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?
poster:omegon
thread:268950
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031010/msgs/269457.html