Paxil symptoms and conditions

After suffering from severe cramps and heavy bleeding for several years I decided to go to the doctor to see if I might possibly have endometriosis. He put me on Femcon in hopes of getting the pain and bleeding under control. I immediately noticed side effects from this medication. Much of what many of you are posting. I had constant tenderness and discomfort in my breasts, vivid/realistic nightmares, weight gain and most of all severe moodiness and irritability. I felt angry and hostile three weeks out of every month. Not a pleasant situation for me or the people around me. After two months of this, I called my doctor to possibly switch to something else. His response: exercise, high protein diet and Prozac as needed. I have been on a high protein diet for the better part of 20 years and have been exercising regularly all my life. As I am already on Paxil, albeit an extremely low dose (6.25mg-half of a 12.5), I found the Prozac part of his solution to be questionable. Number one, I don't believe in over medicating. Number two, it is my understanding that with antidepressants like Prozac, you have to take them consistently to achieve the desired effects. Having been on Prozac in the past, I was not willing to go back on it for any reason. I continued to take the Femcon for two more months with no relief of the side effects. Two days ago I went to a different doctor who put me on the generic version of Ortho Tri-Cyclen. It's been almost two weeks that I have been off the Femcon and I literally feel like a new person. The Femcon did great with controlling the pain and bleeding. However, that was no longer worth the negative side effects I had been experiencing on a daily basis for the last four months. I agree with many of you. The negative and/or positive effects will be individual. This is just my experience with it.

I too like a lot of the women on here am experiencing these side effects. I weighed 145 pounds 9 months pregnant with my daughter, had her and had the mirena put in April the following year (I was on the depo before), and let me tell you- I have gained weight, been moody, depressed, and the acne is ridiculous. I have NEVER had acne in my life and now no matter what I do it gets worse. I've gained about 20 pounds and regardless of my efforts, the weight stays. I am contemplating taking it out and resorting to good old condoms, because honestly this is ridiculous. Although I can say my sex drive has increased- I suppose all of the side effects have increased, the acne, weight gain, depression, headaches, nausea. I want it out but am looking for another form of b/c that I don't have to worry about daily like the pill. Any suggestions?

I've been on Paxil for almost 9 years. I suppose it's a success for me because it has kept the depression away most of these past years. I'm on the maximum dose - 40 mg a day.

I've always been an over-achiever, a type A personality, friendly...with the Paxil I am lazy, no longer care about details, VERY friendly.
My home used to be pristine and comfortable....now I rarely put things away, there are stacks of books, magazines, and 'stuff' everywhere. Because of the mess, we haven't had visitors in our home for YEARS! I used to host parties on a regular basis in our home but these days I would die of embarrassment if anyone saw my home!

My memory is shot...I can't remember names, faces, details...seriously, I can watch a movie over and over again because I NEVER remember the ending!

My sleep cycle is shot as well. In years past, I only required about 5 hours of sleep. On Paxil, I don't fall asleep so I take lots of over-the-counter sleep aids to fall asleep and they knock me out...I can't wake up until almost noon!

I MUST take the Paxil at the same time each day otherwise the "zapping" starts. It isn't painful...just very annoying.

On the positive side, I have achieved many great things because I'm no longer apprehensive about public speaking. I've chaired several successful fundraisers for charities. But because the memory loss has become so profound, I'm no longer capable of chairing these types of events.

I've gained weight but it may be due to having thyroid cancer & having the entire gland removed...metabolism is shot.

I've only tried to go off the Paxil once but the depression resurfaced immediately and I cried for days on end...it was frightening! Of course I went back on it.

Speaking of crying, when on Paxil, it's almost impossible to cry! The tears just won't come.

Now for the really scary part...the effect of the Paxil on my depression is not what it used to be....but I'm on the maximum dose! I've tried several other meds but they just don't work as well. So what in the world will happen when it doesn't work for me anymore? That black hole called depression is the last place I want to be.

