# Paxil to Cipralex (Lexapro)



## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

Here's my story
18 years ago, i started with Prozac (20mg) for social anxiety and performance anxiety..At that point, i was newly married and very stressed about job interviews, meetings, etc. I started with Prozac (20mg) which worked pretty well as long as i took xanax for the big work presentations (life was good). When Paxil came out, my GP switched me over as he said it was newer and better. I made a straight switch to Paxil (20mg), no problems and i agreed it was better...i did start to gain a bit of weight (went from 195 to 215 lbs) but of course didn't really care...life was still good.
So after about 12 years on paxil, my wife starts to complain that i am not affectionate, too lethargic, etc and starts to mention that maybe we should not be together anymore (we have 3 kids by the way 11 to 16yrs old)
I decide to taper off paxil to try to make myself more of a husband...at first great...tapered to 10 mg then to 5mg...dropped back down 190 lbs, had lots more energy and a weird thing i noticed, my handwriting got better. 
Anyway, my wife than informs me that it is not about the paxil, she has changed blah blah blah. I propose marriage councilling, she is not interested... so we separate...less than 2 months later, she has a new boyfriend and is out socializing everynight...meanwhile i have tapered to 0 mg paxil and all hell breaks loose...extreme depression, extreme anxiety...
in retrospect, very bad time to come off Paxil.
i quickly start up the paxil at 10mg
I run to my Dr and he prescribes cipralex (lexapro) which i switched directly to..this wired me and made me feel worse so after 17 days, i went back to paxil. 5 weeks of 20mg paxil didn't do a thing for me...actually was shaking like a leaf all the time.
Now off to a pdoc...he says i should have cross tapered to cipralex so over a 5 week period, i have now switched to 10mg cipralex.

At this point, i have been at 10mg cipralex for 3 weeks.
I think my depression may be a bit better but i still feel wired and weak in my arms and legs, exteme sweating night and day, intense insomnia, and in the last week, jaw tension that makes it very hard to chew.

So...is this paxil withdrawal? start up on cipralex? just straight anxiety from my marriage situation? or as i suspect...all of it

Sorry about the long diatribe.

My question is a simple one, has anyone sucessfully switched from paxil to cipralex (lexapro) and did they deal with a combination of withdrawal and start-up side effects? and if it worked, how long did it take to kick in?


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I went the opposite way, from Cipralex to Paxil. Paxil was my saviour and Cipralex did nothing. All the side effects you are feeling I guess could be from the withdrawal/side effects of the meds.


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

I'm going to give Cipralex 8 weeks and if no improvement, I'll start weaning off and try something new...maybe remeron or welbutrin.
I've heard that some people just use klonopin long term...if it wasn't addictive and didn't lose it's tolerance, i would sure try that route. It sure works well when i take it.


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## alex999 (Oct 21, 2008)

Depersonalization is a common side effect of these drugs. But I am taking Lexapro and I don't experience this. I am more relaxed and have better control of my emotions. From what I hear Lexapro has a higher success rate than other SSRIs. But it may differ with everyone.


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## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

ottawan said:


> I'm going to give Cipralex 8 weeks and if no improvement, I'll start weaning off and try something new...maybe remeron or welbutrin.
> I've heard that some people just use klonopin long term...if it wasn't addictive and didn't lose it's tolerance, i would sure try that route. It sure works well when i take it.


If you partially respond to Cipralex 10mg you may wanna talk with your Pdoc about a dose increase to 20mg. Taking Klonopin as needed or short term (eg. when starting a new AD and initially feeling worse for 2-3 weeks) is ok IMHO.


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

I was thinking about increasing the dose but was not sure since 20mg paxil used to work and isn't 10mg cipralex roughly equivalent to 30mg paxil?


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## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

ottawan said:


> I was thinking about increasing the dose but was not sure since 20mg paxil used to work and isn't 10mg cipralex roughly equivalent to 30mg paxil?


That's right. It really depends: If you should tolerate the 10mg Cipralex good after some time, but just have a partial AD response it's wise to increase the dose IMHO.


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

I agree with you but still haven't determined whether my side effects are from cipralex start up or paxil withdrawal (or of course both)...I feel so crappy sometimes that i want to stop the cipralex but I have decided i better rough it out and give it a chance. If the side-effects do go away, i will be happy but will never definitively know what caused them.

