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Chiquititita
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Unhappy Aug 16, 2019 at 02:48 PM
  #1
Hi, I was on Paroxetine for 17 years for PTSD and GAD. Of those 17 years, the last 10 years I was on 40mg a day. This past June (2019) I had a trigger and the Paroxetine didn't work. My internist cross-tappered me to Zoloft starting with 50mg and cutting the Paroxetine from 40mg to 20mg the first week. Then the 2 week to 15mg of Paroxetine (while still on 50mg Zoloft). I was feeling horrible (anxiety, depersonalization, depression) and she increased the Zoloft to 75mg. The third week then was 10mg Paroxetine and 75mg Zoloft. I begged her to increase the Zoloft and she increased it to 100mg. Fourth week then the Paroxetine was 5mg and, after that last week, stop. At about the 5th day after stopping the Paroxetine it was way worse than before, my internist sent me to the hospital and I was Baker-Acted. The psychiatrist at the hospital increased the Zoloft dose from 100mg to 150mg, and put me back on Paroxetine 10mg so that I can be tapered off slower. It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since the Paroxetine was started again and I'm still on Zoloft 150mg. I was given Buspar 10mg 2x a day and .50 mg Klonopin (to take as needed). I was also given Klonopin by my internist when she started to cross-taper me. It's been a total of 8 weeks and 2 days since I started the Zoloft (50mg, 75mg, 100mg and finally 150mg in those 8 weeks) and 2 weeks since the psychiatrist put me back on the 10mg of Paroxetine. I still feel the same, this is horrible! I can't even make a phone call or go outside my house. Please help me. The only thing that went away was the depersonalization, all the rest is still ongoing. I spend my days with nausea, shaking, crying uncontrollably, unable to eat as well. 1) Could this mean that the Zoloft isn't working? 2) Are these still the effects of the Paroxetine withdrawal and the re-introduction of the Paroxetine still hasn't kicked in? 3) Could this be due to the 100mg to 150mg Zoloft dose increase?

Thank you!
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Smile Aug 17, 2019 at 12:49 PM
  #2
Hello Chiquititita: I'm sorry I'm not able to respond to your questions. (Perhaps there will be other members who will have some insights they can share.) From my perspective, I think these are concerns that are going to have to be addressed with your prescriber. However, I noticed this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to Psych Central. I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

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Default Aug 19, 2019 at 10:13 PM
  #3
Thank you so much! 💖
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Default Aug 20, 2019 at 05:34 AM
  #4
Welcome to PC
I feel for you. While medications are being adjusted things can be really uncomfortable. Doctors have said that medications can take 6 weeks until they are at the most effective level. Are you taking the Klonolpin when you need it? If you need it you take it. While things are in a state of flux it would be really hard to know what medication is doing what.

When is your next appointment with the doctor? If it isn't soon can you call the rooms and get a message to them that you are struggling and can you get a cancellation?
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Default Aug 22, 2019 at 06:17 AM
  #5
@Chiquititita:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chiquititita View Post
Hi, I was on Paroxetine for 17 years for PTSD and GAD. Of those 17 years, the last 10 years I was on 40mg a day. This past June (2019) I had a trigger and the Paroxetine didn't work. My internist cross-tappered me to Zoloft starting with 50mg and cutting the Paroxetine from 40mg to 20mg the first week. Then the 2 week to 15mg of Paroxetine (while still on 50mg Zoloft). I was feeling horrible (anxiety, depersonalization, depression) and she increased the Zoloft to 75mg. The third week then was 10mg Paroxetine and 75mg Zoloft. I begged her to increase the Zoloft and she increased it to 100mg. Fourth week then the Paroxetine was 5mg and, after that last week, stop. At about the 5th day after stopping the Paroxetine it was way worse than before, my internist sent me to the hospital and I was Baker-Acted. The psychiatrist at the hospital increased the Zoloft dose from 100mg to 150mg, and put me back on Paroxetine 10mg so that I can be tapered off slower. It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since the Paroxetine was started again and I'm still on Zoloft 150mg. I was given Buspar 10mg 2x a day and .50 mg Klonopin (to take as needed). I was also given Klonopin by my internist when she started to cross-taper me. It's been a total of 8 weeks and 2 days since I started the Zoloft (50mg, 75mg, 100mg and finally 150mg in those 8 weeks) and 2 weeks since the psychiatrist put me back on the 10mg of Paroxetine. I still feel the same, this is horrible! I can't even make a phone call or go outside my house. Please help me. The only thing that went away was the depersonalization, all the rest is still ongoing. I spend my days with nausea, shaking, crying uncontrollably, unable to eat as well. 1) Could this mean that the Zoloft isn't working? 2) Are these still the effects of the Paroxetine withdrawal and the re-introduction of the Paroxetine still hasn't kicked in? 3) Could this be due to the 100mg to 150mg Zoloft dose increase?

Thank you!
I am not a doctor or a pharmacist but I must admit I am surprised at the fact you are/were on both parozetine and zoloft. They are both SSRI's and generally the two together runs the risk of too much serotonin and possible serontonin syndrome. Is there any reason you are not on a mood stabilizer or atypical antipsychotic? Do you have any other issues besides GAD and PTSD?

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Default Aug 22, 2019 at 07:00 PM
  #6
I would (with my knowledge of psych drugs that is not to be compared to that of a psychiatric professional) say that 2) would be most likely. Are there other ways you could have handled the trigger you had? Or another medicine you could have tried in addition to the paroxetine to help handle that situation, whatever it was? I think you may be experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the paroxetine. And in my experience, it's been the case that reinstating the dose I was on ends the withdrawal symptoms. So perhaps you just need to reinstate the 40 mg paroxetine and potentially lower the Zoloft. Or maybe you need to augment the paroxetine with some other type of medication, like an atypical antipsychotic like Abilify. Hopefully this is helpful and I hope you feel better soon.
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Default Aug 22, 2019 at 09:12 PM
  #7
hi. sometimes adding something to a psych medication that isn't work as well as it once did is -a lot- easier than switching over. buspar can help boost antidepressants. i think that's a good idea, personally. as needed klonopin is probably a good idea, too. switching to zoloft...??? i dunno. seems like its not working out too well.

there's also neurontin (gabapentin), which is non-addictive and can be added if the doctor is OK with it. there's a stronger drug in the same class, lyrica, that might be a good option for some people, but it carries a risk of dependence.
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Default Aug 27, 2019 at 06:27 PM
  #8
*UPDATE:
I'm FINALLY seeing an improvement. I think I just had many of the side effects from the Zoloft. I looked up all the side effects and I got about 70-80% of them. As of today (Aug. 27, 2019) I haven't needed the Vistaril in 4 days which is a major improvement. It looks like the side effects are subsiding. I have been keeping a very detailed daily journal so I can read back an see if anything changes. Sometimes the change is so subtle that it's hard to recognize, the journal has helped me greatly! One thing I noticed and I want to share it for everyone's benefit... When I eat bread, rice, or pasta my anxiety was through the roof within about 5 hours. I'm not gluten intolerant, therefore I hadn't made the connection earlier. The same happened when I ate sweets. I'm now eating protein and fruits and I have to say that I see the difference not only in my anxiety levels but also in the shakiness that I had every day.

I guess the bottom line is that we have to give the medicine time, try to figure out patterns (journal) to see if we're experiencing side effects, and wait for the side effects to go away. I'm glad I waited.
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