PAXIL Reviews (PAROXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE)

Average Rating: 2.9 (1018 Ratings)

Filter Results

Compare PAXIL with similar:
 ANTIDEPRESSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

PAXIL  (PAROXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE):  Paroxetine is used to treat depression, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It works by helping to restore the balance of a certain natural substance (serotonin) in the brain. Paroxetine is known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). This medication may improve your mood, sleep, appetite, and energy level and may help restore your interest in daily living. It may decrease fear, anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and the number of panic attacks. It may also reduce the urge to perform repeated tasks (compulsions such as hand-washing, counting, and checking) that interfere with daily living.   FDA Approval Date: 1992-12-29 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken longest to shortest.

Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51


RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR PAXILCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 5  Panic Disorder/Anxiety I was at the end of my rope. Had tried Pamelor (Tri-cyclic) Prozac (SSRI) ANYWAY, at first the Paxil made me nauseous and dizzy but after about a week, my panic attacks STOPPED, and i napped every day, and was very sleepy. I was on .05mgs of Xanax at night also. I have been on Paxil (Paroxetine) for over TWENTY years. I am now 59. Combined with Xanax or Klonopin, it has been a great combination. Now, since I lost my job due to car problems, i, a former PROFESSIONAL am now on MEDI-CAL and have to see either a P.A. or N.P. the Physicians are TOO GOOD to see people on Medi-Cal apparently. Anyway, they are trying to stop my use ot Benzos. IF IT AINT BROKE, DON'T FIX IT. IT TERRIFIES ME TO THINK THAT MY MENTAL CARE IS BEING DICTATED BY THE GOVERNMENT. PAXIL has helped me in ways that i didn't know possible. It has also taken over my system. I will be on it for life. I tried weaning off it very slowly three times. All three times I CRASHED HARD. This is a LAST RESORT drug. I had tried natural alternatives first, everythng I can think of and nothing touched my Anxiety/Depression like PAXIL. BUT BE WARNED. Once you are on it six months or longer, plan on HORRIBLE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS, OR INABILITY TO WITHDRAW AT ALL. F 59 23 years
20mg 1X day
8/30/2016
Email
 5  Depression & Anxiety Dizziness, Sleepiness As with any drug, you have to decide if the benefit outweighs the side effects. Paxil is the ONLY drug that helped me with my EXTREME agitation. It was a feeling like I had super PMS or something. Currently, I take Paxil and Wellbutrin both. The Wellbutrin takes some of that sleepy feeling away. Then I got diagnosed with Narcolepsy and take Provigil and Adderall. That definitely takes the sleepy away. My only complaints would be: 1. It has a very short half life, therefore, if I miss a dose, I feel psycho pretty fast. 2. There should be a big fat warning about the withdrawal symptoms if you try to stop. They are horrible. Regardless of the sedated feeling I get from it, I wouldn't trade it for anything! F 44 20 years
40 mg 1X day
7/4/2015
 5  Depression... No side effects unless I fail to take it in which hours later, I get irritated easily - for no reason. If I drink or eat anything containing aspartame, it cancels the benefits of Paxil. Before being prescribed Paxil, I tried talking with a psychologist, that did not work. I was so sad I could have walked away from everything.. Nothing was important to me.. I have never been suscidal nor wanted to hurt anyone... just very very sad. I believe I have always had depression; I was a very sad child and recall very little happiness - I cried a lot. Paxil makes me feel "normal". I still have sympathy for others, I have never had intimacy problems. I believe some people are on the med who should not be using it. F 73 20 years
20 1X day
1/20/2019
 4  Depression Social Anxiety Disorder Yawning a lot. My boss always says "Are we boring you!" Absolutely no sex drive whatsoever. I have to fake it.... also you get electric shocks if you miss two doses. So NEVER MISS A DOSE. I am basically going to take this drug for the rest of my life. Does what its supposed to do. F 54 20 years
40 1X day
3/30/2014
 1  Depression Nasty drug! It took 20 years from me and I don't know how many more because the withdrawal is awful!! F 58 20 years
30 MG 1X day
7/10/2014
 4  depression, anxiety weight gain... for me, efficacy is dose dependent -- 20 mg is my maintenance dose, have gone up to 60 mg for very stressful times. noticeably lower efficacy with generic version. I must be one of the lucky ones with this med -- no sexual side effects whatsoever (libido, erection, ejaculation, all as strong as ever), no sleep trouble (I take upon awakening)... M 50 19 years
40 mg 1X day
2/18/2014
Email
