Posted by acleme1 on February 1, 2011, at 10:34:13
Hello. I've been reading over posts on this site over the past couple of days, and am amazed at some of the knowledge found here. As a result, I wanted to post a question (or questions) that has been on my mind for some time. I have been using Paxil 40 mg/day for over 12 years now, and I am worried about what it is doing to my mind/body.
I basically have Generalized Anxiety, and was put n the Paxil about 12 years ago. I take it every morning. I have noticed that It works about 90% of the time to relieve my anxiety, but there are times that it feels like it is not working at all. I immediately think "paxil poop-out" each time, and start to freak out a little. I am worried that if the Paxil ever does poop out, there will be nothing else that will work as well. I know, I know...textbook definition of a "crutch", but it works and that's just how it is.
I've noticed that the Paxil doesn't work as well when: 1. I'm not eating a somewhat healthy diet, 2. I'm not drinking any water, 3. I eat a lot of sugar, 4. or when I am stressed about home or work.
I can tell that the Paxil isn't working as well whenever I start to get "shocks" in my head. So basically my body is going into withdrawal even though I am still taking the medication. Every other time this has happened, I continue to take the Paxil, and everything seems to even back out...eventually.
I'm thinking this could be caused by a couple of different reasons. 1. my liver isn't processing the Paxil properly, or 2. Stress is causing my body to decrease seratonin creation.
I know I'm kinda all over the place here, but I have a lot on my mind. I guess my most pressing questions are as follows:
1. After 12 years of Paxil use, am I at a high risk for the Paxil to "poop-out" sometime soon?
2. Is there something that I could augment the Paxil with during these down times that would help the Paxil be more effective?
3. I have spent hours on Paxilprogress.com reading about the horror stories of people trying to wean off of the Paxil (and some had only been on it a few months). It scares the hell out of me! After 12 years of use, what is withdrawal going to look like for me? Is it possible to switch meds or come off completely without becoming a vegetable and having all of those withdrawal symptoms like they talk about on paxilprogress.com?
I have a lot more questions to ask, but I think I will leave it there for now. If anyone can understand and help me out, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for reading! acleme1.
poster:acleme1
thread:978460
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110130/msgs/978460.html