Zoloft or Paxil?
#91495 - 07/19/04 10:44 AM
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Hi everyone. I'm at the end of my ropes and I decided I have to try medication. I have been trying to work through everything with a therapist and no meds, but my anxiety about sleeping is getting worse. That is my main problem - sleeping. I have panic attacks at least 4 times a week when I try to sleep, and I'm up for hours crying/feeling sick/shaking/etc.
I have Xanax, and I take it when it's really bad, but I don't want to be addicted. And it's not an anti-depressant which I think I need. Also, I am not on birth control, and although my husband and I decided to not TRY to get pregnant for awhile...it could happen, and I don't want to be taking anything that could be harmful.
So - my question is - if you felt you had to take something - would you take Zoloft or Paxil?
I'm worried about Paxil because I've heard people say that it's really hard to get off of...but I'm worried about Zoloft because one of the main side affects was, 'trouble sleeping'. And that's what I mainly need this for - sleeping, and depression.
Any advice from anyone that's tried either of these would be great. Thanks everyone.
~Cara
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~Cara~
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Cara
#91537 - 07/19/04 12:53 PM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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Oh Cara, I'm glad you are taking a step to help yourself relax and get some sleep. Panicking about not sleeping only makes the insomnia worse---it is a big cycle that I am all too familiar with. The same thing happened to me about 5 years ago. Every afternoon about 4:30-5 I would start worrying that I wouldn't sleep when I went to bed, and of course, I worked myself up into such a frenzy, that that's exactly what happened--I couldn't sleep!!! My psychiatrist explained to me that my mind was playing tricks on me---that I had set myself up to be afraid of not sleeping and that was causing panic, just as if I would automatically panic if I saw a bear in the woods. He said I had to break the cycle! He put me on Zoloft for the panic attacks, but I did have to take Xanax on a temporarily basis until the AD kicked in, and then he weaned me off of the Xanax.
Also, he told me insomnia can be a indicator of depression (which I had.) So if this is the case with you, the AD may improve your sleep.
When I took the Zoloft, I would go to sleep at night, but sometimes I would wake up several times in the middle of the night. I'd always go back to sleep, but it was frustrating. (And I had very vivid dreams.)
But meds like Zoloft and Paxil affect everyone differently. Some people experience insomnia, but others get great sleep!!! It's worth it to try one, isn't it? You certainly aren't sleeping now---and you can't continue like this. Your body requires rest.
As for the Paxil, I've never taken it. A friend of mine who took it said it made her so sleepy. I had no problem discontinuing the Zoloft (and I was on a high dose), but I have known people who've struggled with getting off Paxil so that's something to consider.
Also, I don't know if you're IBS-C or D, but I will tell you that when I first started taking the Zoloft, it gave me diarrhea. This was only for the first several days, and then it disappeared, so don't panic if you try it and it gives you D. This is temporary as your body adjusts to having it in your system.
And to confuse you even more, my doctor told me that if you take Xanax for awhile on a constistent basis (like every night) and then stop it suddenly, you can cause rebound anxiety which is worse than the anxiety you had to begin with. So Xanax can make your insomnia worse if not used correctly. I think taking an antidepressant would be better than taking Xanax on a long term basis, but if you have to take Xanax (or something else) in conjunction with the AD until it kicks in, then so be it. You have to break this cycle of insomnia.
Hopefully, I haven't given you too much info. Please talk to your doctor or therapist about this. I'm sure they can figure out what's best in your situation. (Ask them about Klonopin, which is similar to Xanax, but longer acting and not as addictive.)
Good luck and let me know what you decide!
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Hey Cara,
Well, I definitely thing you should consult with your doc. about it. You don't necessarily have to take either of those, in fact. I am on celexa/citalopram and it doesnt give me any troubles with sleep. I know Linz is on that too and it works well for her. I definitely agree though that mediciation could really help you right now to get through this rough patch. 
~*Caryn*~
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Hey Cara, I was just cruising the board and saw this. I also have anxiety and depression problems and very rarely get a good nights sleep. I have been on Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin and Lexapro (not at the same time, of course!!  ) Knowing that you want to get pregnant someitme in the near future, I would recommend the Zoloft. I am currently on Wellbutrin but will be switching soon. I have done a TON of research on taking anti-depressants and being pregnant. Zoloft seems to be the safest and is not excreted in the breast milk like Wellburtin.
