Stress Center Peer Support

Ok so I have social anxiety disorder. My doctor gave it to me (Paxil)for about 2 years and I never noticed any change so he took me off it and I became very light headed and felt helpless. After 2 weeks I was back to my normal self but still suffering from social anxiety.

My dad had to go to the hospital and I took him. I spent all day there and actually passed out from dehydration. My doctor said I was stressed out and put me on Xanax. I actually felt really good on it, but he quickly took me off and put me on Paxil. I was fine with that but now I feel light headed on and off with it. Just like I did when he took me off it.

I went out with my friend and his girlfriend and went to a golf driving range, I was totally fine. I was hungry so we went out to eat (which before Paxil I would never do). I knew from the past I would get a shakey butterfly stomach eating around friends but I was totally calm, BUT I became very light headed. I just took deep breathes and kept my cool.

Even today I was out with my dad and my sisters for fathers day and one minute I felt fine and the next I was dazed and light headed. This bothers me. Before when I would have a panic/anxiety attack I would get a butterfly stomach and want to vomit but now I remain totally calm but get light headed....AHHHHH

Any advise?

I'm new here. I was on Paxil for a while. Loved it and worked very well for my worries. I had a reaction to it and had to get off of it. Talk to your dr about your situation. I can't remember if that is a side effect. Are you doing this program?

i called my doctor to tell him about my light-headed side effect from the 10mg of paxil. He bumped me up to 20mg. Ive been on it for a little under a month. I requested lexapro but he declined and wants me to stay on paxil.....grrrr

Sorry. Hope it works out for you. If the meds don't work, I know you can do it with this program. It works! Just got to do with they tell you

My question of concern would be whether you stopped taking Xanax cold turkey before starting Paxil for a second time. It could be withdrawl symptoms from Xanax that are making you light headed. I have the same problem with anxiety = nerves = nausia = vomiting in certain social situations. Paxil, at least the controlled release (CR) version, should (it does for me anyway) prevent anxiety before it even starts. Your light-headedness sounds like anxiety itself or a medication taking effect. I remember that feeling while on Xanax and BuSpar concurrently, which seemed to kick in only when I felt anxiety.

Give what I told you some thought to consider whether it is really Paxil causing your symptoms. If so, talk to your doctor if you don't like the side effects and don't be afraid to try something different. Meanwhile, use extreme caution when getting off a medication, as medication withrawl can be scary and potential hazardess, such as operating vehicles and heavy machinery when you feel dizzy or faint.

hi lena.
i was on xanax for a month and felt fine with it. I went back to the doctor and he wanted to put me back on paxil which I was on a few years ago (never had lighthead side effect).

But after my dads heart attack and stress he took me off the xanax after a month and gave me paxil 10mg. So yeah I stopped taking xanax immediatly and went on paxil. I was really blah and light headed the first few days.

Now 1 month later I told him the side effect and asked to try another prescrition but he wanted to up the dosage to 20mg. He said to call in 4 weeks if I still have light-headness.

Like you said Im fine when Im alone doing whatever but say for instence I was eating with my friends where I would normal not be to do because of butterflys in my stomach but I was totally calm but my head was spinning

If you still have the kight headedness on the increased paxil than maybe its time for a new med. I take Lexapro and after the first 2 weeks of some minor side effects have felt great on it ever since at just 10mg.

Hi. I was on paxil and xanax for years and the paxil never did a thing for me yet the xanax is the only drug that really helped me. Now that they took me off xanax cold turkey, I have had seizures and my bi-polar has gotten worse. Now I am on so many meds that they don't understand how I don't sleep at night.

If you are only getting the sensation when you are in social settings and you are on it for social phobia in the first place, your doctor's intuition to up the dose might not be a bad idea. Your anxiety symptoms maybe shifted from your stomach to your head with the Paxil - or if you had both before the Paxil and the current dose is only addressing 1 issue, the 20mg might take care of both...make sense?

It sounds like a masked reaction to your original problem and not necessarily something related to the Paxil. But, of course, I'm no doctor, so this is just speculation!

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