Depression Blog.com

I was on Paxil for 6 months for anxiety. It was amazing how it cured it and fast. I decided to stop taking it when my script ran out(cold turkey). What a mistake. This is day 7 and I am dizzy all the time. I have a constant whoosh in my head. I keep thinking it won't last but may have to call my doctor tomorrow to go back and then wean.

I started taking Zoloft it was awful only felt good for about two months tried Paxil no results at all from taking zoloft i had tremors for
about a year I take xanex to help me sleep at night or i have mild panic attacks, mind racing & anxiety I am also a Vegan . i have been on lexapro for about 3 weeks i do not notice any difference. I have night and day sweats itake black cohosh but it really does not help that much i must have a fan on me especially during the day with air conditioning also i take levoxyl for under active thyroid which i hear i can get dry thyroid from store I would rater get off these prescription drugs and take all natural ones With my history can i take
5HTP with xanex,prevacid,allegra & where can I get it???

Iam 21 years old and have been on paxil since I was 14 years of age. For those who do not care to do the math, that is seven years. I have tried ,unsuccessfully, to get off of paxil for five years. Everytime I try I feel as though I am losing more control than I had before I was placed on the medicine. When i tell my Doctor he encourages me to get back on the medicine and assures me that the paxil is not addictive. THE HEADACHES ARE AWFUL, THE LACK OF CONCENTRATION INTERFERES WITH MY UNDERGRADUAT WORK,AND THE MEMORY LOSS AND DISORIENTATION IS EMBARRASSING. Before finding this website I thought that I was the only one who experienced these symptoms and worse yet my Doctor led me to believe that it was abnormal for paxil, " the wonder drug" to effect me in such a way. I have now wiened myself off from 20 mg's to 5mg's and things are getting better. The frustartion is still there and the lack of concentration and anger is present as well. However, I know that a free and clear mind is right around the corner. We can do this.

My son was put on Paxil to overcome depression . He had phsychotic episodes where he ended up in going into other peoples houses . He took things like their coffee maker etc. we got him off paxil but not before he ended up with a criminal record. His record is seriously hampering his improvement in regards to finding employment and leading a normal life.No one wanted to listen to us when we said the medication was the catalyst. All they could see was a criminal who needed punishing.

I have been on Paxil at least three years, after many years of trying all the others. I need to get off as I have lost pretty much all of my initiative and am always a little dazed and confused. Sometimes I have tremors all day long or can't control one hand or the other. Sometimes I wake up shaking all over and my heart rate is way up. I am in perimenopause and can't be sure which symptom goes with Paxil and which with PM. I have hot flashes and all the usual embarrassing or nearly debilitating symptoms of going through thechange, and though my periods are becoming irregular, I always know they are coming because I get suicidal and nervous, very sad and/or very very angry. I am afraid to look for work, because I have lost two jobs I loved because of my uncontrolled behaviour during those times. I can sleep all the time, but try not, try to stay busy. So little successleads to less and less effort. I have a family and used to be very happy to be with them, but now I am realizing that none of them respect me or trust me to handle things like laundry and housework. Conveniently they seem to believe I am capable of handlin big things like our finances (we are totally broke due to debt) and moving the family to another town (as if we could buy a new house). I don't understand how my husband leaves me in charge of everything when he doesn't even trust me to walk the dogs. Fortunately my kids are old enough now to keep themselves healthy and try to help me, but this has been going on so long that I don't feel good at all about how they will do when they grow up. I know I am supposed to be the parent, but they are so much more together than I am. Some days I sit all day until they come home, then try to pretend I have been active, but they are not fooled. My husband just goes along as if everything is normal, and whenever I want to get off the Paxil he says I won't make it. I am scared. About five to ten days out ogf the month suicidal thoughts are my reaction to any and all events that need my attention. It hell. Sop far I have held on, sometimes only by curling up in a ball and repeating to myself that the feelings will pass if I just don't think until the physicxal bad time is over. But a few years back, my brother grossly murdered his whole family and I can't find out why but I suspect it had to do with going cold turkey off of antidepressants of some kind. Nobody will admit he had any real problems, they just claim he wasn't "right with god".

I want to get back into life. I have no self esteem left and, although I really need some kind of help, Paxil is making things just as bad as they were before I started, but in different ways. My therapist practically labels my appointment times coffee breaks, because we have not really discussed my problems in over a year because they are so overwhelming and I am so hopeless.

What do I do next?