went to doctor for headache, he put me on bp meds (Lisinopril/Hydrochlorothiazide- 20 / 12.5) & happy pill (Paxil - 20mg) , a headache pill i only took a few times , cuz headache was going away, i thought due to lower bp ,within 1 weeks time , the next wk-end , i passed out while talking , (no warning)everybody said resembled stroke, went back to doctor , he suggested i have test done , i refused till it happens again, he put me on chol meds.(simvastatin 40mg) due to hereditary factor , went 3 more weeks , passed out at work (fainted), had numbness in both lower arms & both lower legs , took me to hospital, did cat scan, said shows sign of stroke ????? , went back to doctor, he doesn't want me to do anything until i see a neuro & do a MRI. I have an appt next mon , ** I was tired b4 i ever went to doctor, & did seem to get better, but now extremely tired after episode, I Do have heart palps, sweat perfusly, had a couple of stabbing pains, have dry coughed a couple times, but pretty sure have had at times b4? ,ok, all i know is, b4 i went to doctor , i was fine except for a headache !!!??? now hit the dirt 2 times with in a month , woke up this morning w/ a thought - i don't care what the doctor says , i'm getting off these meds & go back to over the counter plain ole asprin !I (especially after reading this ( a BIG Thank You to my neice for website) I will go to neuro dr on mon, for MRI, which all these appts are costly ! thanks yall !

All I can say is HOLY CRAP!!!!!!! I have had Mirena in for almost 16 months and let me tell you how RELIEVED I was to come across this web page! I have had TERRIBLE cramping, back pain, mental block, NO SEX DRIVE AT ALL, Pain during and after sex, indescribable mood swings, and can we say MENTAL BLOCK!!!!! It sounds crazy but I used to be able to handle daily stress with three children, my husband and our Business! Now I can go from a good mood to crying over MINOR things and we won't even talk about the major things (can we say mental ward!). I get headaches that put me down on the couch! I get lightheaded, heart races, and fell angry over nothing! I just thank GOD my husband is who he is because I have totally failed at my duties as a wife and as a parent when it comes to patience and understanding!!!! If I had to put a simple description on it I would say "It’s like being Pregnant 24/7!" I have to drive to accomplish things and I FEEL USELESS!!!!!!!! So obviously I also suffer from depression! I thought I was going out of my mind and now I am crying as I write because not only have I suffered through all this but it pisses me off to think how it’s effected my children and my husband! It’s coming out!!!!!!!ASAP

I have been on Paxil for about 9 months now (20mg) and it has been a wonderful aid to my severe health anxiety and depression. Though the side effect have been around since the early months I have noticed an increase in them lately such as my vivid dreams have gotten very strong, ability to climax has decreased, but the insane sweating has improved.

All in all there a lot of side effects related to this medicine but in my opinion they do not come close to out weighing the benefits of the medication.

Before you begin this medication make sure you ask you doctor lots of questions and understand that this medicine can be a bit life changing since it comes with withdrawal when you decide to tapper off. But in my opinion it is a great tool when battling anxiety, another great tool is therapy too! Therapy has been a huge help for me and I totally recommend going to see someone if you are able!

Hope this helps.

Started taking it last Thursday, and with a previous bout with depression, and a pending ending marriage, I decided that I would go ahead and cut this off at the pass and get on some medication early. Paxil made erections difficult, so I got off of it back in 1998, and then within 5 days of taking budeprion, I am noticing the same side effects. Including what my doctor called, "the inability to finish."
Getting off of it now, wellbutrin worked in the past.

For about eight months or so I have been experiencing pretty intense anxiety. Thus, I was prescribed the generic Clonopin (Clonozepam). After building a tolerance to the increasing dosages I was prescribed, I found myself needing to take up to 10 mg daily. I became as many people told me, "a zombie". I developed extreme depression and constant bad thoughts. After talking to my doctor i was prescribed Paxil. I did not like this whatsoever so about two months ago I stopped taking the Clonopin abruptly. I experienced pretty severe withdrawals, or what i thought to be withdrawals (shaking, sweating, very irritable, constant pain, and anxiety). It was absolute torture. After talking to my doctor i was then prescribed Xanax, which i am currently on. My depression seems to have stayed constant. It was suggested to me to take Wellbutrin rather than Paxil, which of course i would have to wean off from my 100mg a day. Two weeks ago, or so, i started taking the Wellbutrin at 150mg once a day in the morning. After the first week or so i felt "up" more or less, in comparison to how i had been feeling. I began to research about possible side effects. I didn't really find many except mildy vivid dreams and anxiety, which threw me for a loop since i was trying to fight that, right? Well, after the first week i had been lowered on the Paxil to 50mg daily and raised to 300mg of Wellbutrin, once a day in the morning around 7am. I am now on my second week of the anti-depressant, but ironically i feel as if i am more depressed, just in other ways. I feel very lethargic, and i feel as if i am to be very "spacey". I'm not quite sure if it is the mixture of the medications or one in particular. But the most noticeable side effects of the Wellbutrin have been IRRITABILITY!!, veryyyyy indecisive, and ridiculously vivid dreams with little to no meaning. They seem to last for weeks on end at times, and i often find it hard to differentiate what is a dream and what is reality. By no means am i trying to say that this medication will not work for you. Anything to make someone feel better. Whatever works for you is great and you should persue it! Any suggestions or comments to this would be great. And is anyone feeling the same side effects??

