Zoloft instead of Paxil?

I would suggest Zoloft over Paxil. I have seen and learned that Paxil has pretty bad withdrawal symptoms such as shaking, terrible headaches & etc that occur. Sometimes it's so bad that some people can barely get out of bed to get to class or work. For this reason, some of the people I know who were on Paxil, it was impossible for them to get off of the Paxil. With all antidepressants you should slowly wean yourself on and off of the meds to avoid this problem. However, Paxil seems to be one of those drugs that are not as easy to get off of or heaven forbid you run out of pills for whatever reason. In addition, the weight gain is not pleasant. I have seen it first hand from years of working in the pharmacy & with some friends I know who are on Paxil. If the Zoloft doesn't work for you, two other ones that seem to work well & have a pretty low side effect profile would be Celexa (which as a generic) and Lexapro. Hope this helps!

Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac are all very similar. However, there are slight chemical differences and sometimes one works well for a certain person when another doesn't. Other times one works just as well as another. It seems like a very individual thing.

I work in mental health and I have taken Paxil for more than 10 years. My mom took Zoloft for a little while and it made her too sleepy (but she was on a lot of other medications).

I have two friends who took Zoloft and both of them thought it worked well.

Zoloft is probably better for you. As others have indicated they are the same types of medications however have different chemical structures. Reading your other question with the details about your recent weight gain, Paxil probably isn't the best SSRI for you because Paxil is notorious for packing on the pounds. Zoloft is a little more weight neutral.

My daughter was put on Paxil for depression a few months ago. It worked at first and then after about 3 months she became super irritable and had suicidal thoughts a lot (this is a side effect of Paxil sometimes). I weaned her off of it and am trying alternative things instead. So far, my daughter is much better off without the antidepressant. So, I vote "NO" on Paxil. Too risky.

Paxil, known in the generic form as Paroxetine, and Zoloft, generic sertraline, are both fall in the same category. They are both anti-depressants. They are both prescribed for major depressive disorder.

Usually the doctor gives you the drug they think is right for your problems. I took zoloft for a few months a while back & it worked well correcting my problems.

They are both very much alike. Zoloft is fine.

i tried both... i'd go zoloft