 2  depression did what is was suppossed to in the beginning. But I stayed on it for nearly 20 years and it seemed to be attacking my body and I was back to where I began....feeling worthless, crying, angry at the world and everyone. I have cervical dystonia and had read that SSRI's could aggravate the condition so decided to wean myself off with doc's instructions. Started out great. Felt great emotionally and energetic for about 2 weeks off. Then the withdrawal set in and I thought I was dying. Had nausea,dizziness, crying, scared, insecure, felt like I had fever and did not. Developed lower right side pain. I thought it was my ovary. Doc decided to take both ovaries and appendix out. I did not need that surgery. I had developed IBS from getting off the paxil. Three different doctors did not bother to mention the withdrawal and just kept trying to get me back on it. I wanted to dye (not suicide) I was so sick and had surgery for nothing. It has taken me about 2 to 3 months but I feel I would not reccommend Paxil to anyone. It was hell to get off of and no one bothered to tell me about the withdrawal. In fact, my 3 different doctors just kept trying to get me back on it because I was so emotional and in pain with my dystoniaThis stuff really messed with your brain. My thoughs are good, I am calm, I can remember my nice dreams and I have lost weight. My appetite has changed so much. I love being off of it. Don;t give up....it is tough but it will pass and you will be glad you did it. F 53 19 years
8/19/2009
Email
 1  Panic attacks, social phobia After 19 years of few or no side effects, I feel that paxil attacked my body. Caused severe diarrhea, sudden weight loss of 22 lbs over 6 weeks from 114 lbs to 92 lbs. Extreme fatigue, flu like sytptoms and nausea. Had sores in my mouth for months and skin turned an ashed hue. I was undiagnosed for 7 months until I went to the Mayo Clinic. By this time I could not walk, had severe head and limb tremors and could not hold silverware to feed myself. The parkinson like symptoms were caused by a rare side effect of Paxil blocking out dopamine needed for a functioning body. This is called seratonin toxicity and is sometimes called seratonin syndrome. My Doctor said if his theory were true, these symptoms would abate within 1-2 days since Paxil has a short half life. I reluctantly quit Paxil cold turkey and within 2 days was walking, my normal skin coloring returned and the tremors have abated for the most part. I am now dealing with paxil withdrawls but it is getting better every day. I was put on Ativan to help with the withdrawls from paxil and 5 weeks later I am doing much better. Paxil worked wonderfully for years but it is not meant to be a lifetime drug. I was taking 10 mg and increased to 20 mg a few months ago. Please e-mail me if any one has had similar paxil side effects. F 49 19 years
5/27/2009
Email
 5  Anxiety Anxious / Ringing in ears / Inability to Orgasm / Sweats/Flashes / Brain Zaps / Irritability / Euphoria (good/bad) All of these side effects wore off within two weeks. Except, the ringing in the ears which stuck around about 6 months. The ability to orgasm got easier after a year and finally normalized out. If you want to stop this medication, which i have done a couple times over the 17 years, you have to ween your self off very slowly. I would cut the dosage incrementally, wait 2 weeks for the side effects to go away, and then cut again and repeat until i was off the med. If you don't do this, you WILL be SORRY. Stopping this med immediately is crazy. Cut your pills into 1/4 or even 1/8. Buy a cheap pill cutter. M 44 17 years
20mg 1X day
1/30/2017
 3  general anxiety Really I think Paxil did me a lot of good; however, I have had a lot of gastroenterological issues over the time that I used it and I wonder if those were related to the drug. I feel that I have to quit just to see if my intestines start to function more properly. I hated when I ran out or missed a dose. The vivid dreams and "crunching" in my head was unbearable. I stepped down from 20 to 10 mg, then just said "screw it" and quit cold turkey. I quit one other time about 10 years ago and my anxiety issues returned after a couple of months. I hope that does not occur this time. M 43 17 years
8/20/2009
 3  anxiety (GAD), panic, depression I am ALWAYS tired, take caffeine to deal with it. Zombie like mornings especially, missing a pill = nasty side effects, brain-zaps galore, and feels like my brain can't keep up with my eyes when I move my head quickly. Also hard to focus on tasks at work. life is better with, than without. Don't take withdrawal lightly, my shrink did, and I ended up in ER. Probably will be on for rest of my life. I take Clonazepam too for panic attacks, which only started during withdrawal and never went away after I went back on paxil. Tried a couple of other SSRI's but nothing worked for very long. Tough decision to go back on Paxil, as I knew that if I went back on, I knew I would probably never come off. Withdrawal took 6 months, and now I need more Paxil (30 mg) to get the same affect as before. What can I say, anxiety/depression is a bitch, and I am never really free of it, but Paxil takes the edge off, so I can think about life situations and issues without driving myself insane. Just remember to take your pill! 2 days without, and I'm ready to rob a pharmacy to get rid of the sides...God bless all of you, my troubled brothers and sisters.... M 35 17 years
12/13/2006
 5  ocd and anxiety sexual (harder to orgasm) headaches and constipation (at beginning, then went away) Paxil is the reason I'm alive. When I was young I had severe OCD and realted mental illness. I was miserable and a total wreck, thought about suicide. After beginning Paxil at age 12, my life was COMPLETELY turned around and I led a normal life. 3 years ago, I stopped taking the drug and again relapsed into intense mental illness, I was so deluded I didnt even realize what was happening. I developed an eating disorder and got down to 65 pounds. I began taking Paxil again a couple of months ago. My anxiety which was utterly debilitating is nearly gone, the OCD is much, much better, and I now weigh 115 pounds and feel stronger than in a long, long time. When I was off Paxil my life was a living hell. This drug saved me. I want to share this with all those who read the many horror stories on this website and will be turned off from it. Obviously it is not for everyone, but please, if your life now is hell, dont dismiss this as a real possibility that could save you. F 28 16 years
