Paxil and vivid dreams

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.

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

Im a 20 year old male and about 6 months ago got injured and was forced to stop playing golf. This was very difficult and it gave me pretty bad anxiety, and i also had 2 panic attacks. All this occured all in about 2 weeks. I was put on 20mg paxil and about a day or two into it I started to see wonderful effects. I thought it was amazing. After about a month i was back to normal with minimal if any anxiety, had very minimal side-effects; drymouth,headaches. I just recently bumped it up to 40mg due to stress, worked good, but i did get a few new side-effects like trouble ejaculating, weakness, slight trembling, very vivid dreams(which is kinda neat just due to the fact that i would never remember my dreams and now i remember 2-4 a night) and a headache every once and a while. I think this drug is good and can be bad. Ive been reading a lot of troubling stories about other peoples experiences with getting off the drug, and quite frankly, its got me a little worried. But I plan to eventually got off this drug and get through the withdrawals and continue my life accordingly. I think if anyone is going through these problems and does get over it, it would be very helpful to all the people who are struggling, if you would write about your struggles and explain that this does happen and it does end. Show how everyone eventually gets over the hard times and gos on with the rest our their lives. Good luck to all, your not alone, and it will get better

This is both one of the BEST and WORST drugs for anxiety/depression. I was on Paxil CR 37.5mg for five years for moderate anx./dep., and yes, the weight gain (10-15 lbs.), vivid dreams, sweatiness, etc. were all side effects. But the Paxil so thoroughly balanced out my anxiety and depression that the side effects seemed a fair tradeoff.

(P.S. Nothing kills a libido like Paxil.)

And then, I went off the Paxil b/c I was changing insurance companies. Having read all of the terrible withdrawal symptoms, I scheduled myself a full four months to taper off. I lowered my dosage every week by only 2-3mg at most. (This involved cutting up the pill, which *they* say never to do, but of course *they* also claim that there are no withdrawal symptoms.) As a result, my withdrawal symptoms were negligible at best.

This past year, I went back on the Paxil CR 37.5mg and for a short while it worked again. And then it suddenly STOPPED. *They* don't want us to know that once you've been on, then off, Paxil, when you return to it, its chances of working again are slim to none. I took less time (only 2 months) to withdraw this time around, and the withdrawal symptoms were HIDEOUS. I've never felt so scared of what my body exhibited--unbelievable dizziness, terrible electric "shocks," headaches. And abject rage that I've never experienced before in my life. So much incredible nervous energy that I couldn't sit still. A rotten memory and confusion. Horrible symptoms. And yet, while I was withdrawing, I could see my body improving in other areas--far less appetite, for one, far less need for sleep, and less exhaustion.

While my anxiety and depression have returned, and while I'll probably need to be put on a different pill, I now at least know to research not just "official" medication Web sites but also patients' anecdotes. If I'd done so the first time around, I never would have stopped the Paxil at all. Pharmaceutical companies are just pimps who own doctors, so drs. are never going to warn you about the bad side effects of what they prescribe!!

i have been on paxil for about 3 or 4 months now following several life traumas over a short time. my side effects from paxil have been as follows:

- very vivid dreams/nightmares, sumtimes hard to determine if it really happened or not.
- palms sweat like crazy
- gained at least 10 pounds
- hair texture seems to be dry and thinner
- urinate frequently (has gotten better after a few months)
- very sleepy, yawn frequently (yawning has gotten better)
- can sleep for almost 24 hours straight (18 hours last sat.)
- does not mix well with alcohol!!! enhances the effects of alcohol and has made me hysterical.
- upon waking up and laying in bed, objects appear to "jump" and colors look faded.
- no pain, just upper neck and back stiffness
HOWEVER the major BENEFIT outways all: no more panic attacks and much less anxiety...i feel so much calmer and like my old self again. Good luck to everyone!

headaches , dry mouth, vivid dreams ending in sweats. sweat so much i need a towel to dry off, i dont get it. im taking 37.5mg each day. i dont feel good at all(( not suicidal no way) after a year and a half on the paxil cr. at first it helped to postpone anxiety attacks so that i could function and get groceries. whats happening now i have no idea but im told i will be on this long term even tho i have expressed that i want to get down to a minimum dosage of like 10 or 12 mg.

I have been taking Paxil for the last couple of months to help me get a good nights sleep..I have Fibromyalgia...I have been having vivid dreams and seem to be starving to death all the time. I eat something and when I'm finished, I'll start looking for something else to eat. I'm not exactly gaining weight but I cannot loose any. I'm unable to exercise enough to loose any weight because of the muscle soreness of the Fibromyalgia. I stopped smoking after a heart attack 2 years ago and gained weight. I started taking Prempro again a few months ago for Menopause and gained more. I stay home and babysit a 10 month old and eat and eat all day and gained a few more pounds. I just wonder if the Paxil is the reason for the hunger...I don't mind the vivid dreams but I still don't get more than 4 hours each night. Thanks for this forum...it has given me lots of info over the past 2 years..

I have been taking Paxil since October 2003, as I was suffering from panic attacks and mild depression.

After the initial two weeks of getting used to the medication (20 mg each morning) (I had to take a week off work as I was so spaced out, achy, shaky, feeling sick, sweaty), I found that my symptoms of depression and panic attacks eased off and have now completely gone.

I've been feeling great ever since. The only side effects I get now are the constant vivid dreams which are so real that I sometimes really don't know whether something has happened or not, I've put on a massive 28lbs which is loads for me as I've always been a petite size 8-10(UK). Every now and again I would experience what I would call a "judder".

I have started to come off the tablets (10 mg a day for a few weeks and then see what my doctor says) I am experiencing these "judders" all the time. I have also not had a period for six weeks - is this normal (I have taken three pregnancy tests so I am just waiting to see what my doctors says about it)??? I am also sweating a lot and feel very flushed.