# paxil 5mg start



## bpd2491 (Jul 27, 2010)

i went to see a psychiatrist for SA and depression, and was prescribed paxil. i was told to take 5mg a day (10mg cut in half) for two weeks, at which point id see her again. i assume/hope that she will up my dose to 20 mg because i heard that is the typical dose for SA. 

will the 5mg do anything? should i expect any side effects yet? and my psychologist said it probly wouldnt and in the 2nd week (its day 5) she said i could probably bump it up myself to 10mg a day if i wanted. idk what to do, i dont feel any benefits yet though, any advice would be appreciated!


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## Vini Vidi Vici (Jul 4, 2009)

Actually it makes more sense to me, to take it starting at 5mgs. That way the initial side effects wont be so horrible. If you arent having side effects, thats a good thing. 5mgs.... I don't know how effective that would be. It could still have some beneficial effects, id expect to wait at least a couple weeks before you really notice huge differences, but sometimes after only 1 week people notice a change or reduction in anxiety. 

Whatever benefit it has, 5mg will probably be a lesser amount of benefit, but still something. Ultimately, your P-doc might have just been trying to minimize the side effects, because at 20mgs you would probably feel pretty horrible for the first 3-5 days after starting it. If you choose to up your dose, just do it slowly, very slowly, and be prepared for the short-lived increase/appearance of side effects, (sometimes they can hit people off guard, like me lol )


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

5mg is like the lowest dose of Paxil possible. The usual range for people is 10-60mg.


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## gordonjohnson008 (Nov 2, 2008)

I took Paxil for a long time and found it very effective to treat depression and SA, with a relatively mild side-effect profile. After being on it awhile I noticed some problems with memory, attention, language comprehension etc. that caused me to go off of it. I've been off of it and off all meds for about 4 months now and am doing OK.

While I was on it, at one point I was on 60 mg/day trying to get a greater effect. When I realized Paxil would help only so much and would never totally vanquish SA, I went back down 20 mg/day since that dose had been just as effective as 60 mg/day. Towards the end I was on 5 mg/day with the same efficacy. *For several weeks I was on only 2.5 mg/day and still had good efficacy*, which very few side effects. *Does anyone else take low-dose Paxil like this?* It's possible I've become hyper-sensitive to Paxil since I've tapered on-off it several times, and also I've been on other drugs like Nardil & Parnate in between.

I'm thinking about going back on Paxil at 2.5 mg/day to help cope with stress, some disthymia, and mild-moderate SA, but first I'm going to try some supplements like fish oil and Rhodiola Rosea because if something like that works, the long-term risk is less than taking Paxil.


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## bpd2491 (Jul 27, 2010)

thanks for the replies, that definitely cleared it up for me!


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## gordonjohnson008 (Nov 2, 2008)

Keep in mind that you may need to get into a certain therapeutic dose range and stay there for 3-6 weeks to feel the effects of this med when you are first going on it. GSK recommends a dosage of 20mg for Social Anxiety Disorder (http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxil.pdf). One study referenced by GSK on the use of Paxil for Social Anxiety Disorder found that "There was no indication in this study of any additional benefit for doses higher than 20 mg/day."

That's all generally accepted. In my own experience, having taken Paxil on and off for about 6 years, you may be able to get away with a maintenance dose under 20mg once you've stabilized. Paxil really helped me a lot and rescued me from a very dark place and allowed me (along with Klonopin and the occasional beer) to experience happiness and social fulfilment that I never thought was possible for me.

After taking Paxil for awhile, I began to notice I was having trouble forming sentences because I was forgetting words, and I was having trouble concentrating at work for long periods of time. I was a top student in school and this was unlike me, so I got worried and quit the med (after reading about many other people having similar experiences on this forum and others). Since quitting it my mental faculties have nearly returned to their normal levels it seems, but so has my anxiety and dysthymia. So, it's kind of a Catch-22. I think being on Paxil for a while, even a few years, isn't that dangerous, but we don't know enough about it to tell people it's safe to be on this med for their entire life.

So that's probably more information than you wanted to hear. Bottom line is I love Paxil's effect on my SA and depression. It REALLY helped me out, and it will be my go-to med if I decide I am depressed and anxious enough to go back on meds.


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## Foh_Teej (May 5, 2004)

remeron does more for me than the pexeva (paxil, just a different salt) does. I cant tell if he pexeva and any effects including side effects. this could be remerons effect on serotonin receptors or by docs bull**** answer that pexeva has less side effects. I take 40mgs of this super expensive ****


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