Paxil Dosage

Hi all, I generally post over on the Crohn's forum, but I have a bit of a problem that I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me with.

First, a little introduction. I have several chronic medical conditions which impact my life and create depression. The first is Crohn's which is known to affect the serotonin balance in the gut, where it's the largest source in the body. That alone sets me up for chronic physically related depression. I am also battling Spondylitis, a form of infammatory arthritis and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. These all leave me in chronic pain and extremely fatigued.

I've been taking Paxil, 40mgs/day for years and that's really the only andi-D that has kept me on an even keel, and believe me, I've tried many. Does anyone take a higher dose? Is a higher dose even available. I was under the impression that it was not. I'm considering asking for either a higher dose or perhaps some seroquil to help me keep it together over the next few weeks.

One of my closest friends lost the man of her dreams to a tragic accident last weekend and I'm heartbroken for her and her family. In the meantime, I have a new Doc and am now in a position to once again convince a Doc that I have Crohn's so that I can get more aggressive treatment. My last CT scan, 3 weeks ago showed lots of inflammation, but today's colonoscopy looked normal. I don't even know if they did biopsies to see what's going on. If I can't get some real positive findings on these tests, I'll never get into remeission and that key to the possibility of me getting pregnant. I'm 40 and running out of time.

I've already tried almost every anti-depressant out there with no luck. Paxil seems to work the best, but I think I need a higher dose. Is this possible? All I want is my life back and treatment for the diseases that I've been Dx with. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you all.

Thanks so much Elisha, I know you understand the loss I am talking about as it's been posted on another forum as well.

Today I discovered that my greatest fears came true and there were no biopsies done, so sub-clinical disease cannot be verified through that route. I had a real breakdown and the old saying about a good cry seems to have had a good impact on me. I'm still very down, but feeling more stable.

I thought that I had read somewhere that doses of 50 or 60 mgs of Paxil were possible for the treatment of GAD, but past discussions with my Doc left me thinking that 40 was the highest. Hopefully I can convince him to let me try an increase to get me through the next few weeks.

I appreciate your help with this. Be well.