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 Date from oldest to newest. 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 |
| 3 | OCD, PMS or PMDD | This is my second day and I am very, very tired...but then again...I love to sleep and I get sleepy from Non-Drowsy medicene. I am happier though. | Well see how it goes....People claim that after the 3rd week, you won't be sleepy anymore. | F | 23 | 2 days | 11/19/2003 | 4 | depression/chronic pain | started with 30mg went up to 80mg now at 60mg and want to got to 40mg;libidolessened,weight gain from 200 to225lbs, | paxil is best taken with the thinking that more is not better,side effects are relative proportionately to dosage. paxil works but in some people like me a second drug may be needed for rage outbursts,for this risparidone was prescribed and i take 3mg of that daily | M | 39 | 11 months | 12/17/2003 | 4 | Depression, anxiety, panic attacks | Loss of libido, inability to reach orgasm for a few months, increased apetite, weight gain (over 20 pounds), and occasional dizzyness. | Depression and anxiety had always been a factor in my adult life, but had gotten increasingly severe with age. Paxil has 1. Greatly minimized my incompacitating symptoms of depression. 2. Rendered managable my anxiety, and 3. Completely eliminated my overwhelming and embarassing panic attacks. I'd rate the medication higher if the side effects weren't as severe as they have been and I'd definitely recommend that any adjustments in the dosage of this medication be undertaken only on the advice of a doctor. | F | 55 | 20 months | 1/3/2004 | 4 | Anxiety/Panic | Minor Weight Gain, Decreased Libido, Drowsiness,Apathy, Some Memory Loss | This drug saved my life at the time. I was in my freshman year of college and taking pilots lessons and had a panic attack while flying solo. The paxil worked almost immediately. While the side effects are bothersome just about all drugs have side effects. The drug gave me the confidence to finish college, obtain my MBA, by the age of 24, and be very successful at work. I have since went off because I want to explore other Meds (currrently Lexapro). Withdrawal effects are horrific. Caution--ween yourself off very slowly 4-6 weeks. | M | 24 | 5 years | 1/9/2004 | 5 | Panic disorder and agoraphobia | Delayed orgasm (delayed is not the word!). It's a pain but it must be worse for women, who I've read often have complete anorgasmia and/or complete loss of interest. Occasional tiredness. | I've gone from basket case to normal in about 6 months. While I haven't done any formal CBT I've read a great deal about it and done some self-help excercises at home. It's hard to know how much of my improvement can be put down to the drug but it has definitely helped a great deal. | M | 38 | 6 months | 1/14/2004 | 5 | Depression / Panic disorder | some memory loss, hair loss | I've been taking paxil for almost 9 years. I started taking it like I was told to, everyday. For the past 2 or more years I only take it every now and then. I do agree with the others, it is so hard to get off of it. Before I could go 3 or 4 days without it and feel like crap, disoriented, sick to my stomach, shaky. Just not normal feeling. By all means, it is a great drug to help anyone with a panic disorder or depression. But they're major side effects as far as getting off of it.. I have changed to zoloft. I'm praying that it will help with the weight gain that I gained taking paxil and that it will help my hair to grow back. That's another major side effect. It will eventually make you start loosing your hair. (not that I am totally bald, just really thin on top now). | F | 33 | 9 years | 1/21/2004 | 1 | depression | I suffered very severe panic attacks and a sensation that everything was wrong. It took me ages to recover from these symptoms although I only took this medication for a few days.It turned me into a fearful person, opposite of what I was like before. | F | 34 | 5 days | 1/22/2004 | 4 | anxiety | trouble sleeping, always thirsty, seem to be hungry all the time, heavy sweating | would like to stop it and try something natural, but stopping it for only 2 days made me feel terrible! | F | 46 | 1 years | 1/29/2004 | 3 | Social and Generalized Anxiety | First 3 to 4 weeks I yawned alot. (nothing to worry about). Prolonged ejaculation (which has been a good thing for me and my lady I must admit :)). I sweat alot in bed now when asleep (a bad thing). I have alot of memorable dreams (good dreams so far). | I now have far less negative thoughts. I feel more confident around others. I suffered alot of pain through-out my body but that has all gone now. I feel like a better person now but I believe I can be even better over time, I hope. I still suffer minor panic attacks but I'm hoping this will go in time. Drinking beer always helps (just starting drinking it since being on this medication). I've been on holiday for 4 of the 6 weeks I've been on this medication, so I'm yet to see the conclusion. | M | 35 | 6 days | 1/31/2004 | 3 | deppression,panic attacks | excessive sleeping, loss of appetite, loss of libido | i have been taking paxil for 3 weeks now, at 12.5 mg. so far it has helped me to not have panic attacks, but it still hasn't helped my depression, so i am going up to 25 now. i have very littel appetite during the day, and at night i crave sweets. all