[Moderator Comments: I would love to help you bombari, but you left no contact details.
A large portion of your family do not really relate to what you are doing. As confused as you are, they are even more confused about it. As hard as it may seem you need to get activity in your life. - Thats the hardest step, step 1

If you are having problems with Paxil and your therapist is ignoring you then perhaps you should tell them to screw off.
Frequently they do not know the pain they are putting others in when prescribing drugs to them. Get a doctor who cares about you and listens to you - THAT IS STEP 2.
I also suggest that you take multivitamins, B vitamins, and eat a healthy diet.
If your husband is not supportive to you quiting Paxil or trying something else then encourage him to join you with your prescription and see how he likes it. He needs to be supportive.
If you need to talk to someone feel free to email me at the bottom of the home page and I will do my best.I will give you my number if you want it. Hope you get better.
-aaron]

Paxel increased all of the negative effects of my depression. I became more and more disassociative. I lost all will to live. I began to believe I was hearing other peoples negative thoughts about me and became so paranoid that it was difficult to go out of my house as well as staying in my house hearing the phone ring. I thought I had finally gone nuts. I started having heart palpitations and that was the last straw. I stopped taking the drug cold turkey and after about 4 months, I began to feel normal again. I was taking it to help me to recover from the loss of my father. Unfortunately, my mother passed away last month and I am once again facing depression. I am considering taking Lexapro this time. I am very leary of taking anything though. On paxel I stopped eating and sleeping. I was so sleep deprived that I know it increased the mental disorders I experienced. Lexapro is supposed to have insominia as a side effect so I don't know what to do. Anyone have any bad stuff from Lexapro?

My daughter who was 14 was on 35mg Paxil last year. while she was on this medicine she started having fainting spells. After being on the meds for 3 months she started having seizures. These seizures were very severe. After having one she would lose her speech and be very tired, and she didn't have any memory as to what happened except that she was exhausted. She was checked for siezures and the neurologist came up empty. The doctors said that Paxil could not cause these type of side effects but I disagree. We weaned her off the meds. and she still had seizures but you could see that they were getting less severe and less often. It took about 5 months to get this out of her system. Do you think that it could have been the Paxil even that the doctors say it wasn't? All I can say is that I am very glad that she isn't on anything and is doing just fine without them and no re-occuring symptoms.

I have been off Paxil for 12 days,and I am still experiencing withdrawal symptons. I got off because I gained 23 pounds in three years while exercising and dieting. My doctor does not believe that my withdrawal symptons are due to the Paxil. He wants me to see a psychiatrist. I am having shocking sensations, dizziness, trouble concentrating,nausea, bad dreams, Its hard to keep my head up. I really need to know that this will end soon. What should I do so that I can work and deal with my kids?

Yeah, I have been of paxil for a year now, and I can still remember how awful those first months off were. I had only taken it for around 2 months maybe less, when my mother ran out of money for the medication, or to even see the doctor anymore. I as forced to quit completely cold turkey. After the first 2 months, the extreme headaches stopped, also I had "night terrors" as I have seen them called, pretty much, when I tryed to sleep it would feel like I was in a coma, unable to make any body part for a long period of time and unable to even scream for help, I was 14 at the time, and that extreme fear was alot to deal with. As I have said it is now 2 years later, it still always feels like my heart is running in a race, I still have random feeling that people and objects dont seem real and that I am looking in on the world from a 3rd person view, I still have trouble sleeping, nothing has gotten better, and I have begun to think it never will.

i have been on this drug for over a year, adn have tried weening off it, tried doing it cold turkey. and no matter waht i still end up back on the drug. i rememeber when i first went cold turkey it was as though i was on the worst trip of my life,, i never thought hey this is addicting ,, until i started to smoke. no i have tried quittign smoking a couple of times and have had mediocre success,, both of these drugs are very similar, . and i think if we were all to quit drinking pepsi or consuming caffeen we would kinda feel a similar affect of withdrawl and emptiness of a surtain space. now, i can rememebr the days when i was on paxil coooked upstairs in my room stayign away from every one i could and i remebr the days on paxil when i would be completely free of any problems and i think that this was more of an area found wihtin myself bymyslef , i agree with whoever said people ottta be scanned for the levels of seritonin in there head before they take a drug that fucks wiht it. i was feelign depressed and like rat shit casue i was on accutane before and that dint screw with the seratonin levels, or atleast it isnt supposed to. anyways,, i would declare to the head FDA somebody that this is a very addicting drug,, becuase the withdrawl symptoms are severe and in some cases extreme,, i know if it wasnt addicting i wouldnt still be taking it to get rid of the tingling and the bad trip element. if anyone feels like contacting me on anyfurther info about this drug , im shure i can shed my two cents of info for free, id be more htan glad. please to meet u.

