DOSE:

20 mg

oral

Pharms - Paroxetine

(pill / tablet)

BODY WEIGHT:

150 lb

I was prescribed 20 mg per day. My doctor told me that this medication was non-addictive. Even when I described the physical and mental effects I was experiencing from withdrawl, she insisted that this was due only to the bodies struggle to rid itself of a chemical. If this is not addiction then what is? It soon became obvious to me that, after taking the pills for a month, the patient knows far more about them that the doctor and they are, in effect, on their own.

Two weeks ago I took my last half-tablet after gradually reducing the amount I was taking. The side-effects I have experienced are as follows:

1. Panic attacks far worse than I experienced before going onto the drug.
2. disorientation and trouble keeping my balance.
3. Involuntary crying and the feeling that I cannot cope with the slightest problem.
4. Depression and sleeplessness.
5. Stomach cramps and sickness.
6. Dizziness when standing up.
7. Tiredness and mood swings.

I am posting this message because the withdrawl of this so-called non-addictive drug made me feel as though this was my 'normal' state I was returning to. As though this disorientation, that made me feel 'crazy' and out-of-touch with the world was how I was going to feel forever. But this is not the case as i am realising as the time since taking my last tablet increases. My father took Vallium in the sixties and was told at the time it was a non-addictive drug. This is now obviously not the case and I wonder if, in time, the same might be true of paroxetine. The withdrawl effects are severe enough to warrant further tests I'm sure.

Exp Year: 2001	ExpID: 5763
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Mar 20, 2001	Views: 28,587
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Pharms - Paroxetine (148) : Depression (15), Addiction & Habituation (10), Various (28), Post Trip Problems (8)