out dosage changes on your current meds, before switching, in my opinion.

What else do you do to manage the anxiety that's not med-related?

No, I've not gone up to 120mg, didn't know that was even a possibility with Cymbalta.
I will ask my doctor about raising the dosage. I definitely want them to tweak up the Abilify a little, while staying on a relatively low dose.

My sister says, and I agree, that Abilify made a huge, positive change in me.

As for what to do for anxiety that is not med-related...well;

• I can use white noise to mask the sounds that I am so hypersensitive to.
• I can listen to soothing music or nature sounds during the day when my anxiety runs high, *(with stereo headphones).
• I can challenge my thinking and see if it is contributing to the anxiety.
• I could take a soak in the bath to relax my nerves when I feel stressed..
• I can continue to journal in my diary.
• I can talk to a trusted friend.
• I could color in my adult coloring book (as they now say, it is as good as meditating as far as the benefits go).
• I could take a short walk thru the neighborhood and...
• I can work to control my breathing.

Those are the only things that come to mind this morning. I am rusty on my coping skills and a bit groggy at the moment....but thank you for asking the question, that was really helpful!!!:)

 

[The Albatross]

With all due respect Lion, I think you're doing far to much thinking and not enough management or coping?