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Suggest Ways To Wean Off Paxil
Question: I have been on 15mg of Paxil for 17 years. No side affects and the only issues i had was when i tried to go off it to see how i would do. Here's my issue: i have a private pilot's license and i want to start flying again. The FAA does not allow pilots to fly if they take Paxil, but there are four drugs that are acceptable. Lexapro is one of them. My psychiatrist who put me on Paxil 17 years ago told me he could cross taper the drugs and slowly wean me off Paxil and switch me to Lexapro so I can resume flying. I have not had very few issues with Paxil and don't want to mess with a good thing unless i can be convinced that switching to Lexapro will not cause issues. I realize there are no guarantees in life, but what do you think? I experienced zapping sensations when i tried to come of Paxil years ago but i was not introducing another drug simultaneously. What is you opinion on the above?
Brief Answer:
Not a big deal
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query.
I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.
Lexapro and paxil are both good medicines and almost equally effective. I understand that you wont be able to fly on paxil. So if you are considering changing the medicine from paxil to lexapro, it wont be a bad experience as both belong to the same class of medicines. Only thing is both the medicines need to be cross tapered. You may reduce your paxilto half and start lexapro at 5 mg and then proceed with reducing the paxil and keep increasing lexapro. The whole cross taper can occur over 1-2 months.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy
Wish you good health,
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.
Not a big deal
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query.
I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.
Lexapro and paxil are both good medicines and almost equally effective. I understand that you wont be able to fly on paxil. So if you are considering changing the medicine from paxil to lexapro, it wont be a bad experience as both belong to the same class of medicines. Only thing is both the medicines need to be cross tapered. You may reduce your paxilto half and start lexapro at 5 mg and then proceed with reducing the paxil and keep increasing lexapro. The whole cross taper can occur over 1-2 months.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy
Wish you good health,
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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