Which has less side effects Paxil or Zoloft and what were some of the bad ones?

Answer 1

Catalogue of side effects for the antidepressant Paxil - generic Paroxetine - which is an SSRI medication sometimes prescribed in the treatment of bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.

Common Side Effects:

Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

Constipation; decreased sexual ability; diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; dryness of mouth; headache; increased sweating; nausea; problems in urinating; trembling or shaking; trouble in sleeping; unusual tiredness or weakness; vomiting

Less Common Side Effects:

Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

Anxiety or nervousness; blurred vision; change in sense of taste; decreased or increased appetite; decreased sexual desire; tingling, burning, or prickling sensations; weight loss or gain

Always Notify Doctor:

Less Common: Agitation; fast or irregular heartbeat; muscle pain or weakness; skin rash

Rare: Absence of or decrease in body movements; difficulty in speaking; inability to move eyes; incomplete, sudden, or unusual body or facial movements; low blood sodium (confusion, convulsions [seizures], drowsiness, dryness of mouth, increased thirst, lack of energy); red or purple patches on skin; serotonin syndrome (confusion, diarrhea, fever, poor coordination, restlessness, shivering, sweating, talking and acting with excitement you cannot control, trembling or shaking, twitching); talking, feeling, and acting with excitement and activity you cannot control

Withdrawal Side Effects - Notify Doctor:

Agitation, confusion, or restlessness; diarrhea; dizziness or lightheadedness; headache; increased sweating; muscle pain; nausea or vomiting; runny nose; trembling or shaking; trouble in sleeping; unusual tiredness or weakness; vision changes

Overdose Effects - Notify Doctor:

Dizziness; drowsiness; dryness of mouth; flushing of face; irritability; large pupils; nausea; racing heartbeat; trembling or shaking; vomiting

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.
http://bipolar.about.com/cs/sfx/a/sfx_paxil.htm

Zoloft - generic name Sertraline - is classed as a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). Zoloft may be prescribed for the treatment of bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.
Common Side Effects:

Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

Decreased appetite or weight loss; diarrhea or loose stools; dizziness; drowsiness; dryness of mouth; headache; increased sweating; nausea; stomach or abdominal cramps, gas, or pain; tiredness or weakness; trembling or shaking; trouble in sleeping

Less Common Side Effects:

Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

Agitation, anxiety, or nervousness; changes in vision, including blurred vision; constipation; flushing or redness of skin, with feeling of warmth or heat; increased appetite; vomiting

Always Notify Doctor:

Decreased sexual desire or ability; breast tenderness or enlargement; fast or irregular heartbeat; fast talking and excited feelings or actions that are out of control; fever; inability to sit still; low blood sodium (confusion, convulsions [seizures], drowsiness, dryness of mouth, increased thirst, lack of energy); nose bleeds; red or purple spots on skin; restlessness; serotonin syndrome (diarrhea, fever, increased sweating, mood or behavior changes, overactive reflexes, racing heartbeat, restlessness, shivering or shaking); skin rash, hives, or itching; unusual or sudden body or facial movements or postures; unusual secretion of milk (in females)

Withdrawal Side Effects - Notify Doctor:

Agitation; anxiety; dizziness; feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings; headache; increased sweating; nausea; trembling or shaking; trouble in sleeping; trouble in walking; unusual tiredness

Overdose Effects - Notify Doctor:

May be more severe than side effects occurring at regular doses, or several may occur together:

Anxiety; drowsiness; nausea; serotonin syndrome (diarrhea, fever, increased sweating, mood or behavior changes, overactive reflexes, racing heartbeat, restlessness, shivering or shaking); unusually fast heartbeat; unusually large pupils; vomiting

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor.
http://bipolar.about.com/cs/sfx/a/sfx_zoloft.htm

Answer 2

Having been on both meds, my experience has been that Zoloft has fewer side effects and the ones it has are milder than they were with Paxil.

You should in any case bear in mind a couple of things about side effects with SSRI's (the class of antidepressants to which both Paxil and Zolfot belon). Namely, you are likely to experience side effects from the meds before you benefit from the intended effect of the medicine. So you shouldn't give up on any SSRI just because you initially feel side effects without any improvement in the depression. Also, remember that many (though not all) of the initial side effects are temporary and will likely either become less noticeable over time or will go away altogether.

For me the notable side effects of Paxil fell into two categories: weight gain and sexual side effects (including deceased libido, increased difficulty in achieving and maintaining an erection and severe delays in reaching orgasm). Luckily the sexual side effects became less serious with time. We were also able to counteract them by taking Levitra.

On Zoloft, I had some initial bowel upset and some of the same sexual side effects I experienced with paxil, though with less intensity. I found that my depression was not being adequately controlled with either Paxil or Zoloft on its own so we augmented it with Wellbutrin, which not only helped with the depression, but also completely took care of the sexual side effects of Zoloft and actually led to some moderate weight loss.

I can not address this with Zoloft as I am still on it, but I will warn you that coming off of Paxil can be (and was for me) a nightmare. You must taper off the dose very very gradually. It took me two months to get from 20 mg per day to zero without experiencing severe flu like symptoms.

Hope this is helpful.

Answer 3

The thing to remember about side effects is not everybody gets every side effect listed. Just because a medicine has side effects doesn't mean you will get the ones listed. Everyone's body is different so a medicine with "more" side effects may even result in you experiencing less side effects that a medicine that has a shorter list of side effects.

The side effects are listed because a percentage of people who were in the clinical trials of the medicine experienced those things. Not everybody experienced every side effect listed.

Tell your doctor what medical conditions you have, and what other medicine you are taking. That will help him/her know if there are any harmful interractions or dangerous side effects.

Really, the only way to find out what side effects it has on you is to try the medicine. Yes, you are a little bit more likely to get certain side effects becuase the people in the clinical study had them, but you may not get them. If you have problems that make it worse to take it than to be depressed, you can always ask the doctor for another drug.

Answer 4

Since people have already listed the info. for you, I'll just share my experience.
Everyone reacts differently to these medications. Some people do not get the side effects, while others (like me) can get several or all of the side effects. The only thing you can do is try them and see. This can be very frustrating (I know), but don't give up. If one does not work for you, try the other and if that doesn't work for you there are other categories (some doc's call "families") of med's that address the same symptoms. It may take awhile or you may get lucky the first time on finding the best med's for your condition. Best of luck!

Answer 5

Zoloft has less side affects... in fact it can and is being used for the treatment of premature ej@culat@#n.

Paxil has a history of bad side affects...malaise, hallucinations, addiction, deepening depression, and in some instances suicidal tendencies.