Paxil adverse reaction

Hello All,

I have sleep apnea so I wear a CPAP mask at night and I keep an Oxygen monitor on my finger while I sleep.  I set the alarm on the monitor at 80% so that when my blood oxygen level drops below 80%, a shrill alarm sounds, waking me up.  This happens from time to time, even though I wear the CPAP mask.

Last night, after taking my first 10mg dosage of Paxil I had a terrible reaction that has never happened to me before.  I took the Paxil at 10pm and at 3am the Oxygen sensor went off waking me up.  My Oxygen level was 37%, my heart rate was 111, I was dizzy, my heart was fluttering and I had a pounding headache.  I might mention here that I have occasional PVC's where my heart does kind of a double beat.  My cardiologist tells me that it is minor and nothing to worry about. 

I have never had a reading lower than 61% and that was during the sleep study.  When the alarm goes off, it is always in the 70's.

So, has anyone experienced or heard of this type of reaction to a first dose?  I'm pretty concerned and I'm going to call my cardiologist this morning and see if I can get an appointment or at least talk to his nurse.

Thomas

Thomas,

I am sorry to read of your problem after taking your first dose of Paxil. As for apnea being caused by a medication, it's known that opiates cause Central apnea but as for SSRI's, I haven't seen anything.

I am wondering if your CPAP alarm malfunctioned if your alarm did not go off at 80?  DO make sure you call your Dr. and let us know if he feels that Paxil was a probable cause for the apnea.

I am sorry this has happened to you and I know it must have caused you a great deal of anxiety.

Welcome to HealingWell and keep talking with us.

Kindly,

Kitt

I'm thinking that the alarm on the oxygen sensor went off when my oxygen level went below 80, it woke me up, i rolled on my side, took my CPAP mask off, then started breathing deeper thinking that it would just be 15 seconds or so for the oxygen level to go from the 70's to the 90's and the alarm would silence. That is how it has always worked before. Instead, my oxygen level continued to plummet.

When the alarm didn't clear, I sat up and noticed that I was dizzy and that my heart was racing and that I felt my throat tickling (that is how i know that my PVC's are occurring). I then looked at my finger monitor and it said O=37 and BPM=111. That is when I freaked out because from what my sleep doc has told me, when your oxgen level gets under 60, the chances of stroke or heart attack go up exponentially.

So, since i've had the CPAP machine for several months and nothing even close to this has happened, I'm going with the idea that I had a reaction to the Paxil.

Thomas,

Until you can get to see your doctor and find an alternative Rx that will work for you, please check out our Resources if you have not done so. (sorry I was rushed this morning and left this out of my first response)

There are excellent and effective self-help tips and ideas for anxiety management to be found there (main page, 1st post) Links and informative articles will lead you to lots of great exercises to help you lower overall stress levels. Give them a try during this time of finding your next step, medication speaking, and it will most likely help to get you through.;)

I wish you the best in getting the answers that you need. Keep up updated on your progress.

S.C.