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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mayab on October 13, 2003, at 11:51:06
Hi everyone
I'm new to the list and have recently started treatment for social anxiety for the first time.
My doc first put me on 10 mg paxil along with 1mg ativan as needed. The paxil didn't seem to do anything for the anxiety but the ativan really helped.
I have now been on 20mg paxil for about 2 weeks and I think I am starting to have side effects from it. I have been feeling incredibly lethargic and my head feels like it has been stuffed full of cotton wool. I have zero motivation and I haven't been able to exercise like I normally do. I also haven't been able to reach orgasm which is really put a damper on my romantic life!
Will these side effects go away or get worse with time? Problem is my doc wants to increase the paxil dose and take me off the ativan because it is 'too addictive'. But I'm finding the ativan really helps me and don't like how I'm feeling on the paxil.
I would appreciate your comments and have enjoyed all your posts so far.
Posted by Robert Fairburn on October 13, 2003, at 17:36:40
In reply to paxil side effects, posted by mayab on October 13, 2003, at 11:51:06
Ok Mayab
first thing you need to remebr is that Paxil always makes people worse before making you feel better. There are now established reasons for this. I know that it is very hard to stick with a medication that is making you feel spaced out but please hang in on there. It might help if you give some history of your symptoms and what medications you have tried. There are a lot of people who can give advice. However I must say that Paxil has a good track record with social anxiety. Please keep advised on how you are feeling
Robert
> Hi everyone
>
> I'm new to the list and have recently started treatment for social anxiety for the first time.
>
> My doc first put me on 10 mg paxil along with 1mg ativan as needed. The paxil didn't seem to do anything for the anxiety but the ativan really helped.
>
> I have now been on 20mg paxil for about 2 weeks and I think I am starting to have side effects from it. I have been feeling incredibly lethargic and my head feels like it has been stuffed full of cotton wool. I have zero motivation and I haven't been able to exercise like I normally do. I also haven't been able to reach orgasm which is really put a damper on my romantic life!
>
> Will these side effects go away or get worse with time? Problem is my doc wants to increase the paxil dose and take me off the ativan because it is 'too addictive'. But I'm finding the ativan really helps me and don't like how I'm feeling on the paxil.
>
> I would appreciate your comments and have enjoyed all your posts so far.
>
>
Posted by mayab on October 13, 2003, at 18:32:15
In reply to Re: paxil side effects, posted by Robert Fairburn on October 13, 2003, at 17:36:40
Hi everyone
Thanks for your support Robert. It helps to know that there may be light at the end of the tunnel so I'll definitely stick it out. I was referred by my gp to a psychiatrist and I have my first appointment next week.
As I said, I'm seeking treatment for social anxiety for the first time at 22 even though I know that I've had this problem since childhood.
I self medicated during my teenage years with ecstasy because it allowed me to interact with others easily but the comedowns were terrible because they left me feeling very depressed. Other than that I've only tried St John's Wort with little success.
My symptoms include keeping my social interactions to a purely superficial level through avoidance behaviour. When I am in a social situation I often tremble, blush and just feel so on edge that I normally try and get out of the situation as fast as possible. I don't think I suffer from depression though. I enjoy spending time with my husband and only feel the anxiety with others or in anticipation of an upcoming event.
Obviously my illness made it difficult to seek treatment because I hate to draw attention to myself. But the stress of moving to another country and constantly having to be in new situations with new people became too much for me to bear and I finally got the courage to make an appointment with a gp.
The ativan has really helped control my symptoms and I am more outgoing. I'm hoping to convince my new psychiatrist to keep me on it since I only take 1mg 4 times a week.
Thanks for listening.
Posted by Corny on October 14, 2003, at 0:37:49
In reply to paxil side effects, posted by mayab on October 13, 2003, at 11:51:06
I can relate to the lethargic mode with Paxil. I would need a pot of coffee to get going in the morning and next thing I knew it was lunchtime and still no motivation. I can't say that it has gotten better after over two years. I cut the dose back to 12.5 mg and added adderall for some recent relief. I am now giving Effexor another try as I can't seem to get off the Paxil without falling apart.
Posted by omegon on October 14, 2003, at 19:36:29
In reply to paxil side effects, posted by mayab on October 13, 2003, at 11:51:06
I recently quit Paxil (20mg) after 7 weeks and switched to Efexor XR. (for something along the lines of depression/social anxiety; haven't been given a formal diagnosis.) I found that the Paxil side effects only decreased marginally for me during all that time at the same dose; it wasn't having many useful effects either apart from a few days of decent mood around week 3.
I can really sympathise with what you describe - I had the same tiredness, lack of motivation and (almost) anorgasmia. So far I'm finding Efexor helps with my anxiety much more than Paxil, which if anything exacerbated it. Not what you'd expect from the official indications.
You should probably give it at least 4 to 6 weeks before you decide to change to something else, though - it's widely reported that the full beneficial effects (if any?) take that long to appear.
Hope things improve for you!
> My doc first put me on 10 mg paxil along with 1mg ativan as needed. The paxil didn't seem to do anything for the anxiety but the ativan really helped.
>
> I have now been on 20mg paxil for about 2 weeks and I think I am starting to have side effects from it. I have been feeling incredibly lethargic and my head feels like it has been stuffed full of cotton wool. I have zero motivation and I haven't been able to exercise like I normally do. I also haven't been able to reach orgasm which is really put a damper on my romantic life!
>
> Will these side effects go away or get worse with time?
This is the end of the thread.
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