Paxil Addiction

I was only on Paxil for about 6 months before trying to quit.  I wanted to try a different anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication.  It was then that I realized how dependent I was on Paxil.  I tried several meds and felt like I had turned into a monster.  I became extremely short tempered, moody and even violent.  I did not experience the physical withdrawal symptoms, but I did experience emmotional ones.  I started taking the drug Paxil because it was a tough time in my life and my doctor thought it would take the edge off.  My first concern was whether it was habit-forming.  That would be a mild way of putting it.  He said it wasn't, so I stopped 6 months later, as I felt my situation was more managable.  I felt about ten times more immotionally disfunctional than I was before I started Paxil.  If I had any idea I would depend on it each day, I would have just pulled my way through the tough time.  I am the primary caregiver of my 5 children and am terrified to get off of the drug.  It keeps me level headed, strong, confident and patient with my daily responsibilities.  Its been about two years now that I have been taking it and I feel that if I don't try to get off of it now, it will only get more difficult.  I do not have a good support system right now and am really on my own in this, so my natural desire is just to stick with the Paxil until I have people in my life who can help me through the withdrawals.  The stories I have heard about withdrawals from this drug are nightmares.  For the few weeks I stopped taking it I became a monster that I never want to be or have my kids see in me ever again.  Help!?!?!  Do I postpone the inevitable knowing that it will only be harder to quit?  Or do I continue to stay with Paxil so I can be the confident, healthy, loving mother that I know God created me to be?

[Kimmas]

Hello, I feel for you. I battle mediacations all the time. If the paxil is working for you then take it. When you decide to stop get the help of your doctor to get you through it. Right now it sounds like what you need to be the mother you want to your kids and that is what they need. I tried Paxil and it did not work for me, neither did any of the SSRI's. So stick with it. Withdrawls will happen whether you stop now or years from now, but if you stop the right way and not cold turkey it should be much easier.
Take Care and Good Luck

[OneScaredBuckeye]

Paxil did not work for me and I had to stop it cold turkey.  I would not say my withdrawal symptoms were all that bad.  After I stopped the drug, I had trouble sleeping.  Even with Ativan, I could only sleep about three hours a night and when I did sleep I had very vivid and strange dreams (not nightmares).  I wasn't nervous at all, but I felt very, very depressed.  That lasted two weeks and then I was fine.  That's it.  A member of my family stopped Paxil in slowly decreasing doses with no problems at all.  

Now, I had to stop cold turkey because of a health problem.  I want to emphasize that I have no small children in my home and I'm responsible for no one but myself.  I have a husband, but he's an adult and can take care of himself.  I also have no problems with temper.  Never did.

I think you owe it to yourself and your children to remain on Paxil for the time being.  If you became a "monster" you never want your children to see again, then do not, under any conditions, stop Paxil cold turkey unless you have a medical problem and your doctor tells you you must stop.  If it's helping you to be a confident, healthy, loving mother, you should be grateful it's doing so and continue to take it for your sake and for the sake of your five children.  Stick with the Paxil, especially as you do not have a good support system right now.  Be happy it's working well for you and see your doctor for check ups.  Never, never, never stop cold turkey.  The side effects you experience are too traumatic for you and most especially for your children.  Good luck.

[OneScaredBuckeye]

Sorry, not Ativan, Ambien.