Anyone familiar with Paxil?

[Xithras]

My 19 year old daughter has always been a bit shy, but it's become worse since going to college. As in, she won't even talk to her professors or talk to the financial aid people right now, because she's too terrified to go into their offices and deal with strangers. Prior to a year and a half ago, she was shy, but NOTHING like this. She's home for Christmas and went to see the doctor for something else today. She had an issue that needed medical attention, and was so shy that my wife had to call the doctors office and pretend to be her when scheduling the appointment because she couldn't even bring herself to talk to the nurse on the phone (the doctors office won't let us schedule for her any longer since she's an adult).

After my wife discussed it with the doctor, he escorted my wife out and had quite a long private conversation with my daughter. At the end of it, he gave her a prescription for Paxil and said that he suspects that she has severe social anxiety disorder.

I'm just wondering whether anyone has any experience with this and can tell me what to expect. Is this going to change her personality? Is it going to turn my quiet bookworm of a daughter into a wild partier? I've heard the name before, but I've never known anyone whose taken it and don't know what the effects or side-effects are, and Googling has turned up all sorts of things I wish I'd never read. I'm wondering whether anyone has any "real world" experience with it.

[Odin2005]

1. I take Paxil for the same reason and it helps a lot!

[Xithras]

2. Glad to hear that.

I'm curious, but do you also do any sort of counseling for it? I was a bit suprised to hear that he gave her a prescription after only one discussion, and that he didn't suggest any kind of therapy or anything to do along with it. In fact, his only commentary was to list some of the side-effects, and ask that she call if she experienced them so he could switch her to something else. He seemed to be 100% sure that the pill alone would solve the problem.

Has that been your experience?

[Odin2005]

8. I just see my psychatrist every 4 months.

And she tells me to call her if anything comes up.

[Aristus]

3. I've prescribed it a number of times, but lately, not so much anymore.

And I prescribed it for depression, not social anxiety disorder. My patients swore by it, and never mentioned any adverse side effects.

[Xithras]

5. Why "not so much anymore"?

I wasn't there and have no idea why he picked that particular drug, but your comment got me wondering. Is there a reason you don't prescribe it much anymore?

[Aristus]

16. The patient who benefited from it doesn't come around to the clinic much anymore.

Plus, we have a mental health provider here now who has taken up management of the relevant patients.

[Taverner]

34. Yes - isn't Zoloft supposed to be the one for SAD?

[Sedona]

6. Paxil has not been tested on teenagers

Within a week of being put on it my 16 year old daughter attempted suicide (unsuccessfully).

Antidepressants are very tricky with "immature" brains. That is a brain under 25 years old.

If I had to do it all over again, I would not spend that night in the ER praying my daughter would live.

Throw the Paxil down the toilet NOW and find another doctor.

After much psychotherapy my beautiful daughter is happily married and just celebrated her first wedding anniversary in Maui no thanks to pill pushing doctors.

I hope it all turns our as well for your girl.

[Xithras]

7. Oh shit!

Well THAT wasn't what I wanted to hear. I'm glad your daughter is OK, and glad my daughter will be home the next couple of weeks so I can keep an eye on her.

Did you have any warning signs before the suicide attempt? Anything you might suggest that I look out for?

[Sedona]

10. Throw that shit away NOW!

The FDA has warned against Paxil use in teens and young adults

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-204_162-1616056.html

http://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/drug-injury-press-releases/knipe_garrison_suicide_suit.php

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/06/12/glaxo-testing-paxil-on-7yearolds-despite-suicide-risks.aspx

http://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/baum-hedlund-press-releases/paxil_suicide_class_action.php

Your doctor is a complete idiot!

Watch for self medicating behavior. Don't leave her alone until the effects of any Paxil has worn off.

[Xithras]

12. Woah.

I'll bring it up, but it's not my call. I haven't spoken directly with her yet, but she's apparently pretty happy about the possibility of "being normal" (my wife said she came out smiling, which is something we haven't seen in a while). I'll definitely have to bring that up before she starts it, but I can't exactly stop her from taking it.

