Paxil

[cammys]

My Dr. has just prescribed paxil 20 mg for my anxiety, panic disorder that othesr(celexa, zoloft) did not help. After reading about it I'm nervous! Will I gain a lot of weight , have a terrible time coming off it when the time comes?.

[Liss908]

Hi there!!  Paxil worked very well for me with the deppression and anxiety but I gained about 40 lbs over a period of 1 year.  I don't know what other anti depressants feel like when you come off of them but Paxil was pretty bad.. It took me three weeks before I started feeling better.  when i stopped taking them.  But if you want to rid yourself of deppression and anxiety  it really works well

I've been taking paxil for 10 years and I have not gained weight but I do moderate exercise every morning to help me feel relaxed physically in addition to mentally. Im nervous to stop taking paxil so the comments here have helped me know what to expect. I'm kinda thinking if I'm nervous about it then.. ha ha I probably shouldn't go off of it. I'm still building my tool box of skills to keep anxiety at a minimum. The paxil works great because I feel more in control and more reasonable.

[Paxiled]

This is a very old post -- hope those who posted are doing fine now.  One thing I notice here though is someone saying stopping Paxil is the same a stopping any antidepressant.  Not true, it worse by far and for a lot more people than any other antidepressant than Effexor.  It doesn't mean don't take it, it just means don't take it if anything else will work.  Be cautious.  And when it's time to quit, know your psychiatrist -- don't do it with a quack.  Know that you have to stop taking it at your own pace, as slowly as you need to.  It might be really easy, who knows?  But since it's more likely to be hard, be patient and know that it's hard to do.  Not knowing killed me, and the blame for that goes to my psychiatrist, not the drug since it was long known by then it was a tough drug to stop taking.  By the way, I also gained a lot on it over a period of years despite being a heavy exerciser.  

[serinitynow1]

Hi,  I was on Paxil for a period of time and never gained any weight at all, but I also went to the gym 4 times a week and watched what I ate.  Exercise also helped relieve my anixety/depression. If you can, try and get a little bit of exercise each day.

As far as comming off of the Paxil, I did find it more difficult then when I came off of Prozac. In any case when (if) you decide to come off of the Paxil, don't quit cold turkey!  You'll most likely get withdrawl effects either way, just with the cold turkey method it can "run" you over!

p.s. You may even feel a little worse for a week or two as your body adjusts to the Paxil....I did, but then again everyone reacts differently.
Good Luck.

[Hensley258]

Getting off Paxil (if needed) is really no worse that stopping any other antidepressant.

Paxil is the one SSRI that people report the most weight gain with. This doesn't mean you will gain weight on Paxil. Everyone is different, but yes Paxil is notorious for weight gain side effects.