Short time use of Paxil

[mimo1881]

I was on Paxil 5 years ago for divorce anxiety and tapered off slowly and it was fine.  I just started it again because of general anxiety issues.   I have just taken it 5 mg for 5 days then 10 mg for two days then, 5 mg for 1 day, 2.5 mg for 1 day then quit.  I am having the worst anxiety.  My counselor tells me that this was such a small dose for such a small time I should not be having any reactions, but I cannot pull out of the anxiety.  I tried .50 mg melatonin last night, and am worse.  Anyone had such a goofy reaction for such short-time taking?  I don't know what to do.  Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Paxiled]

Me either, but due to the short duration of your taking Paxil, hopefully it'll go away soon.  I wish I could help, but I've never been able to solve my Paxil withdrawal problem.  It can be a very tough med.  But it does seem odd since it usually takes four to six weeks for an antidepressant to really start working.  I wish I could help.  Maybe you can try going on Prozac to overcome the Paxil withdrawal -- it stays longer in the body and thus doesn't have the same withdrawal problems as the short half life ssris, so some psychiatrists use it to get people through the discontinuation effects of other ssris.  Good luck.

[mimo1881]

I took the paxil for about 7 days, and couldn't stand the side effects.  I had diarrhea, stomach pains and excessive urination and I couldn't stand to eat anything.  These physical irritations have stopped since I stopped the paxil.  I am super-sensitive to most medications, and Paxil was all I was taking at the time.  My doctor and counselor think because of my sensitivity it could work that way.  I don't know what to do.

[Paxiled]

It shouldn't have affected you at all, since you weren't on it long enough for it to start working.  But shoulds and shouldn'ts don't apply to these crazy meds.  There's an easy way to find out -- if you felt fine while you were taking it, go back on the 5mg dose.  If the anxiety goes away, then for some odd reason it got into your system very quickly and you're suffering withdrawal.  If that happens, taper off the 5mg more slowly.