# 1 week on Paxil



## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

Ok, so I've been on Paxil for exactly 1 week now. It's been 5 years since I quit Paxil the first time, so I totally forgot how long it took to reach it's full effect and how I felt. Right now I have some of the side effects. Dry mouth, extreme fatigue when I first wakeup, sex drive down a bit, etc., but I remember having lucid dreams the first time I was on Paxil and I've yet to have one of those yet. I think my nerves are calmer now, but my avoidance issues are still there. When I was on Paxil the first time, I became much more talkative and initiated more social interactions. Sometimes I opened my mouth a bit too much and got into some trouble. lol My mood has been very up and down. One day I feel ok and then the day I feel really down. 

It's still early, but I don't notice a major imporvement yet. We'll see how it goes. It's possbile it won't work the same as it did the first time, but like I said, I'm not sure how long it took the first time I started Paxil. 

Anyways..see ya


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

Wow, today the paxil really seemed to kick in. My stomach is a bit upset, but my mood is night and day to where it was a few days ago. I'm finally excited this might actually help me. Wasn't sure if it would work a 2nd time around. SO far so good.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

i took paxil for 3 months at 80mgs. It worked great for my anxiety but didnt do anything for my depression so i stopped it.


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

Noca, Paxil seems to help me be more outgoing and it really helps me feel good about myself. I'm still a bit jittery, but that's ok if I have the confidence to actually do stuff. I would rather stick with just one drug.


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## thor_no (Mar 23, 2008)

Hope the Paxil works out well for you this time. I am back on Paxil myself (waiting for app. with doc to apply for MAOIS for me), 10 mgs day 4 or 5, and today I was shopping, had eyecontact with people, joking. Nice feeling! (But I don't expect it to last)


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

thor_no, thanks and good luck. Hopefully we both improve!


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## isis (Apr 30, 2008)

tednugent2007 said:


> Wow, today the paxil really seemed to kick in. My stomach is a bit upset, but my mood is night and day to where it was a few days ago. I'm finally excited this might actually help me. Wasn't sure if it would work a 2nd time around. SO far so good.


That's great, I'm glad it's working for you again! I remember what it was like to be on Paxil, it was a great feeling.



thor_no said:


> today I was shopping, had eyecontact with people, joking. Nice feeling! (But I don't expect it to last)


thor_no, try to stay positive! Good luck


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## thor_no (Mar 23, 2008)

tednugent2007 said:


> thor_no, thanks and good luck. Hopefully we both improve!


Yes, hopefully we both improve. I think at least Paxil is the best antidepressant for SA of all I have tried. :thanks and good luck to you too!


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## thor_no (Mar 23, 2008)

isis said:


> tednugent2007 said:
> 
> 
> > thor_no, try to stay positive! Good luck


 :thanks I am a sceptic, but I suppose I shouldnt think to far ahead. By the way: :wel 2 :sas


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## isis (Apr 30, 2008)

Thank you! 
You know, I used to be a sceptic myself, but now I define myself as "cautiously optimistic". LOL


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## thor_no (Mar 23, 2008)

isis said:


> Thank you!
> You know, I used to be a sceptic myself, but now I define myself as "cautiously optimistic". LOL


From sceptic to cautiously optimistic must be quite a few steps in the right direction.  I will try to turn myself being cautiously optimistic as well. Besides I guess it's easier to be cautiously optimistic than a naiv optimistic


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

tednugent2007 said:


> Noca, Paxil seems to help me be more outgoing and it really helps me feel good about myself. I'm still a bit jittery, but that's ok if I have the confidence to actually do stuff. I would rather stick with just one drug.


I just got back on Paxil after being off for 7 yrs. I'm on day 5 at 10mg with plans to up the dosage to 20 starting next week. I already feel quite a bit better, and have been much more talkative. My biggest side effects are fatigue and dry mouth, however, I'm hoping they'll clear up soon. It's good to hear that Paxil is helping you too.