For starting Prozac and Paxil, i had no side effects.

...and i have been taking 1mg klonopin on the bad days and it certainly alleviates the side effects


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## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

If it's Paxil withdrawal then Cipralex should at least alleviate that (and of course Klonopin helps). I hope you're feeling better soon.


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

Thanks Medline!


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## Jcq126 (Jan 11, 2010)

I have no advice as i've only taken Celexa in my life, I just wanted to say your ex-wife sounds like a *****. She tried to attack you and blame you and your anxiety/medication use as a way to get out of the marriage, how selfish. I hate to say it, but she clearly was cheating on you, or emotionally cheating on you if she went to a new guy right away like that.


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

Yes...i'm pretty sure she was having an emotional affair (having coffee and lunch with him at work everyday)...and i'm seeing a therapist in an attempt to get my self confidence back. Unfortunately i have to deal with her everyday as she has taken a great interest in my pension 
As a person with social anxiety, i dreamed of retiring by 60 and getting off or reducing the SSRI's...now my light at the end of the tunnel as gone out. My therapist is trying to turn it back on


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

OK...i'm coming up on 4 weeks at 10mg cipralex.
I woke up this morning and my sore jaw seems to be better but replaced by a very numb face (felt like i had just come from the dentist).
Also my tremors are really bad today and my heart is racing and i'm having muscle spasms in my legs

I took 1mg Klonopin and 20mg propanolol but that barely reduced the tremors...what the hell?

I'm hoping this is from paxil withdrawal since i still want to give the cipralex a chance...

To top it off, tonight i had 4 beers (on top of the 1mg klonopin)...I might as well have been drinking water...no effect at all...totally bazarre!!!
Still felt wired and had tremors...


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## peaceandlove09 (Aug 10, 2010)

Thats rough man. I feel for you.

Did you lose your libido on Paxil? Or was your sex life in the marriage ok?

My ex girlfriend cheated on me and it sucked. I went into a bit of a funk back, and it took me a few years to get back into a relationship. But keep your head up buddy. I am with a good woman now, and I feel stronger than ever. You'll make it through this.

I don't know much about Lexapro, but I hope the side effects go away with time.

Cheers,



ottawan said:


> Yes...i'm pretty sure she was having an emotional affair (having coffee and lunch with him at work everyday)...and i'm seeing a therapist in an attempt to get my self confidence back. Unfortunately i have to deal with her everyday as she has taken a great interest in my pension
> As a person with social anxiety, i dreamed of retiring by 60 and getting off or reducing the SSRI's...now my light at the end of the tunnel as gone out. My therapist is trying to turn it back on


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

My libido was definitely reduced when i first started Paxil but it did come baxk somewhat. After my wife had the kids, her libido was definitely reduced. It was probably best that i was taking Paxil or i would have been bugging her all the time.
I'm glad you are with the right girl now...I'm hoping for the same...maybe in a year i"ll be thanking my wife for all this.


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

4 weeks, 3 days.

Not sure what to think about this med...I hope it kicks in soon...still wake up with terrible anxiety. My sore jaw is a bit better but my face still feels numb and i'm very upset as i seem to have damaged my front teeth by grinding them down while i sleep...guess that's why i woke up with a sore jaw.
I also have lost interest in most things...that could just be depression from my situation as opposed to the SSRI.
Anyway, would still like to hear from anybody who switched from paxil to cipralex...


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## BearFan (Mar 22, 2008)

There is also as new version of Paxil called Pexeva. I actually think it's better than Paxil CR, and doesn't have the same shock like symptoms I had with the original Paxil. Has something to do with the differenent salt that is added and released in the body. Maybe worth a try. Also Lexparo/Cipralex takes like a long time to start noticing the effects, a good 8-12 weeks.


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

BearFan, are you on Pexava now? I'm at 6 weeks on Cipralex 10mg and still have constant anxiety and insomnia. I don't think it has helped much at all and with all the side effects i
ve had, I don't really want to increase the dose. I have an appt with my pdoc this week and was thinking about switching to Remeron but this might just be me getting desperate to get away from this anxiety. Do you think waiting 8 to 12 weeks is worth it when i've felt no real benefits after 6 weeks. Of course i've been off Paxil totally for 5 weeks so i might still be dealing with withdrawal...Who knows?


