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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by tensor on September 26, 2002, at 6:31:46
Hi,
I´ve been taken Remeron against depression for almost four years now, and started with Clonazepam for over a year ago for my anxiety and social phobia.
I´ve now lost my motivation and energy and thinking of switching meds. Does anyone of you have an idea about the differences between Remeron and Paxil? I know Remeron used to be a very activating med and it worked well for a few years but now it doesn´t work, is it clonazepam that takes away my motivation or do I have to switch AD? I currently take 15mg Remeron daily and it doesn´t get better at higher dosage. Any success stories about Paxil? Please let me know..Also, Remeron doesn´t inhibit my sexuality, how about Paxil?
thanks,
tensor
Posted by pharmer on September 26, 2002, at 20:39:09
In reply to Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by tensor on September 26, 2002, at 6:31:46
Hey Tensor, My trial on Paxil ended due to constant nausea and my inability to make my wife squirm at night if ya no what I mean. I found that quite upsetting as it seemed to work quite well for my gad. I'm currently taking Remeron 15mg as well with 0.5 clonazepam. I've read many times that Remeron requires a second AD to augment it's action. I decreased my Effexor from 150mg - ( too much irratability ,tinnitus,sexual disfunction) down to 37.5mg am. and have been feeling great on this combo. I know one poster here had bad results with this mix BUT, it's been great for me. If you try Paxil and it works,thats great,however,given the fact you have been on Remeron 4 years I certainly would consider augmentation. Sometimes a little of both is better than alot of one. Goodluck, Rick.
Posted by k23d on September 26, 2002, at 20:41:36
In reply to Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by tensor on September 26, 2002, at 6:31:46
Hi Tensor,
Everyone's different and your milage may vary a lot but my experience is as follows:
I started on Paxil for Social Anxiety & Panic and after 4 months of trying to tolerate the side effects I switched to remeron 30mg.
The paxil made me very apathetic and took away all my motivation and drive. I didn't really procrastinate as I can do when anxious but just didn't feel motivated.
Paxil made sex awful for me. Everything worked but no orgasms even if I sometimes went at it for over an hour and a half.
I also gained weight on it in two ways. I think it fundamentally stuffed with my metabolism and secondly made me crave sugary foods.
Remeron for the first few weeks at 30mg was great and got me back to my motivated self and added an extra boost by taking away my anxiety based procrastination. After 6 weeks it kind of pooped so i've just gone up to 45mg to try to get this plus some other benefits back. My doc says this is normal when finding the right dose initially.
At 15mg I've heard remeron can be quite sedating due to the antihistamine effect whereas at higher dosages it tends to be more activating as the NE? effect kicks in. If you have clonazepam to control your anxiety, have you talked to your doc about raising the remeron dose to deal with depression?
As to your original question, personally I'll take remeron over paxil any day of the week...
Posted by wsj on September 29, 2002, at 1:09:13
In reply to Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by tensor on September 26, 2002, at 6:31:46
my experience with both is:
remeron - to sedating except at high dose (60-90mg). made me always feel bloated and added pounds by the day.
paxil - less sedating but terrible sexual effectswsj
Posted by wcfrench on September 30, 2002, at 1:54:12
In reply to Re: Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by wsj on September 29, 2002, at 1:09:13
I took Paxil and got lots of side effects. Shaking, upset stomach, and some sweating. Remeron definitely has a better side effect profile and it additionally works on norepinephrine. However, I actually felt better mood-wise on Paxil, I just had to stop it due to the side effects. I've now been on Remeron 2 months, but with limited success, so I'm going to switch to something else. As far as comparison goes, I think any doc would recommend Remeron over Paxil.
I think, if you are switching meds, you should consider what you need out of one. For example, one of the reasons I am stopping Remeron is that it knocks me out and I can sleep for 12+ hours without waking up. Before I took it, I was a pretty heavy sleeper, so it's not the best thing for me. I am going to try Zoloft next, which has an activating effect, rather than sedating. I've heard that Paxil is "better" (this is arguable) for anxieties, such as social phobia. So basically you should consider what you need out of an AD, but if you are not having success with the Remeron, get to something else so you can start feeling better. You will probably sleep less and not as heavy once you're off the Remeron. Something I'm looking forward to. Good luck.
-Charlie
Posted by wcfrench on September 30, 2002, at 1:54:12
In reply to Re: Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by wsj on September 29, 2002, at 1:09:13
I took Paxil and got lots of side effects. Shaking, upset stomach, and some sweating. Remeron definitely has a better side effect profile and it additionally works on norepinephrine. However, I actually felt better mood-wise on Paxil, I just had to stop it due to the side effects. I've now been on Remeron 2 months, but with limited success, so I'm going to switch to something else. As far as comparison goes, I think any doc would recommend Remeron over Paxil.
I think, if you are switching meds, you should consider what you need out of one. For example, one of the reasons I am stopping Remeron is that it knocks me out and I can sleep for 12+ hours without waking up. Before I took it, I was a pretty heavy sleeper, so it's not the best thing for me. I am going to try Zoloft next, which has an activating effect, rather than sedating. I've heard that Paxil is "better" (this is arguable) for anxieties, such as social phobia. So basically you should consider what you need out of an AD, but if you are not having success with the Remeron, get to something else so you can start feeling better. You will probably sleep less and not as heavy once you're off the Remeron. Something I'm looking forward to. Good luck.
-Charlie
Posted by Justherself on September 30, 2002, at 17:53:15
In reply to Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by tensor on September 26, 2002, at 6:31:46
> Hi,
>
> I´ve been taken Remeron against depression for almost four years now, and started with Clonazepam for over a year ago for my anxiety and social phobia.
> I´ve now lost my motivation and energy and thinking of switching meds. Does anyone of you have an idea about the differences between Remeron and Paxil? I know Remeron used to be a very activating med and it worked well for a few years but now it doesn´t work, is it clonazepam that takes away my motivation or do I have to switch AD? I currently take 15mg Remeron daily and it doesn´t get better at higher dosage. Any success stories about Paxil? Please let me know..
>
> Also, Remeron doesn´t inhibit my sexuality, how about Paxil?
>
> thanks,
> tensorAs a female, I was on Paxil some time ago. It worked great for depression/anxiety but horrible for sexual side effects, same with Zoloft but not near as bad as Paxil. I'm going to be discussing Remeron with my doc next appointment. Looking forward to possibly having no sexual side effects but the weight gain issue is very very scary to me as I have put on weight big time. How was the weight gain on Remeron for you. My doc augmented my Zoloft with Neurontin and now I don't feel any need clonozapam for my anxiety or panic attacks.
Posted by tensor on October 1, 2002, at 4:34:08
In reply to Re: Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by Justherself on September 30, 2002, at 17:53:15
> How was the weight gain on Remeron for you.
Hi,
I have no weight gain on 15mg daily but on 30mg I feel an icrease in my apetite so I gain weight a little, but is not a big problem for me. I guess it´s individual./tensor
Posted by Nala on October 1, 2002, at 16:16:22
In reply to Re: Remeron vs Paxil?, posted by wcfrench on September 30, 2002, at 1:54:12
I also have the diagnosis of Social Anxiety, BPII, etc. I'm currently taking Remeron 45mg and have taken Paxil at therapeutic doses. In my experience, Paxil and other SSRI's work much better for Social Anxiety. I believe it's due to their mechanisms of action. Remeron's affinity for norepinephrine vs. serotonin seems to make me more nervous and aggitated. Conversly, Paxil works with only serotonin which is calming once the drug enters it's therapeutic phase (2-6 weeks?)
Nala
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