1/31/2010
 1  Lost my marbles Nausea, dry mouth, dry eyes, paranoia, terror, panic attacks, restless legs, severe apathy, indifference towards people I cared about and loved.WITHDRAWAL: W/D made me sick, insane, aggressive, more terrified. OCD, brain zaps, blood pressure rush to eyes, vertigo, the shits, extreme anger nth degree like a maniac, dread, hatefulness, utter despair, suicidal ideation when first took it and all along and worse when WD. Now I am not bad off it Lost my marriage and kids to this veil of numbness in pill form F 45 16 years
1X day
10/4/2010
 5  Depression weight gain, insomnia This drug worked miracles for me. After a couple of weeks, I was humming again, when I had been so depressed I could barely drag myself (on the floor) to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Yes, there are side effects, but I got my life back. F 40 15 years
20 mg 1X day
5/27/2012
Email
 5  suicidal thoughts, depression Initially a lack of libido but it came back. This drug saved my life. After decades of living in the hell of extreme depression, feelings of worthlessness, lack of any hope whatsoever, suicidal thoughts, etc., my doctor put me on this. Life is good! Depression runs in my family and I lost a dear one to suicide last year. It would have been me if Paxil weren't around. F 47 15 years
11/3/2009
 5  OCD and Panics and depression night sweats I currently take Paxil & Trazondone which works brilliantly. Before medication and therapy I was a prisoner of OCD, panics and depression. I now lead a wonderful life, with a successful marriage and business. 4 times per year I have maintenance sessions of therapy and med checks. I have had a couple of depressive episodes in the last 15 years but I attribute them to circumstance not medication. During one, my doctor suggested I try different meds. I went off Paxil for 1 month, & tried Cylexa and Effexor, neither worked. (Whether my reaction was from new meds or Paxil withdrawal I sincerely don't know, and yes it was horrible) We returned to Paxil with a 2.25 mg (1/4 of a 10mg) increase & it worked perfectly! I know I am blessed that we have found a medication and therapy situation that works so well. I am not thrilled that I take medication daily and I wish I didn't, but I do look at my situation like that of anyone with a physical problem ie. high blood pressure or dia F 38 15 years
6/12/2007
 4  Panic disorder, anxiety, OCD Slight dizziness upon first taking, sensitive to light, eye issues / blurred vision, weight gain ( was on 20MG and gained weight, on 10MG now and no weight gain., Orgasm / length of time to reach which can be a good thing. Weaning off is a little challenging, brain zaps, dizziness but I have come off of it three times, so it can be done. This med has helped a great deal with panic attacks, OCD, not so much for depression. I was off this med for two years, and felt it had almost cured me. Best Antidepressant I've ever been on, and I tried a few. GL to all. M 42 15 years
10 MG 1X day
12/20/2016
 4  ANXIETY After 15 yrs, almost no side effects. But if you plan to get off, good luck. Almost impossible!!! But this drug has saved me from HORRIBLE anxiety. F 15 years
40 1X day
1/18/2013
 3  depression anxiety tiredness, sexual SE's, M 54 15 years
20 mg 1X day
1/23/2011
 3  depression/anxiety weight gain, loss of sex drive I would never suggest anyone take this drug given the year it took to wean from it. My doctor suggested I would have a hard time losing any weight while on Paxil and agreed on the weaning process. I started at 40 mgs a day and thought I could stop at 5 mgs a day and did but had withdrawal symptoms - shaking/tremors, nausea, and psych issues. I was afraid to sleep with my back to the closet because the door was open! Took a large butcher knife into the back yard to walk my dog before bed because I thought someone might be "out there." Really freaky stuff, so much so that my husband wanted to take my to the hospital. I just went back on the stuff for another 6 months, taking the wean slower and with the support of adrenal pills (homeopathic). Finally off - YAY. Appears I might need another "mood stabilizer" given some crying jags. Lexapro has been suggested, but the blogs on that drug read as bad as for Paxil. Will try another homeopathic supplement first. F 56 15 years
6/24/2009
Email
  

PAXIL  (PAROXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE):  Paroxetine is used to treat depression, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It works by helping to restore the balance of a certain natural substance (serotonin) in the brain. Paroxetine is known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). This medication may improve your mood, sleep, appetite, and energy level and may help restore your interest in daily living. It may decrease fear, anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and the number of panic attacks. It may also reduce the urge to perform repeated tasks (compulsions such as hand-washing, counting, and checking) that interfere with daily living.   FDA Approval Date: 1992-12-29 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

      Next Page

BACK TO TOP