Express myself freely?  OK... I'm angry.  First I get struck down with depression, which is hell enough in & of itself.  My life was just ticking along & POW!  I had the rug jerked out from under me.  I'm a psychology major in college (make that "was" since I'm on medical leave now because of all this BS) so I "knew" there were psychotrophics that I could turn to.  Paxil... oh, I've read good stuff about Paxil.  It addresses a large spectrum of disorders.  Sure, let's give it a try.  Not only did it NOT alleviate my depression, it made me sicker than a dog.  So my MD took me off it (from 20 mg down to 10 & then off altogether).  I was bummed about my continuing depression but I was glad to be off the meds since they were making me feel so physically crummy.  Little did I know that there would come a day I would beg to merely feel "crummy".  As it stands now, I'm more depressed than I was, I'm on medical leave from school & I have 99% of the Paxil withdrawal symptoms listed on this site.  Today I had seizures.  I'm beginning to wonder what's next, but maybe I'm afraid of that answer.  This site is THE only hope I've come across & for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  When my friends are bummed out, I always tell them "Live in hope" & I guess it's time I follow my own advice.  While it pains me to no end to know others suffer with this, too, it does at least make me feel better to know I'm not crazy.  THANKS for your work in this area!!!      

I'm a university professor who was prescribed paxil for clinical depression two years ago. I stayed on 20mg most of the time and then dropped to 10mg for a few months.  To try and get off I cut to 5mg which was initially tough but after a month I got the hang of it.  Now I'm in my 7th day post-paxil wondering when the sloshing in my brain will quit.  Your site has been a tremendous help to me.  My doctor wanted me to stop cold turkey at 10mg which I might have been foolish enough to try had I not visited the site.  I now know that would have been disaster.
You're helping many people, so thank you so much.

I am a 23 year old mother of two small children.  I was prescribed Paxil after going through post traumatic distress disorder due to the September 11th attacks in NYC. I wish that my doctor would have educated me on the withdrawal symptoms and side affects associated with taking this poorly dispensed drug. I was so depressed after Sept. 11, and have been on short term disability due to the depression, anxiety and panic disorders I have developed .Now, some four months following the attack, I am starting to come out of the fog and trying to return to normalcy.    I was taking Paxil 20 mg,  and then my MD amped the medication dosage to 30mg.    After two weeks on Paxil 30mg, I started to have brain seizures.  
I then marched to the MD with my two horrified babies, and demanded to be taken off this awful drug.   I was weaned off for four days, and now January 24, 2002 is my forth day without the paxil.   I have experienced severe migraines, convulsions, seizures, impulses traveling throughout my body as if I am being electrocuted from head to toe.   I have been sleepless, had nightmares if I am able to catch an hour of sleep.  I have also had severe hot flashes and cold chills, and I am so irritable!!!!  I am so upset because my mood is generally well, but my physical well being suffers, as well as my children.   I feel like a very incompetent mother in this stage. I am very optimistic, and I know that I will come out of this a survivor.
I thank you so much for your wonderful website, to allow me to understand the symptoms better, as well as provide myself with support and encouragement, at a time when nobody understands unless you've gone through it! 

Hi, I am a school psychologist and have been taking Paxil for about 5 years...I began when depression became so severe I entered the psych ward...another hospitalization when the 30mg seemed to be inadequate...another 10 added, and last year another 10 bringing me to a total of 50mg daily for depression. Two weeks ago, an argument during which I realize I was not rational and I was faced with another increase. My therapist (a genius) suggested I try Wellbutrim, but with the holidays coming and the lack of available mental health workers, my doctor was hesitant for me to face (medication-free) the holidays with my dysfunctional Addams Family-like relatives. He cautioned  me not to decrease, but I stubbornly have persisted. All I can say is...wow. What a horrible experience. First I thought I had the flu, then a brian tumor, then MS, and then about every disorder described in the DSM. I have never been one to have attorneys right wrongs, but this really is a difficult drug to!
 withdraw from...I hope the drug industry takes these accoutns seriously...I am determined to quit...tomorrow I will have decreased to 10 mg...

