Going to Dr tomorrow

Going to ask doctor to be put on Paxil for my depression, generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks. I have read of a number of people who had been helped significantly by this medication. I will start at 10mg or 12.5 and work my way up slowly.

[Scott]

please don't use paxil if you are determined to take medication.. go on lexapro if you have to but you shouldn't take medication unless your life is severely limited.. you should see an actual psychlogist and learn about these things before going on medication. This condition is easy to treat without medication but I guarantee you'll have more problems if you go on medication. I've taken the past year to get off this kind of medication and am still not off yet. I am literally worse now than before I took medication. I get through each day on hope that tomorrow will be better. I've been doing that for a year.

But don't take my word for it, research these drugs and see how you think you'll react. http://www.crazymeds.org/

don't let the name fool you

I am a regular on crazy meds and as Jerod says "keep taking your meds".

Lexapro did not work for me and psychologists are IMHO full of crap. Did they go to medical school? No, they are glorified social workers.

You write as if you know me and my experiences, you don't - so don't presume.

For those of us who truly have a chemical imbalance AD's can be life savers.

This condition is "easy to treat without medication"? Whatever you are smoking buddy, pass it this way. Then again, don't.

[Scott]

well if you're a regular then you have obviously read the negative things that were said about paxil.

I have one question though, if it isn't going to put you out at all, how do you know you have a chemical imbalance? has a doctor ever taken a sample of your brain?

[Ariella]

sc_girl, easy on the flippant remarks ok? There are good intentions here.

Use Paxil if you'd like. Have a blast! We'll be here should you need us, although I doubt your sincerity.

It's common for people with negative intentions to go around posting,"hey, look at me, look at me, I'm the defiant one, look at me, I'm posting just to get attention". Why did you feel the need to announce yourself so? Do you need that much external validation?

Just curious really.

About your anxiety: What's it like for you? What triggers the panic the most? We've got tons of experience on anxiety and can probably give you some insight to build your independence.

[tommyd]

Question: Who proved you have a chemical imbalance? Was it a test? Docs will say anything to get you to take this ****. Paxil wasn't given to me for depression, anxiety OCD etc. It was given to me because of an intermittent dizziness symptom. In my opinion, anyone on an ssri is akin to a ticking time bomb.

I know...I've been there. I didn't crack, but I know full and well the way your thoughts/perception of reality changes while taking an ssri...and ON A DIME.

You can say or believe whatever you want, at the end of the day ssri's are very unstable drugs.

[tommyd]

oops, scott already hit that question.

[tommyd]

[MizzT]

Originally Posted by sc_girl

Lexapro did not work for me and psychologists are IMHO full of crap. Did they go to medical school? No, they are glorified social workers.

2 comments.
Lexapro didnt work.....maybe that's cause the makers just said that in fact it doesnt work.
and so you think paxil will???

he he he he he.......havefun.

And psychologists didnt go to medical school??....hhmmnn..
someone is badly misinformed.

[Elvira74]

Here's my two cents:

1) Paxil does work. If you mean by "working" it relieves symptoms of anxiety and depression while you take it. At least it did for me. It probably worked for a lot of people here on this board, otherwise they wouldnt have taken it for any length of time.

2) Psychiatrists go to medical school. Psychologists do not.

3) It isnt easy to cure anxiety or depression, drugs or no drugs.

[Mr X]

2) Psychiatrists go to medical school. Psychologists do not.

That's why psychiatrist's can prescribe medicine & psychologist's cannot.

[Ariella]

Good points Elivra. As long as sc_girl expects and accepts the possibility of having unintended experiences with Paxil, then there's no problem. She's fully choosing her own reality and that feels great to an anxiety sufferer!

I seems a lot of you here went on an AD when you should have never been prescribed an AD and you seem to think it is the drug's fault?

How do I know I have a chemical imbalance? How about being in a mental hospital for depression so severe it was completely debilitating and them being given Luvox and changing my life? (The first time it happened I was given tofranil and it made me see that life does actually exist - I was stupid to ever go off it). If I were diabetic, Iwould take insulin - all the kumbayas and meditation in the world wouldn't keep me out of a diabetic coma if I did not.

Do I smoke? NO
Do I exercise? YES
Do I eat "right"? YES

But I still suffer because of depression and anxiety and all the GD "therapy" sessions in the world are not going to chnage that.

I think you are doing peole a great diservice here, people who could truly benefit from AD's, including Paxil. You are trying to scare them because you had your own problems, which are by no means representative of the majority of people who take this medication. My girlfriend took 50mg of Paxil for 3 years, stopped cold turkey, no problem and there are a lot more like her that there are like you.

If someone is suicidal and has an endogenous disease, why would you contribute to their suffering? People are dying - yes - more people kill themselves while NOT on AD's then while on them. And you are discouraging people from what some so desperately need - relief.

Yes, AD's are psychoreactive drugs, that's THE POINT. If you want to blame the drugs for your problems that is your issue entirely. I came here to seek support for starting on a new medicine that I hope will help me. If you want to see yourselves as victims, that is your choice.

