Generic VS Brand Name Paxil

I was just wondering if anyone had a bad experience with generic paxil??? I have been on paxil before and never had a problem. I went off for a while and got put back on when my stress levels started to elevate. I got a generic brand thinking it was no different, and 20 days later, I wasn't feeling any better and I had side effects that I never had before. I JUST started the brand name paxil, for which I am paying dearly for. I am just wondering if its me, or if generic paxil may not be as effective as the brand name.....
Any thoughts??

My mail order pharmacy changed my generic TWICE in the last six months to save THEM money. News is, not all generics are equal!! The first generic I took I did fine NO side effects. The first change, a few side effects, the second change WACKO.

Go back to PAXIL and stay away from generics.

Thank you very much. Its nice to know that I am not the only one that has had problems with generics. I also started off (a couple years ago) taking a generic and I was fine, but this time I went to a different pharmacy and they had a different Generic. I think I will stick to the Paxil (brand name) as you suggested.

generic paxil? beware. it is not like brand name and if you are used to taking brand, generic will cause adverse effects. i tried generics 3 times and became increasingly ill everytime.

jdavid wrote:

generic paxil? beware. it is not like brand name and if you are used to taking brand, generic will cause adverse effects. i tried generics 3 times and became increasingly ill everytime.

My husband has taken name brand Paxil for years. He switched to generic due to the cost of the name brand Paxil. It has been a nightmare literally. He is punching and kicking in his sleep and looks like he is having seizures. He's shaking his head really fast and has very disturbing dreams. It is scary. They then added Mirapex for restless leg syndrome and it made him feel bad and didn't last very long. Maybe 2 hours and he is back to kicking and punching. I am insistant that he goes back on the name brand Paxil. It is very expensive but worth it. They say there isn't a difference between the two but I beg to differ with that opinion. There is a big difference.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks, JoJo

Was on paxil for 10 great years and as soon as i was put on to the generic the great times were over. They do say you may need more of the generic so I am now starting 90 mil.

I am leary of taking paxil but am out of desperation considering it.
I tried prozac and it caused incredible panic attacks and also it lowered my inhibitions.I was full of the fear and cessation that I was going to seriously hurt someone or myself.It was all I could do to hold it together until the drug wore off.Paxil is supposed to be the new improved upon prozac.

These drugs scare me but the depression is killing me and I wonder how much more I can last.
Have any of you had this side effect?
pete

TThompson84 wrote:

I was just wondering if anyone had a bad experience with generic paxil??? I have been on paxil before and never had a problem. I went off for a while and got put back on when my stress levels started to elevate. I got a generic brand thinking it was no different, and 20 days later, I wasn't feeling any better and I had side effects that I never had before. I JUST started the brand name paxil, for which I am paying dearly for. I am just wondering if its me, or if generic paxil may not be as effective as the brand name.....
Any thoughts??

I have taken regular paxil for years. I have been taking the generic for a week and have felt awful

I have taken regular paxil for years. I have been taking the generic for a week and have felt awful

I too have had bad experiences with generic Paxil.
I have terrible nightmares. I do not know if it is Post traumatic stress doing it or the drug. I am demanding that I get Brand name.

Hey Pete I know what your going through,I've had severe panic attacks for about 4 1/2 years.Paxil
worked wonders for me.But you have to be careful,
gradually increse & decrease the medication.I decresed at a rate of 5 miligrams a month (from 30 mgs) and didn't suffer any side effects.I have always used the name brand so I can't really give an opinion about the generic version.Hope things work out for you

Thank you for the replies.I haven't taken paxil yet although I have tried celexa,zoloft and lithium in the past.Now I don't have manic dep. but major depression and a.d.d. which the doc took for bipolar.The lithium worked like an antidepressant for me.For a while I was on it and my moods weren't a problem but I stopped it because in the summer time the lithium level rose when I would sweat and with lithium the therapuetic level is just below the toxic level.
I had bad heatstroke and irregular heart rythm on occassions due to the lithium.Being scared I stopped taking it.
.
I was quite naive then about meds.After prozac I thought 'Well if it doesn't cause anxiety then i guess it must be safe"There were abunch of other side effects that made it eventually un bearable for me to keep taking it.
I need a med that I can really tolerate because I need something that I can take for the rest of my life.Too much lithium can kill you which I felt it almost did one night.I know that in this life it's a game of pros and cons that must be weighed but what do you do if the med you take may take away some of the dep. but replaces it with side effects that were worse than your dep?
How much is considered a good trade off?How much should a person tolerate or be asked to tolerate?pete

I have to admit I am terrified of meds.
Welbrutin that my doctor wanted me to take can trigger parkinson's disease.
Cymbalta can trigger suicide and cause you to piss your pants not to mention fatal liver disease.I could go on and on here and you guys and girls must be pretty brave for taking these things and I take my hat off to you.
But aren't any of you afraid of what these things could do to you?
There's one last thing.A book called understanding depression so far as I have read is a really good book if any of you are interested.But I finding it really hard to read it not just because I find it hard to focus but the more I focus on the depression it makes it 50 times worse.If your like me forget I mentioned it.
Good luck to you all and keep fighting the good fight. Pete

I have been on regular Paxil for almost three years now and the issues I had prior I.e. panic attacks, migraines, etc have all stopped. I have to say the drug changed my life around. My pharmacy told me I had to take the generic brand and I said "No Way!!" I was to worried about it not working and sending me back down to where I was in the past. I had have my doctor ok it and I was able to keep the original. I am lucky enough to have health insurance through my employer and my Paxil costs about 20 bucks a month and the generic would have been only 10. But for the extra 10 bucks I decided to stay the course. I do wonder though how in the future I will be able to come off it.

DDH4u2nv wrote:

<quoted text> I have taken regular paxil for years. I have been taking the generic for a week and have felt awful

Amazing because I experienced the same thing. I even told my doctor and he says " I've never heard of that happening."

It's so true!

Generic paxil never worked as good as name brand!

Has anyone who has been on generic Paxil(Paroxetine)experienced confusion, cognitive or short-term memory issues? In addition, increased anxiety and nervousness? My mom has been on generic Paxil for several years and is recently experiencing all of the above. Any information out there about long term use of the generic, or an acquired immunity to the drug?

Hello,

I am considering paying the enormous amount of $105 to go back to regular as well. I have tried generic paxil for a few months, and it has had some but not major anti-depressant effect.

I have taken the brand name in the past and it has given several side effects, but the generic actually has given me only one major side effect, which is decreased libido. The brand name actually increased libido, probably since it had a better anti-depressant effect. One thing I also notice that the brand name gave me more energy, and the generic dosent.

I will probably take the brand name in a few weeks and see the difference. But I agree that the generic has less anti-depressant effect than the brand name. c

I have been on Paxil for almost 5 years, recently changed pharmacies and they used a generic brand and I can't believe the change......... for me this new brand does not work and I am back to the way I was before, the pharmacy called my old pharmacy and they have ordered the same as I have taken in the past, I can pick it up in two days, it has been 3 mnths on this one and I can't wait to feel the way I did on my old paxil...... counting the days!!!!

Katharine wrote:

Has anyone who has been on generic Paxil(Paroxetine)experienced confusion, cognitive or short-term memory issues? In addition, increased anxiety and nervousness? My mom has been on generic Paxil for several years and is recently experiencing all of the above. Any information out there about long term use of the generic, or an acquired immunity to the drug?

I took generic Paxil for 6 weeks,and changed to brand name about 3 weeks ago. I am experiencing
anxiety as never before. I wander when the brand name will start to work?