Quitpaxil: voices

Page 2 of the voices section

Dear Frank; Thanks for your website. I have a story that will not shock anyone if they have been through Paxil withdrawal. At 50 years old, my kids grown up, I had been on 30 mg of Paxil for two years. I originally went on it to help me through a rough time in my marriage when our kids were teens. We are a step-family with 5 kids. After all the kids are gone, we settle in, and I lose my sex drive, totally. My husband left me. He left because I was not right. I felt as though I was in an "apathetic state" all the time and couldn't shake it loose. He left for these reasons, he couldn't handle it. Then I go to my doctor. She tells me she can put me on another antidepressant that would help my sex drive. So I start taking the other, while weaning myself off of Paxil at the same time. She also gave me something for my "anxiety". Some kind of tranq. Then I find out that my husband is seeing another woman. SOOOOO, I'm on the drugs, I drink a couple of beers before bed because it was the only way I could sleep. Two beers later, I'm driving up to the woman's house banging on the door for my husband to come out. I was screaming, banging, crying, throwing up and was actually out of my mind for over an hour. I was arrested, charged with DWI, domestic abuse and all of that. I was the manager of a law office and I lost my job because of this. This was so unlike me or anything I had ever done. I was not myself and my husband tells me that I threatened to kill him several times. I shudder to think what might have happened. As it was, I only hurt myself, thank god. I stopped taking the other medication she gave me and started to wean myself off the Paxil. I blame the Paxil for my erratic behavior and thoughts of suicide that night and many other nights after that. I took the 30 mg every other day for a week, then 1/2 tablet for two weeks every other two days, and I have been free for over 4 weeks now. I feel like ME again. I didn't know I had lost myself; no one told me and I thought I was fine. It is true that social interaction while on Paxil is a "chore". Maybe my husband felt that I treated him that way too. I am losing weight too and don't crave junk foods or alcohol. My husband has asked me to go down to Florida with him to find us a place to live and to start our lives over again, together. I am trying to take care of myself again. There is another downside here too. My 29 year old son is on 20 mg now and he says it works for him. I am more than concerned after what happened to me. He wants to stay on it for now and I can't talk him out of it so I can only hope for the best. I hope that someone out there may read about my "out of body experience" and not let this happen to them. It is more than horrifying to be that out of control and not being able to reign yourself back in. Please don't let this happen to anyone else. Spread the word and thank you for listening and thank you for your help and insight.

Wow, I didn't realize other people had the same issues that I did. When I had just turned 21, I started seeing a therapist for anti-social issues that I have had my whole life, and I was looking to change that. She recommended that I take Paxil. So, I made an appointment with my doctor and she gave me a prescription. The first month that I was on it, I was hallucinating, and I had a terrible buzzing feeling in my head. I told both my doctor and my therapist, and they told me to continue taking it because it would eventually level itself out. I listened to them and kept taking it. My boyfriend noticed a big change in my attitude and started distancing himself from me. I cried all the time, wouldn't leave the house, got fired from my job for blowing up at my boss (something I never would've done), and that's when I decided to stop taking the drug.

I found out that getting off of Paxil was harder than being on it. I would shake constantly, I couldn't eat, I felt as if I was going through withdrawal off of some other drug. Well, to make a long story short, I went temporarily insane in the 2 week time period that I didn't take Paxil. I slit both my wrists in front of my boyfriend and his brother, smashed my head into a concrete floor, and ended up in a mental hospital for a week. Now, almost 3 years later, I'm a lot better, but I'm never going to be the same person that I was before all of that. I stopped seeing both my doctor and therapist right away, and I refuse to take anymore anti-anxiety drugs. I'm dealing with the fact that I may never be the social butterfly that I want to be. Being on Paxil made my problem worse. I work from home now to avoid social interactions, and I now have panick attacks when surrounded by large groups of people. Before the Paxil, I was just a little shy, only uncomfortable around people I didn't know too well. Now it's really hard for me to leave the house.

I would also like to see Paxil taken off the market so other people don't have to deal with the things that I went through.

This site has been really helpful, not only to me but to my patients. I am a clinical psychologist and many of my patients have reported withdrawal symptoms from Paxil, as well as from other SSRI's. I have to admit, I was like many of therapists and physicians mentioned on your page, in minimizing the withdrawal process, since it was not well-documented in the clinical trial literature. Let me just say now- "I'm a believer". After being on Paxil myself for about 1 year, I am now weaning myself off. Talk about withdrawal! I have the dizziness and irritability spoken about by other individuals. Today, I knew things were really bad, when at my son's play, a child, "the cow" failed to jump over "the moon" and was upset. I wanted to burst out crying, and could hardly keep from tears welling up in my eyes. At first, as much as I tend to "intellectualize" things regularly, I immediately thought I was going crazy or that the depression was back full force. It was so refreshing to read accounts from others that they have had similar experiences. I've been taking 1 20mg pill every 2 days, then every 3 days, now I'm on every 4 days, but it seems to be getting worse!!

Your information has helped me beyond description. After being on Paxil for 5 years, I asked my physician to prescribe an alternative. So, about a month ago he began decreasing and then eliminating the Paxil completely. The weaning off process lasted about 5 days. Then I started on Serzone. Of course I have the "flu like symptoms", but then about two weeks ago I began this phase that has been like a living hell. I am afraid to fall asleep because I have these overly vivid, bizarre dreams. I've gone from being a very "on top of things" employee to having the most horrendous difficulty with my short term memory. I have been terrified that I would die, or lose my mind in the process. I stumble at times when I walk and I have never had these kind of problems. I am apologizing daily to my co-workers and supervisor for my "dinginess". I do a lot of crying, which is a change, because on Paxil, crying was almost impossible. This is all so embarrassing and frightening. I pray that this!
will end soon. Every day lately is a fight just to "hold on". Thanks for listening. Kathie

I was on paxil for almost two years. About three weeks ago, I decided to wean myself off of paxil after talking to my Dr. about it. Boy I didn't know what I was in for. As I got to a pill every other day I begin to have the most vivid and horrific nightmares. My husband would have to wake me because I would be screaming and crying. I too had electric type shock sensation in my head. I also experienced Irritability, confusion, a feeling of a swishing sound in my head when I moved my head, imbalance, Insomnia, and violent thoughts. I thought it was just me, until someone told me to look up this sight. The awful thing about this was that my 16 year old son was taking paxil occasionally for his anger (7 months). He was always so depressed. In July my son took his own life. I'd hate to think it was because of the symptoms of occasionally being off of paxil.
I believe this medication should be taken off the market. I write this in memory of my son hoping that others might realize their not alone. Thank you for your web sight S. Crow

Hi, I can't believe that there are other people dealing with what I am dealing with. I stopped the Paxil 7 days ago, and I am so moody and depressed. My doctor did not warn me...had I known I would be feeling like this, I would have waited to get off of it. It is December, I am finishing grad school and I have finals, but I don't care about it. I was dating someone wonderful with great potential, and he broke up with me because "one minute I was OK, and the next I wasn't" and "I would get mad at him for no reason." I messed that up and blame myself. I yell at everyone, and I just want to start caring about things again. I can't sleep at night, so that's a lot of fun because I dwell about the things that I have messed up. Lastly, I obsessively worry about everything. I want my sanity back for Christmas.

