I was taking some antibiotics, but they started doing Bad Things to my kidneys, so my doctor switched me to Zyvox. Zyvox is HIDEOUSLY expensive (about $2k (US) for 34 pills)(my copay was over $450). It also interacts with Paxil, which I’ve been on since it came out.
The instructions say not to take Paxil and Zyvox within 14 days of each other. However, I MUST take an antibiotic, and either the bacteria is resistant, it damages my kidneys, or I’m allergic to just about everything else. So I’m getting quickly tapered off of Paxil. This is NOT FUN. I’m dizzy all the time, and cannot think straight. I’m apparently also extremely irritable.
I’ve been wanting to taper off and/or wean myself off of Paxil, but I wasn’t planning on doing it this abruptly. Maybe I’ll get my sex drive back, though. What will I do with it if I do?
I know what you are going through. I remember when I went off Paxil, and no one told me that it would have any side-effects, so I did not know what was causing it. So I just felt like really weird crap for several days not knowing what was going on.
Yeah, my doctor knew about the Paxil. The choice was to put me back on Vancocin or put me on Zyvox. Vancocin is available only as an IV drug, and THAT means I’d have to get another censored PICC line installed, and probably have to go to the hospital AGAIN. I am tired of having a PICC line and being in the hospital, even though I got out of the hospital last month and got the PICC line removed about a week ago. I am not eager to repeat either experience.
I don’t know about other antidepressants. I see my primary care doctor later this week, and we’ll talk about them then. I’d kind of like to get off antidepressants completely if I can, though. My PC doctor and I have been discussing this, but we were going to wait until we had this current infection licked. Part of the treatment that we were going to do included water exercises 3 or 4 times a week. Of course, I can’t go in a public swimming pool with open wounds. This is for my own safety as well as consideration for others. Would YOU want someone oozing resistant staph bacteria into a swimming pool that YOU use? So I am doing mild, joint friendly aerobics at home.
Muad’Dib, I’m sorry you went through this crap not knowing what was causing it. Even though I’m perfectly aware that it’s withdrawal, I still feel like something the cat dragged in and the dog wouldn’t play with. I keep telling myself that the end result will be worth it.
Chocolate. That’s what I need. Lots of chocolate. Next stop: Godiva.com!
Are there any other SSRIs that don’t interact so badly with the Zyvox? If there are, you might ask about whether taking a low dose of one of them might make the Paxil withdrawal easier. It’s a bitch - I know, I tapered for two months and still had a couple of miserable days of the zaps (thankfully, those days were on weekends). But somewhere in my research about Paxil withdrawal, I remember seeing a suggestion of taking a low dose of one of the other SSRIs to help smooth it out.
Oh, dear, I do sympathize. I’m on something for a persistent cough, and it makes me so lightheaded it’s only a matter of time till I stagger under a subway train or topple out a window. I still sound like Act II of Camille, but I don’t seem to care as much . . .