Need opinions....please take time to read

[Audacious1]

I haven't been around here much due to some huge things goin on in my life that have absolutely driven me over the edge, but now i am starting to get back on track. My question deals with antidepressants. I did a search but don't seem to find many women's opinions on this subject.
A little background, since i was 13 (now almost 25), i had been on and off of zoloft to help with depression. 2 years back i realized zoloft was not helpin anymore and the doc put me on Wellbutrin, 200mg a day. I got terrible diziness and pelvic cramping and went off of it and was put back on zoloft. Then i had a breakdown and the doc said i should use 2 antidepressants and put me back on wellbutrin and kept me on zoloft despite the sides...well the diziness was so bad i'd pass out and that is not good while having to watch my 2 yr old all day. So i weaned down to 100 mg a day of wellbutrin and the doc took me off zoloft and put me on paxil time release. I had to go off the welbutrin again bc the diziness didn't subside, so as of now i am on 12.5mg of paxil a day.
Now here is my question, anyone who has been on paxil, did you experience any sides such as massive appetite, extreme tiredness, and rapid weight gain? These are the things that i am experiencing right now and i am afraid to go off paxil b/c of the horror stories of withdrawl. What, if anything, has worked for you and what other meds are there that i can suggest to my doc. I am getting desperate feeling very moody, at times even suicidal and can't stop crying. Obviously i am a wreck and am just looking for some honest opinions from a woman's perspective.

 

[FitFossil]

I haven't been on Paxil but I was on Prozac for about 12 years, and now I'm on Celexa. All of these (and Zoloft) fall into the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) category of anti-depressants. I had great results with Prozac and even better results with Celexa, other than feeling zombie-like the first 2 weeks.

From what I've heard from Paxil users, weight gain is very common. I've not had any weight gain with Celexa. In fact, if I didn't keep close track of my eating, I'd probably be losing weight, because (for me at least) Celexa has a definite appetite-blunting effect.

Wellbutrin works differently than the SSRI anti-depressants. Rather than affecting the brain chemical serotonin, it acts on dopamine and norepinephrine.

It seems all these drugs work differently for different people, and it can take time to find the right drug, combination of drugs, dosage, etc. Sometimes it takes time for the right drug to start working - I hated the Celexa at first. But if I had symptoms like you describe from Paxil, I'd ask my doctor for something different. Good luck!

BTW are you taking any other medications? Are you on any type of hormonal birth control?

 

[Audacious1]

Nope, i am not on any type of BC at all, and as far as other meds go, i just recently (a month ago) went off of trazadone and xanax for my insomnia, other than that, it's just the paxil at this point. Thank you for your reply...it has helped, my doc suggested Celexa, so maybe i'll give that a shot. Did you have any other sides with Celexa besides the zombie affect the first 2 weeks, or the appetite suppression?

 

[FitFossil]

I asked about the BC pill because it can make depression worse (it did for me).

Anyway, thinking back to when I first started Celexa, there were some other side-effects that were very short-lived. The first night or two I felt like I slept in 15 minute increments - ugh! Also the first couple of days I'd periodically break out in sweats. My first few workouts on Celexa were weak, probably due to the poor nights' sleep. Switching my Celexa dose to dinnertime helps w/ the daytime sleepiness, in fact it makes me sleep like a baby. Vivid entertaining dreams too. Waking up in the morning was very hard for a few weeks.

My doctor started me at 10mg/day for a week, then 20 mg for a few weeks, then 40, where I've been since June. Things feel really "normal" now, not like I'm on anything. I understand some people do very well on a combo of Celexa and Wellbutrin. This helps a lot with the sexual side effects, such as loss of libido or sensation, that's common w/ SSRI's - the Wellbutrin seems to counteract that.

 

[Audacious1]

Thank you so much for your responses...i'll talk to my doc about what she thinks about Celexa. I stopped takin the Paxil 2 days ago, just quit cold turkey, and i feel much better as far as the fatigue goes.

BUT....i am now 5 days late with my period! Havent been more than 2 days late since my son was born over 2 yrs ago...so i might just have to hold off on anything until i know. I know Zoloft is ok to take while pregnant and nursing, but does anyone know about anything else that is safe?

 

[starfish]

I was on SSRI antideprassants and my appetite increased in a MAJOR way! I started researching and it is a common complaint.

I could eat carbs and was NEVER full! I think they slow your metabolism down too.

However, I can handle Wellbutin. It took awhile to get used to it though.