Scared to start Aropax...

[johnojpn]

Hi Everyone,

Today I finally went to the doctor about my anxieties and depression. Well after hearing a whole lot of comparisions about hourses and their riders, and pregnancy (what this has to do with anxiety i have no clue!), I am told to have a blood test and go on a free trial of Aropax.

I think ok, I've heard good things about using medication to help combat the "problems" im having at the moment.

Unfortunatly I just had to do some research on the net about the drug..... The comments I found on Aropax were soooo negative it scares me!!! I didn't find anything positive but pages and pages and pages of the trouble of getting off it, shocks, extreme anxiety. Not to mention the side effects of going on the drug; massive weight gain everyone reported even with strict exercise and dieting, lack of libido.

Since getting home and reading all this stuff I feel all uptight and panicy... Is there something else I should look at taking?? I don't know if I really want to get into something like this it really scares me in the long term...

Thanks to any comments

[Phill2]

Mate Aropax sent me around the bend.
Ask for some Lexapro instead and get some diazepam to help you through the first coupla weeks
Phill

[sarah1984]

Hi! I wasn't sure what aropax was called over here so I googled it and it's another name for seroxat, which I'm sure means a lot more to ppl on here than aropax. Seroxat has a lot of negative press, some of which shouldn't be taken too seriously. There was a lot of hype over here about it being prescribed to under 18s and a supposed rise in suicide rates. However, the media always seem to give more space to the negatives than the positives. I took seroxat/aropax for seven years from the age of 14 and it worked wonders for me. I had no side effects whatsoever, no effect on my libido and I didn't put weight on at all. I also didn't have any withdrawal problems. If you want to find out more about seroxat, use the search facility at the top of this page for more posts and also a site called askapatient.com gives reviews of medications. Bear in mind that everyone's an individual and medications affect them in different ways-don't believe all the hype you hear. It also goes by the names of paroxetine (UK) and paxil (US).

[Phill2]

I prolly shoulda said that Lexapro is called Cipralex over there too.
There one that gets the bad press over here is Effexor

[johnojpn]

Thanks for the replies^^, well I haven't started taking them yet. Talked to a family friend who is a nurse to see if there is anything else I can look at, but it seems like this drug is the most used here in NZ..

Also .. found out my dad was on the same medication 2 years ago (seperated parents so don't have alot of contact). So now I know where I get my anxiety attacks from. He said that he had alot weight gain :(... Hopefully I can counter it with the exercise I do.

I'm still really nervous over the side effects of this drug. Also everything I read said start on 10mg, and increase in 10mg doses every week. The doctor told me to start on 20mg. From what I read people with panic attacks should start on 10mg to lessen the chance of bad first few weeks.

One thing I wanted to ask was... The doctor gave me expired tablets (january 2007) he said it doesn't matter, but damn... saying that to someone who has anxiety doesn't work too well ;_; should I except that or ask for new subscription????

Thanks again for the help!

[sarah1984]

Expired tablets-hmm, it's a bit worrying that they are out of date because most pills have a shelf-life of a couple of years, so the tablets you've been given are probably a few years old. However, the doc probably knows best-if they're only a few months out of date then maybe it doesn't make much difference. If you are concerned, I would ask him for a new prescription just to ease your mind.

As for weight gain, I'm a slim/average female and I certainly wouldn't have taken anything that would pile on the pounds! As I said, I stayed at about under 9st all the time I was on seroxat. However, exercise is a great idea for boosting your mood and easing tension.

I think I started on 10mg but I'm not 100% sure. I've never really had any panic attacks myself so I can't comment on an appropriate starting dose, but as I said earlier, I did take 50mg for five or more years with no problems. You should trust your doctor more-I'm sure he knows what he's doing!

Good luck and let us know how you get along,
Sarah

[johnojpn]

Hi again, I found out my dad had been on Aropax too and thats when he put on huge amounts of weight (heaviest he had been), add the expired meds I went back and got different subscriptoin. The doctor gave me Citalopram.

Just started them yesterday and feeling horrible >< I know first couple weeks its normal, but theres couple things that is scaring me.

This morning I woke up and my heart is racing non stop, I never got this before taking the meds. It's scary. The other thing is actually very embarrassing... but I'll see if it goes away today><

Should I be worried about the racing heart? I feel hororible

Johno