Cameron

Please add me to the list of people with an extremely adverse reaction to Singulair. I had been taking 10 mg Singulair since 2005 after sinus surgery In June 2008 after returning from vacation I didn't get my prescription refilled in a timely manner and went without it for ~one week. In July I got a new prescription filled for Singulair and also began taking Advair Diskus 250/50 and AllegraD after an increase in asthma symptoms. I first thought the anxiety attacks were from the AllegraD as the "D" is for decongestant and contains psuedo-epinipherine. But the anxiousness continued and got worse after stopping the AllegraD. I then stopped taking the Advair (and also a nasal spray that I use called Flonase also since 2005) but was still in a major depressive episode with daily thoughts of suicide. It wasn't until I stopped taking the Singulair on August 23 that I started to return to normal. My normal does include a history of depression for which I take 10mg Paxil daily. Like the post from the psychiatrists wife noted, I am not sure if there is a direct scientific connection between these events. I do know that I never want to go back to that place I was in. I am shocked at the speed with witch I started to feel good after stopping the Singulair. I still have low grade sad feelings but I have stopped planning my own death. I always took my dose of Singulair in the morning and ~one hour later would begin to feel anxious. My evenings were tolerable with emotions slightly better. I simply stopped taking the medication without tapering and I am beginning to deal with what happened to me. Thank you all for sharing. Thank you.

I began taking Wellbutrin 2 weeks ago and started on a 150mg dosage. I was on 150mg for one week. The second week, I went up to 300mg per the psychiatrist's instructions. I was feeling really angry some of the time and decided to stop the medication. Prior to the last 2 weeks I was taking 40mg of Paxil, which I stopped after the first week of being on Wellbutrin.
The anger was uncomfortable, I stopped taking the Wellbutrin and within 36-48 hours of being off this drug, my feet began to itch mildly at first. Within about 30 minutes of this "mild" itching, the sensations got worse. My feet felt like they were on fire. The only relief was putting them in hot water in the tub. I was screaming with frustration and pain. I attributed this to the cold turkey stopping of wellbutrin. But since I had been on it only 2 weeks, I didn't think anything would happen. Big mistake. After 2 hours of having feet in tub, on the phone with a 24-hour nurse advice line and pharmacist, I went ahead and took 300 mg. The itching stopped within 2 hours. This was a freaking nightmare ! So I am weaning myself off. The doctor who prescribed this, who I spoke with the following day, said...well..stop taking it. Doesn't make sense because when I stopped that's when the extreme itching happened. It's crazy. I'm weaning myself off and taking Benadryl. I also got some hydrocortisone cream. There are scabs on the top of my foot from scratching. No more. I've been on anti-depressants for over 10 years now and I want to stop ALL OF THEM. Within 2 weeks, I should be "clean". Just know that this itching...was so intense I was crying and screaming because there was no relief.

Anybody experience an allergic reaction. I have intense itching on feet. Eyes and throat itch as well. Been taking cymbalta for 2 weeks. First 20mg now 30mg while simultaneously tapering off paxil from 20mg now down to 10mg. The itchiness may be enough to cause me to stop cymbalta even though it is helping.

