Posted by Jen B on October 2, 2000, at 8:55:41
In reply to Re: Paxil and Panic - please help, posted by JohnL on October 1, 2000, at 6:07:53
I still feel that I experience a good range of emotions on Paxil. I have not experienced the flattening out that John speaks of. I feel completely myself, but without the anxiety, fear, self consciousness, and oversensitivity. I suppose that a flattening out is a possible response, but I need to add that this always the case. I know a number of people besides myself for whom Paxil has been a tremendous help for panic and agoraphobia, and who are delightful, emotional people. I also take my Paxil in the morning, and I actually have experienced a big increase in energy throughout the day, since I am not wasting energy on anxiety. I do agree with combining medication with therapy.
Laura, this is just to suggest that not all people respond to medications in the same way. The best thing is to just try something. If you feel that it doesn't work for you, you can stop or switch.
Jen
> If you are not depressed, I don't like the idea of Paxil. It will likely make you feel worse in the short term, and only numb your feelings in the long term...no downs, no anxiety, but no ups either. Life could likely become very flat. SSRIs like Paxil tend to do that. They squash the emotional spectrum into a thin band. They tend to anesthetize emotions. That's good for someone very depressed. Good for anxiety. But the price you pay is that you also lose the ups in life and you have to deal with side effects everyday.
poster:Jen B
thread:45440
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000926/msgs/45643.html