Paxil and cold turkey

I took paxil when I was around 24 years old. The stupid psychiatrist (who was so cold, and never smiled, and then asked me to tell her how I felt) at the time never warned me about NOT stopping it cold turkey. So one day I did stop and I experienced symptoms already described by other people: extreme relapse into depression and anxiety, felling like I "wasn't real", social phobia, agoraphobia and feeling suicidal. Now I am on Effexor and my doctor says "there are no withdrawal symptoms". I was put on Effexor due to a diagnosis of major depression last 6 months ago and I believe it was all precipitated by hormonal birth control. All the doctors and psychiatrists I spoke to about the possible link between hormonal birth control and depression and anxiety told me there was no link (or that it was very rare). I hate the attitude of the medical community:(

I have been on Paxil for about 9 months now (20mg) and it has been a wonderful aid to my severe health anxiety and depression. Though the side effect have been around since the early months I have noticed an increase in them lately such as my vivid dreams have gotten very strong, ability to climax has decreased, but the insane sweating has improved.

All in all there a lot of side effects related to this medicine but in my opinion they do not come close to out weighing the benefits of the medication.

Before you begin this medication make sure you ask you doctor lots of questions and understand that this medicine can be a bit life changing since it comes with withdrawal when you decide to tapper off. But in my opinion it is a great tool when battling anxiety, another great tool is therapy too! Therapy has been a huge help for me and I totally recommend going to see someone if you are able!

Hope this helps.

When i was 13 i was put on paxil for major depression. I stayed on it till i was about 17 after a downward spiral of depression that lead to a suicide attempt. After that the doctors decided that Paxil wasn't benefiting me anymore and decided to take me off of it, cold turkey. At that time i was on 40mg.
I started getting zapping headaches, muscle spasms, i was sensitive to light, my body ached, i had hot flashes, pretty much anything over stimulated me... i was irritated with just hearing anyone talk, i was completely out of touch with anything around me and i didn't feel like i was real.. I basically shut myself in my room for over a month getting over paxil. My family was afraid i was planning suicide.
After that, it's made me afraid to take any of my prescribed antidepressants, but i just cannot go through that again. At the time they put me on it, there was nothing that said that it was addictive, i was even told that there was no proof that it was addictive.
Also, I still experience the headache zaps to this day, and im 22 now, and i never had those type of headaches before paxil. I really think my mental illness is a lot worse from paxil. I have depersonalization disorder now, my short-term memory's crap, im more uncoordinated, im a lot more depressed and social phobic.. i know part of it could be from not taking any meds at all.. but i know that paxils really screwed me up, and i would have been a lot better not taking it at all. I just wish they would have warned me before putting me on it, or warning me before taking me off.

I am on 10 mg. of paxil and have been on it for about 4-5 years. I would like to come off but am worried about all these crazy withdrawal symptoms everyone talks about. I have gone as many as 3 nights without takiing any and never experienced "jolts", maybe a little jittery and confused. I am thinking about doing 7.5 mg. for about a month, then go down to 5 for a month, then 2.5 for a month.

I hear all these stories and wonder if the people who have all these bad withdrawls were on high does and if they weaned themselves off.

PLEASE HELP.

Thanks.

I was on Paxil for 12 years.
The early years I struggled to stay awake then gradually over 4 ti 5yrs I developed a boundless energy, with a constant elated and irritable mood, my thoughts and behaviors leaned towards the aggressive while highly confident. Never used a winter coat with temps well below freezing, I was always warm. Never needed more than 2hrs sleep each night.
Developed muscle aches, rash on both cheeks and along bridge of nose.
I read up on Paxil and discovered that these symptoms were Paxil related. I took myself off of it. I was on 20mgs then one month of 10mgs after that I quit cold turkey. While withdrawing I felt like my head was in a wind tunnel, a constant whooshing sound going round with dizziness, brain jolts, agitation, anger and crying, After 1 month of being off I began to feel better. If you want to quit you just have to tough it out. Once you get passed the withdrawals it is well worth it. I understand the link between school shootings, criminal behavior and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. It is wonderful after quitting to be in control of your thoughts and actions once again. I suggest you never start taking this medicine as it will be a nightmare withdrawing from not to mention the psychotic behavior it is known to cause in some cases.

I have been taking Seroxat for about 6 years now, for panic attacks and mild depression,at first i didnt like the feelings i was getting, but stuck with it ,glad i did coz they turned me into a very happier more confident person,very rarly get a panic attack now and i can even go out and get drunk without thinking im going to die,did not effect my sex drive at all,started remembering dreams for the first time ever. I have lost hair and i have put on a lot of weight but this could be put down to getting older and drinking ? who knows ,
I would like to stop taking Seroxat just to see if i lose weight , but I cant coz I know, after forgetting to take tabs for a couple days the cold turkey is horrible ,

Paul

The generic paroxetine has not worked as well for me as the regular Paxil. I have been trying to wean myself off with no success. Once I went cold turkey and was almost hospitalized . Any suggestions?

I took paxil for over a year, I stop cold turkey because I read one of the side effet,affect your liver, I felt dizzy spells my head felt disconnected, I had terrible nightmare my sex drive decreased, weight gain, chest pain , slow heart beat , felt so tire and sad after getting off paxil, I'm going back to my doctor . I'm reserching every medication prescribed to me before I take it.

Don't take Paxil or Paxil CR.

Paxil caused weight gain, lightheadness, vertigo, weird felling of not been all there, like a fuzz when out, was perscribed Paxil for Anxiety and panic attack but I stoppped cold turkey. this caused my blood pressure to rise really high , also a racing pulse, am weaning off after told by doc to get back on a see if it had an effect on blood pressure and pulse, it has lowered my blood pressure and pulse but i feel terrible with the side effects, can't wait till I get off and find something that workes for me, Xanax does by they don't llike to prescribe it for very long.