I just wanted to add that before this experience with Paxil withdrawal, I had no claims or ill feelings toward pharmaceutical companies. In fact, I always wanted to be a pharmaceutical sales representative. After this, I have changed my outlook on the pharmaceutical industry, I am determined to be a social activist against this type of abuse to patients and consumers.
I see clearly now as a nurse that a lot of my hospice patients were on a SSRI like Paxil and including Paxil. I am concerned that because I was not educated on this subject that some of my terminally ill patients suffered due to SmithKline Beecham and other pharmaceutical companies negligence as well as my ignorance. Ninety-nine percent of my patients declined over a period of time prior to death and were unable to swallow their medicines, so they were abruptly taken off of their medicines, as well as Paxil and others like Paxil.
I am very concerned that due to being abruptly taken off of these types of medicines, they suffered these withdrawals and couldn't even verbalize it due to being comatose and near death. I could not imagine having these types of withdrawal symptoms while going through the dying process. I am more appalled by this than my own experience.
In one day this has become a very heart felt subject with me, especially now that I have experienced it for myself. I am and will be passionate regarding this subject. I will do what is legally, morally, and ethically necessary to see that this type of abuse to our consumers is ceased. This is my chance to do what every nurse and medical professional should do, and that is to be an advocate for the people we take care of and love, as well as ourselves.

I would like to thank you for your page. I thought I was the only one who is suffering from Paxil withdrawal. I am a Disabled Vietnam Veteran who suffers from severe PTSD. I thought that the dreams and nightmares were bad from that. Not on your life. When I try to back off the Paxil it is horrible. I get Agoraphobia, electric type shocking in my head, twitching feeling, cold sweats, sleep disorder, no sex drive, the list just goes on. I feel as if I am stuck with the Paxil for the rest of my life

I weaned myself 2 years ago, it was horrible for about 2 months, I could not even drive. But, finally the symptoms went away. The reason for taking Paxil was for panic attacks associated with mitral valve prolapse. I was off paxil for one year and had a baby, then relapsed and had to get on paxil again. Now I am trying to get off of paxil again, I have been on it for 19months. I am once again experiencing the dizziness , nausea, vertigo, etc. But, I am determined to get off of it for good this time. My father also experienced withdrawals from paxil. The first time doctors did not have a reason for the withdrawal symptoms, I am so thankful this is finally being brought to everyone's attention. This is horrible to go through. Something needs to be done for all of the people going through this.

After I stopped drinking (I'll have 2 years of sobriety in July), I thought I would try medication again. I was on 20mg of Paxil a day for 2 months before I started experiencing diminishing returns. The doctor (without interviewing me for more than five minutes, this would be the second time I spoke to the psychiatrist, the first interview lasted about ten minutes) upped my dosage to 30mg a day. I took this dosage for a month; the anxiety and depression were almost completely eliminated; however, I was sleeping between 12-16 hours a day. I really don't have that kind of time. I called my doctor again to let him know how badly the side-effects were whipping me, he decreased my dosage. After a couple of days at the lower dosage, I began to feel out of sorts again so, this time, I quit using Paxil altogether. My shrink told me that the side effects would only last a few days and, in a month, he would get me on a different medication. At this time, he made no mention of withdrawal symptoms and, truth be told, neither did the copy of the PDR I consulted.
Two days later, the dizzy spells started. Three days later, the dizziness was constant. That night, it was like all of the anxieties, all of inner demons that had been pent up over the four months I was on Paxil (and indeed over the years before) were screaming through my dreams. I did feel as if I were in the grips of an uncontrollable madness. I dreamed the world around me had melted away and that I had been shifted into an alternate reality, were the laws that governed the universe changed moment by moment and each change was worse than the last. While I am awake, my fingers constantly tingle, my heart feels like it wants to claw its way through my chest, I can not focus (this e-mail has been extremely difficult to concentrate on) for more than a few moments at a time, its like being trapped in a bell-tower where manic monks constantly yank unseen bell-cords.
I think I understand now where Poe was coming from when he wrote The Bells. Withdrawal from Paxil has colored my world with Lovecraftian paints. Its like those monsters that Lovecraft once imagined wandered in the "spaces between" have found a gateway in my cortex and they all want a chance to come through to experience this world. It has been a week and things just keep getting worse.

I cannot believe that there are others out there with the same symptoms as I have been feeling. I have experienced a feeling like my eyes couldn't keep up to the turning of my head, and extreme sweating and nausea. The worst is probably the rage I feel at absolutely nothing, triggered by anything. I have never had this problem before, and when I began lashing out at my two-year old, I knew there was really a problem. Now I just have to find a solution, as I have tried to get off Paxil four times!

The first time I went off Paxil, not knowing then what I know now, I lasted one month before starting again. It seemed to me that I had returned back to my usual anxiety/stress symptoms, for which I was prescribed Paxil. All of my symptoms disappeared within the first day of restarting the Paxil. I stayed on Paxil for some time and slowly weaned myself off Paxil the second time around. Nausea, diarrhea, imbalance, electric-type shocks in head and sometimes elsewhere, and vivid dreams reappeared. It was then I realized it wasn't me, but Paxil causing my symptoms. So I went back on Paxil and decided that I'd wean myself more slowly this third time around. I've yet to get the courage to begin the weaning. But, with the information in this website, I'm encouraged that "this too shall pass". I certainly do wish I'd been told about all of this prior to commencing the drug, for I most certainly would have requested something else. I told my doctor that I had taken Xanax years ago and did not want any part of that again. I had no trouble going off that as I was denied a prescription refill one day and got mad and started exercising every day and that helped. That was 10 years ago and I still exercise everyday. I do have to admit that Paxil has relieved me of my anxiety/stress symptoms, but makes me slightly sluggish at times and sleepy. I want my old energy back. Thank you for letting me vent and for this website.

Thank you so much for this site. I thought I was going crazy, feeling like I was a hypochondriac. I am an RN and couldn't figure out what was going on with me. I even went to the doctor and was diagnosed with idiopathic vertigo, prescribed Antivert and given a brochure on exercises that can be done to eliminate any debris that may be in the inner ear. I never did the exercises but the medication did help with the spells did occur. The spells lasted about three weeks and quickly left just as fast as they had started. Those three weeks were very scary thinking terrible thoughts, eliminating any other causes, I was left thinking I must have a brain tumor. I remember telling my doctor that in a joking manner but it was still in the back of my mind. Something really weird was going on, something unexplained and that was very scary. Thank you so much.

