Paxil doesn’t seem to be working.

Hi Elle,

10 mg is a very low dose of Paxil. I have been taking Paxil for chronic depression since 2002 and it has worked well. My current dose is 40 mg/day.

If I remember correctly, it can take 4-6 weeks before you feel the effects. I still question the low dose. I think I started with a low dose that was gradually increased over a few weeks.

Also, Paxil can be a hard drug to quit. I tried tapering down to 30 mg, and that was ok. When I went to 20 mg, I just didn't feel very good. I'm back at 40.

There are a lot of options now for anti-depressant medication. Might be good to ask your Dr for more options, unless you've already done that.

All the best. Depression is no fun, but is certainly treatable. Regular exercise helps a lot too.

Joe

@heyjoe415 - Hi, Joe - Thanks so much for your kind and helpful response to my post. It gives me hope that you have had such long-term success with Paxil. I had been on Zoloft for about 25 years, with much success, until it “pooped out” on me during the height of COVID. Since then, I have tried numerous antidepressants and they either don’t work or the side effects are unbearable.
My psychiatrist increased my dose of Paxil
to 20 mg last Tuesday, so I’m praying I eventually have a positive response to it. I think her goal is to get me to 40 mg, but it feels like such a long wait to reach a therapeutic effect. In the meantime, I’m struggling quite a bit with my anxiety and depression,
Thank you, again, for your encouragement, advice, and for sharing your experience with Paxil. I am extremely grateful and wish you continued good mental health.

Hi, Rashida - Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post and for the advice about Ginger Gravol. I will give it a try.
It was so kind and thoughtful of you to offer a suggestion to help my nausea. I truly appreciate it!!!

@pbrb
You are not an old man. I will soon be 79. My advice is to follow your Drs advice closely regarding carefully tapering you off your medication. I am currently tapering off Paxil to Lexapro as Paxil was no longer helping. My psychiatrist is very helpful and the tapering is slow so I can tolerate it. The changes each time are somewhat difficult but I manage to tolerate the withdrawals with Clonazapam which he supports.
GOODLUCK
MJD

Thank you for the

@pbrb

Thank you for the information.
I agree.
My doctor is helping me. It's not easy. I pray that I'll get through it

@maryjjeandennis
I took Paxil for a couple of weeks, years ago, and it made me very sleepy. I switched to Prozac, it has worked fore over the decades. As my life changed, I stopped and started as needed.
It stopped working when I suffered through long Covid. I was switched to Lexapro, which I took for 4 months. I was always tired. I thought it was chronic fatigue associated with the long Covid. As I was weaning off the Lexapro, I felt better each day. After 2 weeks, I felt like myself, with energy.
I'm currently not taking any antidepressants. If needed I will try Prozac again.
Everyone is different, this is my experience
Hope this helps someone.

Thankyou for your response. I tried Prozac but it didn’t seem to work for me. I was cross tapering. It’s a hard process trying to decide which medication is right for us. I had hoped Prozac would work. I’m hearing positive comments through my research about Lexapro. My fear is coming off o Paxil toward the end of the taper. It can be rough. Mjdennis

Wow Ellen - your kind words absolutely made my day. Than you so much!

Interesting that you were on Zoloft for almost as long as I have been on Paxil. I really hope it starts to help you, and if you don't feel it at 20mg, 40 mg may just work. Here's why I say that:

Last year, for whatever reason, I started tapering down from 40mg/day under my PCP's guidance. I first dropped to 30mg (that was kind of a pain cause there isn't a 30mg pill, but a small problem). I was fine at 30mg for a month, and then dropped to 20mg.

At 20 mg I started feeling worse. Certainly not a deep depression, and no return of panic attacks, just not feeling quite right about things. I usually am pretty enthusiastic about life and I didn't feel that way. Where I used to look forward to going to the gym everyday, suddenly it became harder.

Well I went back to 40mg and I'm fine now. I hope that will be true for you.

Another thing that has helped me tremendously in dealing with depression is vigorous exercise. In my 30s and 40s (well before I took Paxil), I took up long-distance running and felt much better. My knees are no longer able to withstand that impact, so I spin 5-6x/week.

So I hope you get to a better place Ellen. 40mg seems like a good therapeutic dose for Paxil.

And if this doesn't work, don't give up. There are always new drugs being introduced. And please do update me on your progress.

All the very best to you Ellen for bright and happy days ahead! You deserve that.

Joe