Posted by Kathie on May 25, 2000, at 14:21:15
In reply to Has Paxil Helped Your Depression? , posted by gloria on May 25, 2000, at 8:05:34
Gloria,
I am one of the really really lucky ones, insofar as Paxil is the first AD I tried and it worked. I felt a difference within the first week and felt almost normal within the first month. I did worry alot about that bad feeling coming back for months after I started the Paxil, because that is one place I never ever want to revisit. I started at 10mg per day up to 25 a day and now I have dropped it to 20mgs a day. I am dropping it mainly because one of the unfortunate side effects of Paxil for me has been weight gain..I have gained about 25 pounds since I started the Paxil. Now I am attempting to dump all the weight..with a smaller dosage of Paxil I am hoping to have less carb cravings...also I am hoping maybe I don't need so much and can eventually ween myself off of the drug altogether. These past few day have been the first time in over a year that I have even considered trying life without meds. I won't have any problems going back on them if I start feeling lousy again...as I said, I never want to revisit depressionland again, at least not to the degree I had reached. My brain chemistry was so messed up I was dizzy most of the time, felt like I had the flu, was nauseous, rarely left my bed except to go to work for 3 hours, and even then I sometimes missed work (lucky I have the best boss in the world!). It was a terrible experience for me, and I believe in retrospect I suffered depression for years and just didn't recognise what it was and forced myself to carry on with life until it was so bad I became physically ill...I spend about 18 months in that state!! So for me Paxil has been a miracle drug....bummer about the weight gain, I really hate that...however fat and happy beats the hell out of slim and miserable!
I know lots of people have trouble with Paxil, some find it sedating, which I did at first, but that passed...some find it does nothing for them, it worked for me thank God....some even have complained of psycotic episodes with it, not me, never been psycotic.....some suffer sexual dysfunction, I am married to a man who is not interested in sex so it actually makes my life a tad easier not wanting sex so much as I used to....
Good luck to you,
Kathie
poster:Kathie
thread:34584
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000517/msgs/34613.html