Oh God… I’ve been on Paxil since my father died in 1997. I’ve thought about going off it several times, but then something else happens that sets my emotional balance into a tailspin and I put it off again. But the sexual side effects are putting my marriage into a tailspin, too.
Unfortunately, I’ve missed doses before, and I’ve gone through the hell of brain zaps, organs trying to jump out through my skin, crying jags that last for hours, and all the rest, so I’m terrified of putting myself through it.
Thank you, Lizard:). I plan on it. I’m moving this weekend, so once I get moved and settled in my new place (actually my old place, as I’m moving with my parents for six months before starting graduate school next year), I’ll see my doctor and ask him to put me on something different. I know that I need something.
I’m on Celexa (20mg) not for depression, but to “tone down” my natural hyperness. I wouldn’t call it manic because I don’t go through the mood swings associated with bipolar disorder – I just stay hyper. I never truly noticed the extent of my hyper-ness until the first time I missed a dosage.
Cripes, I’m talking about talkingtalkingtalking coupled with bursts of spontaneous anger directed at nothing in particular. And the bitchiness…if I’m not careful I’ll start yelling, swearing, and wanting to literally jump out of my skin. I lose my appetite completely and can’t sleep. On the plus side, my creativity zooms into the stratosphere, and I can’t stop it.
My natural hyper-ness is a muted form of the previous paragraph, but it was enough some-odd years ago for the people I sang with in a community chorus to encourage me to seek treatment. I had a horrible reaction to Prozac. I was on Zoloft for many years, and finally got sick enough of the “buried in blankets” feeling to wean myself off it (I started splitting my pills, then tapering to taking a half every other day, then every 2 days, and so forth). This was last summer. I felt OK for a couple of months, then the hyper-ness gradually returned. Hence, the Celexa.
I’ve never taken Paxil. One of my exes did, though – it transformed him into a zombie in every sense of the word
If I’m angry at anything, it’s coming to terms with probably having to take a damned pill for the rest of my life…grrrr…
Another SSRI taker here. I’m on Celexa 20 mg for anxiety. For the most part, it’s been side effect free. The only thing I’ve noticed has been slight drowziness for the first few hours after taking it. I deal with that by taking it before bed. I also have the vivid dreams, but mine are nice dreams–kind of a fun side effect!
Now, missing a dose is pure hell! I haven’t noticed any physical symptoms when I miss a dose, but my irritability knows no bounds! The last time (a year ago–I won’t make that mistake again), I had to leave work mid day claiming headache. The real reason is that I recognized just how irritable I was, and worried I’d say something completely unprofessional and inappropriate.
The odd thing is, Pre-Celexa, I’d have irritable days but I was always able to prevent myself from saying or doing something silly. Post-Celexa, if I miss a dose, it’s very, very difficult to control my reactions.
i, also, took the paxil and got the brain zaps when i missed a dose (couldn’t afford the refills when the school pharmacy decided that only the first of the semester was paid for, $60 a month!).
doc didn’t beleive me, this was about 3.5 years ago. oh, and the lack of libido sucked ass too.
but i am going to the shrink tomorrow to start depakote. yes, i am bipolar. no, i don’t want to be medicated for the rest of my life. i hate taking pills. HATE. but, as i am told, it’s like diabetes. if you had diabetes, you’d take your meds. ok, fine. but the manic part is nce for a little while
i am sure they will give me an anitdepressant too. extremely not looking forward to the sexual side effects.
That’s strange, I run into something similar to “brain zaps” when STARTING on St. John’s Wort. It starts like a normal “chilling/shocked back of the neck” sensation but develops into something that feels like my meninges and all my neurons kicked into overdrive for a millisecond. thankfully it doesnt involve my body, though.
Oh, and the caffiene hypersensitivity is a bitch, too.
i’m wondering if a lack of orgasms would be positive for me, seeing as I am single? Maybe it would motivate me more to seek female companionship…
I’ve been on Paxil for 3 years now for depression & anxiety. I didn’t even know sleepiness and apathy/lethargy were side effects of the drug until this fall! I can barely drag my ass out of bed in the am, no matter how much I sleep – I fucking hate it! It’s not like I’m a morning person, but I can usually get to work on time – not since Paxil, though.
I’m usually very knowledgeable about what I’m on, but I think I was too trusting with this one. If I miss one dose I feel unstable physically and emotionally. If I miss two doses (two days) I get the zaps, diziness and headaches.
At first it was clear I really needed it, or something like it. I was suicidal and could barely function at work or at home. And it worked really well for me, for the most part. Then I started therapy, got my sleep disorders diagnosed AND did a three month-long anti-anxiety workshop thingy, all in the past two years. I no longer feel depressed or nearly so anxious. Anyway, I’ve stayed on it these past few months because I switched jobs and moved across the country. I didn’t want to stop it while going through major life changes. But now that I’m settled and still feeling ok, I’ve decided to go off it.
