Paxil For Ptsd

[ladybug99]

My husband recently started Paxil 20 mg for his PTSD. He has never been on medications before and in the 3 weeks since he started taking it, he said that he feels like he's "hopped up" and he feels the need to move all the time, like his muscles won't relax.

I am just wondering if anyone else has had experience with this medication. Because this is all new to us, I am wondering if this may be a dosing issue or the side effects will subside over time?

Thanks!

 

[amethist]

My husband takes this but in the named form of Paroxetine/Seroxat.

He was up to 60mg a day, but it had the effect of making him feel like lifeless zombie. He has now got it down to 15mg a day, but it still makes him numb, fuzzy and very tired about an hour after taking it.

Basically he could not function at all, no matter what he did until he reduced them.

After speaking to his CPN today, he is from tomorrow going to take it at night, about an hour before he goes to bed.

So what your husband is experiencing is the opposite of what mine is. Having read the leaflet that comes with them again, both issues are possible in 1 out of 10 people who take them.

Read the leaflet, as this may just be a short term side effect. Yet my husband has been taking this for over 4 years and still feels drugged up after taking it.

 

[BigBear]

People have very different tolerances to medicines. For a very different med, my wife started on the next to lowest dose that they would prescribe. She immediately had to drop it down to the lowest dose and that was too high. Now she's taking a quarter of a normal lowest dose and that work pretty well. The psych however claims that she can't be getting any value from it... LOL!

I however can double up on almost anything that they give me and do pretty well. I suppose that my system just takes apart meds at double rate. Also I am constantly having to convince the doctors that for time released meds, they've got to give me half the dose twice as often. 24hr meds never last me more than 12.

Remember, doctors are just people. And they tend to be stuck on the book. I'm not saying, don't trust them. You should trust them just as far as you trust your friendly local politician.

Bear

 

[Mary Burgess]

As per Big Bear....
I was put on Paxil a number of years ago for depression. It made me so nauseated, and feel so weird and lightheaded, that I simply stopped taking it. Please note that this is my own experience. It doesn't mean that it can't be effective for someone else.

 

[Ted Moen]

I took Paxil 20 mg for almost 10 years, until very recently. My doc had me start with 10 mg for the first 4 months, then took me to 20 mg. I was taking Trazadone to help me sleep initially, so if the Paxil had the effect you mention it was offset by the Trazadone. After a couple of years I no longer needed the Trazadone to sleep and continued with the Paxil until recently. For me, the Paxil allowed me to experience a wide range of emotions without the emotions quickly going to the extreme. I could feel sadness without it becoming major depression. I could feel peeved at someone without the anger escalating rapidly into homicidal ideation.

It lowered the intensity of situations sufficiently to allow me to use the cognitive-behavioral tools I learned in the course of therapy, both outpatient and inpatient.

I don't like to take medication, so 2-3 years ago I started skipping 1 day a week at first, then after a year 2 days a week, then 3. This year I discovered I could go 3 consequentive days without an immediate return of anxiety symptoms, so I am on my 3rd month off Paxil, using CBT tools to manage my behavior with no medication. So far so good.

Paxil worked well for me, and if it turns out I need to return to medication it would be my choice.

Ted

 

[Chondra]

I was on Paxil for nearly six years and it worked very well for me. It did "buzz me up" at first, but that effect went away. It is one of the most potent SSRI's available here in the US and it is usually effective at treating PTSD anxiety. But, as mentioned in the earlier posts, every body processes it differently, so adjusting the amount as needed is important. Another important thing to note with Paxil is that quitting it can be rough. Stopping Paxil abruptly is not a very good idea IMHO.

Good luck! I hope it works well.

 

[jodywood]

In the study, more than 550 people with PTSD received either Paxil or a placebo for 12 weeks. The researchers looked closely at each person's symptoms, including re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoiding social situations, and being hypervigilant. People taking Paxil had significant improvement compared with those taking placebo. This was true for both men and women, and regardless of what type of trauma triggered their PTSD.

 

[amethist]

Just wondering if anyone has stopped taking this cold turkey, as my husband has not taken his for 4 days now.

I have looked on line about doing this and everywhere says you should do it slowly and with support, but he is refusing to listen to sense at the moment.

He is stubborn though and determined to do this no matter what anyone says about it. All I can do right now is be there and hope the fall out is not too bad.

 

[amethist]

Hubby is back on the meds as he was feeling so ill with the withdrawal symptoms. He listened to what told him about the issues with coming off them cold turkey and saw sense for a change.

He still wants to come off them, but is going to do it slowly with help and support from his Dr.