Posted by yxibow on May 25, 2006, at 2:32:11
In reply to Went to pdoc today and here's what she said?, posted by UgottaHaveHOPE on May 24, 2006, at 20:03:24
> I was taking 200mg Seroquel, 3-4 mg Klonopin, and 20 mg Paxil for anxiety and depression.
>
> She boosted me up to 400mg of Seroquel, 40 mg of Paxil and 3-4 mg Klonopin.
>
> What do you think? She said she was going to keep me boosted until I could calm down and then reduce some of the meds. Could be weeks or months.
We never know how long things will take in a medication plan. As my doctor says, he's a psychologist, not a psychic.
As for the "calm down", I assume you're experiencing some severe anxiety and depression. Seroquel or similar antipsychotics are frequently used to boost SSRIs. 400mg is considered a "clinical dose" for Seroquel alone. Whether it is more or less than you ultimately need as an augmentation to Paxil is another story.
Paxil is, next to Luvox, one of the more calming and sedating SSRIs for most people, and thus is a choice for use in patients who have anxiety and depression. Because I know I've been on SSRIs before, and they can be marvelous for one or the other but not often both. That's probably also where the Klonopin comes in. You are at a fairly substantial but by no means unheard of dose of Klonopin. As long as you are aware of the road and safe with your plan, it doesn't sound like a major increase. If you begin to become too somnolent, alert your doctor -- maybe it will become too much. Antipsychotics are fairly fast acting so I think that your plan with an increased dose may not be for that long of a time. Seroquel is the weakest of all the antipsychotics, but as I know personally and understand, it is also drowsy making.
Best luck with your plan and continue to communicate with your doctor exactly how you feel. I see a fair number of postings of "after the fact" meetings. I understand that not everyone is abreast in all the intricacies of medications -- after all thats why you're visiting a doctor. But sometimes I think that people should have more of a collaborative relationship. Write down things on a notepad if you need to. Take them in. Ask your doctor why X, Y, and Z is needed if you have questions. Then a treatment plan I think works much better.-- Best wishes
Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:648072
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060520/msgs/648245.html