All of these drugs make me jittery and "funny" for the first couple of days until my system adjusts. I haven't found that my lack of sleeping gets better or worse with any of these drugs. The exception to that is the first few days of taking it, I am usually too "wired" to sleep but that goes away after a few days. As you know, I have had a hard time lately with the miscarriage so I have been taking a Wellburtin in the AM and a Xanax in the pm to help me sleep. You should NOT take Xanax when you are pregnant, it can cause the fetus to grow at a slower rate. As long as you are not abusing the Xanax, you shouldn't have to worry about becoming addicted. I am on the .25mg and have taken them up to 3 times a day for a couple of days when I feel panic attacks or bad IBS attacks coming on.
With all of these drugs there will be some "withdrawal" to deal with, the Lexapro was the worst for that. You will need to taper off them, do NOT just stop cold turkey!! I tried to go without anti-depressants when I was trying to get pregnant and just could not do it. It was the worst 3 months of my life. ALL of my drs said it was fine for me to take the Wellbutrin during pregnancy, as I mentioned though, I will switch to Zoloft so I can breast feed.
So, through all the rambling  I suggest the Zoloft! Email me if you have any questions about that!!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Are you still there? I hope I didn't cause you to have even more panic.
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No, you didn't cause me more anxiety! But that sounds JUST like me - I start worrying about 'will I sleep tonight' around dinner time...I worry so much all night that OF COURSE I don't sleep. My mind is SOOO hard to get not to think about things. My mind has a mind of it's own, and it's more persistant that me. 
I wanted to check this all night to see what everyone thought, and then we got some free sod for our yard from our neighbors and I spent the whole night doing that by myself since my husband is working nights this week! I am so dirty.
Anyways....Michele, if you're reading this - that makes me feel a LOT better about the pregnancy thing. If I can take it, I would be much less worried.
So if I'm understanding this right...I think I'll go for Zoloft, and I might have D for a few days and feel weird...which I pretty much have D everyday, so what's the difference. I'm still worried about the sleep thing though.
Beaglelover - so you're saying it'd be ok to be taking Zoloft, and to take a Xanax on bad nights at the same time?
I just really need to sleep. I am so scared of the night time. I hate it. My therapist says I have a 'phobia of insomnia' which is interesting because it's making me an insomniac.
Anyways, I need a shower...I'm going to read over these again in the morning. Thank you so much for all your responses!!
Michele - I promise I will email soon! I have been so busy!
~Cara
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~Cara~
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Hey Cara,
Thought I'd give you some info from my perspective, I hope I'm not too late
I was on Paxil for about a year and a half. I found it did wonders for my anxiety, from what I've read, it is one of the better ones for dealing with "anxiety" vs. "depression" I too have an issue with sleep, it's horrible with me, it's gotten to the point where I work night shifts because I can't get to bed until usually 4:00am, and so that way I can sleep till noon and still have a productive workday. I did sleep better when I was on the Paxil, but I still sometimes needed an anti-anxiety med (i.e. Xanax) for the really bad days.
From what I've been told, you can take both, you just don't want to overdo it. And I can't help you on the pregnancy thing, but it looked like Michele gave you some good info on that
Now, although I did have good luck with the Paxil, I did experience some pretty unpleasant side effects. I gained about 40lbs on it, despite careful diet and excercise. I also completely lost my sex drive, and I mean completely. It's not the same for everyone obviously, but something to keep in mind.
To be honest, I probably felt the best i've felt in years when I was on the Paxil, but the added weight was too unhealthy for me to stay on it. And I must say, I totally agree that it's one of the hardest to get off of. I had severe withdrawal and am actually still trying to wean off it (I'm down to 5mg from 60mg). So that is something to consider.
I would probably try some of the other ones first, but if they're not working, Paxil is a good drug. Not to get too personal, but you look pretty tiny in your pic, so a bit of weight gain probably wouldn't be a huge concern for you. My problem was that I was right on the verge of being "overweight" so the extra gain put me into an "unhealthy" range.
Ok, I've been rambling but basically it comes down to what's best for you. Because the withdrawal from Paxil is so hard, I would probably recommend starting with something else. But, if the other stuff doesn't work, I wouldn't hesistate to give it a try, if it works as well for you as it did for me you may be glad you did
Kelly
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Yes, Cara
#91658 - 07/19/04 08:07 PM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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I took the Xanax at night (and a tiny bit during the day) during the first several months I was on the Zoloft. The doctor prescribed it to help with my panic attacks (and insomnia) until I felt the full effects of the Zoloft. As the Zoloft "kicked in," I gradually decreased the Xanax and was able to stop it completely.
