anxiety, paxil or just going crazy

[daffysoundz]

last night i had a very  bad experience, as i was falling asleep i start seeing some strange shapes and colours in my head while my eyes were closed. it jumped me out of my sleep, that happen about four times . i felt like i was going crazy, or if a nerve in my head was damaged,i also felt like something was moving around in my head, or my brain was rotating,until i got out of bed, i started to trimble realy bad and my head was dizzy. i took my meds (xanax) which calm me down, but i still couldnt sleep, i started to hear myself talking in my mind about somethings that had no meaning like music, movies, food and other things that had no meaning to me at the time. im now on 10mg paxil so far for the week and this is the first time i have ever experince this, i spooke to my doctor about it an he thinks its the paxil an he took me off of it. im just looking for some comforting input, could it be my anxiety or the paxil. im more concern about the shapes and colours i was seeing while my eyes were closed, so if any of you out there had any experiences like this im realy interested in finding out if its anxiety, paxil or if im just going crazy
thanks

[ativan]

Hi, its like you said in your last post you have to think what you were like before you took the paxil, did you have the strange shapes and colours before you took the paxil? after reading your posts it dosent seem like you did, therefore I beleave the doctor did the correct thing in telling you to stop them, go with what the doc thinks, there not always right but in your case it seems like paxil wasent for you, as nursegirl says there ars plenty other meds out there its finding the right one for you.
take care
janis.

[daffysoundz]

thanks you all ill try to keep it under control, the thing is i was alot better before i had start taking the paxil, just burning in my back and alittle nerve problems, but i think i can beat it again
love you guys

[cj29]

Nursegirl is right...don't focus too much on the bad.  I am glad that you are working with both your PCP and psychiatrist.  Patience is really key to this; which is not what we always want to here...please keep us posted.

[nursegirl6572]

I agree 100% with cj.  It COULD have been the paxil, and it could have been plain ole anxiety...or even a little of both.  Most of these types of meds carry some initial unpleasant side effects.  The good news is...they DO go away with continued treatment in the majority of cases.  If you decide to try another similar med....try to give it ample time to both start workimg, and also to allow the side effects to diminish.  A lot of docs will Rx something like Xanax to help you with the first week or so if side effects are popping up.  Just speak with your doc about how you should take your Xanax in that case...if you again decide to give another med a try.

There are other meds out there, and other treatment options.  I too, hope that you are receiving some type of "talk" therapy.  That is priceless when dealing with anxiety...it really is.  Therapy teaches you valuable coping techniques to help deal with panic/anxiety.  My personal success has always been with a combo of BOTH meds and therapy.

If you are not being managed by a psychiatrist for your anxiety, I recommend that you look into that.  Speak with your PCP, he can give you a referral.  P-docs are really, in my opinion, the best people to have handle our anxiety disorders.  Most of them are a package deal of sorts.  They will help you formulate a plan that may involve meds, and start you into a kind of therapy that would be best suited for YOU in your own situation.  All of us have something different that works the best for us.  Sometimes it takes a little bit of time and patience to find that magical combo...but once you do, you'll be amazed at your progress.

The best advice, besides the above, that I can give you...is to try VERY hard not to ruminate about your bad night.  The less you think about it and the less you focus on it...the better chance you have of just putting it behind you...chocking it up to a bad night.  As a fellow anxiety sufferer, I can tell you that one of our WORST characteristics we have is the ability to obsess over EVERYTHING, every sensation, every experience, etc...that causes us anxiety.  And all that does is feed into the anxiety "cycle"...we have a scary experience/symptom...we worry and "what if" about it until basically it happens again....we worry some more...and sure enough...there it is yet AGAIN!  We truly are our own worst enemies.

ANYthing you can do to break that cycle....stop it in its tracks before it gets out of hand is HUGE progress.  

Best of luck, please do let us know how things are going for you!  Take Care!

[daffysoundz]

im dealing with both psychiatrist and health doctor they both think i should stop using the paxil

[cj29]

First off let me applaud you for working with your doctor with your concerns when it comes to dealing with any questions regarding medication.  Anxiety and meds could possibly cause this. Remember, that with anxiety, you are going to have your ups and downs just like any other person in life. Many times people get frustrated because they have a setback or flare up of panic...this is going to happen with a 100% of people in my opinion.  Just like life, we will sometimes be down in the dumps.

You are not going crazy; you just had a bad night.  I have had them as well.  Refocus and try to focus on long term progress and I bet you will see it is not as bad as you may believe.  Is the doctor you are using a psychiatrist?  Have you been talking about this anxiety with a mental health professional?   Learning about the condition is the best way to confront it in my experience.  Keep us posted.