Hey man I thank god I found your site. I am 18 year old male I thought I had a serious undiagnosed medical problems which caused me to have extreme anxiety. I have been glancing over it several times especially the withdrawal symptoms. I have all of the symptoms you have listed and it's been 4 months now since I quit paxil . I tapered too fast off of the damn drug but I wasn't notified by my doctor to taper off. I was on it for a year and quit within 3 weeks! I wanted to notify you of a few more withdrawal symptoms that I have experienced not listed on your site: Music abnormally stuck in my head playing over and over again, viral infection (herpes simplex), weird head twitches, feels like my brain is grinding back and forth (worse when exercising), derealization (don't feel here), jaw grinding. I also have had a rash on my face and really dry skin. After I quit paxil I was super scared that I had a medical problem because I read somewhere that a rash is a sign of a severe medical problem. Please advise people if you already did not to not believe anything they may think is wrong with them during the months after paxil. It is the withdrawal!!! Peace

This certainly is an evil little pink pill i've been taking for 2 years. I've been taking 20mg for 2 years and quit cold turkey 5 days ago. I experience almost all symptoms mentioned. The "shocks" are frequent, and concentration is almost non-existent. I find myself stumbling on simple words on occasion. I find that I have the most VIVID thoughts/dreams during the short(although feels like an eternity) time between awake and asleep. I take that back. Vivid is an understatment. The dream-like state is comparable to psychadelic drugs. Withdrawl from this drug is insane! I hate it! I took work off today because of it. And were i describe these withdrawal symptoms to my boss, he'd NEVER believe me. I'm so glad others have experienced these horrific symtoms. I thought I was begining to lose my mind. In closing I would like to say; This is an evil drug! Do not take it! Find an alternative. I wouldn't wish paxil withdrawal on my worst enemy!

I have taken many antidepressants over the years. They all have side effects. I finally ended up on Paxil and it really seemed to help my OCD and depression. I didn't like the sexual side effects, but otherwise it helped. I have been on Paxil for at least 8 years. I tried a few years ago to stop, but the withdrawal was so severe that I simply could not do it. Since it does help with my OCD symptoms, I decided to keep taking it. In fact, I even recommended it to my sister, who also has OCD. I recently had an allergic reaction and I wasn't sure what it was from so I decided to wean myself from the Paxil. I dropped from 10 mg to 5 mg a week ago and for the past 3 days have had insomnia, dizziness, nausea and diarrhea. At first I blamed stress since I'm transferring to new department on Monday (I work in a hospital). Then I thought perhaps I was coming down with the flu or something. I really felt crappy. Today was the worst. I got called in to do a stat EEG and I could barely drive to work, I was so nauseated and dizzy. I felt weak and actually had the shakes like a freaking junkie. I had a hunch it was withdrawal so I took an extra 5 mg before I went in. It wasn't until I started doing an EEG on a patient that I realized it was definitely the Paxil withdrawal. I dry heaved just from the smell of his hair (hypersensitivity to smell) and I am getting those annoying "zaps" that I felt last time I tried to quit. It's been 7 hours and the added dose is just starting to kick in. I am in total fear of stopping this drug, especially with this new job coming up. I know what I went through last time I tried. I really appreciate your factual and informative web site. Most doctors are not even aware this problem exists with Paxil. My family doctor doesn't. Even my psychiatrist will not acknowledge that Paxil is addicting, although he knows it causes withdrawal symptoms in some patients. Well, I may be crazy, but I'm not *that* crazy to be imagining this stuff. This is a real phenomenon. The fact that so many people on this web site have described *exactly* how I am feeling proves to me that this is a problem with the medication. Thanks to your advice, I am going to try the tapering method and hopefully will not suffer as badly as I did the first time. I'm not against anti-depressants. Just Paxil. If I end up having problems again, I will try another brand. I never suffered from the other ones.

I am a 29 year old woman with a Master's Degree in Counseling. I took Paxil for only 2 months. When I mentioned to my Dr. that I wanted to stop taking the medication, he told me that it was important to ween off the medication. He told me what to do. He said that I might experience some mild side effects similar to those I experienced when starting the drug. These inital side effects were sleepiness and mild trembling. Well, I did experience those symptoms while weening off of the drug. However, 2 days after stopping the drug completely I began to experience a plethora of other effects: hot/cold flashes, extreme night sweats, nausea, upset stomach, and what I refer to as the "eight-ball effect." It is a sort of dizziness in which it feels as if my brain is constantly moving inside my head. I don't really think I will pass out, but at times it feels like I will. I called my DR. about the effects and he said that it was odd that I would experience these effects at t!
his point. He told me that withdrawl effects don't last after the drug is no longer being ingested. I'm so glad I found this website. I know my symptoms are a result of the Paxil and not some other illness. The thing that makes me angry is that if I hadn't found this website I would be going crazy with concern that I had a brain tumor or something. After all, people aren't dizzy for weeks at a time when they are perfectly healthy. I don't want to go back on the Paxil, so I will tough it out, but if I had realized that withdrawl is so common I would probably have opted against the medication in the first place. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAh- it's so frustrating!

I'm glad I stumbled across this site (well,not stumbled -- it's the first one that came up on a Google search of "paxil withdrawal). I'm a 46-year-old writer/editor with mild depression that's probably seasonally affected (I live in Alaska; the days get dark in the winter, you know?). I've been on Paxil twice since 1999, the last time for about 18 months. The first time I went off I went cold turkey (I didn't ask my doctor) and found the withdrawal to be a few days of headaches. This time, kaboom! the withdrawal has hit me full force. I had told my doctor I wanted to go off, having felt like life was under control and my depression manageable. She suggested a schedule of seven days at 10mg, half my usual 20mg/daily dose, then every other day for 10 days at 20mg. This worked out fine until I quit, and the past three days have been one strange experience. Of the checklist of symptoms, I'd say I have more than half, including the hula-hoop in the head (great phrase, that), slurred speech, dysphasia, and dizziness. Mind, I'm a writer and editor and stumbling over words and not being able to concentrate is not a good thing. Anyway, thanks for this site. I at least understand what's going on in my head and have some direction to getting off this weird drug. I do wish I'd known before going on how tricky going off would be. Mind you, Paxil works great and has helped me out, but in the long run, the cure just might not be worth going off the cure. We'll see.

