liquid paxil ?s RE:head buzz & amount

[Kat]

Hi All,

My hubby has been on 12.5mg of liquid paxil since the 18th.
We gave him the dosage on the label 1 teaspoon +1/4 teaspoon = to 12.5mg.
We split it the 1st 2 days into 10mg in the AM & 2.5 at night . After the 2nd day he tells me that it is giving him an almost immediate daydreamy head buzz that lasts about 45min- 1hr. So I split his dose in 3. 5mg AM - 5mg PM - 2.5 at bed.
He still gets a buzz just not as bad.
Is this normal??

2nd the dosage which I think may be the problem. The doc happily Rx'd 10mg = 1 teaspoon a day (he thought it'd be easier for the pharamcist to understand & said we could taper it ourselves), the amount is supposed to be for 1 month.
But it's been 6 days & the bottle is just about 1/2 gone. I am not using an actual teaspoon but a oral syringe to make sure his dose is accurate. Plus he'd rather shoot it down the back of his throat than have it coat his mouth.
This is not the most reliable pharmacy - so I'm wondering is the conversion right? 10mg=1teaspoon
Or if they've screwed up the prescription. I'm googling conversion charts now.

Thanks!!
Kat

[Katesmom]

Why no syringe? That would be by far more accurate and accuracy is very important!

Let me find a conversion chart and see what I can figure out.

BTW, did you go from CR directly to liquid? Is that why the dose is 12.5mg or is it just a coincidence?

[Katesmom]

Okay, on the conversion chart that I found, 1 tablespoon equals 14.78 milliliters. That would be about 30mg of paxil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Edit: See below for correction!!!

[SDAVIS]

I have been told that 1cc is equivalent to 2 mgs. Not sure how many cc's in a teaspoon though.

[Katesmom]

Wait, sorry that was tablespoon! I was freaking out!

1 teaspoon equals almost 5ml, but not quite. So, 1.5 teaspoons equals 7.39 milliliters. That would be more than 14 1/2 mg.

[Kat]

Hang on a sec.
1st he just went from regular paxil to liquid last Friday 5/18.
He is on 12.5 b/c he is tapering. He's been tapering since Jan. from 20mg.

We are using a syringe b/c it is more accurate & easier for him to take.

The label says 1 TEAspoon = 10 Milligrams
Hope that clears things up.

I'm still trying to find a chart that takes mgs to teaspoons.
Not an ez task.
thx!!

[Kat]

Originally Posted by Katesmom

Wait, sorry that was tablespoon! I was freaking out!

1 teaspoon equals almost 5ml, but not quite. So, 1.5 teaspoons equals 7.39 milliliters. That would be more than 14 1/2 mg.

Hi Kim,
haha no prob - I about had a heart attack too.
And I've been giving him 1 & 1/4 teaspoon.
You'll have to forgive me - I am beyond hopeless when it comes to math. lol
So it's seems like he IS taking approx 12.5mgs?

[Katesmom]

First, you have to stop thinking in terms of mg, because that is a solid measure. The liquid amount you have to look at is milliliters. And, as stated about, essentially it is a 1 to 2 ratio--5 milliliters equals 10 milligrams of paxil. So the measurement you need to convert is teaspoons to milliliters and I did that for you above. 1.5 teaspoons will be over 14.5mg of regular paxil.

The much easier way to do it would be to use the metric measurements and just 'half' the mg amount you are wanting to taper. If you want to give him 12.5mg, then give him 6.25ml. Does that make sense?

[Katesmom]

Originally Posted by Kat

Hi Kim,
haha no prob - I about had a heart attack too.
And I've been giving him 1 & 1/4 teaspoon.
You'll have to forgive me - I am beyond hopeless when it comes to math. lol
So it's seems like he IS taking approx 12.5mgs?

That would be about 6.16ml, so 12.32mg. Very close to your goal.

Since he just made the switch, he could be having issues switching between the two formulations, which does happen. Hopefully, it will pass. Be sure and stay on this dose for extra long. Also, make sure that you shake it very, very well so that the medicine is evenly distributed in the suspension.

Couple of questions--Did he drop in dose at the same time he made the switch to liquid or did he take time to adjust to the different formulation before a drop? At what point after the switch did the symptoms become more severe? Are these symptoms that are typical of a taper if he did taper?

[Kat]

So by looking at the syringe 5ml does = 1teaspoon. Which is good news.
Yep 6.25ml is right. Whew at least I know I'm giving him the correct amount.
Thx SO much Kim that's a load off my mind.

Any idea about the day dreamy head buzz after switching to liquid?

[Kat]

Originally Posted by Katesmom

That would be about 6.16ml, so 12.32mg. Very close to your goal.