Jeff

I have been on Paxil off and on now for about 5 years.... the current length of treatment for the past 1 1/2 years. I need to be on it ( or something for that matter ) for my panic disorder. I am a 36 year old nurse/ manager and some days was almost debilitated by panic attacks. Depression was part of it, but not nearly as much as panic. I must say, that I have been experiencing memory loss now for about a year.... I thought maybe it was due to overwork/ stress...which I do understand it COULD be. However, I find it interesting that I am seeing so many more people with memory loss than I imagined. Is it due to stress in this type of people's lives, or is it in fact, the drug Paxil?
Keep in mind this is an SSRI ( Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor ) ~~ even though there is no solid evidence (YET!) this is a side effect of the drug, I would bet my license on the fact that that it is!
I have tried time and time again to wean myself off of Paxil.. ( with and without my Dr's advice )--- I did succeed for a few years to be without the medicine, however being on a slew of other meds in the interim did not help as much for the panic as does the Paxil. Paxil, honestly, scares the hell out of me!
Besides the "numb emotions", memory loss, sexual appetite decrease, yawning, lack of sleep, etc... the side effects of coming off of it are worse! As I read earlier, it IS addictive, indeed! The brain gets used to the drug being there ( as with any addiction ), and the "surges" of dizziness, sweats, and out-of-body-like experiences I experience coming off of the drug are excruciatingly harder to bare than the depression itself. Those above symptoms of withdrawal are just that....withdrawal!
Once your body is "allowed" to reuptake serotonin (as it is supposed to), this is when those symptoms raise their head...sometimes for weeks or months until they subside.
I would welcome anyone with help on this matter---is there another Drug out there that can help with anxiety/depression symptoms, and not cause the plethora of side effects we have all discussed here?
Diane

I posted over the weekend about having the "panic attack". I went to the MD on Tuesday and he switched me to Paxil, which I have taken and had good luck with in the past. Of course, it is not going smoothly, I have not slept well the past few nights and have been very dizzy, and my stomach is upset. If anyone has gone off the budeprion cold turkey, did you feel this way also. I have not taken it is 5 days, and do not want to id I don't have to.

To a small population of people, this drug has an immediate detrimental effect to mood. In my case it caused a strong urge to commit suicide within 5 hours. The doctors all said it was impossible. I was inclined to believe them since these drugs are not meant to be effective for days after treatment initiation. However, my reaction cannot be ignored or dismissed.
The prescribing physician (Robert Moffat, MD in Longmont, Colorado) suggested I try it again because he was so certain it was my problem. I did try it again, and I had the same reaction. And so I filed a complaint against him.

Incidentally, I was not taking this medication for depression. It was for nocturnal panic attacks.

I am not saying people should not try it. I just suggest that FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS WHEN YOU TAKE THIS MEDICATION YOU SHOULD NOT BE ALONE. It probably works great for some. Also see ******

I stopped taking wellbutrin xl 150 mg and lamictal 200 mg 3 days ago cold turkey because there is no way to cut thewelbutrin tablet in half and take it safely. The first day wasn't bad at all. I felt better than I have felt in years and years. Then yesterday I felt okay, but not as good as I did on the first day. Today I woke up feeling like I have the flu. Every single bone, joint and muscle in my body aches. I feel fine one minute and the next minute the room feels like it's spinning and the body aches return. My psychiatrist started me on all of this poison,,, oops, I mean, medications 2 years ago. I had lost a child and had gone into a deep depression which led to severe anorrhexia. He started me out on Lamictal and Lexapro and after a year of awful side effects from the lexapro(especially sexual side effects=no desire at all) he finally switched me to the wellbutrin xl and told me that it would help better than the lexapro. At my last appointment, 1 week ago, I asked him when and if I would ever be able to go off of these meds. And he told me that I am probably a "lifer". He refused to hear anything about my stopping or weaning off of these meds. So, after my 3 minute office visit and prescription refills written out I left the office. I did not take the prescription to the pharmacy because I decided then and there that the only reason he and a lot of other psychs put people on these outrageously priced prescriptions(the lamictal is $140 a month and the wellbutrin xl is $170 and that is for the generic per moth) is because they get HUGE incentives from the pharmaceutical companies to keep us on them. I will not go back on the meds ever again. I am tired of living in a drugged up state. I want to feel alive again like I felt before I ever started taking this crap.

I just started Yasmin on June 22nd, now it is the 25th....I am noticing light headaches, but more bothersome is the bloated feeling in my abdomen/stomach area. My stomach feels thick, like it is expanding. I hope I don't end up gaining a ton of weight as I have always been a normal weight and kind of athletic. I actually started on Yasmin b/c I just got married and also I eventually want to quit the Paxil that I have been taking since early 2001. I have tried 2 times to quit Paxil and have had a difficult time and have noticed that when I am not on the Paxil or am on a low dosage of it, I have sever PMS, depression, anxiety, etc....hopefully Yasmin will help deter these symptoms when I do try to quit Paxil again.
Has anyone else tried to use Yasmin as a helper in quitting Paxil/ to alleviated PMDD symptoms? I know one of you is considering using Yasmin for PMDD symptoms...DON'T go on Paxil for it as that is THE HARDEST medication to quit! There is a lawsuit against the makers of that drug too!

