Paxil

[PStanley]

It's been 10 years since I started Paxil. My Dr. gave it to me to help me go out of state to a conference on the east coast with a bunch of educators I work with. I have separation anxiety when i leave home and my family. Well, I got through the conference without embarassing myself and came home and went of of it a month later. A week after I went off of it, my mom died. The day after 9/11. I have been on it again for 10 years next month and I want to get off of it. I am scared because of what i have heard it can do to you when you go off of it. I still have mini bouts of depression even though I am taking an antidepressant. I think that is just life..and others feel bouts of sadness also..It is situational type of depression. Isn't 10 years long enough? Since then, my father has passed away and we had to sell the family home that is 5 houses down the street from me...and I haven't had to be institutionalized...so I must be OK. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

[brookflower]

First, it would be wonderful to be medication free and that may be possible. However, you may be OK because you take Paxil (the medicine may be keeping you from extreme depression). You should talk to your doctor and tell him that you are thinking about going off your medication. If he doesn't think that you should, and you still want to stop taking the medicine; ask him to wean you off before you do something stupid, like listening to some idiot (person who gives you medical advice and doesn't have any medical background) tells you to stop taking your medicine. Your doctor can tell you how to wean yourself from the medication. It will be up to you to monitor for any negative effects. If you end up depressed a month or two later, be aware that the Paxil may not work for your depression the next time. If you read other posts, you will see that many people who do not have MD or DO behind there name telling people to stop there medicine. Are you aware that a nurse can lose her license for giving medical advice. So the people that are giving medical advice in this forum are neither doctors or nurses. That means that they have no medical background. My son tried to commit suicide after going off antidepressant medication. The gun wouldn't fire. He busted up stuff all over the house. The police threatened to arrest me when I tried to go back to my house because I didn't want him to kill himself. They talked me into the police car by telling me that they would drive me the 2 blocks to my house. I had talked my son into walking up to the school to meet me. And on the way to my house the police actually had apprehended my son. There were 5 police cars. The police who spoke to me told me that he went to his brother's house one day and when his brother opened the door, the brother put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, he had no chance to do anything; he watched his brother kill himself and couldn't even stop him. Don't take medical advice from anyone who isn't a doctor. If you don't trust your doctor, then find a doctor that you do trust, preferably a psychiatrist for depression, not a general practitioner.

[pepsilover]

I will give you some input but first I need a couple answers. First are you on brand or generic? What dose? Did yo u have side effects going on it or if you increased it? Are you on anything else? What is your diagnosis?
With these answers then i can try and assists as I am familiar with it well.
Pepsilover