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What is the difference between Prozac and Paxil?

96K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  Arisa1536 
#1 ·
I've been taking prozac for a while and decided to make the switch to Paxil. Prozac hasnt helped that much with Social Anxiety, but it has helped with general anxiety, I plan to take Paxil to the highest dose as I did prozac.

For anyone whose taken both, what is the difference between the two?
 
#2 ·
They are both in the same class of medications, but depite this they can produce different results. I found Paxil to be the worse one out of the two simply because it made my insomnia worse and it caused some pretty bad sexual side effects. Prozac had similar side effects, but not as prominent as Paxil. But remember, everyone reacts differently to meds. Good luck to you.
 
#3 ·
Yeah they are in the same family of drugs (SSRI) but paxil seem to be stronger in efficacy but worse in terms of side effects.
They were good for SA but had a ton of side effects and coming off them is not pleasant even when u switch to another antidepressant
The risk of potentially harmful side effects like permanent sexual dysfunction is said to be higher in paxil than in fluoxetine. Prozac is not without its side effects though
i have taken both and found weight gain, tiredness and headache to be a concern in both of them
 
#5 ·
Lots of "me too" pills followed
Hahaha I love this.

Also, if I recall correctly prozac has one of the longest ssri half lifes while paxil has the shortest. When I stopped taking prozac I didn't even have to taper, I just stopped cold turkey and didn't have any real withdrawals. I'm sure some people have had hell with both tough... I've also heard that paxil is the most sedating which is why I guess doctors seem to think its the best SSRI for social anxiety, but I am skeptical.
 
#7 ·
it's not a coincidence that Paxil prescriscritions grew enormously after 9-11,infact Paxil's one of the strongest ads against anxiety disorders of various types. before 9-11 Paxil was considered a second choice medication in comparison to Prozac and Zoloft. Only I had taken it since 1997 eheh
 
#9 ·
I use Paxil cause it slightly increases my appetite. Anything to increase my appetite is gladly welcomed.
 
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