PAXIL Reviews (PAROXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.9 (1018 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare PAXIL with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Age oldest to youngest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) 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 |
More on PAXIL: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR PAXIL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | panic, palpitations, fatigue | very little adverse effects until I try to cut down - then dizziness and nausea | Paxil saved my life when I was suffering from Chronic Fatigue and weakness - it has made life worth living again, but when I cut down and get stressed, I get the weakness back and have to increase the dose again | F | 57 | 8 years | 7/10/2002 | 5 | anxiety and depression | Ongoing headache that wouldn't respond to medication. This lasted about two weeks, then went away. No other side effects. | I was greatly helped by 20mg of Paxil. My anxiety went away as soon as I went from 10mg to 20mg. I did gain about 15 lbs., but it was okay since I could deal with life. I had no trouble going off of Paxil. I tapered down from 20 to 10 to 5mgs. | F | 57 | 3 years | 8/4/2007 | 4 | panic attacks | none | F | 57 | 3 years | 9/6/2006 | 1 | depressive episode | inability to orgasm; didn't do much for symptoms; blunted emotionally | Here's the thing. Be very careful about taking this drug. Your doctor probably doesn't know much about the side effects and if you doctor is like mine, they call it a "trade-off" - This drug was not worth the trouble. When I tried to stop taking it, I got very ill with what I can only describe as flu-like symptoms...BAD flu-like symptoms...and I couldn't stop. I had to keep taking the drug. I tried to wean myself but eventually got'the flu" again and had to go back. What finally helped me to stop was a course of prednisone that I had to take for asthma (oh yeah...asthma meds can contribute to depression...all part of the trade-off, downward spiral thing that drs could learn about if they would only 1) listen to their patients and 2) read that little circular that comes with meds but I digress) - the prednisone (another nasty little drug) sort of masked all of my withdrawal symptoms and by the time I was off the course of prednisone, I seemed to have gotten through the worst of the withdrawal. I don't recommend you do it the way I did it but it did work and by that time I thought I would be on Paxil forever....isn't that a handy little side-effect for the drug company? | F | 57 | 2 years 20 1X day | 10/4/2010 | 1 | depression | constipation, memory loss, sleepy, sexual dysfunction(orgasm), clenched jaws,continued depression. | M | 57 | 6 weeks | 4/26/2004 | 1 | ibs-c | insomnia, tension, impotence, weirdness | Total nitemare, worst drug of any stripe I've ever tried. It did help some with motility and pain,but the trade-off is horrible. I'm glad I came off it so soon. Giving this out for IBS is just obtuse. | M | 57 | 6 days | 2/18/2009 | 1 | Ukcers | Not able to be in reality and always tried | I would never take it again it wreck my life period in all areas and not one doctor told me to get off I got off on my own | F | 57 | 11 years 1X day | 4/23/2016 | 5 | Depression,SocialPhobia | Anything over 10mgs. per day-fatigue,complete lack of libido, insomnia | YMMV- I took Zoloft 14yrs. ago and for me that was poison; I can relate to some of the posters here about a drug being poison. That's not the case with Paxil for me, though. You have to see how you react to it. I got almost immediate relief from this drug the first time I took it, within hours. Completely different effect from Zoloft, which made me ill, and I stuck with it for way too long before stopping altogether. Try different meds until you get the positive response. That's the only way you'll know. | M | 56 | 5 years | 7/23/2008 | 5 | migraines and anxiety | Very few. Mostly some drowsiness (taking at night helps) and decrease in sexual drive, neither of which are debilitating. I was concerned about the "suicidal thoughts" effect often cited because I had a family member who did suffer from depression and suicide attempts. Thankfully, however, I have had none of those symptoms. | Truly changed my life! Paxil was originally prescribed by my GYN for migraines -- over 10 years ago. I have always had a degree of social anxiety and IBS (as a teen I lived on Imodium -- couldn't get through an exam or social situation without the anxiety-triggering IBS symptoms). I also missed out on a lot of fun because I hated certain social situations. In fact, I truly believe that my first marriage would have been better (perhaps even lasted) had I known about Paxil earlier. Since taking Paxil, the migraines have disappeared. The social anxiety has disappeared, and I actually can enjoy social interaction. IBS is practically nonexistent. As soon as I try to go off Paxil (and have not had the difficulty with withdrawal noted by others), I am moody and anxious. My family