Paroxotine or clonzepam

[evanruden]

Hey everyone,

I couldn't get in to see my doctor for 3.5 weeks so I left a message asking if I should go up on paroxotine or clonazepam. I have panic attacks and seasonal depression (I go down on the anti depressants in spring time).

Anyways, I have been worrying a lot lately and the doctor did not even call me, he just called the pharmacy and increased my dosage of paroxotine from 40 to 60 mg per day. I found out about it when I called for a refill.

Im wondering what you guys think. I take .25 clonazepam up to 3x per day as needed, but Im wondering if going to the max on an antidepressant is the right call.

And yes, I will be finding a new doctor soon.

[SADnomore]

Hi there! I too have seasonal depression and have done the a/d winter increase and will be starting the decrease in spring.

I have to say that your doctor answered your question, by increasing the a/d. Perhaps he didn't have time to call you, and wasn't sure you wanted an appointment, since you hadn't made one. Once I was settled on my med, I was given free rein by my doctor to do my own increases, and when I touched base with him for a refill, he was fine with where I was at. ...

Honestly, I think if you were to increase your clonazepam you would be putting yourself at risk for tolerance, especially when it appears there is no endpoint to the benzodiazepine use? Maxing out that dosing would almost surely create addiction. (Both dependence on and tolerance for the drug). Antidepressants don't have the same sort of potential. Which is to say, some of us depend on antidepressants to function properly, and do need increases from time to time. As with summer to winter time! This is a normal part of the treatment, and doesn't signify a greater tolerance or need for the drug. Withdrawal is somewhat troublesome as the body and brain readjust, but if rebound symptoms occur, that is usually a signal that one's condition requires further treatment. Obviously, as long as winter rolls around, it seems to me that I will need to take the antidepressant in adjusted doses. Not sure what your plans are for that. That is up to you and your doctor of course!

However, with benzodiazepines, tolerance (the perceived need to use more and more) is created by their use regardless, especially long-term. In this case, most everyone finds themselves feeling the need to increase the dose due to withdrawal symptoms created by the daily use of the benzo itself. And recovery, from benzodiazepine dependency can be extremely difficult. If you don't find the increase helping you in the coming weeks, you may want to consider talking to your doctor about another increase or a different antidepressant. There are other meds which are recommended for SAD, including what I'm on.

Good luck!

[evanruden]

Thank you very much