Since he just made the switch, he could be having issues switching between the two formulations, which does happen. Hopefully, it will pass. Be sure and stay on this dose for extra long. Also, make sure that you shake it very, very well so that the medicine is evenly distributed in the suspension.

Couple of questions--Did he drop in dose at the same time he made the switch to liquid or did he take time to adjust to the different formulation before a drop? At what point after the switch did the symptoms become more severe? Are these symptoms that are typical of a taper if he did taper?

He's been on 12.5 mg for about 6weeks - he had dropped to 11 for 3 weeks & it was a horrible taper - the rage attacks were neverending so we went back up. And has been really stable. This daydreamy buzz only started the day he switched to liquid. He said it was almost immediate.
This symptom is not typical of any of his tapers. And we didn't taper this time only switch to liquid.

[Amaya's Nana]

Kat - why is he splitting the dose at different times during the day? My doctor told me to never do that. And, some people do have a difficult time switching from the pill to the liquid.

[LCrawford67]

Man, and this is why I'm going the compounded route. That liquid measuring is just waaaay too much for me.

Kat, you're in capable hands here, but I'm not one of 'em!

[LCrawford67]

Originally Posted by SDAVIS

I have been told that 1cc is equivalent to 2 mgs. Not sure how many cc's in a teaspoon though.

I believe you're correct, Stan. It's pretty much double. In other words, 15 mils = 30 mgs. That's how I got myself into trouble last year and how I ended up here!

[Amaya's Nana]

Originally Posted by LCrawford67

I believe you're correct, Stan. It's pretty much double. In other words, 15 mils = 30 mgs. That's how I got myself into trouble last year and how I ended up here!

I did the same exact thing when I first started the liquid but figured it out after two days so I settled down fairly quickly. But man oh man, those two days were weirder than the Twilight Zone!!!

[Kat]

Originally Posted by Amaya's Nana

Kat - why is he splitting the dose at different times during the day? My doctor told me to never do that. And, some people do have a difficult time switching from the pill to the liquid.

One of his docs told him to split it up so he would get a more even dose through out the day.
Then when it came to this liquid giving him the daydreamy headbuzz when I gave him 10mg=1teaspoon in the AM & he had to drive in rush hour for 90 min. We figured it was safer for him to go back to the smaller doses throughout the day.

-----
Thx LC - good to know! ;0)

[Katesmom]

Originally Posted by Kat

One of his docs told him to split it up so he would get a more even dose through out the day.
Then when it came to this liquid giving him the daydreamy headbuzz when I gave him 10mg=1teaspoon in the AM & he had to drive in rush hour for 90 min. We figured it was safer for him to go back to the smaller doses throughout the day.

-----
Thx LC - good to know! ;0)

Actually, that is not true. Paxil's half life is 21 hours, so taking it more often gives you a rollercoaster effect. However, as you get lower in doses, the half life does get slightly shorter, but not by half again.

[Kat]

Well it doesn't surprise me that the dr that told us to split is was wrong. We dropped him a while a go.
So should we just give it to him all at once?
And if so - should it be in the AM b4 work or at night b4 bed??
My only concern about giving it to him in the the AM is that he has to drive the 90 min commute w/a daydreamy headbuzz.

[scotty]

Don't split the dose, take it at night before bed, so he will sleep through the "dreamy" head stuff.

[Kat]

Hey Laurie!

That's a great plan -I'm just trying to figure out how to implement it.
I guess I'm going to wait until the weekend so it doesn't interfere w/his work & then give him 1 dose at night.
Even though I have the 10% bit down now that we've switched to liquid & ml's - I'm having a hard time figuring out his taper schedule.
He's been stable a long time about 6weeks or more (I can't find where he put his symptom schedule).
Kim mentioned that he should stay at this dose for a while since he just switched to liquid.
Is there a way I can get help w/a schedule that is for liquid form?

[Katesmom]

I believe there is a basic spreadsheet in a sticky. The downside is that you will have to constantly convert back and forth from mg to ml because you don't want to do 10% of the ml, you want to do 10% of the mg, which should be 5% of the ml.

[scotty]

Kat, tell me what he is on right now, and I'll list it all out for you to follow.

[Kat]

Thx Kim - I have the basic spreadsheet. So I'll just do 5% of the ml.
Metric conversion - this should be fun. lol
Even the nurse today was confused trying to figure out if his Rx was correct.
He's been on it 1 week tomorrow & the bottle that is supposed to last 1 mo is 1/2 gone. 1 thing I do know is it's not me, so I'm having her check things b4 the holiday weekend. My guess is the pharm screwed up & gave us a 2week supply.
You've been a huge help today I really appreciate it!
:0)
Kat

[Kat]

12.5mg = to now 1 & 1/4teaspoon of liquid paxil - 6ml

[scotty]

OK, give me a few minutes to work it out.