Talk to me about Seroxat

[WilloughbyWallaby]

I've just been put on it by my GP for mild PND/anxiety and, although I've suffered from depression before, I've never been on meds.

She reckons it's a short term solution to a short term problem, but I know so little about ads, can you tell me how you've found them - have they helped, not helped, caused withdrawal symptoms etc? I know you shouldn't google meds but I did and all sorts of worrying things came up!

Thanks x

I've just been prescribed citalopram for the same reasons so I'm interested in what happens in this thread.

Seroxat was in the news a few years back if I remember rightly, does anyone know why? I know a friend was on it as a teen and found it slightly addictive - but perhaps they all have this issue?

Sorry I can't help more than this.

No, that's ok, glad someone else might find this useful too.

I think some are more 'addictive' than others, but maybe someone will come along who knows what they're talking about.

I wonder why you're prescribed one thing and me another, do you think it's GP preference?

I wouldn't take seroxat if you paid me!

it has been linked with a lot of nasty things, which have been proven. there is/was a big lawsuit pending on GSK because they KNEW the risks of the drug but covered them up in order to get it out on sale.

Side effects include hallucinations and suicidal tendencies. Quite a few people on it killed themselves which prompted suspicions... honestly, i wouldn't take it if i were you

sorry, that's not really that helpful is it.

i just think that there are so many other AD's out there that aren't as dodgy as seroxat that it seems crazy that GP's are still prescribing it.

personally i would go back to the GP and say that you've read up on it, aren't happy and that you would prefer to be given something else

Thanks thisisyesterday, my quick googling brought up some info of that ilk and I wondered if it was scaremongering or serious.

Back to the GP, I think.

I was prescribed seroxat and it gave me acute anxiety and paranoia. I also hallucinated.

However it worked really well for a friend of mine.

I just got my prescription changed, despite the doctor denying that it could cause those side effects. It was before it got into the news.

I don't think it's helpful to tell someone not to take their prescribed meds without knowing the full story, TIY. You're right about there being a lawsuit but you don't know that the premise for that case is relevant to the OP.

AFAIK there was a spate of suicides, but they were patients who were suffering mental health issues so it's very hard to prove that the Seroxat was the main catalyst.

That aside, I have been taking Seroxat for five months after talking extensively with my GP about the best way to treat my PND. I believe that Seroxat has the shortest half-life and is therefore the preferred choice if you're BFing. I had a couple of days of feeling a bit spangled, and a month of wondering if it was going to do anything at all, but I now feel like 'me' again. No great change, just a gradual shift away from the doubts, the black clouds and the sense of futility that I'd been experiencing. It's important to mention that I've had counseling alongside this and both treatments in tandem have been very successful in my case. I expect to start a managed withdrawal from Seroxat in the next couple of months.

Get as much help and advice from your GP and other local support services as possible, and I hope that you feel better very soon, whatever your decision.

I took it for 6 months for PND. It worked in so much that I stopped being depressed but I didn't feel great for the entire 6m. Like I was covered in cling film - I didn't experience the world first hand. And coming off it was awful - admittedly i did it myself cold turkey

Am on citalopram atm and it's better.

Yes agree with flan about the half-life - I was also bfing at the time.

x-posted, TIY

Willoughby, I'm not sure what the decision making process is behind prescribing the different AD medications.

Citalopram is also prescribed for depression with anxiety, similar reasons you've been prescribed seroxat. I should think you could ask the GP directly why you have been prescribed this one, I did and I got the answer to do with depression with anxiety.

I believe that many SSRI medications come with an increased risk of suicide in the first few weeks of taking them - I might be wrong, someone else might know more.

The important thing is that you've been prescribed this and there is no reason not to believe this is right for you but if you are not sure then go back to the GP.

As the others have said, seroxat is very similar to other SSRIs like citalopram or Fluoxetine (prozac). Different GPs have different preferences, Seroxat (Paroxetine) is indicated as an AD that is good for anxiety so this may be why your GP chose this for you. It is relatively better than others if you are breastfeeding, but not so good during pregnancy, if you go on to have another baby.

