Has anyone used Paxil for a long period of time?

[achilles5]

I am a 33 year-old male. I have an Anxiety Disorder. I have been taking Paxil 40mg/day for over 7 years. Paxil works well for me, but lately I have been considering trying to quit taking it. I want to see what I would be like without the medication. As I began to research quitting, I have found nothing but absolute horror stories about the withdrawal symptoms that follow quitting. Some say that they have been permanently damaged by it. All of this has really scared the #*&@ out of me. The really scary thing is that I now fear the very thing (Paxil) that helps me to not fear. Pretty ironic, really. Anyway, I would love to hear from anyone out there that has taken Paxil for an extended amount of time, and then quit successfully. Without any permanent nervous system damage or permanent withdrawal symptoms. I'm not planning on quitting anytime soon - certainly not cold turkey, and certainly not without the care of doc. I would like to know that if I wanted to quit, I could. I'm very scared that having taken Paxil for so long, and at 40md/day, has caused permanent damage. Please help!

[suzi-q]

I have been on Paxil for 12 years...50 mg. a day.  Honestly, I haven't tried to quit at all.  I have the same wonderings as you....Will I have to take this stuff "forever"?  Like you, I don't plan on coming off soon and my attitude right now is, if it is helping me and not hurting me at all, there is no reason to stop...

[icewatersurfer]

Well, I took it for a good year or more, and went off of it with few problems ... taper it if you're going to do it ... go down to 20 for a couple weeks ... then 10 if you can ... then off.  

Permanent damage?  Who can tell really ... anxiety in itself can cause permanent damage too ... I'm no doctor but my experience with paxil was that I was just a little bit touchy for a few weeks after going off of it.

Just watch yourself, and if you start feeling the warning signs of a panic attack or anything, get back to the doctor.  Maybe a different med will help you get off of it like BuSpar or even Klonopin for a short term.

Don't lose faith in yourself ... just remember you do have an anxiety disorder and you're going to have to try harder than most people to deal with stress etc.  I did it medication free for 11 years before I recently had a panic attack and had to go back on Prozac to get straightened out.