Posted by polarbear206 on July 4, 2007, at 16:11:51
In reply to Re: paxil - permanent hell ????? » polarbear206, posted by belljar on July 4, 2007, at 0:14:14
> Hi polarbear,
>
> TOn of questions for you !
> 1. did you stay on the effexor, or is it just to get off of the paxil ?
> 2. are you now using it in combo with Lamictal ?
> 3. What kind of differences are there between effexor and prozac ?
> 4. DO you find your cognitive / analytic ability deadened by the Lamictal ?
>
> Belljar,
>
>
>
>
>
> > Keep in mind that pregnancy and postpartum can exacerbate an underlying mental illness. You said that pre Paxil days you had anxiety and OCD issues. I wouldn't put all the blame of your symptoms on your horrible Paxil experience. I went through a very simular situation. Your doctor was right to suspect a bipolar diagnosis, however I do not agree with his drug choice. "If" you do have an underlying bipolar spectrum disorder, (which I suspect you might), Paxil monotherapy is not the way to treat it. To get off Paxil, Prozac would be a good choice, because it has a long half-life. I switched from Paxil to Effexor with minimal problems. I was on 30mg of Paxil at one time and it caused me to cycle with anger, agigtation, hypersomnia, insomnia, food cravings, binge eating, and so on. Having said that, I know where you are coming from!! What you really need to do is wean off the Paxil very very slowly while introducing Prozac or an SNRI, such as Effexor. Lamictal would be a good choice for a mood stabilizer. No side effects like the typical and atypical antipsychotics. Risperdal is usually not a 1st choice of treatment. It is given alot for Bipolar 1 with psychotic features who are hard to treat and do not respond to others. You are never going to know if you don't give it a try.
> >
> > Polarbear
> >
> >Hi,
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but I had to work today. That's one downfall of being a nurse, you have to work every other holiday.
Getting back to your questions... I am still on effexor. I went from 300mg to 75mg in a short time, however I added wellbutrin at the same time, so doing this and being on Lamictal probably kept any potential withdrawal at bay. Paxil has a reputation for being one of the worst drugs to withdrawal from. Effexor targets serotonin and norepinephrine, whereas, prozac just serotonin. Effexor is one of the best AD's I have been on. There is a broad spectrum to mood disorders. Many bipolars need to be on an AD with a mood stabilizer. The dose should be the lowest possible to prevent mood cycling. I have NO cognitive or flat emotions on Lamictal. It is one of the more popular mood stabilizers. It works well for those with bipolar II and subtypes of bipolar. It is even used as an add on for depression since it is shown to have AD properties. Here are some good informative sites for you to gather info and help you come to your own conclusion on what avenue to pursue next.
Polarbear
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/frameset.html
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.lieber.html
>
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/drugs-treatments/lamictalhttp://www.mcmanweb.com/index.html
>
poster:polarbear206
thread:767197
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070630/msgs/767644.html