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I've been on Paxil for 11 days and I'm starting to think I got a bit too excited. Maybe it's because I'm so focused on it, but my anxiety seems just as bad right now. Whenever I think about going to the mall or some really busy place I get scared as hell like I know something bad is going to happen. I guess it's still early, but I swear I felt it kick in 4 days ago. I felt really upbeat and ready to kickass, but then 2 days later I felt like crap again and whenever I go out I get really anxious over stupid things. Uhhh, well, if this doesn't help I'm gonna have to see if my old therapist is still around. This sucks!


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

give it 30 days if you are committed to using it. JMO.


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

Yeah, I'm gonna stick with it for a couple months. When you guys first started did you have problems sleeping. The past week I've went to bed at 4 am, woke up at 6:30 am, went back to sleep until 10 am. I'm tosing and turning like crazy.


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## crazee (Apr 7, 2008)

I didn't agree with Paxil and had to stop it. I'm now on Cipramil (celexa) and it seems to be working well for my SA. It has taken about 3 weeks for the effect to be noticeable, and during the first week I had an increase in anxiety and couldn't sleep well. It then settled down. If Paxil doesn't agree with you try Celexa. I haven't had any side effects (even any sexual ones) and I had so many on Paxil that I had to quit!


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Paxil was my favourite SSRI. I had to stop it because it wasnt working for my depression that was threatening my life so... Cymbalta and Adderall took over the job.


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

tednugent2007 said:


> When you guys first started did you have problems sleeping. The past week I've went to bed at 4 am, woke up at 6:30 am, went back to sleep until 10 am. I'm tosing and turning like crazy.


Yes. I'm on day 7 and have the same problem. I had virtually no anxiety today, but got only 2 hrs sleep last night. It was like I couldn't turn my mind off. I guess it must be working though, because lack of sleep used to be a major trigger for my anxiety. :con


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

What dose are you guys on? Just curious.


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

20 mg


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## michaelyuan (Feb 11, 2004)

i guess u took too much ,u should take 10mg .


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

day 13 update:

Today I went shopping at a grocery store. I felt pretty calm. I know this sounds silly, but normally I'm too nervous to get a shopping cart because it's so big and makes me stand out more than I want to. So, usually I get one of those hand held carts, but this time I went for the shopping cart and didn't feel anxious. I said hi to a few of the workers I passed by, but they just ignored me. lol At the checkout line, I only had one person in front of me, but she was a cute woman with kids. I think I was relaxed for the most part, but I mostly just looked at the magazines. I always feel odd looking at people without saying something... But I don't see alot of people greeting each other in line. I may come off a bit weird if I did that. Anyways, checking out went pretty well. The checkout lady was older and the bagger was a high school kid, so it was easier than dealing with people my age, but I was very calm. Overall I felt much calmer than I normally am. I had a bad experience the last time I went to the store before I got on Paxil. I pretty much had a panic attack. I felt like I was trapped in line and was so nervous I felt like running away. I couldn't stay calm. 

Anyways, it's nice to feel good for a change. It's stupid, but even doing little things like this and not freaking out improves my confidence. That being said, I was in the store at 11 am on a Wednesday, so it's not exactly the same as being there on a Saturday when it's packed full of people.I shouldn't get my hopes up too much.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

njodis said:


> What dose are you guys on? Just curious.


i was on 80mgs


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## thor_no (Mar 23, 2008)

tednugent2007 said:


> Anyways, it's nice to feel good for a change. It's stupid, but even doing little things like this and not freaking out improves my confidence. That being said, I was in the store at 11 am on a Wednesday, so it's not exactly the same as being there on a Saturday when it's packed full of people.I shouldn't get my hopes up too much.


Happy for you!  Try not to worry and think to far ahead but repeat those situations as you feel more confident. Challenge your SA, but not too much. Get your "rewards" of better self confidence and SA relief. When you feel somewhat calm and manage to go places you normally would panic, I think it is very important that you go. Go places where you normally would want to go and where there are people. Try not to think to much about it though and try to stay in the situations until you get that confident feeling. If you feel good about yourself in those situations, and keep repating - I think you are taking your life back


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

tednugent2007 said:


> day 13 update:
> Anyways, it's nice to feel good for a change. It's stupid, but even doing little things like this and not freaking out improves my confidence.