I'm a 16-year-old girl. I have been depressed since I was 12 years old. I was diagnosed and put on Paxil in February 1999 (14 years old) to treat my clinical depression. It helped me through the remainder of 8th grade (February 1999-June 1999). Then in September 1999 I started my freshman year of high school. I was okay at first. But after about a month I started getting depressed. Whenever I'd tell my psychiatrist that I was depressed, he would just increase my dosage of Paxil. Soon I was on 30 mg, which is a lot (as far as I know, the most that they're supposed to put you on is 40 mg outpatient).
In January of 2000 I started falling asleep in class. My French teacher called home about it twice. It wasn't a normal in-class sleep ("This is so boring, I'm going to take a nap"). Instead it was a thing where my eyes would roll back into my head and I just couldn't stay awake. I'd try. But...it was impossible. The class I was falling asleep in wasn't that interesting anyway, but I wanted to stay awake so I could pass. Soon I was failing. I couldn't control the sleep...it was terrible. Looking back, I now know that the feeling was kind of a drugged sleep. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.
Another one of my teachers called home. He said I was extremely, extremely irritable in class. I was slacking off in my work. It was a health class - a no-brainer as long as you turn the work in. Well, I wasn't turning the work in. I figured the class was so stupid, so why even bother? I'd get so irritable...and I hardly realized it was happening. I didn't realize how much other people noticed. I thought I was like that because the class was stupid. I didn't realize how extreme my irritability was.
I started falling asleep in my math class, too - that teacher didn't call home, but I knew it was the same kind of sleep that was happening in my French class. I couldn't control it. I was always so fatigued, no matter how much sleep I got at night.
Then there was a big health insurance fiasco. I was still seeing a psychiatrist regularly, but it was a different psychiatrist every time. Nobody saw me two times in a row. I hadn't really made the connection between my symptoms and Paxil yet, so I told the psychiatrists that I felt fine. Then they'd write me a refill of 30 mg of Paxil. I thought I was falling asleep because I was tired and that I was irritable in health class because it was a stupid class.
In March, I realized something was wrong with me. Something was seriously wrong. I stopped and thought about it...I hadn't changed my diet, I hadn't changed my routine, but I felt...wrong. Paxil was the only problem I could think of.
So I decided to quit it, cold turkey. I'd read the literature on it (I've always read all the literature for my medications) and it didn't say anything about an addiction. I figured I didn't have anything to worry about. So, that night, I didn't take my pill.
The next day, I felt great. I was energized. I was happy. I was myself again. I realized that I hadn't been myself for so long...it was like coming home.
But then the next day I felt terrible. Not mentally - physically. In first period I almost puked. And I never puke. I was standing in a huge, dense clump of people for a group yearbook picture and I almost puked on the guy in front of me. Luckily, I held it down. Third period I told my teacher about my medication - I'd already figured out it was withdrawal - and she let me go to the bathroom. I was kneeling in front of the toilet all period, trying not to puke (I absolutely hate puking) but kneeling there just in case.
During passing period, I had to concentrate to just walk in a straight line. And stairs...I had to go down a long flight of stairs and up another. That was terrible. I had to bow my head completely down and watch my feet reach the next step. We were dancing and singing in fourth period. Couple dancing, thank gah. I had a guy to support me.
I couldn't eat. I was so nauseous. I managed to make it through sixth and seventh period, but only barely. That night, I had my mother take me to urgent care at the medical clinic.
Because I was 14, I had to go to the pediatric urgent care doctor. I told him my problem: Paxil withdrawal. There was no other possible cause. The doctor didn't know a thing about Paxil except what I told him (that it's an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety) but could tell that something was wrong and wrote me a note to get out of school for three days. He thought I had the flu or something.
For the next three days, I couldn't walk. I woke up in the morning on the first day, not sure what to do. Since a person can only sleep so long and reading a book just seemed out of the question, I managed to drag myself downstairs (clinging to the railing) and to the computer. I stayed on the internet all day - it was my therapy. I did the same thing for the next three days. I felt so dizzy and weak. And the nausea...I hardly ate anything.
I didn't get the "electric shock" feeling that a lot of people have described. I'm glad I didn't - I would have panicked if I did. All I felt was...well, I could hardly walk. I was dizzy. I was nauseous. I could think pretty clearly, though. I've always been an excellent touch-typist and could operate my hands well. And I could read the computer screen. The internet was what kept me from going crazy from the withdrawal. It was a blessed distraction.
While I was on the internet, I researched Paxil as much as I could. I found a prescription drugs site with message boards. On the Paxil message board they kept talking about "Paxil hell." I was glad that I wasn't alone, though people weren't describing the withdrawal that I was suffering.
The site said that Paxil takes three weeks to get out of your system. I marked the three-week date on my calendar, anxiously waiting.
On the fourth day, I went back to school. I was slowly recovering from the vertigo and nausea. But...it felt like I had a buzzing behind my eyes. I couldn't quite see or hear it, but it was there. And it was like I was looking at the world through a veil. I felt detached. Mentally, I felt okay, though the buzzing and veil feelings annoyed me.
The buzzing and veil withdrawal symptoms lasted for three weeks. Then, almost on the exact day of the end of the three weeks, they ended. I don't know if that was because of the placebo affect, because the site was right, or because I have a very fast metabolism. I was just glad that it was over. I felt so much better.
In June I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I've had a heck of a ride since then, but nothing like the horror of Paxil withdrawal.
I've had some anxiety problems lately and my psychiatrist wanted to put me on Paxil. He was surprised how vehemently I refused. He didn't know about the lawsuit yet. I told him everything I know about it. I hope he doesn't put anyone else on it. I never want to go on it again unless all other options are exhausted.
I feel so lucky that I was able to quit Paxil. Even when I was in the depths of the withdrawal, I still didn't ever consider going back on it. It had put me through too much psychiatric pain.
When I think about my life since I was diagnosed with depression, the single event that stands out the most in my mind is the Paxil withdrawal - even before I found out about GSK lying about it being addictive. I'm so glad that I wasn't imagining the symptoms like the urgent care pediatrician implied. And I hope I can get a piece of the lawsuit. I want something for my pain and suffering.
- Tracie, 16 years old, California

