what is this?

Hi, I have been on paxil for 1 year and a half.  For mostly panic attacks and anxiety - although i think that the anxiety was in fact phobia.  Anwyay, I have been taking 20mgs for most of that time, and it has really, really helped.  Recently, I have had twitching in my body, such as my feet, arms, hands etc. and really bad mood swings.  (Which I never got before I took paxil or since now).  One minute I am okay, and the next I am quite hyper and then I am very depressed.  These symptoms started when I took the combined contraception pill that I took because of a gynaecological problem.  I only took it for 12 days before I stopped taking it.  But the problem now is that it has been over 2 weeks since I stopped taking it, and I am still getting these problems.  So I am thinking is it still the effects of the pill in the system, or have I built up a tolerance to paxil.  I am worried i may have bipolar, or that I am building a tolerance to paxil that no anti-depressant will work.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

It is unlikely that this is caused by the pAXIL  alone. It is likely that the birth control pill interacted badly with the Paxil since both are metabolized in the liver and share at least one known enzyme system. It could take longer than two weeks to get this reaction stopped. Check with your psychiatrist about the wash out period.And make sure you are not pregnant.

[Janie-doodle]

If you have a hormonal imbalance that will affect your mood. If you are using contraceptive pills for a hormone imbalance THAT will affect your mood.  Several pdocs I have talked to believe that hormones are "psychiatric poison."  The hormones might still be present in your body, and you might have to wait and see if you go back to how you were before the contraceptives.

[CCB]

The washout period for paroxetine (Paxil) is between 2 and 5 weeks...you may or may not experience symptoms for that long.