ADs can be very useful to launch you out of a depressed state, to help you cope with your baby and to get the maximum benefit from any counselling that you receive. Some people stay on them for a long, time, others only use them for a short time.

I have found that they have helped, now that we have found one that works for me and it has taken a while. It takes a few weeks for the full effect to be felt, so hang in there,. Withdrawal should not be too bad, if you do it slowly over a period of time, and under the guidance of your GP.

I took Seroxat over 10 years ago and became very familiar with the team in A&E . For me it was lethal and I went from a little depressed to seriously out of control.

Stopped it after 4 months of carnage and luckily I managed to muddle through. I didn't get any withdrawal symptoms somehow.

I think it must work for some people but there are big question marks over it.

Thanks for all the messages, lots to think about and I'm going back next week anyway so she can see how I'm doing. I guess if she's monitoring me closely the best thing to do is just see how it goes...

Blackmilk, good luck with citalopram

Seroxat gave me very bad nightmares- night terrors really but they helped me coped during the day. I didn't find them too addictive and was able to come off them ok. Although I did have a panic attack around the same time.
I have been on citalopram recently with out any bad effects and stopped them without any effects at all

seroxat is evil. dont take it , seriously dont. i went from mildly odc/depressed to suicidal within weeks of taking it. the stuff should be banned imo.

Seroxat, for me, was a bit of a wonder drug. I was prescribed it about 10 years ago when I was at University and depressed/anxious (suffering from panic attacks) following the death of a friend. I really do feel that it benefitted me and helped me to get "back on track".

The word of warning, however, is coming off it. I tried 5 years ago, undertaking a slow withdrawal process (taking the drug in liquid form) over a number of months with help from my GP. I managed to get off and stay off Seroxat for about 6-8 weeks. The withdrawal was the most difficult thing I've ever done and after being Seroxat-free I began to suffer from acute insomnia (apparently this is a very common withdrawal symptom). I only managed a couple of months off the medicine, and sometimes going 4 to 5 days without any sleep at all, before being put back on the full dose of 20mg again and being told by another GP that it would be okay to take it "for life".

Nearly 10 years on from originally being prescribed seroxat, I decided to wean myself off it again, this time cos I wanted to get pregnant. I have been doing this for coming up to a year now, and have been seroxat free for nearly 3 weeks. I am taking each day as it comes, but it's been really hard and sometimes I feel really angry for having been prescribed this when I was only a teenager and trusted what my GP said. The World Health Organisation has since reported Seroxat to be one of the most difficult drugs to withdraw from and you will find loads of horror stories on the web!

My baby is due in 4 weeks time, so hopefully by the time he or she arrives, the drug will be well and truly out of my system and there will be no chance of neo-natal withdrawal.

Whilst I wouldn't say "don't take this drug", I would do your research and go into it with your eyes open.

I hope this helps.

Seroxat made me feel much much worse.
The only good thing was when I came off it I felt so much better.

my experience of seroxat was pretty positive, in that it worked, and had no trouble coming off it, cutting down gradually. on the negative side, if I didn't take it at virtually the same time each day I would get mild withdrawal symptoms - slight dizzy/headiness.

I'm no medical professional, but given the short half life/withdrawal issue am a bit at the suggestion of it being suitable for the short term.....I suppose there are 2 main courses of action 1)speak to GP, and ask why seroxat when there are other similar ADs without the bad reputation/withdrawal issues or 2)start them, but keep a very careful eye on yourself as it were.

I went from annorexic to suicidal, serious self harm and hallucinations with this drug. Please dont take it

I was prescribed seroxat, as was breastfeeding. I was advised that it would make me feel a little "odd, ill and spaced out" for the first 2 weeks, which it did, but was expecting it. I felt great once it kicked in.

I asked my gp how to come off it, and he told me to reduce the dosage over a period of a month. Well, I was shocked at how vile I felt. Honestly, I thought I was going to die. I have been off it for 3 weeks now and I still don't feel quite right. I have been meaning to go back to my gp to explain how this drug made me feel. I am so pleased to be off it now. I truly think the gp's should do a bit more research into this drug before prescribing it.