DD prescribed Paxil for extreme anxiety and lack of energy: worried

[MareofBeasttown]

My DD, 20, has been prescribed a low dose Paxil for anxiety and depression. She is in another country but has good private medical care. She was earlier put on escalitopram but it did not work for her. Got to the point where she could not get out of bed and slept all day.
As I understand, Paxil also has a sedative effect and is also one of the older anti-depressants. I can't think why the doctor would not put her on Sertraline, which I hear gives more energy. Is it worthwhile trying Paxil for a couple of weeks anyway?

Paxil is Paroxetine, btw. I looked it up on this forum and was terrified by everyone's negative experiences.

Paroxetine is THE one for anxiety,

Anxiety sufferers do best with sedating anti depressants. Paroxetine is one of these.

Sertraline is activating.

Thanks @ArseInTheCoOpWindow. On Escalitopram DD slept all day so I was worried about more sedating anti depressants. Dh was depressed some years ago. Sertraline worked well for him but the doctor did not seem to think that relevant. Also worried that Paxil may increase suicidal ideation in the under 25's?

I won't go into why she is in another country as it may be outing. I know it is not ideal. But she is with a family member.

I am just so worried.

Bump: anyone else have information about Paxil? I spoke to the doctor about my worries but he is keen on trying this out for a week or two at least.

God, no, you don't want Sertraline if you suffer anxiety. She'll be climbing the walls, plus it tends to cause more panic attacks.

As gently as possible, you need to butt out and let her doctor, with the actual medical degree, do the prescribing. Why are you even speaking with her doctor? She's 20 for Christ's sake, you don't actually get a say in what she takes and haven't since she turned 18.

My mum does this. I'm currently suffering a painful neurological condition in agony because my mum is worried about me 'being on more tablets' and 'doesn't want me on epilepsy tablets'

These meds would help me but I don't take them because it causes me 100 times more stress arguing with her armchair doctor logic.

I tried Paroxetine and yes it made me feel worse, so recognising this, I came off them. It is utterly pointless trying any antidepressant for a couple of weeks. It takes that long for the side effects to wear off and you don't see the benefits of them until about 8 weeks in. They take time. They aren't paracetamol.

I take an old antidepressant called Amitriptyline. On paper it's terrifying. In practice, I had a bit of a dry mouth for a few months and slept really well.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

God, no, you don't want Sertraline if you suffer anxiety. She'll be climbing the walls, plus it tends to cause more panic attacks.

As gently as possible, you need to butt out and let her doctor, with the actual medical degree, do the prescribing. Why are you even speaking with her doctor? She's 20 for Christ's sake, you don't actually get a say in what she takes and haven't since she turned 18.

My mum does this. I'm currently suffering a painful neurological condition in agony because my mum is worried about me 'being on more tablets' and 'doesn't want me on epilepsy tablets'

These meds would help me but I don't take them because it causes me 100 times more stress arguing with her armchair doctor logic.

I tried Paroxetine and yes it made me feel worse, so recognising this, I came off them. It is utterly pointless trying any antidepressant for a couple of weeks. It takes that long for the side effects to wear off and you don't see the benefits of them until about 8 weeks in. They take time. They aren't paracetamol.

I take an old antidepressant called Amitriptyline. On paper it's terrifying. In practice, I had a bit of a dry mouth for a few months and slept really well.

Thanks @nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut for your input. The reason I am so worried is that she is an another country, plus Paroxetine seems to be avoided in the UK because of withdrawal system. I usually let doctors get on with it, but we already tried Escalitopram and Amitryptyline too, which had no effect and quite a lot of side effects. All the hit and miss is affecting her and she has had to take a break from uni.

I would definitely say no Sertraline. Not for anxiety.

Give the Paroxetine a chance. She's aware of the side effects, if she finds that her suicidal thinking is getting worse, she can just stop. That's why I came off them. You do recognise it as being irrational, it doesn't mean you'll go off and do it.

@MareofBeasttown I just put a bit of an essay on the other paroxetine thread (I saw your name on there too and really felt for you - it’s worse when it’s happening to your kids is it it ) I had a really good experience with paroxetine, but as you’ve heard you so have to be really careful to slowly taper off the dose (over months) if you want to stop. I did it that way following gp’s advice and had no negative effects at all coming off it. I’ve had two courses of it over the last 12 years and I’d happily take it again (despite its reputation!) as it worked so well for ocd/anxiety.

I also didn’t find it very sedating. It was like being a tiny bit stoned but with more energy than being stoned, if that makes sense! Good luck to your dd

@BewareTheLibrarians Thank you so much for your posts here and the other thread.

Paroxetine is great but terrible to get off if you end up taking it long term. Also be away it can cause liver problems.

I'm going to go against the grain here, I've suffered from anxiety since childhood and now take Setraline. It's been a saving grace for me and I've never found it a sedative or the opposite, just a well balanced medication but everyone is different.

I took Sertraline for anxious depression and it worked well. Fluoxetine was ‘activating’ and I felt unbearably anxious until it kicked in after 5 weeks.

I take Sertraline for anxiety and depression. It's been very helpful for both.