I went from 20 mg to 10 mg two weeks ago and am fine. In fact, I even got a little morning energy back on days 3-8 or so. (That made me hopeful about what I’ll be like when I’m rid of this stuff for good, and I’m thankful for getting that glimpse.) I just made an appointment with my dr. for help with the rest of my tapering schedule.
Anyway, y’all have given me even more incentive to taper off it with the stories you’re sharing – thanks.
Good luck to all of you who are trying to stop it or other “non-addictive” SSRIs.
Ugh, Paxil withdrawl. I did a Paxil to Topamax switcheroo for migraine prevention and, criminy, I can’t i imagine narcotic withdrawal being any worse. The taper lasted several weeks and it was still dreadful. The good news is, the brain-zaps, anxiety, nightmares and general cussedness do wear off and you will become yourself once again - if your close relations don’t shove you off onto an iceberg first.
That’s funny you mention that. I think my bf was going to have me declawed this weekend if things didn’t improve (they have - whew), but my sister suggested that I should be caged.
FYI - I’m feeling MUCH better now. See, that was easy! I told you it would just be a matter of time. :rolleyes:
You guys have a lot of stories about experiences with medication. Thanks for sharing. It’s always nice to know you’re not the only one going through heck.
Wow. Wish I would have read this thread last Thursday, when I was prescribed Paxil-CR. It’s the first anti-anxiety med. I’ve ever taken. Not sure if I would have requested something different, but I would have asked more about some of the side effects described here.
Miz Disco-
Been there and done way too much of all this! Fortunately I have a very sharp doctor who watches out for me. She never lets me stop a drug without a weaning period of up to 6 weeks. This is sometimes waaaaaay toooooo loooong and when I went from Paxil to Wellbutrin we found out that 3 weeks was too long, but…
11 years ago after the birth of Cotta Jr. I went big time downward spiral. I felt like all my identity and total personality was gone so I started Prozac. Good thing/Bad thing. Felt a bit more like my self but was always under a ‘membrane’ of non-feeling. Couldn’t cry even if I needed to.
Slowly over the years I moved from Prozac to Paxil to Zoloft to Wellbutrin and last year I switched to Celexa. Celexa is a very nice change, it has no membrane of ‘non-ness’. I am much more myself and creative and calm and I can cry to vent when it’s needed.
Nowdays my depression and are situational so we had to double my dose but the OB/Gyn wrote a 'script for a testosterone cream (topical) that is counteracting the occassional libido issues (t’ain’t none now with Mr. Testerone Cream! Heh, heh, Viagra in a tube!)
I don’t notice the drowsiness with my meds but I take them at night when it would help. Just like the Zyrtec. It is a 24 hour med so if I take it at night, it’s in full effect when I get up and have the worst allergic reactions.
The drug to be most careful of is Xanax. It is sooooooo nice! It feels great, everything is better, your heart doesn’t race or pound and you CAN cope. Just DON"T STOP TAKING IT COLD TURKEY!!! I had heard that the withdrawal is similar to heroin and I can believe it. I took 3 - .5mg daily for vertigo for about 10 days then quit. Bad idea. I thought I was dying of the flu for 3 days before I called the doctor. 'Script in, weaning over, all fine.
In any event, I understand what you are feeling and you have my sympathies. Mr. Cotta always knows when my drugs aren’t working because I won’t come out from under the bed or I turn into the raging SheBeast. Neither of them is pleasant so I wish you the best in finding a regimen that works!
I’ve been on 40mg for about eight months, and last month my doctor decided to switch me to Wellbutrin because since I went on Paxil I’ve been displaying bipolar tendencies, and have gained forty pounds over the past year.
Shit.
So right now, there is no medication in my body. At all. It’s awful – I’ve got OCD, apparently, and that’s completely back, so I’m panicky, I’m paranoid and I can’t drink more than five freaking sips from a bottle of water before I have to throw it away. I can’t share food with people, I can’t eat around other people.
I can’t wait until Wellbutrin starts getting into my bloodstream.
I’m on sixty milligrams of Celexa and twenty-four hundred milligrams of Neurontin. I’ve tried a lot of psychiatric medication in the past year, but this combo seems to work fairly well for me. I’ve heard Celexa is better on the tapering off period than drugs with short half lives like Paxil, but I’m not planning on going off Celexa any time soon, so it’s not really a concern for me. In regard to sex, I can still get aroused and reach climax, but it takes a while and I can tell the orgasm isn’t as intense as it would be if I were off the Celexa, but it’s not really a problem. I’m somewhat stable and I’m feelin’ fine.
