Paxil and stress

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

My mom, 72, has been sick for a year and a half now with drenching night sweats, chills, fatigue as well as some other symptoms. She has undergone every test imaginable and has been to tons of doctors. Every test is normal and the drs. don't know what is wrong. We recently came to the conclusion that she switched to a generic heart medicine at about the time she became ill as well as recently started to take generic paxil because she thought she was having a nervous breakdown. We have just switched her meds to all name brands to see if this will stop the sweats and her general ill feeling. Has anyone heard that taking generic drugs could do this? Specifically Verapamil and the generic paxil. Thanks.

I would like to stop taking paxil, I have been on it for 3 yrs. When I skip my medicine I get what feels like electrical shocks in my neck & head. I wasnt sure if I had a pinched nerve at 1st but began to associate this with the event that I had not taken my meds. I also have onset of panic attacks & rapid heart, & terrible terrible forgetfulness, as to even what cabinet I would like to open, I open the wrong one, go into the wrong doorway, wrong driveway. I am very concerned. I have told my Dr. that I would like to get off this Paxil but Ive been told that it would be best since I was suffering from anxiety attacks in past. I would like to be committed to be able to handle the withdrawls. If anyone has been successful in stopping Paxil and now feels pretty back to normal, please let me know. Thanks

I'm 40 and was on Paxil about a year and off now 3+ years. I gained 32 pounds- from a sz.2 all my life naturally because I'm just petite, to size 8!!!!! While on Paxil I did not care about anything, it was not like being depressed but I was totally mentally numb. I use to keep things tidy, and really care about how I looked, and be ambitious and creative. Yes, it took my stress away and that was good, but not for the trade offs! If I could go back I would never have taken it! I even started drinking a bottle of wine a night! It also made me vomit 6 + times in that year when I would drink too much, and I could drink plenty because I was SO numb! (I haven't puked from drinking since highschool) I briefly tapered off after a year of taking it with no side effects that I recall. I've just read several articles about lawsuits of those who commited suicide connected to Paxil and some killing others too - like the stories we hear all too often. The biggest advertisers in the TV & newspaper are PHARMA, so do you think we will hear any news on drugs like Paxil being linked to these stories, that are tradagies of real peoples lives!!!!! No.
I recently saw a billboard stating Paxil has caused LUNG & HEART DEFECTS! Which prompted me to start research and got me to this site. Turns out I have had several test on my lungs and heart over the last few years, cause I have an unexplained chest discomfort. I was diag. w/ mitro valve prolapse and have a spot on my lung?! So this is ALL now making me wonder if it's a side effect to that dam PAXIL. LIFE has stress, we all have to learn to cope by using psycho therapy or perhaps having our hormone and other levels checked in the body. Paxil is NOT a cure, it's HIGH RISK, and not worth it, drugs like this only MASK the real problem that still needs to be resolved, and there's not been enough long-term studies on all these drugs! I have wondered for a long time what side-effects I've had from it that I"m not even aware of. I've never felt the same as I did prior to taking it, my mind just doesn't seem as sharp. I never had SEVERE depression, HIGH anxiety, and suicidal thoughts until AFTER I quit taking Paxil. I got on it because my "family practice" Dr. like all of them was too quick to perscribe it when I told her I was having stress because of life changes having moved and just married and career changes.. normal life stress we all have to work THROUGH! I needed a therapist and maybe some valium, but NOT PAXIL!
I plead with you to do more exploration w/ natural approaches, excercise, and therapy don't just POP A PILL for your problems! The risk are too high.

I'm 40 and was on Paxil about a year and off now 3+ years. I gained 32 pounds- from a sz.2 all my life naturally because I'm just petite, to size 8!!!!! While on Paxil I did not care about anything, it was not like being depressed but I was totally mentally numb. I use to keep things tidy, and really care about how I looked, and be ambitious and creative. Yes, it took my stress away and that was good, but not for the trade offs! If I could go back I would never have taken it! I even started drinking a bottle of wine a night! It also made me vomit 6 + times in that year when I would drink too much, and I could drink plenty because I was SO numb! (I haven't puked from drinking since highschool) I briefly tapered off after a year of taking it with no side effects that I recall. I've just read several articles about lawsuits of those who commited suicide connected to Paxil and some killing others too - like the stories we hear all too often. The biggest advertisers in the TV & newspaper are PHARMA, so do you think we will hear any news on drugs like Paxil being linked to these stories, that are tradagies of real peoples lives!!!!! No.
I recently saw a billboard stating Paxil has caused LUNG & HEART DEFECTS! Which prompted me to start research and got me to this site. Turns out I have had several test on my lungs and heart over the last few years, cause I have an unexplained chest discomfort. I was diag. w/ mitro valve prolapse and have a spot on my lung?! So this is ALL now making me wonder if it's a side effect to that dam PAXIL. LIFE has stress, we all have to learn to cope by using psycho therapy or perhaps having our hormone and other levels checked in the body. Paxil is NOT a cure, it's HIGH RISK, and not worth it, drugs like this only MASK the real problem that still needs to be resolved, and there's not been enough long-term studies on all these drugs! I have wondered for a long time what side-effects I've had from it that I"m not even aware of. I've never felt the same as I did prior to taking it, my mind just doesn't seem as sharp. I never had SEVERE depression, HIGH anxiety, and suicidal thoughts until AFTER I quit taking Paxil. I got on it because my "family practice" Dr. like all of them was too quick to perscribe it when I told her I was having stress because of life changes having moved and just married and career changes.. normal life stress we all have to work THROUGH! I needed a therapist and maybe some valium, but NOT PAXIL!
I plead with you to do more exploration w/ natural approaches, exercise, and therapy don't just POP A PILL for your problems! The risk are too high.