Been taking Paxil 12 years - Can anyone relate?

[acleme1]

Hello all. I have been on Paxil 40 mg/day for about 12 years now. I can't believe it's been that long, but how time flies. I am a 36 year-old male now, so I was about 24 years old when I took my first pill. At the time, I was diagnosed with pretty severe GAD and Panic Disorder.

Sometimes, I wish I had never started the medication - but I know that it has helped me to live a more full and productive life. Lately though, I have been worrying about what the long-term effects of this medication are?

Paxil wasn't meant to be taken for more than 6 months to 1 year from the research that I have been able to gather. For me, it's now been 12 years! What, if anything, is this medication doing to me and my brain chemistry?

I tried once about 9 years ago to just quit cold turkey. I wanted to see what it was like without the medication. I was fine for about 4 days, then all hell broke loose. At the time, I wasn't aware of the "discontinuation syndrome" that is so common with SSRI's. I eventually got back on the medicine, and have been on it ever since.

Is there anyone out there that has taken Paxil or a similar SSRI for 10+ years? What does your P-doc say about using the medication long-term...possibly for life?

Is there any benefit to trying to come off of the Paxil, and using CBT therapy + benzos "as needed" to manage the anxiety?

I guess I'm just hoping to hear from some of you guys that have been on SSRI's for many years. How are you doing, and do you plan to take this medication the rest of your life?

Thanks for any input. AC.

[Alisonj29]

I was put on Paxil with my first pregnancy when I was 19 almost 20. I am now turning 35 this year and have 3 kids.  I have begged to be taken off it to my doctor, psychiatrist, hospital doctors. I even checked into an anxiety hospital in hopes they would help. They wanted to increase it. Thats all their solution. Increase. I take 30 mg I did take 40, I refuse to take 60. My family doctor told me that it likely doesnt do awhole lot anymore other than stop me from having withdrawals. I have a love hate relationship with it because in the beginning it was a god send. Now its something that causes me miserable withdrawals if I take it even a couple hours later than I usually do. I was told I was a lifer on it and that they dont want to take me off.  I eventually had a benzo added as the Paxil was not doing anything anymore. So now I am hooked on both.
Please keep me updated with what you do. I wish I could be more of a help but it sounds like we are in the same situation.

[Paxiled]

I was on Paxil for several years, and what I can tell you is coming off of it is very hard, as you've discovered.  None of these meds was ever researched for long-term use, but for me, it worked for my phobias better the longer I was on it, but the side effects got worse, too.  My own opinion is there is a possibility of long-term damage with any medication, and particularly those that affect brain function.  With most, it's liver damage, which can be great or tiny, but I don't know Paxil to have that effect, but the other effect is, will the part of the body affected ever be able to return to normal functioning?  The answer differs depending on the person.  If I were you, and the Paxil is still working, knowing what I know now, I'd have thought a lot more about it first, but if you do decide to come off it, make sure you have a psychiatrist who knows how difficult it is and who can help you through it and knows how to deal with it if it gets out of hand.  That's where I went wrong -- my psychiatrist could have saved me a lot of pain if he had just known to put me back on it to stop my extreme reaction to quitting, but he was a moron.  Most do this successfully, or at least we are told they do, and I think the ones who don't are the ones who don't have that quality psychiatrist helping and closely monitoring.  Good luck whatever you do.

[mammo]

Hi!  You're fortunate that Paxil is still working for you.  Most antidepressants stop working within a few years due to our bodies developing a tolerance for them, and this is why many of us have had to switch to different ones thru the years.  I've been on them for well over 20 years, and doubt I can ever stop and still have a normal life.  I look at this as any other medical condition needing medication to control the symptoms. I've done the whole therapy thing which helped to a point, but still needed medication.  But it may be very beneficial for you, the only way to know is to discuss this with your psych doctor so he can guide your thru the weaning off process and see how you feel. Just like before, if you can't do without the medication you can always start taking them again. I haven't noticed any bad effects from taking them for so long, still manage a business and pretty much at the top of my game at 61!  If you decide to go off of your medication I do wish you all the best, and only do it under the guidance of your doctor. Take care!