FWIW, her doctor is not my doctor. Neither my doctor or my wifes was taking new patients when my daughter turned 18, and her ped wouldn't see adults, so I don't really know the doctor she's seeing all that well. In fact, this is only the third time she's ever seen him. He came highly recommended by her ped though, and the ped had been her doctor since she was born. I'd hate to think that she got a bad referral, but I'm a bit puzzled that he'd write her that prescription after the FDA recommended against it.

Maybe she does need a new doctor. Or at least a different prescription.

[Odin2005]

23. So my (then) pediatrician was a complete idiot???

Dr. Ron Miller is the most highly respected expert on ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders in kids in the Fargo area. He put me on Paxil when I was 15, soon after I was Dx'd with Asperger's. No more panic attacks, no more social phobia.

[Odin2005]

20. IMO it depends on if they are being taken for depression or anxiety.

With depression there is always a risk because as the drug kicks in it can raise the person's mood just enough to give them the energy to go through with killing themselves. That risk doesn't exist with anxiety.

[Neoma]

9. No, but I was prescribed it by a plain medical doctor, not a psychiatrist.

Thought I looked depressed, I didn't take it. I was just miserable because I hadn't told my (then) best friend that I love him. We're married now.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. Psychotherapy helps, but that is more longterm and your daughter needs help now in terms of speaking

with professors and so forth.

I would suggest that if you do have her start the meds it's best while she is home so you can see how she reacts. For myself when I take meds that are not a good match for my bipolar condition, my moods swing all over the place and I have major pity parties with some suicidal ideation. I don't always talk about the suicidal thoughts with people, so they have to go by the mood swings and anything else that seems off. I am getting better, though, at recognizing when it's the meds that's screwing with me and telling the doc to take me off them already.

Good luck to your daughter and family. I wish I had better advice, but I have not conquered my own social phobias, and I have a son who is following in my footsteps.

[Tom Ripley]

13. About 15 years ago, I was prescribed Paxil for insomnia...

it did not help the insomnia, but I did develop priapism.
Priapism is a condition which sounds like it would be very enjoyable, but it is not.
Since my insomnia was not cured, and I was not looking for stunt work in adult movies, I quit taking Paxil within a couple of weeks.

[Xithras]

17. Lol. Well...

I don't think my daughter has to worry about that particular problem.

[Odin2005]

21. YIKES! That is weird, SSRIs tend to cause the opposite, erectile dysfunction.

Some doctors use very low doses of SSRIs to treat men with premature ejaculation.

[Sedona]

14. FWIW

you might want to post this in the mental heath forum on DU.

I wish your family well.

[blogslut]

15. The important part is that she takes medication in concert with attending regular couseling sessions

Medication alone is not good. Counseling is imperative. However, even when a person has medication and counseling, there will/may be problems - problems with the medication, problems with the counselor...

This kind of stuff requires care, time and dedication.

[Xithras]

18. Hmm, her university is far, far away.

I only have her for a couple more weeks until she has to leave again. Maybe I should take a look at the uni website and see if there's anyone there that can help us out.

[blogslut]

22. There should be

Most universities offer some sort of mental health services.

[LuckyLib]

27. All colleges and universities have student health facilities that include many levels of

counselling. It is part of the health insurance package that students are required to have, and in most cases students can meet with a professional who can direct them to the kind of counselling that would be most beneficial. College is a huge change for some students -- the fear that everyone has it together but them, everyone knows where they are going (and how) in the academic world, everyone else is happy and having fun. Fear of the unknown, academic pressures, etc. can be overwhelming. Sometimes it takes sessions with a psychiatrist (who can prescribe medication) as well as a therapist who can offer suggestions for engaging in a positive student life, time management, or other social/emotional needs. Start first with the health center -- folks there can direct your daughter to the right people. As for medication, with these kinds of drugs, it often takes 2-4 weeks before the full effects begin to take hold. Having someone at her college who is meeting with her can assure you that she's making progress.
College is a wonderful, exciting, and great experience . . . she'll get through this with your family TLC and a bit of help from the folks who have seen it before.