Like others, here, who have experienced the nasty side of paroxetine, I, too, am taking high-end academic qualifications. I say this this only because these activities require a mind that's functioning well. This drug did not help in that respect (confusion.) And I suffered complete loss of libido (erections - non-existent.) These side-effects did eventually lessen.I took the drug for two years (a bad divorce)reducing it to an effective maintenance dose of 5mg/day. The real problems began when I decided one day to abruptly stop it. I felt good but was tired of the lingering sexual dysfunction and other side-effects. I'm aware of the 'weaning off' process but figured the dose was low enough not to matter. Within two days I became extremely irritable. This quickly turned to overt aggression. By the end of the week I was confronting and threatening ordinary folks in my local town (not to mention my family.) Finally,I stole a bottle of wine from asupermarket, in full view of customers.
This was an act of sheer provocation, not theft (I couldn't have cared less about the goods.)  As expected, I was confronted by the Store Manager. I expected to be violent but, stangely, that didn't happen. I'd not have believed then that I was capable of stopping myself. Yet, prior to this, I've never stolen, nor felt the inclination to steal, in my life. I've never experienced, previously, anything like the feelings of aggression. Odd, isn't it, that this should correspond to dropping paroxetine (and vanish in due course.) There's no question that the behaviour was not caused by the drug..or its sudden absence.  Now, thanks to  GlaxoSmithKline, an incompetent lawyer, and a ridiculously unaware/unsympathetic judge, I have an embarrassing conviction for minor theft. If I had been violent it would be worse. I believe the effects of these drugs must be urgently re-examined.

This site has been really helpful, not only to me but to my patients.  I am a clinical psychologist and many of my patients have reported withdrawal symptoms from Paxil, as well as from other SSRI's.  I have to admit, I was like many of therapists and physicians mentioned on your page, in minimizing the withdrawal process, since it was not well-documented in the clinical trial literature.  Let me just say now- "I'm a believer".  After being on Paxil myself for about 1 year, I am now weaning myself off. Talk about withdrawal!  I have the dizziness and irritability spoken about by other individuals.  Today, I knew things were really bad, when at my son's play, a child, "the cow" failed to jump over "the moon" and was upset.  I wanted to burst out crying, and could hardly keep from tears welling up in my eyes.  At first, as much as I tend to "intellectualize" things regularly, I immediately thought I was going crazy or that the depression was back full force.  It was so refreshing to read accounts from others that they have had similar experiences.  I've been taking 1 20mg pill every 2 days, then every 3 days, now I'm on every 4 days, but it seems to be getting worse!!

I would like to thank you for your page. I thought I was the only one who is suffering from Paxil withdrawal. I am a Disabled Vietnam Veteran who suffers from severe PTSD. I thought that the dreams and nightmares were bad from that. Not on your life. When I try to back off the Paxil it is horrible. I get Agoraphobia, electric type shocking in my head, twitching feeling, cold sweats, sleep disorder, no sex drive, the list just goes on. I feel as if I am stuck with the Paxil for the rest of my life

The first time I went off Paxil, not knowing then what I know now, I lasted one month before starting again. It seemed to me that I had returned back to my usual anxiety/stress symptoms, for which I was prescribed Paxil. All of my symptoms disappeared within the first day of restarting the Paxil. I stayed on Paxil for some time and slowly weaned myself off Paxil the second time around. Nausea, diarrhea, imbalance, electric-type shocks in head and sometimes elsewhere, and vivid dreams reappeared. It was then I realized it wasn't me, but Paxil causing my symptoms. So I went back on Paxil and decided that I'd wean myself more slowly this third time around. I've yet to get the courage to begin the weaning. But, with the information in this website, I'm encouraged that "this too shall pass". I certainly do wish I'd been told about all of this prior to commencing the drug, for I most certainly would have requested something else. I told my doctor that I had taken Xanax years ago and did not want any part of that again. I had no trouble going off that as I was denied a prescription refill one day and got mad and started exercising every day and that helped. That was 10 years ago and I still exercise everyday. I do have to admit that Paxil has relieved me of my anxiety/stress symptoms, but makes me slightly sluggish at times and sleepy. I want my old energy back. Thank you for letting me vent and for this website.