Not stupid at all. For me it was the inability to do many of the 'little things' that was contributing to my depression. I decided to seek help when I started to have anxiety attacks @ my family.



Noca said:


> i was on 80mgs


Wow, I didn't know they prescribed dosages that high! I'm surprised you didn't fry your brain!!! :afr



njodis said:


> What dose are you guys on? Just curious


I'm day 9 on 10mg. My biggest improvement- I've been able to make a lot of small talk without much anxiety. I still am having a lot of fatigue, so I think I'm going to start taking my dose before bedtime.


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

I'm on day 5 of 10mg, and I've been taking it at night. Honestly, I feel like I've been sleeping a _lot_ better than I usually do. I guess it might be kind of hasty to attribute it to the Paxil, but I definitely feel a lot more rested when I get up.

Other than that, I don't really feel much different. No horrible side effects yet. Wee.


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

I felt ok when on 20 mg five years ago but feel better on 150 mg of sertraline(zoloft) I dont know why the doctors dont give out the brand name for me instead of the generic.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

MavenMI6Agent009 said:


> I felt ok when on 20 mg five years ago but feel better on 150 mg of sertraline(zoloft) I dont know why the doctors dont give out the brand name for me instead of the generic.


because the brand name costs a billion times more than the generic


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## mogadon (Feb 28, 2008)

Noca said:


> MavenMI6Agent009 said:
> 
> 
> > I felt ok when on 20 mg five years ago but feel better on 150 mg of sertraline(zoloft) I dont know why the doctors dont give out the brand name for me instead of the generic.
> ...


funny that, in the UK,its the opposite doctors will always give out the generic if they have a choice, i guess that's the difference between a country that has free health care (UK ), and one that doesnt (USA)


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## tednugent2007 (Oct 28, 2007)

2 weeks on Paxil update:

Well, I took thor_no's advice and went to a place that normally gives me anxiety. My bank always has hot women working there and today was no different. I walked up to the teller and started off fine. I said hi and she asked how was I and I said fine, but I can't wait for the summer to start. She smiled and said, Yeah me too. But I never felt calm even during that part and then after that I felt a rush of panic come over me again. The thing that frustrates me the most is my inability to feel like I'm in control. I know what to say and how to attack the situation, but my nerves get to me everytime. Uhhh!!!

I feel like I'm back to square one and the Paxil isn't really helping me. Really depressing... The worst part is I need to get a job, but now I'm not even sure I'm ready for that. If the Paxil can't even help me at the bank, I don't know how I'm gonna get through 8 hours with co-workers and customers.

I think I might set an appointment with my GP and have her recommend a therapist for social anxiety. I feel like their is no end to this hell!


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## michaelyuan (Feb 11, 2004)

try klonopin


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

tednugent2007 said:


> I feel like I'm back to square one and the Paxil isn't really helping me. Really depressing... The worst part is I need to get a job, but now I'm not even sure I'm ready for that. If the Paxil can't even help me at the bank, I don't know how I'm gonna get through 8 hours with co-workers and customers.


Dude, I think you should give yourself more time, after all, it's been only two weeks! So you had an anxiety attack...was it as bad as they normally are? If not, then I'd say that's an improvement. Even mustering up the strength to go to the bank in the first place is an improvement.

I'm on day 11 at 10mg. I had a horrible experience on the phone today, and really embarrassed the heck out of myself. Normally, I would have anxiously ruminated over it for hours, but I was upset only for a little while. (In fact, I'd forgotten about it until now.) Thus far, it's been _subtle_, but that's how I think Paxil is helping me. It's dampening my emotions enough so that I can cope. Just give it time.


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## thor_no (Mar 23, 2008)

:ditto You will have to give Paxil some more time. I have experienced increase in my anxiety as well, panic attacks, the usual SA-****! I will give Paxil some more time though. If you give it some time to stabilize, hopefully you will do a lot better on Paxil.


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