Posted by IsoM on May 23, 2002, at 2:10:46
In reply to New Here, posted by SassyMom33 on May 23, 2002, at 0:48:27
Sass, I have taken Paxil in the past & it has been wonderfully effective, brightening my mood & helping to quell anxiety. In fact, I would say it was one of the best ADs around for me.
I didn't have much problems with side-effects but I'm one of the few people who rarely suffer side-effects from meds. Paxil only served to increase my yawning & made me feel warmer, sometimes too warm & sweaty in sunmmer weather. The few meds that do affect me adversely were severe enough to discontinue & when one was effective, any side-effects were easily tolerated.
I no longer take Paxil due to one problem with it that I'd like to bring to your attention. The half-lives of drugs vary. (If you're not certain what a half-life is, ask further but I'll give you a quick definition of one.)
The half-life of a medication is the time it takes for that med to be metabolised (or broken down into chemicals that can be flushed from the body in urine & feces). So if a med has a half-life of 10 hours, after 10 hours have gone by, you'll have half the original amount still in your system. After another 10 hours half of that amount will be left (or 1/4 the original amount). Another 10 hours & half that amount (or 1/8 the original), etc.
If a medication has a long half-life, it doesn't need to be taken as often. A short half-life of a couple of hours would mean taking your dose maybe three times a day.
Of the SSRIs (like Paxil), those with short half-lives can cause problems if you're late for your daily dose. If you take it every morning & then forget & take it late in the day instead, you can start to feel 'sick' from being late or even missing one day's dose.
SSRIs with long half-lives don't cause you to feel awful if you're late with your dose or forget a day.
Paxil has a short half-life. If I was late or forgot till near the end of the day, I'd always know as I'd start feeling quite ill. The SSRI I take now has a long half-life & I no longer have that problem.
SSRIs with short half-lives are also difficult to discontinue due to this sick feeling from stopping them. Tapering off your dose makes it better, but it still can be very hard & one can feel horrible.
Just a precaution. I'm not trying to scare you. There are many people who experience none of this & have no difficulty stopping whatsoever. There should be no stigma taking meds when needed. There's no stigma attached to someone with a broken leg that needs a cast & crutches. The same should be true of needed meds.
poster:IsoM
thread:107370
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/107376.html