Aa
Still struggling
I've been on Paxil for almost a week now and feel so much worse!! Iknow its not a lot of time to give a med but i'm gradually getting worse. I'm sure like in my other posts its because of the anxiety but today I got really blurry vision and had to drive home.
I'm waiting for the doctor to call me back. This med has increased my anxiety tremendously, constipated me, brought back my night anxiousness, taken my already suppresed appetite away and has given me blurred vision.
Do you think this is not the right med for me? Will i ever find one that works. I'm in counseling and trying to stay as positive as possible but its no hard.
what would you do?
I'm waiting for the doctor to call me back. This med has increased my anxiety tremendously, constipated me, brought back my night anxiousness, taken my already suppresed appetite away and has given me blurred vision.
Do you think this is not the right med for me? Will i ever find one that works. I'm in counseling and trying to stay as positive as possible but its no hard.
what would you do?
Best Answer
Hi not sure if this will help you but if it does great!!! you have nothing to loose. I have been reading your messages for over a week now and no you are going through the mill at the minuite. I have had severe anxiety for around 12 weeks and didnt wont to take medication but i beleive it's every man for themselves if it works for you great. Anyway thats why i found a web page that has helped me no end its called anxiety no more and the guy who posted it has pretty much been through everything anxiety related. his web page could help you. please give it alook it may give you some releif at this awful time your going through and like i said nothing to loose. www.anxietynomore.co.uk. hope it helps.
Paxil can take a month to make a difference. That's how long it took for me. I've since had myself removed from meds, but Paxil took a month for me.
On top of that, I recommend exercise. It works for me. It's been my biggest ally in anxiety management. Helps me focus on the task at hand (running 30 min without stopping, lifting heavier weights, pushing myself) instead of my anxiety.
Also, I know it's hard to do, but try not to think about your anxiety. That would be meta anxiety, and it only makes matters worse. Trust me, it happens all the time. As soon as I think about my anxiety, it gets worse.
On top of that, I recommend exercise. It works for me. It's been my biggest ally in anxiety management. Helps me focus on the task at hand (running 30 min without stopping, lifting heavier weights, pushing myself) instead of my anxiety.
Also, I know it's hard to do, but try not to think about your anxiety. That would be meta anxiety, and it only makes matters worse. Trust me, it happens all the time. As soon as I think about my anxiety, it gets worse.
Hi,
I was so releived to see your name and the word "Sweetie" and not "oh for goodness sakes" haha.
I just feel like its gotten so much worse and my increased Zoloft was working better than this. If I were going to get really horrible reactions would they have happened already by now?
I have been taking xanax twice a day as he said, he actually said I can take it three times a day but am so afraid of creating a bigger problem in the long run... I even panicked that the blurred vision was a result in withdrawaling from the xanax which i know in my heart is silly.
I have been trying to keep busy and stay distracted but it is soooo hard, because before I even open my eyes in the morning i'm panicking in my sleep, so that starts the ball rolling. I really just need the meds to kick in so I can better utilize my coping skills. I'm really struggling with this fear that i'm never going to get better. I'm also scared that i'm not going to eat enough and die from that. LOL I know its crazy but those are the things that are going through my head.. Catastrophic thinking I know!
I was so releived to see your name and the word "Sweetie" and not "oh for goodness sakes" haha.
I just feel like its gotten so much worse and my increased Zoloft was working better than this. If I were going to get really horrible reactions would they have happened already by now?
I have been taking xanax twice a day as he said, he actually said I can take it three times a day but am so afraid of creating a bigger problem in the long run... I even panicked that the blurred vision was a result in withdrawaling from the xanax which i know in my heart is silly.
I have been trying to keep busy and stay distracted but it is soooo hard, because before I even open my eyes in the morning i'm panicking in my sleep, so that starts the ball rolling. I really just need the meds to kick in so I can better utilize my coping skills. I'm really struggling with this fear that i'm never going to get better. I'm also scared that i'm not going to eat enough and die from that. LOL I know its crazy but those are the things that are going through my head.. Catastrophic thinking I know!
