Paxil and insomnia

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.

My sister had horrible side-effects.....she said her brain acted like it was trying to "turn off", skin-crawling, stomach pain, extreme restlessness, insomnia, short and long term memory loss, and more. I saw drastic changes in her behavior, that she didn't seem to be aware of herself. She became quite impulsive, aggressive, and exhibited very bizarre behavior. I blame the Paxil, and caregiver burnout for the tragedy that resulted in the tragic, untimely death of our mother(who was also on Paxil).

I am taking a few meds and im having trouble distinguishing which side effect goes with what lol ..i.e. paxil for anxiety panic attacks and depression topamax and HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE for borderline blood pressure ,well i have experienced tingling in the hands and the feet ..lack of appt,i wouldn't say my desire for sex is gone but im experiencing vaginal dryness itching and numbness like a tingling feeling as well as problems climaxing sorry tmi lol ... thought it was a yeast infection but its kinda different? any girls ever exp that before while on paxil ? would love any feedback on tihs been on paxil now 2 and half weeks take it in the morning because it was keeping me wide awake at night insomnia lol doctor told me to take it at bedtime i tried for a week and i was wired so the pharmacist told me to take it in the morn said it causes insomnia also when i first started taking it made me feel really jittery for the first few hrs then i would get a real mellow feeling lol so i guess i was getting my high then my low i dunno but now it has even out and i feel great oh ya btw the other day i was watching a sad movie and i wanted to cry felt the need to cry but the tears wouldn't come out lol i was laughing i said damn paxil hahahhaha but hey rather be non emotional than emotional wreck lol ...so far so good exept for the vaginal thing its driving me crazy any suggestions that may have worked for you ? thanks .....

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 have been on Paxil for 10 years.
Overall, it has been a wonderful medicine for me.
I am saddened to hear it has not been that way for
everyone.
I was having lots of trouble with anxiety and depression and
Paxil has been a great healer for me.
I did have pretty bad insomnia for the first couple of weeks,
but I just toughed it out and stuck with it, and I am glad
that I did.
2 negative side effects- I do sweat a lot more easily, and
I don't seem to have much of a sex drive.

I was put on Paxil after a recent miscarriage. I had an emotional breakdown several days after the D & C. Instead of thinking it was just hormones, the Dr;s thought I was having panic attacks, which I have never had before. They put me on Paxil CR &Xanax. I did not take the Xanax after the first does because I hated the way I felt. Almost as soon as I took the Paxil I became sick. Nausea, vomiting, total loss of appitite, insomnia, headaches, dizzy, cramping in my legs, and finally heart palpitations. After only 4 days of this drug, and being told I had a "bug" I went to the ER. They were baffeled by my heart problem, because after many tests my heart appeared to be fine. After the ER Dr made many phone calls she discovered that heart complications is a RARE side effect to Paxil. This was NOT listed on the papers the RX gave me, nor is it on the website for the drug. I was immediately taken off of it. Emotionaly I am fine. Physically I have been having all of the same symptoms, however they are decreasing. I will never take a drug again without doing my homework. This hate been a nightmare, and I have lost nearly 3 weeks of my life.

I have been Paxil on for 2 wks. No serious side effects, i have trouble sleeping and i yawn like crazy all day. But other than that so far so good.

I am taking Paxil for approx. 5 years-20mg. as prescribed my my doctor. I am currently being weaned off this medication at my request for approx. 5 months now (Slow) taking 20m.g. every 4 days. Well, I am experiencing all kinds of side effects e.g. shakiness, tremor, dizziness, headaches, big time insomnia, coming down my stairs, I have to hold on the rail, pains in my back, legs, neck, lack of judement, concentration and the list goes on. But my goal is to fight this and move on without any drugs. But I am struggling at the moment.

In my opinion Paxil was only a coverup for me, it did more harm than good. It seems like you have to use it for the rest of your life.

I have been on Paxil (20 mg/day, taken in the morning) for 18 days now, and I am feeling way better than I was before starting it. Before, I was weepy, depressed, prone to panic attacks, quick to anger, and wondering why I was alive.

Now, I am thinking much more clearly. I do not feel depressed. I have not experienced any panic whatsoever, even during times when I usually had panic episodes before. I feel moments of normal happiness, which I had gone a very long time without experiencing.

I have experienced a slight sensation of detachment since starting the Paxil, but it's not awful. In fact, it is probably best for me, anyway. My emotional instability was pretty bad before--crying at the drop of a hat, freaking out at my poor husband for something minor--and the Paxil has put me back on an even keel again.

The only "bad" (note the quotes) side effects I have noted are night sweats (actually, increased sweating overall), insomnia (particularly bad the first week of taking Paxil), and teeth grinding in my sleep.

My doctor prescribed me a short course of low-dosage Xanax for just the first few weeks, so I pop two 0.25 mg pills before bedtime. This has helped the insomnia, and I am no longer grinding my teeth during the night. The longer I stay on the Paxil, the lesser I notice or experience the bad side effects.

