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 added. 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 | social anxiety & depression | I took paxil for little over a year. It completely eased all my social anxiety and depression. I experienced difficulty getting an erection and achieving orgasm. I also felt very sleepy and wasn't able to keep up with a college night course I was taking. | I had to go cold turkey in order to finish my academic requirements for my teaching credential and had no major withdrawal symptoms. | M | 47 | 13 months | 2/2/2008 | 4 | PMDD | For the first few weeks I had extreme fatigue (falling asleep at my desk, feeling very out of it, etc.) At 20 mg, the only side-effects I have now are mild fatigue (I'm okay if I'm at work or doing something, but if I'm at home I want to take naps frequently), and if I miss 2-3 doses I experience mild brain shocks and wooshy dizziness which disappear immediately after taking my next dose. | I am a new person thanks to Paxil. My hormonally-related depression has all but vanished, and I feel "even" and content now, where before Paxil I never knew when the next wave of blackness would envelop me. I went off of Paxil with no trouble whatsoever when I got pregnant, and I suspect the hormones of pregnancy kept me on an even-keel during that time. I tried to stay off of Paxil after my baby was born to breast-feed, but the post-partum depression was so horrible I restarted Paxil with very minimal side-effects 4 weeks after giving birth. | F | 40 | 6 years | 1/26/2008 | 4 | Extreme anxiety & panic attacks | 20 lb. weight gain, a little apathetic at times, sleepiness, bad withdrawal MUST taper down via liquid Paxil | I have tried A LOT of different medicine for my panic disorder and anxiety. I have SEVERE anxiety, not just occasional anxiety or stress and I believe thats what this med is for. I would say it's better for anxiety than depression as well although it helps a little for that. I also have Fibromyalgia and IBS and it definitely helps in those areas. I did try going off paxil (my family persuaded me I didn't need it anymore) and that turned out to be a huge mistake. In the 2 months I was off of it ( you must wean off slowly)my life was hell. I was very anxious and convinced that i was going to die. I was at the ER 7 times after I went off the med. I did have other things going on in my life as well as an antibiotic called Levaquin I took which turned out to be a near fatal mistake. The point is if a med is working for you stick with it regardless of what others say, even if you're "feeling better" you cannot just stop. You may have to try a lot of different meds before you find t | F | 27 | 8 years | 1/25/2008 | 4 | depression | weight gain and physical exhaustion | I started taking Paxil during a major depressive episode. Eventually I began to feel better and I got my life back - it really saved me. It made me feel better than I had for most of my life so I kept taking it for many years at 20mg. For the last few years I cut back to 10mg. During these many years I put on significant weight - about 60 pounds. Also, I was always exhausted. I would wake up exhausted. I could take a nap anytime during the day. It got to the point, my doctor thought perhaps I had sleep apnea. Around this time, I decided to go off Paxil completely. Amazingly, I found that the exhaustion was gone. I had energy for the first time in many, many years. I was amazed, and slightly disheartened to realize the Paxil had been causing my extreme tiredness all these years. Unfortunately, I went off the Paxil at a point in my life when mood swings from menopause had begun. I went back on a low dose of - Wellbutrin. It has smoothed out the emotional rollercoaster some | F | 50 | 14 years | 1/25/2008 | 1 | depression | loss of orgasm, lethargic | I HATE this pill!! It left me feeling worse than what I started. I was distant, moody, at time suicidal. I also didn't appreciate that I couldn't reach orgasm. | F | 37 | 6 months | 1/24/2008 | 4 | depression, anxiety, stress | Very few, at most a few...em..."weird" dreams, but overall I'm pleased. | OK folks...do you know why you are having "withdrawal" symptoms after getting off of this drug? Paxil is an antidepressant, which works to reduce the absorption of serotonin (body's natural antidepressant), so it remains within easy reach of the serotonin receptors in the brain, so that when needed, it is readily available to handle stress. When you go off of it (especially after being on it for a time) your body is not used to the lower serotonin levels that the Paxil works to keep elevated. You no longer have an adequate supply of this "natural antidepressant," so when your body needs it to handle stressful situations (many times including normal day-to-day activities), it is not there and you "crash." | M | 18 | 6 weeks | 1/23/2008 | 1 | anxiety | total zombie, vivid dreams to the extent that I could not differentiate between real and dream when i woke up, almost zero sex drive, total inability to orgasm, very frustrating, should not be sold, snake oil. | how this crap got approved is probably criminal | M | 33 | 4 months | 1/23/2008 | 2 | anxiety/depression | "EYE JERKS". Feels like electric zaps quickly pulling my eyes from side to side. I've just been weaned off the drug, and the eye jerks are much worse, though I had them while taking drug. | Took Paxil for six years, and it was helpful. But in the long run, the negatives outweigh the positives. | F | 59 | 6 years | 1/16/2008 | 4 | Anxiety | Yawning, jaw chatters, dizziness, nausea, some brain zaps & vision disturbance. | Started @ 10mg the 1st week, then went to 20mg. Stayed there for 8 months. Worked GREAT! no more attacks, took my Ativanmaybe once a month if that. Thought I was "better" so we started to wean off. It SUCKED but not unbearable. Now, 8 months later again....I am back to the panic/anxiety attacks & a mess. Worse this time around, taking twice the Ativan(lorazepam) as before. We tried Lexapro, but didnt work. So I am now getting back on Paxil. Its what worked! As well, doing the relaxation, self help books and changing stress in life. | F | 29 | 8 months | 1/12/2008 | 3 | Anxiety and Depression | I don't think I experienced any. | It was great for several years until it stopped working and I switched to Effexor. | F | 33 | 3 years | 1/6/2008 | 1 | OCD, Depression,Social Anxiety | cloudy thinking, extreme fatigue, suicidal ideation, emotional numbness to everything, loss of interest and creativity, extreme depression, dizziness, vertigo, space-outs,...DO NOT MIX WITH ALCOHOL!!! | I took Paxil for four months and took myself off of it for its side effects. Whenever I drank with the medication, the side effects intensified. When I quit the medication, it was horrible. I experienced electrical shocks, extreme dizziness, extreme depression and ended up in the hospital for a suicide attempt. | M | 25 | 4 months | 12/31/2007 | 1 | anxiety | sexual side effects including complete inability to orgasm, withdrawal symptoms are MISERABLE | Paxil did little for my anxiety, and after 8 months of taking it I decided to quit. The withdrawal is terrible, even if you taper off, and I would never recommend this drug to anyone. I experienced severe dizziness, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, electric shock sensations that prevented me from sleeping, and the overall bizarre feeling that I was living in something like a "video game" world. I have been off the drug for 6 weeks and am still suffering. Please weigh all your options before beginning this medication! | F | 27 | 8 months | 12/25/2007 | 5 | major panic, anxiety and depression | This is my second post...last was 9/17...now six months off Paxil...I still have withdrawal...anxiety at times that I never had before the drug...I recently went through a 4-6 hour period of depression...2nd time in the six months, though not as bad this time...all my withdrawal feelings are less and continue to get better but they are not gone...I do feel like getting back on something...maybe this is my body craving Paxil..they call this PAWS...takes 6-12 months to recover...I want to give this six more months...also, my lebido is still not back 100%...I am not a zombie anymore but still not right...sometimes I feel great or almost normal...I will say that Paxil worked, but the weight gain was too much..I have lost 20 of the 30 pds gained...the bad anger I had in the first 4 months is gone...I just dont feel right all the time...it is getting better, but very slowly and I do have these big drops in mood, but always less than before...got my fingers crossed... | M | 45 | 6 years | 12/15/2007 | 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 | 4 | Anxiety | Chattering teeth & delayed orgasm. | I took Paxil for a year and it eliminated my anxiety. I became much more social and could concentrate/focus. I then went off Paxil because I couldn't have an orgasm. I am back to were I started. I can't focus on a task and don't want to go out. My life is being severely disrupted. My doctor told me that I'm going to have to decide to live with the sexual side effects or anxiety (looks like I'm not going to be able to have my cake and also eat it). I've decided to go back on the Paxil (30 mg) and live with the side effects. I can't stand being nervous all the time. I feel like I'm going to lose my mind. I'm still suffering from the anxiety and will most likely have to increase the dosage. I do grind my teeth at night, but I solved this problem by using a sport's mouth guard (99 cents at Wal-Mart). If I wear my mouth guard at night, I wake-up feeling fine. If I don't wear a mouth guard, my jaw and teeth hurt (sometimes have headaches) when I awaken. Currently, I'm also taki | M | 39 | 6 weeks | 12/12/2007 | 2 | anxiety | *felt like nerve endings in anus and head were contracting for the first month, awful numbness in head, lifted my spirits but overall this drug is poison. | *Can someone please help me off this evil drug, the electric shocks,pins and needles and major numbnesss and depression occured on stopping this poison, which i never had before. plaese e-mail me if you have had similar problem or have tips on why my brain is so damaged by this drug..HELP! | M | 32 | 7 years | 12/2/2007 | 2 | anxiety disorders | Only a mere 5mg/day. First 2 days: slight headache, feeling hazy and increased libido actually. 3rd day: severe depression, loss of concentration, anger, deep sadness, even suicidal thoughts weren't far. Stopped it at once(our best doc. remains ourselves) and fortunately I was(almost) back to normal the next day just some very little dizyness. | I can't believe they're calling that an anti-depressant. I've never been severly depressed(with suicidal thoughts) of my whole life until I take this. It did take care of anxiety but I was so out of it, that's quite normal. I was laughing when I first saw the suicide risk warnings and thought that was only for f%#cked up teenagers but everybody may experience this. I hope I'll have a better chance with the next SSRI or else I'll continue with Klonopin when needed and try CBT without SSRI. | M | 27 | 3 days | 11/27/2007 | 4 | Anxiety | I have currenty been on this drug for over eight years and have decided that I have have had enough of sleeping for 13 hrs a day or more. When I started coming off this medicine I have been so sick. I have constant diarrhea, nausea and irritabiliy. I have this buzzing in my head. I can't stand to hear loud noises and excessive talking it drives me nuts. | F | 36 | 8 years | 11/26/2007 | 1 | depression | weight gain mainly, HORRIBLE withdrawl | Beware.... works wonders in the beginning, but hit a bipolar type high where you're too happy. I spent money (credit cards) like crazy, then went the opposite direction, overly anxious, anti social (couldn't even get the mail)and the weight gain despite NOT overeating was intolerable. Decided to try stopping to find the worst withdrawl symptoms just missing a couple doses. Thought I had food poisoning, couldn't stand or sit up without the room spinning, vomitted like crazy. Tried weaning off with many of the same withdrawl symptoms mentioned here including more vertigo. Beware, goes from seeming to work quite well to at least one horrific year trying to get off it if you even can!!!! It's not worth it ,,,, try something, almost anything else. Wish I could give it a 0 rating | M | 51 | 4 years | 11/23/2007 | 1 | depression | Was ready to "deal" with the Death of my Brother after 6 yrs. Paxil took away most emotions. | The WORST withdrawal symptoms. It makes you feel like HELL. Please don't start this medication. I'm sure there is something better. I'm all for medication helping with depression, just not this one. | F | 41 | 6 years | 11/21/2007 |