Old grandmother symptoms and conditions

I have been on Paxil off and on now for about 5 years.... the current length of treatment for the past 1 1/2 years. I need to be on it ( or something for that matter ) for my panic disorder. I am a 36 year old nurse/ manager and some days was almost debilitated by panic attacks. Depression was part of it, but not nearly as much as panic. I must say, that I have been experiencing memory loss now for about a year.... I thought maybe it was due to overwork/ stress...which I do understand it COULD be. However, I find it interesting that I am seeing so many more people with memory loss than I imagined. Is it due to stress in this type of people's lives, or is it in fact, the drug Paxil?
Keep in mind this is an SSRI ( Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor ) ~~ even though there is no solid evidence (YET!) this is a side effect of the drug, I would bet my license on the fact that that it is!
I have tried time and time again to wean myself off of Paxil.. ( with and without my Dr's advice )--- I did succeed for a few years to be without the medicine, however being on a slew of other meds in the interim did not help as much for the panic as does the Paxil. Paxil, honestly, scares the hell out of me!
Besides the "numb emotions", memory loss, sexual appetite decrease, yawning, lack of sleep, etc... the side effects of coming off of it are worse! As I read earlier, it IS addictive, indeed! The brain gets used to the drug being there ( as with any addiction ), and the "surges" of dizziness, sweats, and out-of-body-like experiences I experience coming off of the drug are excruciatingly harder to bare than the depression itself. Those above symptoms of withdrawal are just that....withdrawal!
Once your body is "allowed" to reuptake serotonin (as it is supposed to), this is when those symptoms raise their head...sometimes for weeks or months until they subside.
I would welcome anyone with help on this matter---is there another Drug out there that can help with anxiety/depression symptoms, and not cause the plethora of side effects we have all discussed here?
Diane

I had Mirena put in straight after the birth of my second child as recommended by my maternity hospital to have inserted 6 weeks postnatal and kept it in for seven months. At first I just had minor symptoms like spotting slight cramps and a little bit of vaginal discomfort due to the wires, and the only good thing was that my periods stopped eventually. As the months went on my health started to decline as the side effects crept up on me and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I just thought it was because I have two small children and I was feeling worn out/burnt-out, it got to the point that I was struggling to do everyday tasks and look after my children. I am only 24 years old and I felt like I was a 50 year old grandmother!

I had the Mirena removed 3 days ago after reading this site and I feel so much better! This company must know that there are more side effects than they have listed, yet they still fail to list the serious and debilitating side effects their product is causing people. They were sending the maternity hospital I went to products with Mirena printed on to push their crappy product. The biggest worry I have about this thing is that I am breastfeeding and I had this stupid thing in for 7 months and some of it was coming through my breastmilk and I have noticed that my 9 month old baby girl had really bad clicking joints that have got better since the Mirena removal as have mine! (although not 100% back to normal yet) This company deserves to have their product removed from the market and someone to sue the pants off of schering. The product is completely unsafe!. If there are any long term side effects to myself or my daughter I WILL SUE THIS STUPID COMPANY AND THE DOCTOR AT THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL WHO PUSHED THIS PIECE OF JUNK TO ME. The warnings are completely inadequate - because I'm sure if all the possible side effects were listed next to no-one would have it put in. I feel that this thing is pushed on mothers so that you can't distinguish the side effects from hormonal changes that could possibly occur after the birth of a child to hide the fact their product is dangerous.

has anyone else experienced a "dropped foot"? Came out of no-where - had mri's/ ct scan/ emg-ncv nerve tests - all came back "normal" . Doctor finally said to stop the lipitor (20mg daily). I am hoping for improvement. I am a very active 58 yr.old grandmother - had to run my 5 miles on the treadmill today holding on!!

I have had both the Imitrex pill and injection . The shot seemed to work alot better with the migraine pain and less for my nausea. The E.R. Doctor gave me two of the Imitrex pills for future Migraines. About 3 months went by and it hit me while taking my husbands 87 year old grandmother and my 3 yeat old son camping. I felt the shooting pain and blurred vision in my right eye and luckily had my pill to try. This was the first time I had tried the pill and was not even prepared for the what was about to happen. After 15 min. of the taking the pill I felt so hot like someone had just shot boiling water in my veins. There was no way I could have did anything the pain, nausea, and numbness were much more for me to handle. My husband had to come had stay with us and in one hour my migraine was tolerable, but the imitrex still left me very uncomfortable.

My 81 year old grandmother is taking 20 mg of Zocor per day, AS WELL AS 600mg of Lopid per day. I just read that Zocor and Lopid should NOT be taken together, but the quack of a doctor she's seeing is a real pill pusher, and he hasn't made any attempt and getting her off of this. She began losing muscles last fall after taking the medications for a while, but now she is nearly helpless, and falls and loses her balance a lot. Which medication should be stopped, the Zocor or the Lopid? Both of these medications can cause muscle deterioration. Since she will not be going back to the quack, I was just wondering which one we should take her off of, or possibly both. Thanks for any information.