Paxil Alternatives

Paxil Information

Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors

These antidepressants are very similar to SSRIs, except that they also affect norepinephrine (another chemical in the brain). SNRIs used to treat depression include:

Milnacipran (Savella™) is an SNRI that is not approved for the treatment of depression (although it may be used off-label for this purpose).

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are a class of older medications used for treating depression. There are many serious food and drug interactions with MAOIs. Because of this, MAOIs are usually used only if other medications for depression have not been effective. Examples of MAOIs include:

Isocarboxazid (Marplan^®)
Phenelzine (Nardil^®)
Selegiline (Eldepryl^®, Emsam^®, Zelapar^®)
Tranylcypromine (Parnate^®).

Tricyclic Antidepressants

Tricyclic antidepressants are another older class of antidepressants. Due to certain side effects, they are generally not recommended for elderly people. Examples of tricyclic antidepressants include:

Miscellaneous Antidepressants

There are several other antidepressants available, including:

Bupropion (Aplenzin™, Budeprion SR^®, Budeprion XL^®, Buproban^®, Forfivo™ XL, Wellbutrin^®, Wellbutrin SR^®, Wellbutrin XL^®, Zyban^®), a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor
Mirtazapine (Remeron^®)
Nefazodone (Serzone^®)
Trazodone (Desyrel^®) or trazodone ER (Oleptro™)

Vilazodone (Viibryd^®).

Sometimes, stimulant medications such as methylphenidate (Ritalin^®) are used to treat depression when other medications have not helped, although stimulants are not approved for this use.

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