Anti-Depressant Drugs - Paxil
Anti-depressant drugs have gained a great deal of notoriety over the course of the last ten years and use has become a great deal more common throughout the United States. An anti-depressant drug is a type of medication that is designed to combat the symptoms of clinical depression. An individual is judged to be suffering from clinical depression if an increased state of sadness/melancholy disrupts his/her ability to function on a daily basis.
Anti-depressant drugs were discovered by accident in the early 1950s. Some of the first anti-depressant drugs were a class of Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOI) like Iproniazid, a drug that was initially intended to serve as a chemical treatment for tuberculosis. MAOIs were followed by another class of anti-depressant drugs called Tricyclic anti-depressants. With drugs like Imipramine, Tricyclic anti-depressants were significantly safer than MAOIs, though they too posed a significant risk of overdose.
The most recent class of anti-depressant drugs to hit the market has also been judged to be the most effective and safest. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to treat clinical depression, anxiety disorders and certain personality disorders. SSRIs function by increasing the level of neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Low neurotransmitter serotonin levels are currently seen to be one of the more common neurochemical imbalances associated with depression.
There are a wide variety of SSRIs anti-depressant drugs that are marketed throughout the United States and around the world, some of which include:
- Paroxetine (Paxil)
- Fluoxetine (Prozac)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Zimelidine (Normud)
- Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
Paxil Anti-Depressant Drugs
Paxil is the U.S / Canadian brand name for Paroxetine (Paroxetine Hydrochloride), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor that has been used for the treatment of clinical depression since 1992. Like many other SSRI drugs, Paxil is also prescribed for the treatment of certain anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Paxil is the only anti-depressant drug that is formally approved in the United States for the treatment of certain social-anxiety disorders. Although Paxil is generally viewed to be a safer and more effective anti-depressant drug (like other SSRIs), there are a variety of side effects that are associated with use.
Paxil Side Effects
Studies have suggested that pregnant women taking Paxil face increased risk of birth defects during the first trimester of their pregnancy. Cardiovascular birth defects have doubled in babies delivered by mothers taking Paxil. As such, it is recommended that pregnant women using Paxil exercise a great deal of caution.
One of the more troubling side effects associated with Paxil use is suicide. Evidence suggests that people taking Paxil are at risk of developing increased suicidal thoughts and deepened depression. The patient becomes easily agitated and sudden impulses turn deadly, after beginning their medication. A high number of patients who have taken Paxil have committed suicide.
If a patient begins to exhibit certain serious side effects as a result of using Paxil, it is important that they refrain from simply cutting treatment altogether, as it could have dyer consequences.
Paxil Withdrawal Symptoms
When it comes time for a Paxil patient to conclude treatment with the drug, it is incredibly important that withdrawal be done with the assistance of a medical professional. Paxil withdrawal symptoms can be devastating if a patient attempts to "wean" themselves of treatment too quickly.
Anxiety disorders are not permanent conditions; therefore short term and long term treatment options are available. Researchers have concluded that withdrawal symptoms are present when patients abruptly stops taking Paxil and other SSRIs. Withdrawal symptoms include extreme dizziness and "zaps" (an electro-shock like sensation to the brain). To ease or eliminate these withdrawal symptoms, it is recommended that the patient reduce dosage levels over time. Withdrawal from paroxetine or any other SSRI medication without supervision is not advised.
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