My name is Jeff Kraus (31 years old) and I live in Toronto, Canada. I just found out about this site from watching a report on the canadian French language channel Radio-Canada. I almost burst into tears watching the report....feeling that there are people out there who have gone through this terrible experience and that they understand.
I began taking paxil in 1993 as I was very depressed. I took the drug for 6 years and decided to discontinue it the spring of 1999. I had terrible withdrawl symptoms....severe dizziness, terrible headaches but worst of all "electric zaps" (terminology borrowed from the TV report.) My "electric zaps" were what I would call "gaps" ....literally my limbs would move...but I couldn't control the movements....I can't even explain in words what I was experiencing....but I definitely knew it was something amiss with my neurological system.
I slowly came off the drug...it was an arduous experience. I eventually felt normal again... I thought everything was okay....
Things are not okay. Exactly two and a half years after having stopped taking paxil.... something has happened to me.
It happened exactly one year ago, November 2001. I was visiting a friend in Ottawa..and I was walking down a flight of stairs... I became so dizzy that I had to reach out for the wall. Not only that, but the "gaps" returned...my eyes felt like they were moving around when they shouldn't...etc.... I suddenly felt like I had when I was coming off paxil. I couldn't believe it...two and a half years later! I thought "this can't be.."...but the first thing that came to mind was...."Oh no....paxil"
When this terrible thing occurred last November, the first thing I said to my sister and mother was "I feel exactly like I did when I was having terrible withdrawl symptoms coming off paxil."
I have felt like this almost every single day for the past 12 months but I have not taken paxil since April 1999...
I swear that it has damaged me.
Over the past year I've been to my doctor, a neurologist, the dentist, optomitrist, and I'm going to a balance specialist next week. Neither my doctor or the neurologist listened to me when I told them about my theory that this maybe damage from paxil...they hadn't even heard of such complaints and dismissed this idea completely. None of the tests have shown anything...at one point I was hoping they'd find a tumour on my brain just so I could have an anwer and some hope. I really thought that I was going crazy.
I don't know if you have any other people who have experienced such symptoms years after having stopped....but I am not a liar...and my life has been a living hell for the past 12 months.
At this point I'm not sure what to do. I can still function, I work, I exercise...I even ran a half marathon...but I have consant dizziness and neurological "gaps" (and that's not even a good explanation of what I'm feeling.) I don't know who to go see or what to do. (I probably will after looking at the site in detail..but because I just found out about it... I really needed to write this to you...)

Thank God I came across this site. After scouring all info put out about Paxil and not finding anything related to the withdrawal symptoms, I am so glad to see that I am not the only one fighting this demon and thinking that I am crazy in the process.
I am currently trying to get off this moving rollercoaster. I was put on Paxil after having panic attacks shortly after leaving the hospital after the birth of my last child 7 months ago. My ob-gyn struck it up to ppd and put me on 10mg. - not much, but I am little. He felt that I had underlying depression and coupled with ppd, was a prime candidate for Paxil. I was not feeling ppd, I was having difficulties with my husband and my parents were out of the country at the time. I went back to the dr. two weeks later and told him I was fine and didn't need the meds, he contradicted me and told me he thought I did. He upped my dose to 20mg. A month later, I told him again I didn't feel better with the meds and he added Wellbutrin to the mix. I finally made the appointment to see my GP who took me off the Paxil in a step down to 10mg for a week then 10mg every other day for a week then off.
Well, I went through hell on the second night of my every other night dose. Hallucinations and hysteria followed by comatose feelings that still linger. The doctor's office told my husband to take me to the emergency room for psychiatric help. Thank God, a friend of mine had a friend who had similar withdrawals from Paxil and we knew enough to at least think that the Paxil was the culprit. This website confirms it. I just hope I don't have to go through another month to feel like "me" again.
Thank you for letting me share and letting me know I am not alone.

I have been having these pulsing sesations in my head as well as the vivid nightmares and almost uncontrollable crying. I thought at first it was high blood pressure or problems with a narcotic medication I have to take, and was sure I was crazy. I tapered myself off of paxil the correct way and then I start feeling like this. I have to admit that when I took the paxil it did help the problems I had been having. I was at the WTC when it seemed like the whole world exploded and the sleeplessness, mood swings, and anxiety were unbearable, but the doctor never explained that the withdrawal was worse. At least you're website has alleviated my worries somewhat and restored some sanity. I have probably experienced a few of the other symptoms, but those I mentioned earlier are the worst Thank you

I want to thank you for this site. What a tremendous help for me to read accounts from others going through paxil withdrawal. I am 45, female, mother of 4 and married for 24 years. 3 years ago, after a series of hard life knocks, I reached a point where I needed help. My doctor prescribed 20 mg of paxil. For 2 months I slept and rested. It helped the anxiety and let me keep putting one foot after another. But now, after getting in a better life situation, I felt I should try to stop. I had been told not to stop cold turkey. In February, I told the doctor and he said to cut down to 10 mg a day for about 3 -4 weeks. Then to halve the dose again to 5 mg. until I was ready to stop. After three weeks, I went from 10 to 5mg. I had a migraine headache that bothered me on and off for the last 2 weeks at 10 mg. and not realizing the withdrawal had triggered it, I went back to the doctor for migraine medication. I used it and the migraine went away BUT I thought I had a terrible reaction to the medication. I couldn't talk properly, felt and acted drugged, walked into things, had a foggy brain, couldn't drive and had to take off of work for two days. After 3 days I found this website and realized it was all withdrawal from the Paxil. I had dropped to the 5 mg. and WHAMO. 7 days later, I am still struggling to think properly and have to take notes to keep up the short term memory. I am moody, tearful and angry. Still at 5 mg. and will stay here for awhile before dropping off 1 mg at a time. Thank you for letting me know THIS TOO WILL PASS.

I want the public to be aware of just what this drug can do not only to the person taking it but the family in whole. I not only felt that I was going out of my mind and I might die but my family was very concerned.
I am suffering from many of those side effects that are listed on the web site. Which I need to thank-you for having on the Internet. I have more than 4 weeks to go then to feel half way normal. Whatever that maybe. I cannot even think straight enough right now to even tell you just how I feel and what I am going through. I just wanted you to know that I am grateful for your web site. Hopefully, if I survive this mess I can e-mail you and let you know the full extent of this hellish ordeal. Monica P

Hi, It's such a relief to know your site exists. I know you've read hundreds of emails like this already, but I was hoping you could add this to your 'voices' section. I don't really know of anyone having my exact symptoms.
I'm 16 and I started taking paxil for social anxiety...after a little more than a year I thought I was ready to go off it, so I was told to lower the dose very slowly. I thought I must have been doing it wrong or maybe my body just wasn't good at adjusting, because withdrawal was absolute hell. I thought I was going to die.
Within a day of lowring the dose, I started to feel my heart beating in a way that felt very wrong. I didn't feel any of the 'shock' sensations, but my head was spinning all over the place nonetheless. Lying down didn't make it go away. It got to the point where sometimes I couldn't walk without passing out, and I missed a lot of school.
It got horribly worse though. Out of nowhere I would feel my heart start to jump and seize in such a way that I actually believed I was going to have a heart attack at 16 if I continued lowering the dose. I didn't really think it had much to do with withdrawal...after all, why would they prescribe it if it wasn't safe?
All I could do was put up with the heart problems and fainting for months until they started going away. It's probably been more than 3 months after getting off paxil and the dizziness still lingers. Unfortunately, all the reasons why I started taking paxil in the first place have returned like a bad nightmare, and since i know of no other medication that made them go away, I've been prescribed to it again. I don't want to depend on it, but I feel like right now I have no other choice. Now the only thing i can do is find out as much about the heath risks as possible...i think paxil could very well be addictive. Of course you would never want to stop taking it if it would mean replacing 'feeling okay' with feeling like you're going to die. I don't know why Paxil is still on the market at all if hundreds of people have felt this way.
Anyway, if you've read this far, thanks for creating your site...I guess the more people know about it, the sooner it will end. Kudos to you.