Overall, for me at least, the good outweighs the bad with Paxil. I feel like myself again!

I WAS ON PAXIL CR FOR ABOUT 7MOS. FOR ANXIETY. I HAD 20MG PER DAY. I EXPEIRENCED DREAMS, INSOMNIA, DIZZINESS AND LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, WEIGHT GAIN. I PUT ON 24 POUNDS WITHIN THE LAST MONTH. MY ANXIETY WAS BETTER BUT THE DREAMS AND DIZZINESS WAS VERY HARD TO COPE WITH. MY DR. TOOK ME OFF THEM AND I AM CURRENTLY TRYING ZOLOF. FOR THE LAST WEEK DURING THE CHANGE OVER I WAS EXTREMELY DIZZY. I DO FEEL BETTER WITH THIS DRUG. I AM SLEEPING BETTER AND FEEL CALMER. THE DIZZINESS IS GETTING BETTER. MY HUSBAND IS ON LEXAPRO AND SEEMS TO BE HANDLING THAT FINE. THAT MADE ME VERY ILL. I'M GLAD TO KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT JUST ME.

I have been taking Paxil CR 25 mg. now for about 3 months. I don't really see any change and still have the anxiety, night sweats, no sex drive, dizziness, headaches, insomnia and a lot of other things. I am not sure what to do at this point. I was on Prozac before and felt kind of the same, maybe not as anxious. Zoloft did not work for me at all. I know for sure, you have to wean off of these drugs you cannot just stop taking it or the side effects get worse. I am going to talk to my doctor about something else. I know they do not like to give out Xanax unless it is on a short term basis.

I used to be on Paxil. I was prescribed this drug "to simply smooth life's edges." I didn't always feel like I was in a good mood, was midly depressed and suffered with mild anxiety attacks. Had feelings of being a little lost and confused and the littlest things would upset me to the point of tears. I was over sensitive about almost everything. Paxil was the best thing that ever happened to me during that period of time. It did exactly with the doctor said it would do. It is a mild antidepressant that will just take the "edge" off. I was taking 25mg CR and I only took them for a month and a half until I felt better. I weaned myself off with less and less dosage day by day. A few months later I started having similar feelings like before and took another 1-month session. Fixed me again, just like before. Took me through a stressful time and eased my feelings of anxiety until I was able to control things and pull through my mild depression. It's been about a year and a half and I haven't needed Paxil again.

I've read all of these postings and I was concerned by all the bad side effects. I had heard in advance about the decreased sex drive thing but I was willing to deal with it. Turns out the drug increased my sex drive. I just felt better about everything. Things that would normally bother me didn't. Anxiety attacks with scared feelings and shortness of breath were just non-existent. Never had any trouble sleeping and my mood swings were totally in check. Actually, even though I been off the Paxil for about 1.5 years, I feel like I learned how to control my mood swings and some anger. I am a much more rational person today than I was then. People talk about side effects such as lucid dreams, the occasional lose of touch with reality and weird feelings of not been all there. Are these really bad things? I am surprised this wonder drug is not illegal. I thought it was great.

I used to be on Paxil. I was prescribed this drug "to simply smooth life's edges." I didn't always feel like I was in a good mood, was midly depressed and sufferred with mild anxiety attacks. Had feelings of being a little lost and confused and the littlest things would upset me to the point of tears. I was over sensitive about almost everything. Paxil was the best thing that ever happened to me during that period of time. It did exactly with the doctor said it would do. It is a mild antidepressant that will just take the "edge" off. I was taking 25mg CR and I only took them for a month and a half until I felt better. I weined myself off with less and less dosage day by day. A few months later I started having similar feelings like before and took another 1 month session. Fixed me again, just like before. Took me through a stressful time and eased my feeelings of anxiety until I was able to control things and pull through my mild depression. It's been about a year and a half and I haven't needed Paxil again.

I've read all of these postings and I was concerned by all the bad side effects. I had heard in advance about the decreased sex drive thing but I was willing to deal with it. Turns out the drug increased my sex drive. I just felt better about everthing. Things that would normally bother me, didn't. Anxiety attacks with scared feelings and shortness of breath were just non-existent. Never had any trouble sleeping and my moodswings were totallly in check. Actually, even though I been off the Paxil for about 1.5 years, I feel like I learned how to control my mood swings and some anger. I am a much more rational person today than I was then. People talk about side effects such as lucid dreams, the occassional lose of touch with reality and wierd feelings of not being all there. Are these really bad things? I'm surprised that it is still legal. I thought it was great.

Trouble breathing, heavy in the chest and trouble sleeping

trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, drowsiness while on the medicine. Since I have come off of it I have trouble sleeping, confusion, more depression than before I started taking it, and severe episodes of vertigo.

im glad to hear im not the only one who has trouble sleeping and chest pains..they told me its chest wall pain..and i have the dry mouth and confussion also