Paxil taker for 8 years asks for advise?
Question:
So i guess I am going to be stuck with this. So sais my doctor also.
I am trying to solve some of the side effects that drive me crazy:
I am looking for advice how to work these things out *while taking* paxil so please don't just give me advice to drop it.
1) Weight gain. Known Problem with this stuff. ANy ideas that could help me?
2) Sleeping disorder. My sleeo looks like a gym workout, very wrestless. Wake up every hour to go peeeeeee. I do drink a lot but this is crazy.
3) Generally tired. I am not sure if this is directly due to the medication or just because I am not sleeping well.
All and any ideas are appreciated!!
Answers:
I don't know if I can help you any or not because I don't and haven't taken Paxil--maybe when I first started taking antidepressants but thats been 9 years ago. But I can identify with the sleeplessness and the problems that that causes.My suggestion would be to slow down a little on the fluid intake maybe but certainly contact your doctor and advise him/her that you are having the sleeping problems and maybe they can give you something to help you sleep. (A few that I can name might be Trazadone, Mirtzapine, Rozerum, etc.) Look them up on webmd.com to learn a little about them if you would like.
Hope I've been of some help.
Hot lemon water might help with the weight gain and the peeing. It's a diuretic and will help expell the excess liquids.
Have you tried OTHER medications for the panic? Maybe Paxil isn't right for you, but Zoloft or something might work.
Good luck... I sympathize!
I plan to go off Paxil in December with slow tapering. With the tapering, I will add 5-htp to make it go much smoother, and then I will continue the 5-htp without the Paxil. Usual dose of 5-htp is 50mg in the morning and at night if you feel the first dose does not help. Add a third dose one hour after you first dose if you want a max of 150mg a day of 5-htp.
Trust me on this; 5-htp is much better than any anti-depressant drug in that it's almost completely symptom free, and it re-fuels your low serotonin by it's amino acid properties. About 85% of people who use 5-htp benefit tremendously from it, and don't need anti-depressants. It doesn't work for the other 15% though, and they may need to try tryophryan(precusor to 5-htp) or other options. (The Mood Cure by Julia Ross is a book I highly recommend on this whole subject)
In a study done, 5-htp raised serotonin levels by 550%percent while Paxil raised serotonin by 420%. Plus, Paxil doesn't actually increase serotonin, it keeps the serotonin you have in your brain synapses, and blocks it from being re-uptaken.
Subjects who take 5-htp actually pretty commonly, notice it's amazing effect within 15 MINUTES.
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