Sweetie, those are all normal side effects, especially the increase in anxiety. They WILL subside, you just have to hang in there. Usually around week two, you will notice the side effects being on a decline. I think a lot of the symptoms you have are that anxious reaction like you had before.
I would ask the doc for an anti-anxiety med to help you through this initial adjustment phase, and wait it out at least another 2 weeks to see if there is going to be an improvement.
What else are you doing for the anxiety? Have you been trying to keep yourself distracted?
I would ask the doc for an anti-anxiety med to help you through this initial adjustment phase, and wait it out at least another 2 weeks to see if there is going to be an improvement.
What else are you doing for the anxiety? Have you been trying to keep yourself distracted?
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(Sorry, couldn't resist...lol...just teasing). ;0)
I think you're doing much better than you THINK you are (which is normal). You've been taking it for a WEEK, so yes, without a doubt, if you were going to have some crazy, severe adverse reaction, it would have been apparent by now. No worries there. The things you are experiencing are very typical start up side effects.
Like mbsc said above, Paxil can take a month to work (sometimes even a little longer), so it's WAY too sooon to make any kind of judgement calls about whether or not it's going to help you at this point. It may take you even a couple of months to sort this out and figure out if the Paxil is going to help. I KNOW it's SO hard to be patient and to wait, but the more patient you try to be, the better off you will be in the long run. Try not to be overly focused on thinking about the Paxil...just surrender yourself to the process, and try to find some acceptance that this process takes some time. We're not talking YEARS here, but definitely a month, or two (or maybe even a wee bit more if you end up needing a higher dose).
My recommendation (opinion) with meds is that a person should exahaust ANY and ALL possibilities with ONE med before scrapping it and trying something new. This means enough TIME must be given (again, 4-6 weeks, give or take), and that also means reevaluating the med after that period of time and having a discussion with your doc at that point if you feel it isn't as effective as you would like. If that becomes the case, at that point, it makes far more sense to try a dosage increase of the SAME med rather than starting the WHOLE process over again with a new med. So, if a dosage increase is determined to be needed after that initial adjustment period, then there will be another adjustment period. Just like you have to give a med time to work when you first start taking it, you have to do the same thing after increases. Usually, results are seen a little bit faster after the dosage increases versus the initial adjustment phase, but still, again, patience is so helpful. As you can see, that's why this can sometimes be a few month long process, considering the initial adjustment phase, and any possible dosage increase, with another adjustment phase after each one of those. Hopefully, you'll be feeling significantly better after this initial adjustment phase is over...and even if you need a dosage increase or two, remember that you'll likely be feeling a lot better at that point too. It may just need some tweaking.
I KNOW you want to feel better NOW...we all do in that situation...but it's just not going to happen overnight...and you're finding too, that a lot of times with these meds, you have to feel a little worse before you feel better. TOTALY normal.
Keep up with ANY other coping mechanisms you have in place, distraction, reading books, visiting web sites (like sassie mentions above), whatever you have to do to get your mind off of this while you're waiting. If you NEED the 3rd Xanax in a day, my goodness, take it! Those kinds of meds help a LOT!!!
I was on fairly high dose Ativan during the adjustment phase of both meds I was on (Zoloft and Lexapro)..I was taking sometimes 2-3 mg a day, when things were REALLY bad, it helped SO much! Before I knew it, I was feeling a little bit better every day, and I noticed I needed less and less and less of the Ativan. If you're only taking the Xanax short term, you will have little to worry about. It's not incredibly hard to taper down off the Xanax, especially once you're seeing results from the Paxil...you'll feel so much better (hopefully). Cross that bridge when you come to it.
Don't be a hero! If you need the Xanax, by all means, take it! Don't get crazy worrying about that right now. One worry at a time, okay? You're having very high levels of panic and anxiety, the anti-anxiety med is most definitely indicated! Just adding the extra dose of that will probably make a world of difference!! I would try that today!
Hang in there hon...you're doing great. I KNOW you're trying to do what you can in this situation. I cannot say it enough (and I KNOW it's easier said than done)..but DISTRACTION, DISTRACTION DISTRACTION!!
Keep us in the loop! Big hugs!