paxil for panic attacks do you have to ween off are can you stop right away

hi my daughter was telling me today she has been on paxill for 4 months and her doctor told her she was to be on them for a year so that they would work and stop her panic attacks ,myself i taught she was on them for deppresion. she was at the health food store and they told her to get off right away they were a bad pill ,put since i have been here i have noticed that all pills should be ween off ,is this correct what would happen if she stoped right away.

[bettie1976]

i quit taking zoloft just quit. but i was only on a small dose 25mg. my cousins having a hard time on 100mg zoloft, she says when she quits a few days later she gets weird symptoms (dont remember what) but she should ask a pharmacist if the doc isnt helping.
it really just depends on how much shes taking.

[snowdoveee]

ty bettie ill tell her to go to the pharmasist ,that is a very good idea ty huggssssssss snow.

[Anhedonio]

Do NOT discontinue Paxil quickly. Doctors used to profess that just stopping them was not a problem. Most of them no longer make that claim.

Depending on how long and how much she is taking, she should wean off them slowly to avoid the very unpleasant WD effects. I would talk to her doctor. A pharmacist may be able to offer an opinion, but not medical advice.

When I stopped Paxil, I think I cut my dose by half every week. Rushing it, unless the Paxil is causing severe problems, will only cause unnecessary discomfort.

[snowdoveee]

ty my daughter has been on them for 4 months 10mg a day,she was not worried about it ,till she went to a health food store for some products and they asked her what medication she was on and she told him paxil and he freaked out said get off right away there no good she said her doctor told her 1 year and she be ok ,so that is the only advise her doctor gave her but know she is very worried about what she is taking sine the guy at the health food store spoke to her ,know she will end up with a panic attack worriying .ty huggsssssssss snow.

[Anhedonio]

The guy at the health food store is a jerk.

Many people would agree that the detriments of Paxil often outweigh the benefits, but it didn't help some people it wouldn't still be available. I'm not sure there are any severe dangers of just stopping, but I know many people have regretted doing it.

Google 'stopping paxil' and read some of the hits you get.

Hope this helps...

[Anhedonio]

I meant to add:

If your daughter suffers from panic attacks/anxiety and shops at health food stores, it might be worthwhile doing some research on Valerian Root. The worst thing about it is it smells really bad when you open the bottle.

[snowdoveee]

ty yes i heard something about valerian root but was not sure what it was for i will tell her this yes she is a real healh food maniac lol freaks out on me all the time because i dont shop there . i will also go to google and search what they have ty so much huggsssss snow.

[bettie1976]

thats what i thot...the health food guy was outta line.

[willruthie1965]

You should always taper..Ruthie

[jst4shanell]

I abruptly quit taking Paxil after about 6 months and had the worst side effects of my life.  They lasted over a month.  Do NOT just stop taking that stuff.  I was getting zapping sensations in my neck and head that felt like I was constantly being electricuted.  Everyone is different.  I had nausea, dizziness, the works.  
The guy at the health food store is an idiot.   I dealt with severe panic/anxiety attacks for years that valerian root, st, john's wort, vitamen B's did absolutely nothing for.  Paxil really helped me.  What helped more was a great therapist that taught me to cope in different ways.  There are good therapists that almost always work on a sliding scale and a lot of insurance companies will pay for as well.  

[bettie1976]

well the zoloft didnt do anything to me. I took it for more than 6 months but a low dosage. To each their own. call yer doctor people.

[lunachick]

I have the worst reactions to almost every single anti-depressant I have tried. Which really sucks cause I've suffered from depression since I was nine years old. I was on Zoloft for like two years, and although it helped the depression in the beginning, I ended up going from 140 pounds to 103 pounds in like 6 months, and then I started getting horrible headaches (which led to my first very own prescription to lortab 10's and we know what happened then). Pazil, made my muscles clench up and not release. Then the last anti-depressant i tried was Effexor. It helped my depression more than any other drug, but I gained a ton of weight on it, and if I skipped even one pill I would get so dizzy and act almost psychotic. If it wasn't for the fact that I had gotten pregnant I would have never quit I don't think, If anyone else is sensitive to these meds like me and has found one that works without horrible side effects, please let me know!

[bettie1976]

to clear it up, i meant QUITTING the zoloft cold turkey didnt hurt me in any way.

[Anhedonio]

Everyone is different, but for many Paxil cessation is the worst of all the SSRIs.

[FLaddict]

I would have her taper off of it... I once was switched by my doc from Lexapro to Wellbutrin she told me I could just switch I didn't need to taper.. Boy was she wrong!!!  I got the worst headaches of my life had brain "electrical zaps" felt severly depressed, was dizzy nauseous I don't think I had ever felt worse in my life other than opiate withdrawal... I called the doc on call that weekend and he said to take a half a dose of the Lexapro.. Within a few hours I felt back to normal.. Discontinuing an SSRI abruptly is scary.. While I do now agree with the health food store guy that most of these drugs are evil.. some people need them. Tell her if she would like to go "all natural" in handeling her panic attacks there are some great books out there.. The Mood Cure is one.. and their are others on how amino acids, and proper diet and supplements can help alot.. I use those now insteed of meds for my anxiety and i have never felt better.. I take L-theanine when i feel a anxiety attack coming on.. and it works alot better than xanax for me.. She should look into it..  I am still experiencing negative side effects from being on a SSRI for 3 years.. I wish now i never would have taken them. I have been off of them for almost 4 months now and I still have not gotten my sex drive back. My doctor said its common.. they call it Post SSRI sexual dysfunction.

[snowdoveee]

ty all my daughter fells better know that she has imformation she will see her doctor and ask him to help her slowly to get off the paxil and i also told her to change health food store and not listen to what they say about prescrition drugs ty huggsssssssssss snow.

[Chasenchristy]

NEVER ABRUPTLY QUIT PAXIL or anything like that, and always ask the doctor also.!!

[Steve L]

SSRI disconuation syndrome, while not life threatening, has been determined by noted neurologists to be worse than benzo withdrawl (withdrawal)  and that is plenty long and difficult. So PLEASE think before you swallow..I have a friend on 200mg zoloft and 75 mg effexor..as far as SSRIs go, the worst offenders seem to be paxil, effexor and lexapro, with cymbalta now gaining recognition as well. And the side effect profile is just awful! Hope this helps some people..if you ARE on a high dose of SSRI for a while, like others have mentioned, and just like with benzos, tapering is the only way to go. Yes, it will be uncomfortable, but nothing like abrupt discontinuation. God Bless, Steve