paxil doses

Hi all,

After reading some posts from new users , it occurred to me. Maybe there is a way tomake the GSK people revise their dosge instructions. Most people who are put on 20mg right away would probably do well on a 5 or 10mg dose and have less problems with withdrawals and side iffects. BUt for that, the people who prescribe it would have to be educated. It´s not the solution but it would be a start. What do youthink?

Diana

[safarigal]

When I was initially prescibed Paxil I was started at 10mg for 2 weeks then up to 20mg. The psychiatrist felt my symptoms were manageable at the 20mg level. I thought the dosing with Paxil and other SSRIs was to dose up in increments.

i personally believe gsk would set 80mg as the starting dose if they could. and the target dose as 140mg.

gsk has proven that as a company they care NOTHING about those who take this medication.

the instructions to continue increasing dosage is in my opinion nothing but a marketing decision to increase profits.

it is the doctors and the doctors alone who should be targeted with information to keep the dose very low and to not allow anyone to exceed 6 to 10 months on this poison. and to only precribe it to those who are in counseling.

'if i were king' all the executives at gsk and all the staff who know the truth about this poison would be hung in the parking lot of their corporate headquarters.

i have a gut feeling that one day soon the truth of this poison will come out. but, just like with enron and all the other thieves who view us consumers as cattle as they pay off our senators and congressmen and women, nothing will happen to those who are to blame for this crime.

[Cindy]

Dear Diana,

I totally agree with you...but it would be very difficult probably to convince doctor's that you/we are right...because I think the acceptable dose for OCD and panic disorder is 60 mg. When I started paxil almost 6 years ago I was put on 10 mg only as I am very sensitive to drugs...with the instruction from my doctor that I increase to 20 in a month. I stayed on 10 mg for 2 years and it worked great for me at that amount. It was when I went to 30 mg in October of last year that I started experiencing negative side effects.

My new doctor who is much less of a pill pusher defintely feels that lower is often better. She has one patient who takes 5 mg of paxil every other day...and find that amount is what works for her.

But, I also agree with Danny in his statements regarding the usage should only be for short term and in conjunction with therapy. I, like him have some doubts regarding the long term effects of this drug and other similar ones like it...I just don't think the medical profession for the most part truly knows...they often just have the attitude "pop a pill" and you will feel better...and you may have to be on it for the rest of your life! That I have a problem with!

Cindy

I started paxil at 10 mgs, then up to 20. When the 20 mgs didn't seem to help as much anymore, my doc put me up to 40 mgs. So there is either one of two problems - it looses it's initial effect after a period of time and a person needs more. Or it wasn't the correct dose afterall, initially. My doctors told me that 20 mgs is supposed to control depression, and 40 mgs is to control anxiety, and I have bouts of both, so who knows!?!

OMG I have been on 60 for 4 years now and I had no real idea that this was a HUGE dose, no wonder I am finding withdrawal so difficult,
I have been off completely for 6 days, yeah I know I have a long way to go but have been tapering my dose for 2 months now and am hoping that the severity of my withdrawal will decrease rather than increase.
I cant beleive I was prescribed this kind of dose, being 18ish at the time and being a small person (55kg) .

hi, this is a note to Angry_Angel: if you were at 60mg and you stopped just 6 days ago, be forewarned of the severe withdrawal symptoms from stopping suddenly, especially from such a high dose. It would be more advisable, should you start having problems, to go back onto a lower dose and taper slowly - read the book, Your Drug May Be Your Problem, by Dr. Breggin, who addresses SSRI's specifically and provides a tapering schedule. Just a heads up, better to be prepared and plan ahead of time.
Blessings,
Joy.

Thanks for the heads up , I have been off a bit longer now and although I was almost at the point of going into A+E on sunday night I am feeling better every day. I know it might be unwise to taper so quickly but the reason I did so was because I was intending to change to cypramil, (citalopram/ celexia) and was told that due to the fact they were very similar my withdrawal would be minimal. Well since cutting back on the Aropax (paxil) I found that despite the withdrawal symptoms life was improving for me and the symptoms made me want to stay as far away as possible from SSRI and the like. I am aware that I may need them again once the drugs have worn off completely but I would really like to see if I am ok now without the drugs.