Has Anyone Taken Paxil (Paroxetine)?

[MatthewR]

In the past couple of weeks I have been seeing a doctor for major depression, anxiety - especially social anxiety disorder. I also fit the profile of someone with an avoidant personality. When i was discussing my symptoms to the doctor I described my excessive compulsion to fantasize, how i pace, and how i can't focus sometimes because my urge to daydream is so powerful. My doctor didn't seem as interested in Maladaptive Daydreaming but assumed it was an aspect of being socially avoidant. I was prescribed Paxil (paroxetine) and a sleeping aid (because apparently Paxil wakes you up after five hours and doesn't let you go back to sleep). I wasn't so concerned, because Paxil is always used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (and I recall someone - i think it was Cordellia - mention that MDD may potentially be related to OCD).

Well, long-story short, the Paxil has done nothing to alleviate my MDD. I still DD - but i cant remember anything!  I feel like a part of my brain has been shut off. I'm constantly tired, feel weak, and basically exist in a constant zoned-out stupor. I start staring at something and then i sorta drift away into blank thoughts. When i try to accomplish something I just feel like a part of my brain isn't functioning. It's weird. Also there have been other side effects which are annoying me like nothing else i've ever experienced.

Has anyone else taken Paxil? Do the side effects go away??

[MatthewR]

Michelle, I found so many forums on the internet with horror stories about people withdrawing from Paxil. If i had known that the medication had so many bad side effects (those head pings, for instance) I would not have taken it. I was in a ward when i was prescribed meds, so i didn't get a whole lot of information at the time. I also wasn't in the best frame of mind to think about it, either. I get very nervous with taking meds. You just never know how they will affect you.  

[MatthewR]

The side effects were pretty bad. Paxil (paroxetine) made me feel like a zombie, like Kade said. My anxiety was alleviated but at much too high a cost: emotional impairment, lack of enthusiasm, and insomnia. I have already quit paxil, and I'm not certain if i will take sertraline instead (which is the generic name for Zoloft). I took Zoloft several years ago, about 2006-2008), and I did tolerate it fairly well. I remember outbursts of anger, irritability, restlessness, and upset stomach as the worst side effects, but they did subside after a month. Sertraline worked well for me in the beginning, but i think its effectiveness wore off over time. I have heard some people will experience sexual side effects with SSRIs in general, but sertraline was not a problem for me. Paxil on the other hand almost guarantees some kind of sexual dysfunction.

I think sertraline is the best SSRI to begin treatment with. I always hear that some people feel worse immediately after starting antidepressants, so please keep in touch with your doc, Samantha. I wish you well!      

[Kade Scoular]

I've not taken Paxil but I am also in a zombie like state, I feel detached from myself and the world around me.