Hi Everyone! I'm new here and I guess the main reason I came is to share my experiences and talk with others about my Paxil withdrawal. I'm 18 years old and have been on Paxil for almost 2 years now. I take it for basically everything: panic attacks, depression, and anxiety. Paxil has helped me.. at least I think it has.. but I just don't like the idea of always being on medication and having to worry about prescriptions and shrinks for the rest of my life. I feel I have grown a lot mentally since I started Paxil (when I was 16) but it doesn't seem like I am able to enjoy and do the things I want while on this medicine. Anyway, I have attempted to get off it for the past 6 months, and everytime failed. I always have to go back to it. However, this time I am very serious about "kicking the habit" and joining this board is a way to insure that I do :) SO I took 10mg - half of my regular 20 - on Monday (New Years res.) and 10mg last night. So far so good. Yesterday I felt fine. Today I feel tired and kinda out-of-it. I am on and off nauseous, but nothing serious. I am actually craving for tonight when I take my dose. It acts like a stimulant and will keep me up till at least 5am. Oh yeah, getting kind of long winded here :g so I will submit this now and hope somebody will read it and I will update ASAP. Thanks guys!! ~Angela
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I am also having the same problem, I am unable to get off of my Paxil as well... I constantly have cravings for it. I get off of it for several days and then I "Need" to get back on it...

Read my other post about this:

<a href="http://www.atforumz.com/showthread.php?threadid=103453">Paxil Class Action Lawsuit</A>

I'm interested in being a part of it. I've been on Paxil now for a little over 3 years and I don't know if I actually "Need" it anymore... However I can't get past the... well... Addiction to it.
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Hi :b I've slipped already and took a 20mg 2 hours early.. oh well.. I'll try to take a 10 again tomorrow. I checked out your link http://www8.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/08/2...suit/index.html but it seems to have expired or something. I think I might move my posts to the "Addiction Recovery" section.. haha.. ~Angela
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Maybe you guys can help me understand this better.

Is Paxil withdrawl different from other anti-depressant withdrawl? Because they all affect brain chemistry, and if you suddenly stop, you will get very sick. When I've stopped taking any anti-depressant, I always give my psychiatrist a call and he gives me the schedule for slowly tapering off.

Is Paxil different? Angela, you mention craving Paxil. I never felt anything like that when I quit my meds. I felt like crap, but I never craved the drug.

I hope both of you can get off this medication. It sounds like neither of you want to be on it, and that's definately a reason to stop.

Ann
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To be honest with you Kai, I don't really know how paxil addiction differs from other antidepressant addiction because I've never been on any other anti depressiant... All I know is that I have terrible dizzyness, fatigue, thoughts of suicide, and serious cravings to get back on the drug... I don't know what I have to do to keep off the damn drug... But everything my doctor has tried isn't really working... He weens me off, I get back on, or I take double because I can't stand the feeling anymore.

It's hell. I've never felt this way before... And I don't want to be on it anymore... Nor do I feel I need to be on it anymore.

<H1>HELP!</H1>
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I've never taken Paxil, but it certainly does sound like there's something different about it compared to most other anti-depressants. I've had difficulty stopping other meds, but never a craving.

I read that the FDA is requiring Paxil to now be labeled as potentially habit-forming.

Meanwhile, the suit against the manufacturers involves a woman who was prescribed this med by her gynecologoist.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

My grandmother's GP tried to put HER on it, too.

We seriously have to change the way doctors are bought and sold by pharmaceutical companies because reckless prescriptions are doing lots of people harm.
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I think the craving feeling is the key. I've been on a lot of different types of anti-depressants, and I've never felt a craving. The makers of Paxil must have known about this. They have to do extensive product testing to get it on the market, and I'm sure they've seen people who stop taking it.

I think that anti-depressants should only be prescribed by psychiatrists. Other doctors just don't have enough experience or knowledge to give these drugs. It's so irresponsible to give someone a prescription for anti-depressants and send them on their way. Very few people's problems can be solved with just a pill.

My mom's primary care doctor has given her Prozac for 6 years. She's never seen a mental health professional, and she really needs to. The Prozac helps, but so would intensive counseling.

A friend of mine has an elderly mother who was just moved into a nursing home. They found that her doctor has been giving her 3 to 4 doses of Valium daily for over 6 years. She's an 80 year old Valium addict. So much for "first, do no harm."

Ann
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I was on paxil for a little over a year and had a terrible time getting off of it. I had severe dizziness so much so that i had to remain in bed asleep most of the day. I had never experienced anything like that before.

To get off the paxil, my doctor put me on another antidepressant, effexor. If i skip my dosage by accident, once again i get severely dizzy.
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Paxil also comes in liquid form--so that you can be "weened" off slowly.
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