wow, I'm officially terrified. I've been taking Paxil for 8 months now for chronic anxiety and panic attacks. Prior to paxil, my muscles became so tense, my entire body would seize up. Paxil has helped with that but left the rest of my life in shambles. Effexor used to work for me, but I tried to go off them then go back on and eventually effexor became ineffective. With the paxil I have night sweats (just learned that is a side effect from this website), dizziness, takes a couple hours to fall asleep and a couple hours to wake up, dreams that feel real, light sensitive, some days I shake so bad that I have broken glassware! What bothers me the most is my inability to read. Are there others who have this problem? I can't see the page properly, or I can't concentrate long enough to get through a page, and sometimes both. Is this a side effect of the drug?

When i was 13 i was put on paxil for major depression. I stayed on it till i was about 17 after a downward spiral of depression that lead to a suicide attempt. After that the doctors decided that Paxil wasn't benefiting me anymore and decided to take me off of it, cold turkey. At that time i was on 40mg.
I started getting zapping headaches, muscle spasms, i was sensitive to light, my body ached, i had hot flashes, pretty much anything over stimulated me... i was irritated with just hearing anyone talk, i was completely out of touch with anything around me and i didn't feel like i was real.. I basically shut myself in my room for over a month getting over paxil. My family was afraid i was planning suicide.
After that, it's made me afraid to take any of my prescribed antidepressants, but i just cannot go through that again. At the time they put me on it, there was nothing that said that it was addictive, i was even told that there was no proof that it was addictive.
Also, I still experience the headache zaps to this day, and im 22 now, and i never had those type of headaches before paxil. I really think my mental illness is a lot worse from paxil. I have depersonalization disorder now, my short-term memory's crap, im more uncoordinated, im a lot more depressed and social phobic.. i know part of it could be from not taking any meds at all.. but i know that paxils really screwed me up, and i would have been a lot better not taking it at all. I just wish they would have warned me before putting me on it, or warning me before taking me off.

Effexor XR has been a life-saver for me! I have been taking 150mg per day for about 8 yrs. Recently, 75mg was added to my daily dose because of a temporary new stress or on my plate - divorce. With the increased dose came constant sweating and unbearable dry mouth. I dropped back to the 150mg dose and the sweating is back to being manageable and the dry mouth is much less. I can't imagine living without Effexor XR - this anti-depressant has literally saved my life -- I know now that life doesn't to be so horrifically painful as was the norm for me prior to taking Effexor XR. I have no other side effects - I have gained some weight but only over the past two years and that possibly can be attributed to my age (50) and the stress of a bad marriage. The half life of Effexor is short and I do sometimes get the electrical shock feeling in my head -- that usually a red flag that I missed a dose. To be on the safe side I keep a dose in my purse as a back-up. All-in-all, it feels great to be 'normal', even if it means using Effexor XR - I hope it never goes off the market. Way-back-when, I initially started out w/ Paxil (helped, but I felt just below the surface of reality and had horrid withdrawals) - then tried Wellbutrin and after a day was so terribly spaced out that I could only minimally function and couldn't even leave the house - got off of that stuff immediately! Effexor just lets me function and feel feelings at a normal volume. Thank you Lord!!

Hi Gang,
Im on 20 mg of Lisinopril in the morning and 25 mg of atenolol at night. The Lisinoril is for my blood pressure and the Atenolol is for my anxiety attacks that i have. O.o But im still have anxiety attacks, and i don't know why. So ive had all the test, heart ultra sound, ekg's, blood work, treadmill ekg, halter monitor for 3 days. The works basicly. Im 40 and yes over weight. But i passed all the test with flying colors. Doc said he only ever wants to see me again, if im Really sick. Anyone know why im getting anxiety attacks (mine are rapid heart beats, and feeling like fainting) all of a sudden. When i started the lisinopril i had a minor cough, but not any more. Otherwise ive been pretty good with both meds. Just don't know what is triggering the anxiety!

