Experiences with Paxil

[Brett Hartwig]

I have a family member who will be starting on Paxil soon in conjunction with appointments with a psychotherapist. Anybody have experiences with Paxil? Is it good, bad, what? What side effects can we expect? thanks

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Brett, I work at a hospital. If you want, I can try to e-mail you a copy of the description and such. Let me know and I'll see what I can do.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Brett, you've got mail.

 

[Ben Poche]

once you start do not just stop taking it you need to ease off of it

 

[Nick Mitchell]

I agree with bpoche, when stopping paxil the dose should be tapered down over several weeks. Compared to Prozac and others in the same "family", Paxil has a very short half-life which means you can have some "withdrawal" symptoms if stopped too suddenly. (anxiety, restlessness, bad dreams). Otherwise it is a decent antidepressant when prescribed by someone familiar with it's use and in the appropriate patient. As with all antidepressants it may take 6+ weeks for maximum effect, so don't give up on it too quickly.

 

[Dennis Mouser]

I was on the Paxil 20mg xtended release, haven't refilled the prescription yet, I think it's a great antidepressant, it didn't turn me into a zombie like zoloft did, it seemed like it took alot of weight off my shoulders...I took it for about 8 weeks until I ran out of samples, I give it a thumbs up!



**edit** that's a good one nelson! **see below**

 

[Gavin Allan]

re: Experiences with Paxil by dennis,6/30/2006 22:48 CT



I was on the Paxil 20mg xtended release, haven't refilled the prescription yet, I think it's a great antidepressant, it didn't turn me into a zombie like zoloft did, it seemed like it took alot of weight off my shoulders...I took it for about 8 weeks until I ran out of samples, I give it a thumbs up!

Does anyone know of an antidepressant that can also take a lot of weight off your mid-section?

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Does anyone know of an antidepressant that can also take a lot of weight off your mid-section?

Yes, that would be referred to as a very hot, younger woman. You'll be happy and lose weight trying to keep up.



My ex used Paxil for a while. She used several anti-depressants during the last 5 years of our marriage (and still does). I may be mistaken by which one caused it, but she gained a lot of weight on one, and also became physically aggressive and not in the good way!

 

[walter clark]

Kill your Mo-jo man (sex life)..... Several of my coworkes have been on it and they all agreed on this point. Other than that though it was said that it work quite well as any other anti dep. med. other gripes associted with ant-dep meds was though that many went off latter because they wernt stressed but they also just didnt give a damn about anythig and so felt they had lost there edge. Many said there jobs sufferd because of lack of aggresivness and loss of innovationess and just a general sence of bland mellow blah. I often feel the medical community uses meds to much and not enughf of disscusion so that the person can understand there issues and lern to deal with them. Pills dont solve the cause they just treat the symptoms, go off the meds and if problem isnt solved the symptoms come right back. Life is short and life is ment to be enjoyed and savord both good and bad. The good times is when we heal and reflect on the bad (and rejoice for the good things we have). The bad times teach us lessons in life and shape us as dynamic beings. Otherwise we are all just pond scum living to consume resurces and wait for our turn to die. Dont filter life, drink deeply of it in all its purity, you only have one shot to experience it.

 

[NYJohn]

I definately agree with Bpoche. After 2 days of NOT taking it, you'll feel like a train hit you. Plus in general , Paxil makes you very tired. I could sleep for 15 hours and still feel drained. My Dr said that's 1 of the side effects. And depending on your dosage, sex might take a bit longer to well, you know. Which could actually be a good think. For the most part I think Paxil is very helpful.

 

[John D]

Paxil, FUN!

Basically Paxil is a starter drug that doctors will give. They will adjust the dosage after the 3 week startup and continue from there.

Anyway, do not stop taking it once you start!!! You need to ween off of it slowly. The faster you get off of it the worse the withdrawl effects. http://www.quitpaxil.info/

Depending on your body, you may or may not experience some or all of the side effects. Decreased sexual drive, sleepiness, weight loss, weight gain are some of the basics. If its really bad, your doctor can switch you over to another drug like paxil. Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, Zoloft to name a few.