As I was completing my freshman year at college in 2000 I was under a great deal of stress. I began having trouble concentrating on daily activities due to strange ideas I couldn’t get out of my head. It was like a CD skipping in my head that I couldn’t control. Eventually these thoughts became so unbearable that I began thinking about suicide more and more every day, although I had no plans to go through with it. I went to a counselor my mother recommended, and after our first visit she sent me to the mental ward of the local hospital. Once they made sure I was safe I was released and started seeing a Psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and prescribed 20 mg of Paxil daily.

After being on Paxil for less than a week most of my anxious, obsessive and suicidal thoughts subsided. Although I felt generally tired, gained a little weight and was sweating a bit more, anything was better than the alternative mental anguish. After a few weeks my General Practitioner took over prescribing the Paxil and did not require me to see a counselor of any sort. He also upped the dosage to 30 mg, saying it couldn’t hurt. About a year later the same doctor asked how my OCD was and I said it was the same, that I had OCD tendencies but no major breakdowns, anxiety attacks or suicidal thoughts. He said that since the OCD wasn’t getting better he was upping the dosage to 40 mg. This did not help the OCD either, it just made me more tired, I gained more weight, I would sweat profusely, and I was more withdrawn socially.

Last year, in 2005, I decided that it was time for me to find a new doctor. I found a brilliant, caring, female doctor who was shocked that I had remained on Paxil for 5 years with no therapy or counseling. I explained to her that I wanted to go off of Paxil because of the weight gain and the sweating. She sent me to a psychiatrist who would help me go off of Paxil.

At first this psychiatrist seemed hopeful that everything would go smoothly, that this was a common practice to go off such a medicine. He prescribed me Welbutrin, which treats my OCD without the side effects of sweating, tiredness and weight gain caused by Paxil. I was advised to take the Welbutrin in addition to the 40 mg of Paxil for one week, and then decrease my dosage of Paxil by 10 mg each week. The psychiatrist advised that if my OCD/anxiety symptoms returned I should go on the last dosage where I did not have any symptoms and contact him. I asked about side effects and was told that the Paxil side effects should diminish as I decrease its dosage, and he also explained the possible side effects of Welbutrin. I was given no warning about side effects due to the lack of Paxil in my system.

I followed the doctors’ orders exactly, and as I decreased the Paxil I found that although I started to feel a little more anxious, overall I was feeling incredibly better. I had more energy, I was happier, losing weight, not sweating as much, so the pros of stopping Paxil definitely seemed to be outweighing the cons. I was really looking forward to the 2005 Christmas weekend because it would be my first time completely off Paxil and I figured I’d feel fantastic.

The day before Christmas Eve was my first day completely off of Paxil, and I felt fine. I began to notice something was strange Christmas Eve at night. My mood was fine, but I started getting these strange hard to describe sensations in my head. It felt like a small electric shock zapping my head every couple minutes. I also had really bad diarrhea and stomach cramps, so I thought maybe I was getting sick, and I didn't think too much about it, as part of my treatment is to try and stay calm and not get anxious over small things.

Christmas day was my third full day off of Paxil. I woke up feeling okay, but within a few hours the zaps started coming back, but they would happen like every 30 seconds. Anything I ate either made me throw up or have diarrhea. I’d be really happy one minute then I’d start crying for no reason the next. It started to get really bad really fast on Christmas day and I felt so incredibly terrible about it because I didn’t want to ruin my family’s Christmas. I didn't understand why I was so confused and crying on Christmas when I was with my family. I felt like I was in a constant state of a panic attack. My heart was in my throat and throbbing. But the hardest part was that I had the hardest time explaining what I was feeling. All day I was just trying to explain to my parents what I was feeling but I had a hard time getting words together that made sense. This whole time I didn't know what was happening to me so that made me even more panicky. I just cried and cried and felt terrible for doing it. I hate crying. I also had migraine-type headaches, chills, and on top of all that I couldn't even walk straight! I would lose my balance and topple over just walking around the house slowly. My speech was slurred and I seriously thought I was losing my mind. I was so scared of what was happening that I couldn't form words about my fears. I thought maybe it was the lack of Paxil, maybe it was indigestion, maybe I was sick, and maybe I was just emotional for no reason. I had no clue.

Finally in the evening my mom did some online research and found tons of information on Paxil withdrawal. I found out that what I was going through was completely attributed to the Paxil. I can’t tell you how much of a relief it was to find this website and hear other people with the same strange symptoms, that found a similar sense of relief after finding this site. . Most of the websites I read suggested taking 2 weeks off from work when going off Paxil. I am extremely livid that my psychiatrist didn't tell me this; I had no warning. The sole purpose of his treating me was to safely get me off Paxil.

The day after Christmas I called my general practitioner since I didn’t have much faith in the psychiatrist. She told me to take 10mg of Paxil again until we could come up with a different plan. Through this whole ordeal the last thing I wanted was to swallow a Paxil pill. I was so terrified of Paxil at that point. All day Monday (the day after Christmas) after I took the pill I still felt like crap and I was so nervous that I would miss work that week. Tuesday I woke up and felt good enough to go to work but all the side effects haven't gone away. I was still very agitated and anxious and emotional and constantly confused.

I returned to the psychiatrist and voiced my concerns. He took no responsibility, said that he told me a month ago to go back on the meds if my symptoms return. I explained that the symptoms of my OCD didn't return, these were new symptoms and I didn't know what caused them. He said he couldn't possibly tell me all possible side effects. I said that he could have at least warned me of their severity. He said that he was sorry but there was nothing he could do. Then he suggested that I go back on the Paxil at 20 mg! My first impulse was to throw each of his diplomas out the window because they obviously did him no good. However, I managed to calm myself down and deal with the situation appropriately. I told him there was no way I was going back on Paxil regularly, that I was going to go off it whether he saw the drug as a problem or not because of the severe withdrawal symptoms. He wouldn’t allow me to use the word "withdrawal". He kept correcting me saying it was a "discontinuation syndrome", that withdrawal is when you're addicted to something. I said well I tried to stop the meds and I had to go back on, what would you call that besides withdrawal? He said that Paxil is not classified as an addictive drug. I thought to myself, "yeah and there are a handful of lawsuits disputing that".