I have been taking Wellbutrin 200mg daily for about 2 weeks. I have taken prozac, which made me very violent, I've taken paxil and quit taking it when I got pregnant, and I've taken Zoloft, which worked wonderfully for me. Then, there is the Wellbutrin. When I first started it, I was tired and out-of-it. I figured I would give it a few days for my body to adjust. Now, I am tired, out-of-it, restless, annoyed at everyone, don't want to be touched, nervous, scared, emotional roller coaster, constant headache, muscle aches, stomach upset, smells are very pronounced, and to top it off, I thought I could quit smoking....but turns out I want to smoke more, however, they taste like crap, and smell even worse! I think I am going back to the doctor to switch back to zoloft. Wish I would have never started taking Wellbutrin!

has anyone experienced hair loss while taking Paxil? I have been on 25 mg. for 4 years now and yes I am in menopause, but I swear my hair has really thinned since going on this drug. It has done wonders for panic attacks I was experiencing. I am now in the process of weaning off of Paxil. I will be curious to see if I lose weight easily and how my hair thinning does while off of it.

Hi all! I have recently started to have a very strange feeling and thought I would post here to see if anyone else can elaborate on it.

I switched from private healthcare to the VA system in March 2008 and the MD at the VA immediately switched me from Toprol XL 100mg per day to Norvasc ( Amlodipine Besylate) 5mg, a generic version and from Zetia 10mg to Zocor. This is mainly due to the fact that the VA does not have the Toprol XL or the Zetia in their pharmacy.

I am a very active person, work out 3 times per week, play tournament level racquetball and generally stay very active. I was feeling fine on this medication for almost 3 years with the only side effect being a little light-headed feeling with hard physical activity. Approximately 2-3 weeks after changing meds I started to get this lumpy feeling in my chest and then it started to progress into an air hunger feeling which felt like my breath was being taken away for a split second. I called the MD at the VA and requested to go back on metoprolol tartrate, which is what the VA has in place of the metoprolol succinate (Toprol XL). The air gasp feeling has only gotten worse and with any excertion I become tired now and start to get the gaspy feeling. Very scary. When it started to get real bad one evening I called 911 and went to the emergency room. Tests came back "ridiculously normal" the ER MD stated. Went back to the VA and the same MD, who doesn't listen, says I am under stress and prescribed me Paxil. I am completely lost as to what to do. I am going in to have another EKG and a holter monitor put on as well as a stress test.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I am desperate to get this resolved as fast as I can. Feel terrible lately and the MD doesn't seem to be listening to me.

Help!

Hi, I'm a 25 year old male. I've had severe seasonal allergies for as long as I can remember. I'm to the point where the coming of spring usually means that I'm going to be visiting the emergency room inside of a few weeks. I've been involved with Zyrtec since the spring of 2003. During that season I experienced what could only be described as a near complete nervous break down. I had an issue involving administration at the college that I was attending losing some paperwork regarding a semester withdrawal ... as a result I ended up with 7 F's and owing the university around $4,000.

I ended up crashing. My family describes me as the guy "with a big heart" ... but I began getting into screaming matches with my parents that ended with me breaking down and weeping / sobbing almost hysterically while holding the door shut to my bedroom. I became incredibly "anxious" (that's how my families General Practitioner {GP} described it), but I'd describe my behavior like more along the lines of a parody of a guy that just smoked a ton of REALLY cheap pot and therefore began to think that everyone was out to get them and that no one had their best interests at heart. My GP decided that I must be on the verge of a nervous breakdown and put me on paxil in an effort to calm me down. In a way it helped keep me calm and drastically reduced the extreme emotional spells that I was having. I pulled myself off of Paxil (for another slew of side effects that I'll be posting on that tab) during the late summer and fall when I don't have as severe an issue with allergies and as my season approached I found a new doctor and when I brought up how I had eventually decided Zyrtec D was making me feel he told me that I was right on the money. He ran through the almost all of the side effects that are listed on this page and I was floored ... I couldn't believe that no one had told me about them. He put me on Astelin and since then I haven't had any issues. As a matter of fact, I'm totally psychologically sound now and I haven't experience a "heart flutter" since ... where as a few years ago I was on the verge of committing myself while on Zyrtec D.

As a little note: I'm currently taking Astelin along with the OTC Zyrtec on a once a day basis and the only side effects that I've seen show back up are: slight paranoia, a loss of energy and general virility, and a significant weight gain (about 20 pounds in the past 3 months that could be attributed to my near complete loss of energy) ... which is an ENORMOUS improvement coming from the prescription strength Zyrtec D.

