what is happening to me?????

[Levi]

Hi everyone, this site is very helpful! Thank You! My doc told me I have GAD about a year ago after I lost my mind due to losing my job (long story). Went to a shrink and got told she wouldn't treat me anymore just because I hadn't taken a drug she prescribed for  sleep. I read on the internet it was an antipsychotic so I was scared to take it. I guess she took this personally yelling"who are you going to trust". Anyways my doc. apologized and is not sending her any more patients.  She had prescribed me clanazepam which I found helpful but my doc. was afraid I would get addicted to it. He did give it to me but he wanted me to go on Paxil which I agreed to after feeling that I was needing more and more clonaz. as time went on. He promised I would be" cool as a cucumber" which was good for awhile until I realized I had turned into a vegatable. lol. I couldn't get out of bed, my house was a mess, I didn't care about anything!! I have weened myself off Paxil and am going through withdrawl HELL. I know this is going to pass, it is day 8 now and today I'm not as sick but can't stop crying. I am not depressed and function well at work but why am I increasingly not being able to force myself to leave my house.I can't even bring myself to make a doc. appt. or go for a suntan ect. Is this turning into something else????? Is it OK to continue to take something thats addictive when it makes you feel better? Thanks for listening.

[basketcase]

Hi!
 Just know that you're not alone with this disorder and I hope that my reponse will prove helpful to you. I don't blame you for not wanting to continue on Paxil. You're seeing now how bad the drug is since you're going through withdrawal. I tried Paxil but after 2 weeks of feeling nauseous I said, "ENOUGH!" I refuse to take those types of drugs and especially after seeing what they did to my mom who suffered with clinical depression for 14 yrs. She ended up dying of extreme anemia which after reading about the drugs she took could have been the cause of her problem. I will tell you what I've found to be helpful, its called, Relax-O-Zyme. It can be found at enzy.com It contains, vitamin D, niacin, B-6, calcium. magnesium. zinc, valerian, chamomile, passionflower, hops and evening primrose oil. It calms my nerves very well and I can take it anytime of day. I am into anything that is natural but when things are bad, I do take the clonazapam or Klonopin there the same drug. I try very hard not to take it but somedays are worse than others. My GAD has made it so I can't drive for fear of having a panic attack. I also understand how you feel about not wanting to leave your house. Our homes are our comfort zone and we want to stay where we feel safe. We want to avoid situations that make us uncomfortable so we end up compounding our problem.
    I hope that you can get things under control. While you're trying to get off Paxil I would take your clonazapam just to get yourself over the hump of withdrawal. Don't put yourself down, you're trying hard to overcome this disorder and you need some help. There is hope, so again, don't beat yourself up. I wish you all the best on your journey. Let us know how you're doing, ok? God bless.

Valerie :)

[Levi]

 Thank you so much for responding. It is so comforting to know there are people who really understand. I will definately try Relax-O-Zyme and am going to force myself to go back to the doctors. I am so sorry about your mom, in the very least we can learn the lessons she paid dearly for. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Denni]

Oh yeah, Paxil (here known as Seroxat) can be hell for some people. It's possible that you have tried to taper it too quickly. It took me nine months to gradually wean myself off it using the liquid form (which can be dosed more accurately). The last 5 mg took the longest. I had bad mood-swings for 3 months afterwards.

Whatever you do, don't come off this medication cold turkey.

Since I had a return of panic disorder while backpacking (that was a bit too ambitious), I'm on Amitryptiline and that may be working. But I have Xanax in my bag just in case.

[Levi]

 Hi Denni,  thanks for the advice on going off Paxil. I was really dumb and went from 40mg. to 0 in about 10 days. I lowered my dose by 10mg. every few days. Huge Mistake! I wasn't on it that long so I thought it would be O.K. I am not as sick anymore and I for the first time last night I didn't have to get up and change my clothes due to being soaked in sweat, YUCK . I was crying my eyes out yesterday morning and now I feel normal and don't know what I was crying about. I guess this is the mood swings your talking about. How strange this all is.  I am going to look around this site about panic attacks, If I get the least bit worked up I feel like one is coming, I shake like crazy and get a mild pain in my chest but I sit down and chill out and it goes away.    I hope this condition never stops your adventures !! 
          I wish you the best, ttyl       
                                                  Lisa aka Levi (my cats name lol)

[Denni]

Hi Levi,

I hope you are feeling better. You may have managed to get off the Paxil, especially since you weren't on it for so long, but it sounds like a close shave! If you get worse again, you may have to resume taking it again at a lower dose and tapering it more slowly. But I truly hope that you're OK.