I had been on Paxil for three years and last week I stopped. As I am about to turn 23, my insurance through my parents will cease. So I decided to taper off, going from 30 mg to 15 then none. The reason I started Paxil was for panic attacks and social anxiety. I went to my doctor complaining of light-headedness and trouble breathing when he informed me that I had anxiety. I had really no problems adjusting to the medication, but now that I am off of it I feel so strange. I have these feelings throughout my body that are like electricity and sometimes my heart will just thump after being very faint. I am dizzy, disoriented and noises or sudden movements of any kind make me feel these shocks or zaps throughout my body. The crying spells I could do without because I don't know how to explain them, I'm not really sad, but I'm scared of what's happening to my mind and my body. I now refuse to treat my body with chemicals and realize that to solve my anxiety that therapy is the only way I will go, no more medications that are more or less band-aids for the bigger problem. However, without insurance, therapy is not an option-I don't have the money for it. I just wonder if these withdrawal symptoms will ever cease.

[Moderator comments: The whole point of this site is to say exactly what you have said. We should look at our problems before we create more. The side effects eventually do wear off, the first few weeks are the worst. I have read hundreds of emails though and I can tell you that you will get better with time.
Best of luck,
Aaron]

My sister has been taking Paxil for 2 days and has uncontrollable chills - the pharmacist said this is not due to Paxil. I believe it is and am wondering if she will ever get over this side effect.

I have been taking Paxil since June of 2003. I just started today to stop taking it - I have had such a severe migraine all day from it. My doctor is "weaning" me to everyother day for one week (taking 37.5 mg) then next week going three days without taking it. Today with my headache, I felt like calling the FDA and screaming at them to start putting more information out about Paxil cr, the side effects - especially after you stop taking it. How long does this go on? And they say it's non-addictive - what a load of crap!

I have been taking anti-depressants for many years. I very slowly started to wean myself off of them. And I have this intense whoshing in the head as well. Doctor's have no clue what this is when I describe it. I had come to the conclusion it must be the drugs. But on the plus side, I have had a huge boost in energy, which was in the negative realm for the entire time I took the meds. And suddenly the ability to cook again, which I had stopped doing because I just 'couldn't' on the meds.

After 15 years of depression, failed attempts to treat it properly, self-medication with alcohol, hospital stays, and a brooding desire to conquer this thing, I feel like I've finally made it to a GOOD place. I believe that I am one of those people for whom an SSRI (Paxil) was intended.

I've tried Xanax, Zoloft, and even Lithium (yikes) along with Zyprexz. I had been diagnosed with depression twice, anxiety, and more recently, bipolar disorder. I went in to get a recent diagnosis to really assess my mental status, and my psychiatrist agreed that Lithium was not the drug for me and that I should go on Paxil. It had been over 3 years since I tried anything. The lithium used to make me cry hopelessly and feel an impending veil of doom with no affect or real feelings left, but sadness.

My initial feelings about meds have been negative since I have not felt any positive reactions from any of them. But, then again, and in all honesty I was continually self-medicating with alcohol through all of these years (namely just beer).

I've read horror stories left and right. After all, in addition to depression, I have been diagnosed with OCD. I can honestly sat that I have felt some help in this area of anxiety as well. I feel that I have a lot less obsessive thoughts about the past and future. I do think about things, but I don't feel weighed down by them anymore. I also feel that this drug has helped me with my undiagnosed Tourettes (which I've noticed since about age 12).

The beauty of all of this is that I started to suspect that I may have had a chemical imbalance and, now that I have stopped drinking entirely, I am able to focus on my mental illness completely and with responsibility. So, those of you out there trying to conquer your depression with self-medication, let me heed a word of advice. Take some time away from the sauce or the drugs or the whatever you may be using and really try to engage in a treatment for yourself. Seek out a good psychiatrist who you can be forthright with and have at it. Depression is a multi-faceted illness and it can be compounded with your habits immensely... for me it was alcohol. And now I am over it.

Haven't felt better in years. My smiles are not forced. I have a better disposition on my life and actually have feelings of well-being. And the beauty of it all, folks, is that it has worked for me.

For those of you out there struggling to find the right cure, I ask that you find it within yourself first, and get the appropriate help. There are good treatments out there for depression. Some of them may even work for you. I hope that they do.

It's now one week since I quit Paxil, I've been on (the second time) since September of 2005, 25 mg to 20 to 10 than for a few weeks 5mg, I've had too many side effects anbd it DID NOT cure my depression. The effects of stopping have been, dizzy ness, whooshing, electrical zaps, nausea, tremors in arms, fluttering in ear, along with ringing in ears. This drug is far from harmless as are all the SSRI's. If it's so good , I wonder how many Doctors are taking it?? they seem to be somewhat reckless in prescribing it. There needs to be a class action lawsuit against these companys that are getting rich making people sicker and addicted.

can paxil make me feel lightheaded all the time i am on 10 mg.

I HAVE BEEN KAKEING PAXIL FOR 10 YEARS 60MG PER DAY LATELY I AM HAVEING A LOSS OF MEMORY COULD THE PAXIL CAUSE THIS.

JOHN FARRELL