PAXIL Reviews (PAROXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE)

Average Rating: 2.9 (1018 Ratings)

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 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 Age oldest to youngest.

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

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR PAXILCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  Depression & anxiety While on the Paxil, I was bulletproof. I felt NOTHING. That became problematic when I lost all interest in painting, which was once a great and gratifying activity for me and quit socializing with friends. Life was a blurr. Weight gain was another factor, I was on the med for about 6 months and gained about 80 pounds. For that reason (since I was still gaining and could not lose, even when I tried fasting), I quit. Cold turkey. I didn't have most of the withdrawl symptoms I've seen others post, but I did have tracking vision problems (I was driving on a mountain pass no less). I'd been off the drug for about 4 days, but had them in my purse so stopped the car and took 1/2 of the littlest pill. It stopped the strobe/tracking vision so I could drive within a half hour. I spent 2 days in a mountain hot springs, and I think I may have roasted the drug out of my blood stream. I have often wondered what I would have gone through if I hadn't soaked in very very hot water for 8 hours each of those 2 days. When I returned home, I was really irritable and my sleep was wacked out for a couple of months (still is actually), but mostly I was ok. While on the drug, I had noted my hair and skin had thinned, and sex drive had gone away. I still am having sporadic Paxil withdrawl symptoms almost 5 years later. I have had skittery (best I can describe) eyes, not focusing well, at times barely able to see as I cannot hold my eyes still for very long (these are abating). Still have sharp lightening strikes in the head, and the odd loud noise that I could hear coming, it grew loud like right in my ear, then went away (similar to doppler effect of an airplane flying over), and the occasional startling loud noise out of nowhere. Still battling the weight, and it is coming off quite grudgingly. Hair never grew back. Sex drive non-existant. I am of the opinion and have read a couple of others whose experiences seem to corroborate, that these SSRi drugs do linger in the system (brain?) even though the blood stream says they are gone, or they do permanent or lasting damage to the brain structure itself. I wonder if this will now be life-long residuals. I read somewhere that Paxil contains a flouride like compound. A flouride based compound is also used in bug killer and can be quite toxic to humans. I am now using techniques from the New Thought Movement (writings from 100 yars ago that still ring true) and that is helping me keep depression away, and has totally extinguished the anxiety. I also take Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil), Vitamin E and milk thistle to help rebuild my liver (PAXIL does a real number on liver function that can take ages to recover from). These vitamins/herb have lessened the eye 'skitters' but the sounds still happen off and on. My memory is very poor. I'd not recommend SSRi meds to anyone. I really am saddened that only now the studies are showing these should not be given to children....next let's hope there will be studies (not funded by the mfgr.), showing they should not be given to anyone. F 50 6 months
4/10/2004
 1  panic disorder major weight gain Paxil did help with my panic attacks, however I experienced rapid weight gain (15 pounds in 3 months) even though my diet and exercise routine was the same. If you want to pack on the pounds this drug is for you. I am withdrawing from it now and should be totally off in 1 week, so far only problem is being head-achy. F 50 3 months
12/14/2007
 1  reactive depression headaches, insomnia, sexual disfunction, acute withdrawal side effects. impossible to stop taking M 50 4 years
9/25/2002
Email
 1  Depression Initially, I felt great. Then, there was rapid weight gain, which I still carry. I did not care about anything, my kids, housework, my job, myself. Had zapping jolts in my brain, which doctor dismissed. Frequent suicidal thoughts, which seems counterproductive for an anti-depressant. Crazy, disturbing dreams. Fatigue. Constant yawning. Shaky hands. Neglected my kids because I just did not care about anything. Severe mood swings. Cried at the drop of a hat. These are just the side effects that I recall. I have been off of Paxil for years, thank God. Withdrawal was horrible. It was a vicious circle. Evertime I would try to get off my side effects were so horrible I would resume taking, then try to stop again, etc. eventually, I made a conscious decision that I was getting off this horrible drug. Gradually cut my dosage in half. Suffered throughout the withdrawal and got off. My biggest regret is the people around me that suffered because of this drug, particularly my kids that suffered the brunt of my erratic behavior. F 50 5 years
20 Mg 1X day
7/19/2014
 1  depression Flu like symptoms,joints ached fever,nausea,all this after 1 dose! It lasted 3 full days,same reaction with celexa,they are in same family!! Pattie Zoloft works fine ! Don't keep taking meds that make you sick,ask if next one is in that group to avoid same problem. F 50 1 days
30mg
5/8/2015
 5  terrible insomnia and anxiety I couldn't have an orgasm for the first month or so, but I kept "working" on the problem and today it happened! I was very grateful. I love Paxil, I sleep like a baby every night and my life has improved 10 fold. I highly recommened it! F 49 40 days
6/25/2007
 5  social anxiety Almost impossible to have orgasm. Sleepiness that abated after about two months. I found myself able to talk to people, to walk into the staff lounge without the fear that people were laughing at me, etc. All the antidepressents worked, and when I'd stop taking them for weeks at a time (you get to miss orgasms) I felt no side effects EXCEPT WITH EFFEXOR. F 49 1 years
3/25/2008
 5  depression lowered libido, slight nausea, urinary retention, sleep disturbances, lower appetite, some dry mouth All side effects (except libido) disappeared after about 2 weeks, so far so good M 49 3 weeks