I asked the psychiatrist about alternative ways to go off Paxil, but he didn’t have any options to offer. I had to ask him about liquid suspension, which he wrote me a script for. When I asked him what increments I should go down in he basically said to do it at my own pace. I became visibly irate and explained that I cannot do this on my own and that it is his job to advise me how to decrease the dosage of this medication. Still, he could not give me a direct answer. I asked him how I could measure such a small dosage of medicine (in one milliliter increments) and he suggested that I take something like a cup’s worth of liquid Paxil and mix it in with orange juice and then take some of that mixture every day. As with everything else that has to do with this psychiatrist, I came across a more practical idea. I simply purchased a medicine spoon used for medicating babies, which have one milliliter measuring increments.
I have been on the liquid Paxil for 2 weeks now, going down 1 milliliter per week, and everything seems fine so far. I needed to voice my story because in addition to the anger I now have toward Paxil and Glaxo-Smith-Kline, I am very frustrated that my original GP knew nothing of the harms of Paxil, and I am outraged that my psychiatrist totally left me to fend for myself, with no guidance as to the side effects of Paxil withdrawal. Again, I am truly grateful that this site exists because it was what gave me a sense of normalcy while going through Paxil withdrawal.

I am currently getting off Paxil (just started) and I was comforted by your site, as I am most definitely experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and had already inadvertently once before. Previously, and utterly by mistake, I went off Paxil cold turkey, with no "slow decrease" period. At that point I experienced the frightening body shocks, lack of balance, general "disassociation," etc. I called my doctor and she said you can't just "go off" Paxil because your prescription ran out. So, I got back on it post haste and the withdrawal symptoms vanished. Now I am committed to getting off it. For one, I am sick of paying for it. For another, I see no proof that it is doing anything positive for me. So, after consulting with a different doctor, I decided to reduce the dosage myself. I went from something like 90 to 60 to 30 (one pill) without experiencing anything negative. But I recently cut from one pill to a half, and just recently, a quarter. I have about four or so quarters to go. And the withdrawal is back with a vengeance. For one, I am getting the "total body shocks" again. I don't know what "mild" is, but these are annoying to the extreme, and happen with great frequency. I also get the dizziness/vertigo. Headaches I've had all along (for a year and a half now), and this is why they put me on the Paxil in the first place, so I cannot credit the withdrawal for those. I have experienced the profuse sweating at night, but I got that once on Paxil, so I associated it as a side effect of being on the Paxil, not necessarily getting off it. I get the unfocused vision a bit, but I see this more as the "depersonalization" you referred to. Also on your list... nausea, occassional diarrhea, rare muscle cramps, rash, some numbness, trembling, and involuntary muscle twitching. Suffice to say that your site helped me. Admittedly, I wasn't pleased to see that I am in for two to six weeks of torture, but at least I can feel confident that I know exactly what is happening to me. Now for the hard part...

It was in February 2000 that I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Over the previous years I had suffered loss of feeling in various parts of my body but was always misdiagnosed with pinched nerves, mini-strokes, etc...
It was a relief to finally know what was wrong with me and much to everyone's surprise I was happy to know that we could now develop a treatment plan instead of taking wild guesses as to what we should try next.

The doctor I had selected was a specialist in the field of MS and I had no reason to doubt her when she began prescribing the regimens of medication that were necessary to manage my disease. Paxil 20mg was one of my first medications and my doctor explained that although I didn't feel depressed, depression was a common side-effect of the other medications that were being prescribed, and she further explained that most people newly diagnosed with MS suffered from mild depression following the diagnosis.

I had been taking my Paxil 20mg regularly for a year before things started falling apart in my life. Without realizing it, I had become insensitive to my wife and children. I began making decisions that affected us all without first asking their opinion and began fighting frequently with my wife, often going into fits of rage. At the same time I began having episodes of extreme vertigo (which is a common symptom of MS) and was treated with IV cortio-steroids to overcome what they were calling an exacerbation. My doctor finally ordered an MRI and deduced that I had a lesion caused by MS on the temporal lobe of my brain that was causing the rage and vertigo. They prescribed Xanax .10mg to calm me, and Provigil to help me stay awake during daylight hours since the combination of Paxil and Xanax made me extremely drowsy or fatigued (another symptom of MS).

With the Paxil and Xanax, the problem with rage seemed to pass but the relationship with my wife and kids was progressively getting worse. Several times my wife threatened to leave me and I could only see her as being unkind and controlling. The kids seemed to be constantly misbehaving and I found myself frustrated and wishing I were single again. Although I loved them immensely, it seemed as if I were becoming a narcissist towards my family and friends.

After almost 2 years of fighting, a few separations with my wife, and many hours contemplating suicide since life was so miserable, I was surfing the net and came across your website, www.quitpaxil.org. It was almost as if I were reading my own biography as I skimmed through the e-mails and personal stories. This was about 2 months ago. Since then I have weaned myself off of ALL medication except my daily injection of Copaxone which slows the progression of MS, and my life has returned to the honeymoon stage. My wife and I have never been closer, my kids have begun to respect me again, and I actually have the capacity to once again "feel". I can honestly say that the road rage is gone, the negativity towards life is gone, the feeling of being numb is gone, and the quality of life I enjoy today is better than ever. Quite a contrast from wanting to die.

As far as quitting the medications goes, I took about 2 weeks to wean myself off the Xanax since benzodiazapines can be dangerous when one just stops taking the medication. After weaning myself off the Xanax, I quit the Paxil cold turkey. The first week was pure hell and during this time I thought for sure my wife was going to either leave me or shoot me. In fact, my wife thought I was crazy for quitting the medications since she felt that they were the only thing keeping me sane. As it turns out, she now agrees that the problem was NOT me, but instead was the effects of Paxil all of the other medications were simply to treat the symptoms that Paxil was causing. The irony is that I didn't need the Paxil to begin with, and it was the Paxil that led to the many other medications and unexplained symptoms. I had most of the withdrawal symptoms that were posted on this website including electrical shocks throughout my body, extreme headaches, confusion, anger, and at one point stayed home and in bed for two days.

I still have MS and will always need to be aware of the various sensations in my body that it causes, but I know now that if I have vertigo it is truly a symptom of MS and not because I'm taking Paxil which in my opinion mimics the symptoms of MS. As an added bonus, my sex life has never been better and I'd thought it was the MS that had robbed me of my manhood. Today my wife has to relearn how to say no to me since my libido has returned with a vengeance... <g>

Thanks again for saving my life, my marriage and my family. I will gladly donate as I can and will spread the word (I've already told many) about your wonderful website. You are truly a gift from God...Billy D. James

I am a 35 year old female who has never been too keen on taking medication, so when the stress of losing my job and my husband possibly losing his got to be too much for me, I went to see my doctor. I told him that I don't like to take medicine, but I couldn't seem to get a grip on the stress I was feeling. I asked him if he thought that Paxil would help since I had seen the commercials and it said that it would make you feel like yourself again. That is all I wanted was to feel like myself again! He put me on 10 mg of Paxil. It was ok for a while but then it wasn't working very well anymore, so he upped it to 20 mg. After a couple of months, I started having night sweats and mild dizziness, so I decided that I wanted to stop taking it. I called my doctor and asked if I couls just stop taking it and his nurse said sure. After 2 days without it, I was having severe nightmares, night sweats and vertigo. It only got worse from there! I had nasea, vomitting, diarrea, shocks and I felt angry. I have never felt so terrible in my life! I can't believe that this drug is allowed on the market, and it is suposedly non habit forming! Then why are so many people having serious withdrawls? I feel ashamed that I ever went on it. I would never have taken this if I knew what it would be like!! I feel like a drug addict. I am not a drug user, I hate feeling like one! I am torn between feeling ashamed and wanting to help others so that nobody else ever has to go through this! Why weren't tests done to see that this was going to happen?