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I appreciate it! I will definately consider it.
As far as being tiny - I am FAR from tiny. I'm a giant - lol. I'm 5'11", 150. I don't need extra weight... but if Zoloft doesn't work well with me, I will consider it. My husband would probably love it if I gained weight because then he could eat pizza everyday to keep up.
Thanks for the info!!
~Cara
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~Cara~
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I took Paxil throughout my second pregnancy. I researched it VERY thoroughly. (I even had my PhD brother research it at the University ). From what I understand, ssri antidepressants are VERY safe during pregnancy. I can't remember the difference between the Paxil and the Zoloft. Paxil is also #2 on the safest list for breastfeeding (it's the next step but something to consider). PAxil can be hard to come off of but if you have a good Doc, and do it slowly, you should be fine.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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Hi Cara,
As you know, we are all different. But I wanted to share my experience in hopes that it could help you in some way. I was diagnosed with what they call major depression 4 years ago. Paxil was the first thing they put me on and I woke up and couldn't see my own reflection in the morning. That is a RARE side effect..blurred vision. Zoloft is what saved my life! And another drug called trazadone for night. Trazadone is a very mild anti-depressant, so mild, that it can't treat depression/anxiety alone. I have another friend that is like you...lots of anxiety attacks. He started zoloft and no more anxiety!! He said he would be happy to do a commercial for them for free he was so impressed..it saved his life! This guy was the most out going person I have ever met and the anxiety got so bad that he wouldn't even leave his home in fear of having an attack. Zoloft gave him his quality of life back. My little sis took paxil and it was super hard for her to get off of. Her marriage suffered, thankfully her husband really did love her. I quit zoloft after 4 years a few months ago and had no problems getting off of it AT ALL. If I were you, I would try zoloft! It is great for anxiety and depression. It makes most people sleepy, by the way, so most take it at night. I hope this helps you!! It is just like IBS, you have to try until you get it right!
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~Wookie 
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Cara,
My personal experiance with paxil is that it is NOT very good stuff!!! My husband was on it for a long, long time. He had the harders time getting off of that stuff. So did my two sisters!
Almost everyone I talk to about paxil hates it. It is very addictive, or should I say you have MANY side effects trying to get off. They say " paxil is non addictive"!!! I don't believe that for a minute!!!! It was a nightmare for my husband and sisters to get off that stuff.
I would go with the Zoloft over Paxil for sure!!!
Hope that helps! Take care, and good luck with your sleeping issues. That must be pretty hard. Can you fall asleep during the day? How much sleep do you get?
Ok, I better run!
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Thank you so much. I am definately going to try Zoloft. If for some reason it doesn't work with me, I'll look into something else. There's been good things said about paxil, but then there's been REALLY bad things said, so I don't like it. The main thing to me is getting off the drug - so it sounds like Zoloft is smarter.
Thank you!!
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~Cara~
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Thanks Steph. I'm going to try Zoloft. A lot of people have said that about paxil - that it's hard to quit taking it. I have an addictive personality, so that scares me.
I couldn't fall asleep during the day - I've never been able to take naps or anything. Seems like I'm always busy anyways.
Some nights I can finally fall asleep for a few hours. Some nights I swear I sleep for like 10 minutes total. Last night my husband had to work overnight, and I was all worried about the sod I had just put down in our yard...I took small doses of Xanax all night, it was awful.
I hope Zoloft helps me with anxiety at night.
Thanks for your response!!
~Cara
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~Cara~
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I am just so relieved that there IS something I can take while I'm pregnant. I kept thinking - isn't it worse to be pregnant and have an anxiety attack? What's worse on the baby - an attack? Or medicine? I don't know....so I'm really glad there's something safe I can take. I would rather take nothing, of course, but you gotta do what you gotta do for yourself, right?
I am a little scared of paxil now from what others have said - but I have heard good stories about it too. I also have a friend who's on it for life basically, so she's not worried about getting off of it...but I don't want to be on something forever if I don't have to be.
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~Cara~
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I'm on amitriptyline. I started at 10mg and now I am at 20mg. I don't know about its effects on depression but I can tell you, from a very anxious insomniac, that it has helped me tremendously at night. I generally take it at 7pm and aim to be in bed b/w 10-10:30pm. It has a very soothing calming effect. It makes me slightly drowsy, I get in bed and listen to my hypno tape and I am out. I used to get very anxious around bedtime and would sit up at night crying cuz I couldn't sleep..no more.
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