Paxil

I started taking paxil when I was 12 years old. your body gets so used to it, that it's like taking baby asprin. Unless ofcourse you miss a weeks dose (I had such a headache, I couldn't walk straight).
So then of course they raise your dose, you start on 20mg, before you know it your on 60mg.

Anyways, after taking paxil for so many years, I started blinking exscessivly. It felt like my eyes were itchy and I had to blink to itch them.

I stopped the paxil for a few years and it went away....unfortunately, my doctor thought it was a good idea to go back on the medication.

I'm no longer on paxil. But I still blink constantly. I'm stuck with it now. It gives me tension headaches, and people question me occaionally "why do you blink so much?" The worst is getting stopped by a cop. They think your'e on drugs!

i have been taking paroxetine for 3 days now i have red blood in my stool

dont ever miss a dose of paxil... Please!!! I know to much about that

I have been taking Paxil for seven months now and feel mixed about it but mostly positive.  The more I read of people’s negative interactions, the more it makes me research. There are things that I attributed to the medication and have accepted, and other things that I attributed to myself that may be due to the medication.  

Things I attributed to meds:  

vivid dreams, which became vivid nightmares as my dosage increased from 10 mg slowly to 40.  I was the one, for the record, that asked to increase, because I was still getting breakthrough anxiety three nights a week at 20 mg.

weight gain.  I partially contributed this to the meds, but I think it’s more responsible than i give it credit for.  i usually sit at a particular weight, even when i am not eating well or exercising as i should.  since the meds, ive gained 20 bs. over that normal plateau.

heightened anxiety and restlessness when i miss a dose.  i try very hard not to, but it’s happened a couple of times, spread out.  never more than a day’s worth.  i take my meds at night because i initially had a lot of trouble sleeping and my dr. said itd make me sleepy.

things i didn’t attribute to it but realize now i should have:

when first increasing my dose, despite having taken it at night, i was super lethargic.  i would sleep until two or three or wake up at noon and not take a shower until 6 pm.  i just didn’t feel like doing much of anything.  

more acute depressive thoughts.  i never had them before, but now i get moments of wanting to bang my head on a wall or something equally destructive like that.  i never do it but i think it.


i have gad with hints of ocd.  i havent had the drop in sex drive or the numb feeling.  i can still get increased paranoia and heightened anxiety when certain things happen, like i cant find anyone at home when they should be there, or i cant find my dog and dont know who took him and where.  i temper this with cognitive behavior therapy techniques, such as changing my thoughts and reasoning it out.  the weight gain sucks, but i am trying to bring it down through an improved diet and exercise.  the nightmares really suck, but they seem to be fading back to just vivid dreams.  overall, i have to say it’s greatly cut down on my anxiety.  but i plan on speaking to my doctor about my increased depressive thoughts.  i think the most important thing is communicating with your dr. and knowing that if you’re unhappy with them, you can fire them and ask for another.  i’m with kaiser, an hmo, and i can still do that.  my dr. has listened to my concerns, and for the most part, they are fading like he said they would.  the changes in meds and anxiety take an avg. of four weeks so for the people at 4-6 weeks, give it its chance to work before rejecting it all together.  he said with dr. supervision, the weaning shoudn’t be an overbearing process.  but i also know, with gad, i may never be off of it completely.  my concern is that i am already on 40 mg and as time passes, i may need to up it.  i dont want to be taking 60+ for the rest of my life.  i am going to talk to him about slowly bringing it down to 30 mg.  i do think anyone taking this med should be in cognitive therapy, not just seeing a psych.  there are ways of helping to control your anxiety without increasing or changing meds.  i wish everyone luck with their treatment.

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Paxil made me a more patine and kind mother. With it I feel normal and capable. Without Paxil, my anxiety was terrible. I found that generic and regular Paxil (as opposed to Paxil CR) caused me to become depressed.

Just started 10mg of Paxil and it is making me feel very sleepy. I only have taken it for 3 days. I am wondering if this will continue or will this subside in a few days.