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## mike8803 (Feb 21, 2010)

pffft
women
cant live with em

cant live without em


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## ottawan (Jul 8, 2010)

Well...after 6 and a half weeks of side effects in which some subsided but not all and only partial effectiveness...i'm done with cipralex.
I decided not to up the dose as the side-effects were bad enough on 10mg.
Anyway, i'm starting Remeron now...The big side-effect that i'm apparently about to battle is weight gain...so i'll start a diet at the same time and see if that helps.
I've previously dealt with Paxil weight gain where i went from 200 to 220.
I went down to 185 when after weaning off Paxil and back up to 200 on Cipralex. If i can keep my weight at 200 on Remeron, then i'll be happy.

I guess i'll have to start a new thread.


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## pixies (Oct 28, 2009)

ottawan said:


> Here's my story
> 18 years ago, i started with Prozac (20mg) for social anxiety and performance anxiety..At that point, i was newly married and very stressed about job interviews, meetings, etc. I started with Prozac (20mg) which worked pretty well as long as i took xanax for the big work presentations (life was good). When Paxil came out, my GP switched me over as he said it was newer and better. I made a straight switch to Paxil (20mg), no problems and i agreed it was better...i did start to gain a bit of weight (went from 195 to 215 lbs) but of course didn't really care...life was still good.
> So after about 12 years on paxil, my wife starts to complain that i am not affectionate, too lethargic, etc and starts to mention that maybe we should not be together anymore (we have 3 kids by the way 11 to 16yrs old)
> I decide to taper off paxil to try to make myself more of a husband...at first great...tapered to 10 mg then to 5mg...dropped back down 190 lbs, had lots more energy and a weird thing i noticed, my handwriting got better.
> ...


Holy smoke that's horrible to read... The wife leaving part was sad to read, but the worst part is all that drug swapping. More on that later.

To answer you question, my experience is this. I was on Paxil for a year and felt great, so stopped. I felt TERRIBLE shortly after that, so I started on it again, and then stayed on it for many years. It took longer to work though the second time but I learned my lesson and stayed on it for a long time until I was sure I was cured. It worked wonders for me, but it gave me the same side effects as you though, it made me lethargic and generally I didn't really give a damn about anything. That was ok for me though, I was 20 years old and had no wife, no girlfriend etc, so not giving a damn about stuff wasn't really a big issue. (Although it did take it's toll on my personal appearance a bit)

After many years I could tell that it had just stopped working. In all that time it had totally cured my depression! But my social anxiety was still laying dormant. I stopped taking it and had a few successful years without any drug at all, but then my social anxiety appeared again, really bad. So I got put on Cipralex and that worked pretty good. I've been on it for this past year and it's been successful. Although I can now feel that it's starting to fade already, so I now need to switch to something else (or back to the paxil).

Anyway, back to your drug swapping. The thing is, most of these medications take a long time to kick in. It sounds like you came off the Paxil too soon, but when you went back on it, it would take even longer to kick in because your body was already used to it. Switching to Cipralex at that point is not the end of the world though, but your doctor should have explained to you that the first two weeks is hell on that drug. My doctor warned me and I thought he was over exaggerating, but he was right. The first two weeks were horrible, and I couldn't leave the house for that whole two weeks. But after that, the nasty "getting used to the new drug" period faded, and then after about another two weeks it finally started to kick in. I think going back to Paxil after 17 days was a big mistake because you will have been just about a week or so from it starting to work. Then being back on Paxil yet again... ouch. At this point your body will be so used to the drug, it likely would take about 1 or maybe 2 months for it to start working for you, but you will also have probably been experiencing withdrawal symptoms from your 17 days on Cipralex. And now, you changed yet again, back to Cipralex. That's pretty much a total train wreck, and I feel so bad for you. It's such a shame your doctor didn't help you plan this out better or something. I know how hard changing can be, and you changed back and forth countless times all within the space of a couple of months, that must have been an absolute nightmare...