One year since your job-related breakdown doesn't sound a long time. You should consider taking some form of medication. Discuss it with your doc, it can take some time to find the right drug/combination.

I don't let panic attacks stop me--they don't happen often, it's just that they're really bad when they do. Now I don't go anywhere without Xanax and even carry a note in my bag explaining about panic attacks. They don't cause me embarassment, it's just a physiological over-reaction. Saying that, if it happens again in the near future, maybe I will be more hesitant to go out. I was agoraphobic for some time when I suffered a breakdown a few years ago.

[mbabynz]

hi there i too carry zanax and ativan wherever i go i guess its a safe option for me knowing that i have got it i don't usually need to take it but its there just incase.I'm not embarrassed about having a panic attack in public but the thought of having 1 can make me shake with fear.
i have not been on paxil but from what i have read its sounds like a very scary drug.I have been on an antidepressant years ago and when i went off them i had the really bad side effects i didn't know much about the withdrawl process but it was a real rough time.Now i know better than to just stop taking anything, wheather its withdrawl or anxiety HOW YOU MEANT TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!hang in there I'm sure you will get an answer
take care
mbabynz

[Denni]

It can be hard to know the difference. Paradoxically, a ton of tranquilizers and antidepressants have side-effects just like the symptoms they are supposed to control (sleeplessness, nightmares, shakes, palpitations, hallucinations...) but in most cases these only affect a minority of patients. All the same, reading the patient information leaflet when you already suffer from anxiety isn't exacly soothing.

Whenever you start a new drug, you should be monitored by your doctor. That means you need to find a doctor who understands these conditions and the potential side-effects of medication. People who have not experienced depression/GAD for themselves are not able to understand and make lousy psychiatrists! On the up-side, the medical proffession is the most prone to depression, so there are plenty of candidates tochoose from.  ;)

 In the case of Paxil/Seroxat, there has been some scandalous mis-information by the manufacturers, leaving many patients in the lurch because their doctors had no reason to expect adverse side-effects or problems with withdrawal.

But rememberl, as bad as all that sounds, only a minority of patients is badly affected.

Secondly, you need toget clever when it comes to medication. Apple has published a list of different groups of drugs elsewhere on the forum. For example, Paxil and Prozac are SSRIs and they act in different ways from, say, Amitryptiline which is a tricyclic antidepressant. If you had a bad experience with one group of drugs, it may be better to switch to another. There is no reason to expect that you will have a similarly bad experience.

Never stop taking medication suddenly and always seek the advise of a doctor.

[Levi]

 WOW, DENNI YOU MAKE PERFECT SENSE! WILL YOU BE MY DOCTOR ? LOL.
 
I LIKE MY DOCTOR ,I THINK I'M AFRAID TO TELL HIM EVERYTHING FOR FEAR OF WHAT HE THINKS OF ME. WHEN I WENT ON PAXIL HE TOLD ME HE WOULD HUNT ME DOWN IN TWO WEEKS IF I DIDN'T COME BACK TO SEE HIM. BUT OF COURSE I DON'T AND TRY TO DO THIS ON MY OWN. IT'S HARD FOR ME TO EVEN PICK UP THE PHONE AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.IT'S HARD ME TO EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME BECAUSE IT CHANGES EVERYHOUR AND I DON'T KNOW WHATS WRONG MYSELF. I DID GET SOME CLANAZEPAM AT A WALK IN CLINIC BUT AM GOING TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT,AS PER YOUR ADVICE .I MAY EVEN PRINT OFF SOME OF THIS SITE IN HOPES IT ENLIGHTENS HIM IN ANYWAY. I WILL ALSO BRING IN APPLES LIST AND SEE IF WE CAN UTILE THIS INFO.
 THANK YOU AND APPLE FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE. I HOPE THIS IS OK THAT I PRINT PEOPLES OPIONIONS OFF OF HERE .PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS ACCEPTABLE. THANY YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[apple]

Please do...by all means...I did the same thing, printed my posts and brought them in, Usually when I get to the doctor I don't know how to say whats happening. I'm getting better at it tho.

I hope you and your doctor can make something positive happen for you!!!

I hope everyone suffers less by knowing more!

Apple

[mbabynz]

I hope you have a very good doctor i have taken posts in to mine and he wasn't interested in it at all i was gutted but thought hang on I'm not putting up with this I'm changing doctors.I'm not saying that will happen to you but my doc is from old school (silly old fool) :bigsmile:i hope you have great success in it and get answers.we have a big shortage of docs here so we cant be to choosy.
take care
mbabynz