I wanted to thank you for the trouble you went through to post this site. It is of extraordinary comfort to me, as I’ve been going through it every day. I also want to thank the people that have posted their stories. It is wonderful to know that I am not going crazy, just through withdrawal, and that I am certainly not alone.
I have suffered severe panic attacks for many years, since about the age of 14. I have been on many medications, including Zoloft, Prozac, and Xanax. Of course I have been to many specialists, including psychiatrists, and even institutionalized (not a proud moment, but what are doctors and parents to do). I don’t know how the attacks started, or why, but I suspect they have something to do with my families nomadic life (military), my shyness, and that I was put on display as a clothing model at a young age. No, not my parents fault, I thought I wanted the money, and had the self esteem. I don’t, and don’t think I care anymore. At one time, I was afraid to go to school (made myself sick so I didn’t have to), order a burger, or even answer the phone. Of course alcohol, anger, and ex-felon boyfriends came into the picture. For a long time I wore a heavy jacket, the kind you need in the artic. It was 90 degrees outside but I’d put that booger on to cover my disgusting skinny self.
Somehow I was able to pick myself up out of my mess. I did this after quitting all my medication. At 20 I was making 17 dollars an hour as a finance worker, and even, get this, proud of myself (Southern California, 17 per hour is pretty good, but not as good as it seems in a lot of the world… rent is 1500 for 700 sq feet, ug). I even replaced my one ton jacket with a bikini. I thought I had beaten my pass. I was still having panic attacks, but considering I use to be know as “the vegetable”, I was doing alright.
About a year and a half ago, I was blessed with the pregnancy of my first child. Unfortunately, after the birth of my daughter my panic attacks returned in all its ugly force. For the first time, I also got severe depression. I guess I had post partum depression, and emotional trouble dealing with the father. God, who knows what triggers the emotions. I was put on paxil and, once again, xanax (my friend). I’m not sure if it was the paxil, xanax, or just me. I honestly think it was just me, but who’s to say. I made it through. That’s all that ever matters.
Now that she is 10 months old, I am returning to college to finish my degree in computer science and engineering, and wanted to stop paxil. I felt paxil hindered my ability to concentrate. I know it did. I already have a easier time learning, and can comprehend things a lot better.
But let’s get to the withdrawals. The insane part. I FEEL AWFUL. I have experienced most of the symptoms on your website and honestly feel like I am dieing. If it wasn’t for my daughter and the knowledge that it will get better, I think I would kill myself. I don’t think a knife slowly slit down my abdomen could compare. This is terrible, and really not fair. If I would have known about the side-effects of this drug, I think I would have looked elsewhere, or gone without. I don't ever remember withdrawal being this terrible from my other medications, or even from alcohol. I have had panic attacks that made be feel like Lucifer's toy, but they go away, generally within ten or twenty minutes. This had lasted over a week. I am confused, lightheaded, and actually find some joy in writing this e-mail. I have the strange electrical shock feeling, and cry even when I see a tampon commercial. Unfortunately, I have the less common side effect of the all annoying pre-orgasmic feeling. It’s not a nice feeling when it doesn’t go away, and you visit your 60 year old father and still feel it, or when you wipe the crap off of your 10 month old princess’ butt. Sex doesn’t help it, it’s just disgusting, and oh the makeshift dildos or living ones just don’t work. I never want to have sex again... Damn! And now I’m dizzy again. Thank goodness the electrical shock feeling that makes me almost faint is still around to wake me back into the nightmare.
I am just very thankful that your website offered an answer. When you are someone already suffering psychiatric problems, it makes it extra scary when an outside influence causes you more confusion.
As far as panic attacks, what always seems to help me is telling the people around me that I am having a panic attach. These attacks bring on intense paranoia, among other things, and I always though it best to let the people around me know why I was acting strange. That way, at least I didn't have to be paranoid about what they thought, and it generally made the attacks less intense.
For extremely depressed people, even paxil works. It might even work best for you, just be careful. I think people should be warned that it’s not just a simple drug. You should take it if it works and your really need it, but if you can do without it, do it. There is no shame in taking a drug to make you feel better, if it does. But there is no shame in doing it on your own, if you can. Diabetics need insulin. You might need help too.

Hi... I decided to send in my story because it is a little different than others in that I didn't intentionally decide to quit Paxil. I started taking paxil about 5 years ago after the birth of my 3rd son. I was having severe anxiety and just couldn't relax, so my doctor prescibed 20 mg. I have never increased my dosage. I was a Paxil fan, as I could say that it had many positive impacts on my life. It allowed me to relax, slow down & enjoy my children & husband. I found myself feeling again and being silly with my kids. I didn't experience the fog that many people speak of. The two negative impacts it did have however were: 1. Severe hangovers if I did drink. 2. Weight gain. My withdrawl story started on Friday morning. I woke up & realized that I was out of Paxil, however being that I am also pregnant, I tend to be a bit scatterbrained. So, I went to work and it never crossed my mind. I suffered no symptoms on Friday. Saturday morning I woke up & had a jam packed schedule. Again, the Paxil never crossed my mind, but I was quite irritable and by mid afternoon had begun feeling nauseous. A few hours later, I began to feel restless and had no appetite, but nothing too serious. Sunday morning I woke up & again the Paxil never crossed my mind. I had to paint one of my kids rooms so I got to work on that, but was extremely nauseous and teary all day. Around 3:00, I began feeling dillusional. Around 6:00, I started getting head Whooshes. By 7:00, I was a raging lunatic... screaming at my kids, crying, feeling depressed and out of control. At about 8:30, after laying in bed crying for hours, I realized what it was all attributed to, but it was too late to go to the pharmacy. I had extremely realistic nightmares all night long, but at least I wasn't suffering the head whooshes or nausea. Monday morning (today), I wake up and get my butt to the pharmacy ASAP, although I cried and was dripping sweat the whole way there. Now the wait is on for the meds to work back into my system. The funny thing is that two doctors have told me that there are no withdrawl symptoms from Paxil? I beg to differ. The past 24 hours have been a living hell and there really should be more warnings for patients who are on the drug. At my worst last night, I felt as if my body had been taken over by an evil force. What if I had acted on my emotions? All of this has caused me to reconsider my Paxil usage. As soon as I get stable again, I am going back to the doctor to start the slow tapering down process. I did it once before, and suffered only minor withdrawl symptoms. I never want to feel like this again.