1st time taking Paxil. Anyone had luck for anxiety?

[cnote]

So after going to the Dr. today, he switched me from 5mg Lexapro to Paxil. He gave me 20mg pills, but said to cut them in half at first for the first month.

My symptoms have been, IBS symptoms, nervousness, nausea, and tight throat... to where I wanna gag and feels like I cant breath correctly... restlessness at night, and big loss of appetite.

Will Paxil help you think? I don't really care to hear about any horror stories. haha. I just wanna hear some good experiences. Even though I know it's different for everyone.

I wasnt upset with my Dr., but when I went in there with my wife, I started crying... and he told me it was going to be okay, and he also said that he was sorry, and maybe he hasnt been taking my anxiety as seriously as he should have been b/c he didnt think it was that bad... and he said "we will work together and we will get you to feeling the old you again. It may take some time, but we will find it."

I'm just overwhelmed. Last night I woke up not being able to fall back asleep, I felt like my throat was closing in... and I gagged a couple of times, my legs started trembling, my stomach hurt.. I took 2 ativan lastnight and I finally calmed down and fell asleep, but it wasnt a good sleep, had bad nightmares.... my throat has felt tight like this now for 2 weeks... and its worse when I'm stressed... and its worse when I'm having sinus drainage.

He said it's just anxiety, and I should NOT WORRY about it being cancer or anything else. He said I have to ACCEPT IT as anxiety and it will help some.

I hope I get to feeling better soon. He's such a good Dr. He hates medications just as much as I do... and he likes to do the most minimal thing to treat it... but he said in my case, we will work with some more medications to see what helps.

Keep me in your prayers. I'm def. taking 2 ativan tonight so I can sleep!!!! lol.

[cnote]

Paxiled - , I just wanted to say that I called my Dr. today and told him I was going to try upping my Lexapro to 10mg... and he said not too, and he wanted me on the Paxil.

It's only 10mg dude... and at this point I'm not concerned about withdrawals... If this stuff works, and I have to be on it forever... then so be it. =) I hope not... and when I do decide to come off of it... I will do it VERY slowly.

I watched my brother come off actual heroin, (well it was oxycontin, but that stuff IS synthetic heroin)... he laughed at me last year when I quit taking lexparo too quickly... and I felt sick for a week and puked once... he said, that aint nothing like kicking heroin.

Claudicakes, glad to hear your friend had a very successful run with Paxil. Hopefully I will be in the same boat.

Paxiled - , are you still on Paxil? And how long have you been on it? And how much are/were you taking?

Thanks!

[theotterone]

After years and years (I am 34 but had issues since I was 16) my doctor put me on Paxil.  I have to take the CR version since I high metabolize the regular version.  It has helped greatly, but I am also resigned to the fact that I will probably be on it for the rest of my life.  Keep up the great communication with your doctor!  Together you will come to a solution that is right for you!

[Paxiled]

You're friend hasn't had to try quitting the Paxil yet.  When your friend does, I hope you're there for her.

[claudicakes]

Hi
My friend is taking Paxil for anxiety and she likes it alot..its worked well for her, and the anxiety symptoms disappeared once they started working which takes a couple of weeks...Your dose of Lexapro was very low so dont discriminate on that one either...LOL  how long were you taking Lexapro for? remember these meds take time, but I think you will be ok with Paxil ..either way the good news is, it wont get worse, it will only get better with meds..I always say the worse is over and pop the pill and it keeps me going until they do work ! I hope you have luck on this med like my friend, and even if it doesnt work for you, there are many other med options...DONT QUIT
xxx

[Paxiled]

Just want you to get better.  My understanding when I went on Lexapro (and I have to admit, it hasn't helped me much, but so it goes) was that 10mg is the suggested dosage for depression, with 15-20mg suggested for anxiety.  Don't hold me to that, but that's my understanding.  Since you're already on it, why not give it a chance?  Paxil did help me, so I'm not saying rule it out, just that's it's one of the more difficult meds, so save it for if others don't work.  It's not going anywhere.  But that's just my completely unexpert opinion.  I'm just a user, not an expert.

[toejam_muncher]

high fiber is good. believe it or not...slim fast shakes or a store brand really does help with keeping things regular.

as far as lexapro goes...i've had very good results with it in the past. i think i would prefer it over paxil. i've never taken paxil but i've heard a lot about it. i'm not trying to aim you towards taking one thing over another...but as paxiled said, 5mg just isn't going to do much. thats like going deer hunting with a pellet gun.

anyway everything you said sounds like you're on a better road. even the parts where you said you 'broke down.' sometimes thats exactly what we need to do to help get to a better place. sounds like you've reached a turning point.

[cnote]

im a little confused too. i havnt taken the paxil yet... i was thinking about trying 10mg of lexapro. i know 5mg isnt alot. but im kinda scared to try the paxil. oh, and about the ibs... and arbys... you have to remember that i rarley get appetite... and that actually was really good. and i havnt had bowel issues for 2 days now. so thats good. but for the most part im sticking to high fiber foods. thanks for writing.

[Paxiled]

I don't want to sound negative here, Paxil can be very effective, but it does have a lot of problems.  Lexapro has fewer problems, and you were only on 5mg, which isn't even a therapeutic dose.  So he's switching you from a relatively low side effect drug to one of the most difficult before trying you on a therapeutic dose?  Confusing.  And why not try Prozac if you were going to a different drug before trying Paxil?  I mean, you read this website.  I'm not sure, cnote, that I like you shrink.  Sorry.  Also, keep talking to you about treating the IBS part, but you keep eating Arby's and fries, and peppermints don't help, you have to take enteric coated peppermint capsules because they have to get into the intestines to work, not the stomach.  Oh, well, good luck, I do sympathize and empathize, but I am confused.