i want to do is sleep all day. and i dont even think about sex | F | 31 | 3 times | 2/7/2004 | 3 | depression/anxiety | weight gain | 3 months | 3/3/2004 | 1 | Social Anxiety Disorder, Depression | weight loss, night sweats, electric sensations, dizziness, somnolence, inability to experience orgasm | After having no success with Zoloft or Prozac, my doctor put me on Paxil for social anxiety disorder and depression. Paxil was horrible for me. It made my depression about twice as bad as it originally was, and I was contemplating suicide every day. Paxil had no effect on my social anxiety. While on Paxil, I found it very hard to stay awake all day and I seemed to require at least ten hours of sleep each night (compared to the eight hours each night before taking Paxil). While on Paxil, I would wake up at least five times every night after I’d fallen asleep. I would wake up cold and shivering, my whole body drenched with sweat. I lost 20 pounds while on Paxil, without trying to. After I’d been taking Paxil for a while, I started experiencing electric-shock sensations when I turned my head or moved my eyes. This seemed to happen at random times, but it gradually became more frequent the longer I’d been taking Paxil. I’ve tried many different antidepressants, and Paxil was the worst. | F | 19 | 4 months | 3/17/2004 | 1 | depression, anxiety attacks | I HATE THIS DRUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since I've been on it, my depression has been WAY worse than it ever was before I started taking it. I've experienced serious weight gain (40 lbs in 6 months!),I need 10 - 12 hours of sleep a day, I can't stand to be around people because I feel so detatched from everyone, I am totally apathetic about things in my life that should be (& used to be) important to me.... all I really want to do is stay in bed and hide all day. With all these crappy side effects, I figure I'd be better off just not taking the drug any more, so I keep trying to wean myself off of it and now I know what hell is really all about. Each time I end up feeling completely psychotic. Weird electical zaps up and down my arms, legs and face, EXTREME agitation, suicidal and homicidal thoughts, nightmares, night sweats, muscle twitches, vision problems (including tunnel vision, strange random flashes of light, etc.) headaches, dizziness, emotional outbursts and instability and a VERY STRONG feeling of being completely out of control. I was seriously afraid that I was going to hurt myself or someone else. I would NEVER NEVER NEVER not in a million years EVER reccomend this drug to anyone, not even my worst enemy. Taking this drug was absolutly the worst decision of my life. I am now a Paxil junkie. I can only hope that I can get off this stuff one day and lead something that resembles a normal life. | The makers of this drug, the ones who have marketed it to the unsuspecting public as being safe and having no serious side effects should be forced to take Paxil for awhile, and go through Paxil withdrawl. I'd like to know how they feel about this wonder drug after they've personaly experienced it's hellish side effects! Thanks a lot for ruining my life! | F | 31 | 3 years | 3/24/2004 | 4 | ocd/gad | complete sexual dysfuntion at higher dose, inability to orgasm | Works best for SAD and gad compared to other ssri's. | M | 22 | 1 years | 3/31/2004 | 1 | depression, anxiety disorder | extreme confusion, feeling not attached to my body, vivid nightmares, electric shocks, suicidal thoughts, more depressed | I was a smoker 12 years ago, and I thought quitting would be the hardest thing I ever chose to do. I was so wrong. Now I realize that it isn't me that is crazy. The crazy ones are the doctors that prescribe it, the companies that manufacture it, and the FDA for every letting anyone believe it isn't addictive. | F | 41 | 3 years | 4/8/2004 | 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 | 4 | anxiety depression | weight gain. I am far more irresponsible in terms of getting necessary things done, at work and at home. | It saved my sanity in the early stages of divorce. But two years later, I am going to try to switch off of it to a medication that does not produce such apathy in me. I just realized recently that my lowered job performance exactly correlates with my Paxil prescription. But stopping PAXIL is HARD. | F | 47 | 2 years | 4/13/2004 | 5 | Anxiety | After being on Paxil for six months, found myself gaining weight very rapidly. I had gained 30 pounds and no matter how I dieted I kept on gaining. For this reason I asked the doctor to take me off of Paxil. I heard that the detox was terrible but I did not wean my self off, I just stopped and in 5 days I was back to feeling better. | F | 63 | 2 years | 4/15/2004 | 1 | depression | Loss of desire for sex and when attempt to, cannot acheive orgasam, weight gain,uncontrollable hunger all the time, especially for carbs and sweets and alcohol.Trying to come off this drug, but very difficult. head zaps,horrible mood swings... | It was a great medication for the deppression, but the bad side effects and withdrawl are not worth the outcome. How can such a good thing turn into a nightmare????? | F | 52 | 7 years | 4/20/2004 | 1 | depression | constipation, memory loss, sleepy, sexual dysfunction(orgasm), clenched jaws,continued depression. | M | 57 | 6 weeks | 4/26/2004 |