Influx symptoms and conditions

I've been on Paxil for the last year and every so often I check around on the web to see if anyone has anything GOOD to say about this medication ;-)
For a change I thought I'd throw in my input too to help anyone who may be contemplating using this drug.

I have to say that I think paroxetine hydrochloride (Paxil's generic name) is really a wonder drug in the sense that it completely re-balanced my neurotransmitter chaos and intense panic attacks I experienced last year when I was completing my PhD. Yes, there were changes in my life and my body--easier to gain weight, delayed orgasm/climax (but honestly I would say I have an increase in sex drive, not a decrease), occasional tingling in my fingers or some tension in my jaw, and those absolutely psychedelic dreams. But all in all it's really all positive, not negative. I've experienced a lot more pleasure in my life, calm, mellowness. I have more space around things that used to really bother me intensely. I no longer obsess about this and that. And together with acupuncture, massage, exercise (hot yoga is great), good therapy sessions, and a total restructuring of the way I approach my life, I feel quite confident to come off the drug now.

For those of you worried about withdrawal, you should get the book "The Antidepressant Solution" by Joseph Glenmullen, which is a very clear, methodical guidebook to coming off these powerful medications. His point, as a neurologist and psychiatrist, is that basically our bodies wonderfully adjust to the influx in serotonin by calibrating to the new chemical balance in our blood-- and this takes time--usually a month, for us to biologically come up with the exact "mix" appropriate to our own body. The Paxil starts working the day you take it, but it doesn't produce the desired effect until your body has balanced it out and integrated it.

And the same is true when you withdraw, because your body has to gently adjust again. For reference, I'm down to 5mg from my original 20mg and I feel great. I have had no side effects in withdrawal except for sleepiness and wild dreams, and maybe a touch of dizziness here and there, but I understand these all to be side-effects, and so I'm just gentle with myself and take my time-- I'm tapering off the drug over the course of four-five months, by the way.... The people who complain of all the zaps and the crazy horrifying withdrawal symptoms are people who don't do the tapering gradually enough and don't realize the mechanics going on in their bodies. Stopping cold turkey is never a good idea-- It's like attempting to run a marathon without building up your body first or even stretching.

Your body needs to adjust to the new chemistry bit by bit-- that's all. So long as you observe this and listen to your body every step of the way, I think Paxil is a very trustworthy and friendly tool to integrate into your therapy regarding anxiety, depression and panic. But it's just a tool, and that cannot be stressed enough.

As I read through these posts, I had mixed feelings between thinking they were a little too whiny (please, no offense) to too many memories sweeping back in.
Here is my story... I was on Yasmin for a few years, a few years ago, from ages 18-21. I am now 26. I'd always been active and in shape, no major health problems. At 19, I started to get weird leg pains, tingling and numbness. It got much much worse. Long story short, I had two herniated discs in my lower back which was causing pinched nerves. I had steroid injections localized to my herniations. At this point my adrenal gland stopped working, my face swelled up like a balloon and I lost a ton of weight. Eventually, I had surgery on my back, but went to specialist after specialist to figure out what was going on with my non functioning adrenal gland. We figured that somehow the steroids had gotten into my bloodstream, which doctor after doctor told me was next to impossible. They were ready to do a write up in a medical research journal about my case. Eventually my 3rd Endocronologist (sp?) FINALLY told me to get off Yasmin. Somehow, this small bit of information was missed. My adrenal gland eventually kicked back into shape, my bloating went away and I finally and slow got healthy again.
So... coming back to Yasmin. After reading this site and continuing research on the effects of an influx of potassium, all of my symptoms lead straight to this source. The potassium increase caused the face swelling, muscle spasms, possibly even the nerve weakness (Only speculating, could have caused the herniation.) , from what multiple web sites state.
I must say that this is all speculation; however, light bulbs have just gone off in my head.
I was considering getting back on Yasmin because I now live in Thailand and they offer this pill. I have been on the NuvaRing and I love it, but I cannot find it here. If Yasmin was the cause of what happened to my body or not, I will not take my chances. Most of the symptoms listed by other women are effects of increased potassium. Please research this fact to become more informed about what is happening with your body. It helped me. I hope my story will in effect, help someone else.
And, I'd love to hear if anyone else had something similarly severe...

Hey girls,

I just started my second pack of Yasmin yesterday. I wrote about a month ago about how terrified I was to take this pill, so I guess I've paid a lot of attention to how my body is reacting to it. During the first month I had some spotting, which I knew would probably happen because of hormonal influx (no biggie). I wore a tampon most of the month, just because I'm a clean freak and didn't want to feel yucky. After the week of 'non active' pills my period has finally stopped. Last night, my boyfriend and I tried intercourse and it was incredibly painful. I was actually shocked at how miserable I felt. So, I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this vaginal abrasions or dryness? If you have you can repsond here, or email me. ******

I'm going to keep taking it another month and see what happens. I hate to give up so soon. Hope you all feel better - for those that are miserable - I was miserable on Alesse, much like the symptoms presented here.

~Aaron~