What's different about Paxil

[tybr61]

I know several people here are going through withdrawal of other AD's but most of us have taken Paxil. I notice from some people's signatures that they have taken other AD's while withdrawing from Paxil.

Since SSRI's are basically the same, what is so different about the make up of Paxil that makes it worse than the others? It seems to effect more people through withdrawal and "poop-out" than I hear about other drugs. I know the half-life has some to do with it, but there must be more than that. What is it about Paxil???

[Amaya's Nana]

Originally Posted by tybr61

I know several people here are going through withdrawal of other AD's but most of us have taken Paxil. I notice from some people's signatures that they have taken other AD's while withdrawing from Paxil.

Since SSRI's are basically the same, what is so different about the make up of Paxil that makes it worse than the others? It seems to effect more people through withdrawal and "poop-out" than I hear about other drugs. I know the half-life has some to do with it, but there must be more than that. What is it about Paxil???

I'm not an expert but I really do believe its the half life that gets ya!! I'm sure more knowledgeable people will chime in here.

Hope you're doing okay today.

[UfcFytr]

For some reason my Dr. seems to prefer Lexapro over Paxil. His ONLY explanation up to this point(which is 10mos. on Paxil), is that Lexapro is a much CLEANER drug than Paxil. Funny, he gives no scientific backing and this is the first I have heard him "dis" paxil since we've been meeting. Hmmm, cleaner....does that make paxil dirty? And how would that be? I look forward to other replies.
Jim

[genevieve]

Originally Posted by UfcFytr

For some reason my Dr. seems to prefer Lexapro over Paxil. His ONLY explanation up to this point(which is 10mos. on Paxil), is that Lexapro is a much CLEANER drug than Paxil. Funny, he gives no scientific backing and this is the first I have heard him "dis" paxil since we've been meeting. Hmmm, cleaner....does that make paxil dirty? And how would that be? I look forward to other replies.
Jim

in fact LEXAPRO is the "cleaner" form of CELEXA. They are the same molecule
but with lexapro you have only one of the enantiomer (the active one I think). Look at this link for the chemical explanation of this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_isomerism

paxil is an ssri but it is a different molecule from lexapro or celexa. Lexapro may be considered "cleaner" in a clinical term since some studies have shown less side effects with this drug than with other ssri drugs but this may be because lexapro is new on the market (paxil was considered a "clean" AD 10 years ago).

And about the withdrawal issue I am not sure it is all about the half life since many withdrawal problems occur months after the last dose so a drug with a LONG half life (=stay for a long time in the body) would be the one to be the worse for long term withdrawal but this is not logic for what we know about paxil (short half life but many withdrawal problems). So I dont know!!!

I guess the idea that paxil and effexor are really difficult to withdraw from comes from patients' reports but I dont know of scientific studies to know why this is the case.

[Llewdrac]

Originally Posted by tybr61

What is it about Paxil???

It sucks?

I dunno. I know it was the only SSRI I've been able to even tolerate taking: Zoloft made me puke all the time, and Prozac made me more nervous than a long-tailed-cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

So, Paxil was the only one I could take without freaking out.

And now look!
Just look at this mess!

Dammit.

[Charlie]

Although I'm not sure how it all works Paxil is a Piperdine (sp) compound. Heroin is also a piperdine compound. It is my understanding and I could be wrong that all piperdine drugs are schedule II except Paxil which wasn't available at the time the other were classified. Actually I think it's phenylpiperdine.I also believe this is extremely addictive.

[Amaya's Nana]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Although I'm not sure how it all works Paxil is a Piperdine (sp) compound. Heroin is also a piperdine compound. It is my understanding and I could be wrong that all piperdine drugs are schedule II except Paxil which wasn't available at the time the other were classified. Actually I think it's phenylpiperdine.I also believe this is extremely addictive.

Charlie -- you are right. On Rob Robinson's site, he breaks the chemical compound down and its not too hard to understand. I was amazed when I read that on his website how close this stuff is to heroine, LSD and Ecstasy in chemical make-up.

[LossLeader]

Well, you can search ANY SSRI or SNRI on Google and find pages and pages of anguished people suffering withdrawal. Even Celexa, Prozac and Lexapro, which are supposed to cause the least withdrawal, have huge amounts of internet space dedicated to them, with hundreds of people scared out of their minds by this neverending hell. Zoloft and (especially) Effexor have caused some of the most spectacular and horrific w/d effects on this forum. Even Wellbutrin has caused nightmarish withdrawal in many people.

Sure, Paxil is one of the very worst. But ultimately, it's only doing the same thing as all the others.

[Llewdrac]

Originally Posted by Junebug's Baby

Charlie -- you are right. On Rob Robinson's site, he breaks the chemical compound down and its not too hard to understand.

Linky? Please?

[zappelina]

Seems the various ADs have slightly different individual effects. I have been on three of them and for me Celexa was the "weakest" of them. Didn´t feel much effect at all - no mood elevation - only got weight gain, heart burn and increased appetite. No difficult withdrawal at all, stopped cold turkey. Paxil had a MUCH stronger effect on mood. Felt happy and calm for a few months but was careless and indifferent and I had fewer physical side effects than from Celexa. I smoked less on paxil than on celexa or off drugs. Was switched to Zoloft and experienced no Paxil withdrawal at all while on Zoloft so for me they were equal but thinking back I had more heartburn on Zoloft than on Paxil. Withdrawal has been horrendous and protracted with LOTS of awful, unbelievable physical damage and it doesn´t stop, just goes on and on.

[Amaya's Nana]

Originally Posted by Llewdrac

Linky? Please?

Its at the top of this page. Paxilprotest.com. TONS of info.