[emily]

There's a good chance that Paxil *will* help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety. The same people who'll tell you that SSRI's are totally bogus will often also tell you to eat turkey, take Saint John's Wort, exercise to elevate those serotonin levels which they've just argued don't exist or aren't part of the causality of anxiety, OCD & depression. Countless people who've been on SSRIs know beyond doubt that they DO work, & it's arrogant to say that these people are all deluding themselves. Are there studies saying they don't work? Of course. Are there studies saying they do? Of course. We're a culture with an absolute gift for believing whatever suits our personal needs & agendas. (I could get started on current politics, but I won't!) There are people who believe in their hearts that alternative therapies work, & there are people who believe such are bogus. The point is to respect other's choices.

The true question is this: IS THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR TAKING SSRIS--PARTICULARLY PAXIL--TOO HIGH? If you're a regular on crazymeds, you know that site is totally up front about the wacked-ness of Paxil discontinuation & says it should be used as a last resort. Paxil *WILL* suppress panic in many people, & as such can be the difference between agoraphobia & real life, between suicide & sticking around. But:

*some people experience serious side effects while on (not just weight gain & anorgasmia--we're taking "zaps," tremors, all manner of havoc)

*many people--perhaps even most--go through hell trying to get off, &
will tell you that the reorganization of their serotonin post-Paxil leaves them in a deeper hell than they were in before they started it.

I took Paxil 20 mg for 6.5 years. It worked beautifully the whole time, but when I decided to try & see what life would be like without it--hell broke lose. Now on 5mg Lexapro, utterly happy. Some people do yoga; some people tap on their bodies & make their problems go away; some people take SSRIs; some people pray to their god of choice; some people do all these things. It's individual, & anybody who poo-poos someone else's choice is simply insecure about their own. What PaxilProgress is for--if I may be so bold as to venture it, & Darcy should correct me if I'm wrong--is to help people make an INFORMED CHOICE in a loving, supportive environment.

emily, that is very intellegent and well thought out, thank you. I think you may be wrong about that last sentence though.

and btw, no, psychologists generally do not go to medical school. They go to graduate school.

Just cause one medicine doesn't work does not mean another one won't. I am living proof of that.

[tommyd]

I think in the end, the answer is yes, AD's work for some and not others. But exactly HOW?? The seratonin theory is still just that: A THEORY. There may be many other chemical changes going on that give one the false sense that they are better.

The deal is this: how to test what will work for you without it frying your brain. How do you know it won't make you insane after 1, 3, 7 months? You don't. Courts proved in Wyoming that Paxil did make that guy go crazy and kill his family. GSK is now releasing data saying they hid detailed info about their test results (all negative for them). On and on and on...

For the majority of people on this site (from what I have seen), paxil was given like candy. My doctor proved that theme. I was one of those that had a really bad reaction. As did many of the others here. So I have a bad taste.

I think this is the wrong place to prove paxil's efficacy. Go ahead and try though.

That is not my intention. I just wonder why so many here are so closed-minded.

People on AD's sometimes kill themselves. No kidding! What a shock! They were depressed to start with and the AD they were taking wasn't working. You blame the drug? Or the depression?

I will tell you that AD's work for millions of people. Some have bad reactions, hell - some have bad reactions to sugar and caffeine. Some can't eat shellfish. It is all individualized, but to say that because you had a bad experience everyone will is really wrong.

[tommyd]

Who said everyone will?

You're trying to push this issue really hard. I think this is strange as you haven't even tried paxil yet. Try it, then report back.

yes, master

whatever you say, I have no right to speak, sorry for even bringing it up. I was asking for an honest discussion and it seems that only emily is capable of that.

[tommyd]

seriously, until you try it, how can you know?

Relax.

[love]

scgirl, I don't know ifeveryone taking Paxil will have bad side effects. It worked for me totally in terms of killing my depression. But for me, the side effects just weren't worth it anymore (severe weight gain & sleeping all the time). So when I tried to quit cold turkey a few years ago I never expected for what was to come. Just a whole list of withdrawal symptoms.

Some people never have any withdrawal effects tho. My sister was on (can you believe) 80 mg. Paxil per day!! That was about 3 years ago tho. She stayed on that for several months. It did nothing for her so she 'just quit'. She had NOT ONE symptom of withdrawal.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that everyone's system is different. However, the majority of people getting off of Paxil do experience very unpleasant side effects. I have been on many anti-depressants throughout my teens up until now and I have always been able to stop cold turkey with no withdrawal whatsoever. Paxil is the only one that has every given me any problems (in terms of stopping the drug).


Just want you to be informed is all.
I hope you make a smart choice

[emily]

Some people DO stay on it for years--quit--& do just fine. Those of us who've come to this board weren't so blessed.

If you've decided you want to try an antidepressant, why choose Paxil?
Seriously, I'm just curious! Maybe go to remedyfind.com & look at profiles of the others? Even if the withdrawal syndome wasn't the worst of any anti-depressant except Effexor, the weight gain that Paxil's notorious for may give you pause.

Also: if you go on paxil or another AD, be sure to simultaneously pursue other avenues of healing--cognitive behavioral therapy & exercise are both useful.

[emily]

ps--there are other members of this community who are on antidepressants to deal with serious anxiety, but who don't say so publicly b/c of fear of getting shouted down--we're not as monolithic a community
as we may seem; lots of discussion takes place through PM's--