I'd also like to mention that I don't have any disorders like bipolar disorder or severe depression ... but when I take Zyrtec I acquire a lot of the symptoms associated with those medical conditions ... the symptoms slowly subside when the season draws to a close and I stop taking the medication.

In 1998, my father died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. I was only 33. This was devastating to me being a single daughter who still had aspirations of having him walk me down the aisle and all. I became extremely depressed and cried all the time. I was prescribed Paxil by my GP in this state of mind. No psychology or counseling offered first. And nothing was said to me about it being an addictive drug that would be next to impossible to stop taking. Nothing was mentioned about the long-lasting side effects. It was only a few weeks into it though that I realized if I missed a dose or didn't take it on a scheduled time each day, I would experience these "brain lapses" or "shock type feelings" in my head. I couldn't think a thought through without confusion. Having a conversation was like being a walking-talking robot that was short-circuiting. My other symptoms from this drug was the weight gain (about 30 lbs by the end) and the total absence of libido (not that I didn't want it but that I was totally numb in parts that I wasn't before), which was not normal for me. It was like many of you have stated... sort of a no-feeling zone ... and I decided this drug was NOT for me.

It took me at least 4 months to taper off 20 mg of Paxil. The side effects included severe trouble thinking or remembering things, anxiety attacks, more gain weight (which I attribute to low energy or enthusiasm for most things), angry outburst, easily tearful, then the feet swelling. At first it was just my left foot that would swell up and I attributed it to maybe a hereditary condition and dismissed it being any part a Paxil withdrawal symptom.

Another blessing I feel is a result of my Paxil is a very sensitive stomach. I have GERT (or acid reflux) most of the time. The GP put me on Protonix which helped the acid problems but then my hands and feet would go to sleep at night. I didn't think that was a good payoff so am not taking that either.

The edema increased to an almost daily occurrence for both feet. Sometimes they are so swollen I cannot bend my ankles and my hands and face are swollen too. Over the past 7 years, my GPs have prescribed varying kinds and doses of diuretics to help elevate the fluid in my system, which at first helped some, but now it doesn't even effect the edema in my feet. The only thing that helps really is to wear a closed shoe (like a tennis shoe) or -- which instead forces the fluid up into my ankles. Just yesterday I was told that compression hosiery is the only fix beyond maybe losing weight (I am not obese but am about 45 lbs overweight at 185) and that the diuretics were really not necessary.

When I exercise on an elliptical machine both feet go to sleep after only 15 minutes. I am much more active now and play tennis 3-4 times a week and when playing my hands and feet get numb.

Ten years later, I have chronic (almost daily) edema in both my feet and in my hands and face sometimes. I am way more active and exercise regularly by participating in sports (tennis and other running sports) but I do not lose weight. I still get the numbness in my hands and feet when I exercise for any length of time.

In the past 3 months I have had my blood tested for any and all problems - diabetes, low B12, high sodium, cholesterol, heart Doppler exam, CT of abdomen, and more. I am healthy as a horse from the results, but I am still having daily edema in my feet. I was told by a friend living in Italy that they prescribe a drug called Daflon for circulatory improvement. It seems this drug is not available in the U.S., probably because it is known for having no adverse side effects. I did find that a natural plant extract called Pycnogenol is supposed to help with circulation and other inflammation. It is also known as a Vitamin C "action-helper."

The reason I am sharing my side effects from Paxil, is that before I took this drug, I had no known problems with my circulation and I feel it is what caused it. I also have the ongoing trouble of remembering things. I feel this drug did a number on my body and I was only on it maybe 8 months. I can't imagine what someone on it for years will face. Thing is, I was sad about my father; I wasn't suicidal. They prescribe something that has long lasting results to someone that is in a weak state of mind and then don't warn you that there are so many serious repercussions -- no. 1 being that this drug is chemically addictive to your body's delicately balanced system. NOW because of deaths and Paxil-related murders the FDA has questioned this drug's safety.

You have to wonder if the doctors are really thinking about the patient or if they are just promoting the latest new drug for some personal gain of their own. I feel like a live guinea pig and there's no solution to the side effects I'm left with.

I want to encourage those that are thinking of getting off this drug that the side effects will wane some over time -- you can't do it cold turkey or you will pay the price -- but don't take it any longer than you have to because the long-term effects are not worth it. Better to learn how to deal with your emotions and find something that will be a boost for you in a healthy, non-drug related way (or at least natural), than let this Paxil industry continue.