I have had MAV since 1999 when i was 15. Ever since i have been on Paxil 30mg a day and have had great sucsess. The only problem is that I feel like i am in a fog all the time.
For that reason i have decided to come off paxil. Coming off Paxil has been a challenge. I have looked at maybe taking 5htp instead. Or really anything else. I am so happy to find this website :).
Does anyone have any advise on what to take?
That’s great that you had success with Paxil- what symptoms did it help with most? Did it helped with your balance and walking and did you have trouble with that? Did you stay on the same dose since 1999? Did it work consistently the whole time?
Can you try another SSRI- a lot of people on here take Celexa- seems to be very successful!
i started at 20mg for about 5 years then jumped to 30mg. Helped with vertigo and balance. I felt like a new person, the MAV was basically 100% gone. However i have noticed i am in a fog. I have no emotion anymore and i am worried about the long term effects of Paxil.
Reading a lot of people take Verpamil or Topamax. Not sure if i should try one of these or stay on the SSRI side of drugs. Just seems SSRI’s have long term side effects.
How is Celexa? Is it mild? Maybe i will try that if people tend to have success.
Thank you SO much for your help. Again I am so glad i found this site.
I’m not sure what the long-term effects of SSRIs are, but I know topamax can have very serious side effects, either in the long or short-term. I think sticking with the SSRIs would be a safer bet at least to start with. Have you asked your Dr. who is prescribing the Paxil what the long-term effects are? Was this prescribed to you by a MAV Dr., or a psychiatrist?
How disabling was your MAV before you got on Paxil? Honestly I would think hard about going off something that has helped you so much for so long…many people go off their meds only to try them again a second time, and they no longer work then. I am only saying this because I have been trying meds for 2.5 years and haven’t found anything that works well enough for me to work and function again…for me, I would have to have extremely serious side effects (like glaucoma or kidney stones) to want to go off a med that worked so well for me. I’m not trying to scare you I’m just saying you should think this decision through just in case paxil no longer works (or doesn’t work as well) the second time around in case you don’t find anything that helps as much.