10/18/2004
 4  Social Anxiety Disorder Loss of libido and weight gain. I also take it with Thiothixene (Navane)and Tricor (for triglycerides). The mix might add to the side effects though. Paxil has removed my shyness and I don't care what anyone thinks of me anymore. I am very comfortable in public. It seems to have dulled all feelings though. When my father passed away I only cried once. Not sure if it was the Paxil or just my way of mourning as everyone mourns differently. But overall I am happier with Paxil. Tried to get off quickly and got night sweats and insomnia. You have to wean yourself off SLOWLY!!! M 49 3 years
4/1/2005
 4  obsessive thoughts, depression Loss of most sexual feeling, complete loss of orgasm. Loss of appetite. Dry mouth, yawning. Sweating. So I've read 120 of these comments. To my relief,I see some weird things I have been experiencing are side effects not mentioned in PDR's. I've had a few scary dreams. This weird dizzy,whooshing feeling in my head and tingly in my body if I look in a different direction quickly. I have lost a little weight. My appetite is gone. I cannot have an orgasm to save my life. But overall, I feel so much better. The endless runaway train of horrible obsessional thoughts has stopped. I do feel a bit zombie-ish sometimes. I do feel like my moral sense has been lessened. I was ready to die, so I started on 20mg of paxil. The very next day I felt completely different. Overjoyed even. Of course the night I took my first pill was the last night I had an orgasm. Oh well my marriage sucks anyway so I don't really miss it that much. F 49 2 years
40mg
3/16/2017
 3  nocturnal panic attacks Paxil stopped the nocturnal panic attacks of 11 years but at a cost; weight gain (45 lbs in 7 years), feeling bored, blah, or "beige". Just not really excited, passionate or interested in anything. Tired, un-motivated. Sex? Forget it. No orgasm. 10 weeks to get from 20 mg down to 5 mg. Tried the cold turkey thing and couldn't walk, talk, see, headaches, sweating, dizzy - was sooooo sick. Went back on full dosage and tapered sloooowly. Down to 5 mg now but feeling a little "mean and nasty" so not sure if I'll get completely off. The bottom line is I hate this drug and even though it helped with the initial symptoms, it created a whole new set of problems. And I can't help but wonder what it has done to my internal organs. F 49 7 years
11/4/2007
 3  Depressioin This drug eased anxiety and caused my appetite to increase (which I sorely needed), but it also caused Cervical Dystonia (a neurological disease of the neck). The only reason I'm still on it is that I am weaning off of Klonopin (which causes depression, weakness and weight loss in me) and I have to stay on the Paxil until I am off (or nearly off) of the Klonopin. Paxil also caused muscle weakness, sleepiness and fatigue, however. It also caused tremors in my hands and I wasn't as sharp mentally or as focused as I was before I took this drug. I had rough withdrawal symptoms (not being able to sleep at night, nausea and loss of appetite, weight loss (10 lbs. in about a week or two), agitation, anger and irritability, and wanting to cry) for about 3-4 weeks. Lack of sleep, however, lasted for about 6 weeks. I had to go back on Doxepin (25 mg.) at night in order to sleep. The reason I withdrew from Paxil was that I found out it was causing the Dystonia. I withdrew with my doctor's permission but had to go back on it due to the depression, etc. caused by the Klonopin. M 49 4 years
30 MG 1X day
10/25/2011
 2  Ptsd Extreme sweats and tremors F 49 100 days
80 1X day
8/16/2020
 1  Depression and Anxiety/OCD The usual when you start any SSRI with the additional problem of feeling angry and aggressive. I just couldn't handle the anger and aggression that came on so quick. I have heard it is hard to get off, so I quickly went off so I didn't have withdrawal to add to the anger and aggression! Everyone is different but I've noticed a couple of people on here say Celexa (also called Cipramil) was good for them. I am back on it now and relieved. Maybe try it if you have had a problem with Paxil. F 49 2 days
20mg 1X day
6/13/2017
 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
 1  Anxiety / Panic Disorder While on it.: Weight gain. Loss of self. Detachment. While getting off: Wooshing (zapping) inside head as eyes are moved, dizziness, over-emotional, sad/happy swings, depression, anxiety, urinary issues, tired. Paxil is horrible to wean off. M 49 11 years
10-20 mg 1X day
5/1/2013
Email
 1  Situational depression insomnia, void of emotion, anger, no personality, reclusive, night sweats, said what ever thought came into my head even if inappropriate, gained 30 lbs, wasted 10+ years of my life. I have been tapering off this drug for 10 months and it has been hell, down to 1.5 mgs....the light is at the end of the tunnel. Lost 30 lbs. and I can actually cry again. Do not take this drug, unless you want to feel numb constantly. F 49 10 years
20 1X day
12/13/2011
 1  depression lack of sex desire with wife M 49 438 days
100 mg 4X day
12/29/2011
 5  panic attacks Initially (first month) felt sleepy,had strange dreams,and was a bit slow intellectually.Started at 5mg.,then to 10mg.,and then eventually stuck at 20 mg. Long term side effects (after 5 years) have been minimal. I have had 10 lbs weight gain (which is hard to neccessarily blame on the medication). My initial symptoms were anxiety attacks in certain situations. My anxiety attacks consisted of a racing heart,an upset GI tract, and a feeling of needing to escape the situation/environment I was in. I found myself avoiding situations where I was afraid I might have a panic attack. It got worse and worse, and I was felt I was losing control of my life. When I finally went in to the physician, I started with counseling/therapy (which unfortunately wasn't helpful); and then started paxil. The paxil completely got rid of my panic and my life became normal again. It has helped me immensely. F 48 6 years
2/26/2007
 5  Anxiety None Love the stuff F 48 6 years
7/9/2008

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