I have many different symptoms but the most often felt was a "zinging" feeling in my head, somewhat like electrical zapping. Although not painful, it becomes annoying and tends to make me unstable when walking. I often feel like my ears are full of fluid and my brain bounces off the inside walls of my skull as I walk or am in motion. My short term memory can be embarrassingly bad. I'll stop in the middle of a sentence because I can't remember what I was discussing. My speech sometimes is delayed. Making words with my mouth are sometimes difficult and disconnected to my thoughts and I become very frustrated when this happens. I had a job that became harder and harder to arrive at because it took me so long to just get out the door in the morning. My thoughts would race at times making it difficult to finish one task before starting another. And, while trying my best to get ready for work or anywhere, I'd seem to go around in circles, accomplishing nothing. I spent more time staring because I would get confused and just didn't want to think. Thinking became a struggle, especially following directions. I couldn't remember names, conversations I had with my husband and friends. I felt like there was something wrong and that I was becoming unable to function the way others around me did. I eventually left my job to stay home because it became too difficult to concentrate on my work. The anxiety and depression would wax and wan but my mood was so unpredictable that it affected my family and my marriage. I pulled away from friends and family for self preservation. I became tired a lot yet I'd stay up all night. When an occasional panic attack was festering, I knew that the medicine needed to be adjusted. 

I watched with interest the news program 20/20 last night as I have just recently gone off Paxil. This was my second attempt and I did it while on vacation this summer because I knew it was going to be hell. I had every symptom that the people described on the program last night...electric shock type feeling in my brain, EXTREME dizzy spells and headaches every single day for two weeks. I am doing a lot better now. I have been off Paxil for a few weeks now. It helped my depression while I was taking it, but it is pure HELL going off of it!

Thank you so much for this site. I thought I was going crazy, feeling like I was a hypochondriac. I am an RN and couldn't figure out what was going on with me. I even went to the doctor and was diagnosed with idiopathic vertigo, prescribed Antivert and given a brochure on exercises that can be done to eliminate any debris that may be in the inner ear. I never did the exercises but the medication did help with the spells did occur. The spells lasted about three weeks and quickly left just as fast as they had started. Those three weeks were very scary thinking terrible thoughts, eliminating any other causes, I was left thinking I must have a brain tumor. I remember telling my doctor that in a joking manner but it was still in the back of my mind. Something really weird was going on, something unexplained and that was very scary. Thank you so much.

I have been off of paxil for 6 days. I called my doctor with concerns of loss of memory, blackouts, dizziness ect. and asked if it could be related to my no longer taking the medicine. My doctor informed me he was not aware of such things being related to no longer taking paxil. I only wish I had seen your web site prier to my starting this medication. Here I have a doctor, Handing out scripts for something he knows nothing about. I guess If they dont do their homework I'll have to start doing mine. For my own good. Thank you very much for the enlightened view. I thought I was going nuts. Now I know these symptoms are to be expected. Many thanks.

Hey man I thank god I found your site. I am 18 year old male I thought I had a serious undiagnosed medical problems which caused me to have extreme anxiety. I have been glancing over it several times especially the withdrawal symptoms. I have all of the symptoms you have listed and it's been 4 months now since I quit paxil . I tapered too fast off of the damn drug but I wasn't notified by my doctor to taper off. I was on it for a year and quit within 3 weeks! I wanted to notify you of a few more withdrawal symptoms that I have experienced not listed on your site: Music abnormally stuck in my head playing over and over again, viral infection (herpes simplex), weird head twitches, feels like my brain is grinding back and forth (worse when exercising), derealization (don't feel here), jaw grinding. I also have had a rash on my face and really dry skin. After I quit paxil I was super scared that I had a medical problem because I read somewhere that a rash is a sign of a severe medical problem. Please advise people if you already did not to not believe anything they may think is wrong with them during the months after paxil. It is the withdrawal!!! Peace

... and they keep poring in. The above are just a few examples of the 2000 + letters I have received in the last year and a half. From time to time I will add some more of your accounts. Please include some general autobiographical references, to help illustrate that this Paxil withdrawal cuts a swath through all segments of society.