I went to the doctor today for an upper respiratory infection. I started a z-pack for that.
While I was there, I talked with the nurse practitioner about my problems with Paxil. As a reminder to my readers, I was experiencing anxiety when I went to New Orleans last October. That's not supposed to happen...it's why I'm on the drug. The doctor upped the dosage in November but it caused unbearable ringing in my ears. I've had the ringing for years, attributing it to old age (45!) and loud music as a teen. However, I think the ringing began when I started the Paxil and it is a known side effect.
Tomorrow, I start to phase out the Paxil and start on Lexapro. Wish me luck and good health!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Paxil ——> Lexapro
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I had a bad reaction to Paxil when I took it in 1995, and I quit cold turkey. Bad idea. Now I'm supposed to take an occasional Zoloft for anxiety, but I haven't taken one of those for ages.
Ever since I've been dealing with my anxiety by taking deep breaths and dealing with the fact that anxiety is inevitable things have been much better.
MSM--I agree that anxiety is part of life. I tried years of therapy, yoga, and long walks to reduce it. Unfortunately for me, it is so severe that it adversely impacts my life. It isn't sporadic, but constant. I was hospitalized in 6th grade with symptoms that ended up being anxiety. It's time for meds when it is persistent and impacts your life. It took a long time for me to come to the realization that meds could help.
Everyone is different and this worked for me. Yesterday they said that the 10mg of Paxil I'm on, after 5 years, probably wasn't having any effect at all. I'm hoping that the Lexapro helps. One thing that convinced me to start taking them was when the doc said that if my system needed them, they'd work, but if it didn't there would be no change.
I know what you mean about bad effects. I had a really bad reaction to Xanax the first time I took one (about 1995 too) and I haven't taken it since!
Hang in there sugar- better living through chemicals is OK, you just have to find the right one. Stick with it dear, you're a smart man, you know what's feeling right and what doesn't.
I had nasty anxiety attacks most of my adult life--until I took Zoloft for depression for a year when I was 47. After stopping the Zoloft, I have been free of anxiety attacks since! I sincerely hope you have a similar experience!
--Alex
Post a Comment