can tell the difference almost immediately. The irony here is that I now realize that going off of Paxil isn't what is causing the moodiness and problem behavior that I experience. It is that fact I n | F | 56 | 10 years | 7/25/2008 | 4 | anxiety | craving for alcohol | I rarely drank alcohol on seroxat I was drinking three bottles of brandy a week with no hangover, now I have practically withdrawn from seroxat cant stand alcohol | F | 56 | 10 years | 3/8/2009 | 4 | anxiety and depression | Initial sleepiness - 2-3 days. Afterwards no problems. | F | 56 | 5 years | 6/9/2002 | 3 | depression, anxiety | Constantly tired. No motivation. Sweats. | It works, but I hate it due to the side effects. Originally I was taking it in the morning, and when I told my doc I couldn't raise my arms and constantly fell asleep at my desk, he said it should only be taken at bedtime as that was normal. Do not miss doses. You will live in hell. | M | 56 | 10 years 20mg | 12/16/2014 | 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 | 3 | Depression | Took in combination with nortryptaline for depression. I could tolerate a low dose, but when the dose was increased, I had the following side effects: dead-headedness, laziness, stomach pain, nausea, heartburn, constipation, and a funny taste in my mouth. I cut the dose back to a minimal level and was fine. | M | 56 | 3 weeks | 3/24/2006 | 2 | Anxiety/Depression | Weight loss in beginning, then steady weight gain. | I thought this drug was God's gift when I started it. But, I have been on several years and have a constant gnawing hunger like something is actually eating my stomach. I am starting to taper off VERY SLOWLY because if you do it too quickly, it is very bad getting off. I remember the doc said it takes three to four weeks to reach peak performance, so I am dropping the dosage only once every two months. It will take a while, but I hope it does the trick. I did notice, though, that for every 5 mg. you drop, it automatically cuts about 300 calories off the daily diet. | F | 56 | 5 years | 11/21/2006 | 1 | depression/anxiety | None at first it seemed great - I was so calm. I was prepared to live with zero libido and anorexia. After about 9 months it stopped working so I decided to stop taking it. Ha! I was thrown into worse psychological trauma than ever before and I've been wrestling with depression since I was 3! I can remember particularly a phone conversation with a close friend when I just couldn't find the energy to make a sentence and anyway I couldn't speak because I was crying. I had migraines for 2 weeks (until I gave up and went back onto paxil). I'm about to try again since I've discovered that liquid paxil is available, which makes it possible to reduce the dose very, very gradually. | I feel resentful towards the psychiatrist who prescribed this without telling me about the possible problems. I'll never be so trusting again. Thank God for the internet. I hope that all of us can recover from this. | F | 56 | 48 months | 1/29/2007 | 1 | depression | I have had trouble with being sick to my stomach for years. While taking paxil, nothing eased my stomach. I was in exteme distress. | F | 56 | 10 days | 12/16/2001 | 5 | Anxiety OCD | No side effect | Works for my anxiety and OCD. NO side effects including no weight gain. Love it! | F | 55 | 1 years 20 | 11/23/2018 | 5 | Depression, Anxiety, Chronic Pain | I have taken many different antidepressants and this was the best one. It really helped with anxiety and occasional depression. I’m not sure if it helped with pain, but it helped me cope with my condition. I was thankful that any sexual side effects wore off pretty quickly, too. The other anti-depressants I’ve taken have either not been tolerable or they were effective, but the benefits wore off in a year or so. Paxxl was amazing because it worked for so long. Gradually I began gaining weight, feeling fatigued most of the time and a bit emotionless. I quit and started something else, but I’d definitely try this is you have depression and anxiety mixed. | I was worried about quitting because there are so many horror stories on here, but I tapered off very quickly and it was fine. Some headaches and sweaty for a few days- then done. Believe me I have experienced some tough withdrawal side effects with other meds. This was easy for me, but know everyone experiences meds differently. | F | 55 | 12 years 20 mg | 9/6/2019 | 5 | anxiety, panic attacks, depression | 25 lb weight gain in 5 years, yawning and sleepiness, difficulty reaching orgasm from the first month I took it. | A godsend to me at the time I started,after years and years of depression, panic attacks, general anxiety. First time in my life I felt relaxed and 'normal', greatly reduced fears, tendency to overreact and to anger. Now at 30 mg, started at 20. Needed higher dosage after large weight gain, imo. But the last five months have had steady loss of libido, and performance problems. Now trying cymbalta in hopes of restoring sexual drive etc. | M | 55 | 5 years | 2/27/2006 |