Anyway, time to put that behind you. At this point I can tell you that either Cipralex or Paxil worked for me, in fact, they are the only two drugs I have mass experience with. But it's vital that you give them time to work, no more swapping around. To me the Cipralex barely did anything in the first month. Then it started to be "ok", and then after about 2 months it started to actually be "quite useful", and it remained like that for the past whole year. Not bad. Hopefully you'll get longer out of it, but from what I've read, not everyone has success with this drug. So I have my fingers crossed for you. But if you do end up switching again, just make sure that you take your time with it. No matter what doctors tell you, coming off even modern drugs like Cipralex will give you some withdrawal. You should really wean off, if only semi-gradually over the course of a couple of weeks or whatever. And then if you start taking another drug, try to give it a good month (or even more like 6-8 weeks) before you decide if it's working for you or not.

You will definitely find something eventually though, so don't give up. Once you get one that works well, you can do anything  I should know, my life sucked, and in this last year I really turned things around. Having the right med makes a world of difference. Good luck.

-edit- 
I just saw your later posts. Again I think you swapped again too soon. The Cipralex takes a long time to kick in, but you had already taken it once for 17 days, then stopped. So you were taking it for a second time which meant that it probably would have taken even longer to kick in because your body builds immunity to these things. It took me about 6 weeks before I felt ANY real effect at all, and it was more like 8 weeks before I felt a proper effect. Had it been the second time I was taking it like you, that could have been increased to 10 weeks. It's a shame you didn't give it long enough. I hope your new one works. Please for the love of jeebuz, stay on it for a good while! Let us know how you get on with it.

p.s. And for what it's worth, Paxil is a total nightmare to come off. It took me forever to do it. I started reducing the dose gradually, and I did that over the space of about 3 months. Even during that time, I felt bad, even with such tiny gradual decreases in dosage. And then once I had finally been stopped for a while, I still would get the occasional day where I felt bad from the withdrawal.


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## mrswahl (Feb 23, 2012)

Hi there, just joined this website and came across your thread.
I am on my 14th day of 5mg of Cipralex after being on Paxil for about 15 years!
I had cut down from 20mg to 5 mg when I found out I was pregnant a couple years ago and then after stopping breastfeeding I went up to 10mg. I thought it wasn't necessary anymore to be on it so I stopped taking the Paxil for 2 weeks. Man was I an emotional mess within a week!! I went to the doctor and she gave me a sample pack of Cipralex and told me to start at 5mg then after a week up it to 10mg. I seem to be VERY sensitive to it because even at 5 mg I've had horrible anxiety/panic attacks, sweaty hands,irritability,bad circulation in my hands and feet and a feeling of being cold on the inside.
I too wonder if its partly withdrawl from the Paxil mixed with the start up side effects of the Cipralex but made me wish I'd stayed on the Paxil because I haven't had panic attacks and anxiety like this in years!! I don't even want to attempt to try to up my dosage if it means more intense and longer side effects!!! No idea what to do


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Paxil notorious for causing withdraw's, you could try taking 10mg of cipralex too see if that help's ease them better, 10mg of cipralex is much more effective then 5mg, you can alway's try alcohol or ask for a benzo from the doc just tell him your getting really bad panic attack's just use the benzo sparingly tho so you don't get a tolerances or addicted too it

cipralex one of the safest ones i never really got any increase anxiety or panic when starting up on it, but everyone differently, but when i did quit paxil back in the day it was hell, im talking like 3 year's of panic attack's and feeling unreal dangerous stuff that one

some people say there should be a washout period of the old anti depressant befor starting the new one as well, cause interaction conflict you don't know what doing what, most likely its the paxil

you could try 10mg and see if that help's good luck

Chasing cipralex with a beer makes the anxiety effect better also makes alcohol 50% stronger so you save money on booze lol, i dunno if this is helpful


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Im unsure how long paxil stays in your system after quiting, maybe someone else knows


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Did you taper off paxil? or quit cold turkey? some drug's you can't cold turkey, you need too reduce your dosage of paxil gradually


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## mrswahl (Feb 23, 2012)

I had gone down to 10mg every other day but still technically just stopped it after that completely so pretty much cold turkeyed it and of all people I should know better because I went through a severe withdrawl coming of rivotril(clonazepam) years ago(and I was only taking the average dosage) and it sent me into a detox facility to come off of so def do NOT want a benzo anytime soon!! LOL at the beer chaser tho


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