[hopemountain]

19. good advice, blogslut

1. when my hubby was on paxil he became a very friendly puppy. he was also more motivated and positive about himself. but, he was an adult male.
2. really urge you to talk to your daughter and encourage her to see a qualified mental health professional therapist who is up to date with not only medications, but modalities of therapy that your daughter would be willing to work with.
3. best of luck.

[MH1]

24. I had similar issues but not so profound

and more episodic than continual. The doctor called it "situational anxiety" which might be different than your daughter, but the symptoms were similar. (I was really bad when I was much younger - her age - but I "self-treated" with, er, substances she is better off not using, including alcohol.)

I was briefly on Paxil - for depression - but even at a low dose it made me want to sleep all the time. I was so fatigued I wasn't getting shit done and that made me more depressed. I tapered off the dosage and quit taking it. (This is IMPORTANT - never stop taking an SSRI suddenly. Always consult with your (her) doctor. They will tell you to carefully taper off the dosage.) After I stopped taking it completely I had so much more energy, I was a lot less depressed, LOL.

Meanwhile, for situational anxiety, my doc prescribed propranolol. (brand name Inderal, I think). That has worked VERY well for me and now I hardly ever need to take it. You might want to ask your doctor about it. My understanding is that propranolol is a relatively benign and effective pharmaceutical (and Paxil is not).

[WhoIsNumberNone]

25. I was on Paxil for a little over a year. It made me worse.

When I told them so, they tried to get me to increase the dosage. this was about 5 or 6 years before Paxil was linked to increased suicide risk in teenagers. Plus it really put a damper on the old libido. Just me, but I wouldn't go on that crap again for a million bucks.

I sure hope it doesn't turn her into a wild partier, because it's also supposed to be a really bad mix with alcohol.

[JCMach1]

26. had a major reaction to this medicine

Flu like symptoms hit me and did not subside unti y. About 3.5weeks.the medicine was far worse than the depression.

[bluedave]

28. tried it

did nothing --well -maybe caused me to act odder than I already was

[LWolf]

29. I took it for 6 months

about 12 years ago, when a catastrophic family event left me severely depressed, unable to sleep, and struggling to function.

It didn't make the problem go away, it didn't make me feel any better, it just helped me to function through it. I stopped taking it when I came out the other side.

[rusty fender]

30. I've been taking it for about 12-15 years now

I can't say exactly when I started it, but I do know it was sometime after my Mother's death and the other antidepressant I was taking had become ineffective. I was about 38 then, and I haven't had any bad side effects, other than when I've tried to stop taking it. Cold turkey cessation made me feel sick. It is one of those drugs that you have to wean yourself off over a period of a few weeks.

The reason I wanted to stop taking it was that it had gotten very expensive and I was hurting moneywise, but once the generic came on the market, $10 for 90 pills, I haven't had to worry about the cost.

[a la izquierda]

31. I've taken Paxil...

but that's not why I wanted to write. I'm a professor. Tell your daughter if she is fearful/embarrassed about talking to her profs, emails will go a long way. Our job is to help our students in whatever ways we can.

[TrogL]

32. I didn't do well on it. Watch for teeth grinding, clenching.

Also tarkive dyskenisia.

[hedgehog]

33. it seems to me that any anti-depressant can sort of work for some people, be

a real pain for others, and be a life saver for many. All of them need to be taken with care. In general, they return a person to "normal". So if your daughter is normally shy, she might still be shy but be able to engage with strangers as needed instead of being frozen.

Everything I've read indicates that pills plus talking is better than either pills or talking alone.

[Nikia]

35. It wasn't good for me

I had bad anxiety to the point that my psychiatrist said that most of his patients at that level were declared "disabled". Paxil made me feel drugged. Then I felt more functional, but did not really feel emotion anymore. That bothered me so I quit taking it.
What helped me was group cognitive therapy. It was once a week for 2 hours per time for I think 8 weeks. There were about 10 people in the group with only one dropping out after the first session. We learned how to deal with incorrect thinking problems, deep breathing, and other relaxation techniques. We had homework that included analyzing anxiety producing episodes during the week and had to share one with the class during our time there. It focused on solving our problem, living with severe anxiety rather than the type of talk therapy that rehashes childhood trauma and goes on for years. It also enables you to realize that you aren't alone.