so heres a question for you?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Here
Posts: 123
so heres a question for you?
this might be kind of confusing, i am not asking for medical advice i am just looking for experience with paxal?
in feb 06 i went on lexapro(10mg) i have anxiety, i am also an alcoholic so i stay away from benzos! at first i loved it, i wasnt so worried all of the time, it was like a whole new way of life! at this time i had been sober 3.5 years, at the end of april beginning of may i relapsed and had been drinking up until two months ago. at some point, i cant say when, i felt the meds took away my drive, that i was so chill that i just really didnt care about anything. now im sure it wasnt all of the meds, haha, im sure alot had to do with the alcohol too! about 4 months ago i went off of the lexapro completely and have not been taking anything, (with doc consent). so today i went to a new psychiatrist, before i went to a therapist who made reccomendation to my fam doctor on what meds to put me on. this guy came highly reccomended but part of me feels that he didnt actually listen to me, he wants to start me on paxal, he wrote me a script and said we will see u in 4 weeks! i guess i am jsut confused, i know i have anxiety but i dont want someone who is just going to subscribe me anything. could the lexapro have been great and me actively drinking screwed up the effects and just the normal symptoms that alcoholics get make me think it was the medicine not working? i guess i am just confused, i know he is the doctor and went to school and studied this stuffm but of course i feel like i know more then him! hahaha....i just dont know! i have heard very negative things about paxal, my biggest concern is the weight game...
sorry so long, but i guess if anyone can share there experience with alcohol and anxiety, or just any experience with paxal????????????
im confused, thanks
in feb 06 i went on lexapro(10mg) i have anxiety, i am also an alcoholic so i stay away from benzos! at first i loved it, i wasnt so worried all of the time, it was like a whole new way of life! at this time i had been sober 3.5 years, at the end of april beginning of may i relapsed and had been drinking up until two months ago. at some point, i cant say when, i felt the meds took away my drive, that i was so chill that i just really didnt care about anything. now im sure it wasnt all of the meds, haha, im sure alot had to do with the alcohol too! about 4 months ago i went off of the lexapro completely and have not been taking anything, (with doc consent). so today i went to a new psychiatrist, before i went to a therapist who made reccomendation to my fam doctor on what meds to put me on. this guy came highly reccomended but part of me feels that he didnt actually listen to me, he wants to start me on paxal, he wrote me a script and said we will see u in 4 weeks! i guess i am jsut confused, i know i have anxiety but i dont want someone who is just going to subscribe me anything. could the lexapro have been great and me actively drinking screwed up the effects and just the normal symptoms that alcoholics get make me think it was the medicine not working? i guess i am just confused, i know he is the doctor and went to school and studied this stuffm but of course i feel like i know more then him! hahaha....i just dont know! i have heard very negative things about paxal, my biggest concern is the weight game...
sorry so long, but i guess if anyone can share there experience with alcohol and anxiety, or just any experience with paxal????????????
im confused, thanks
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Back in the USA
Posts: 2,661
Hmmmm lets see......
When I was on paxil in 96, i took it for 3 months.
My panic attacks were debilitating. I couldnt cope.
It took two weeks for the paxil to kick in.
(This is where the fun begins)
I went from an introverted, reclusive, antisocial type b personality. Two weeks on the paxil, and I became a giggolo with an attitude. Overly assertive, borderline rude, flirty, overconfident, type a personality.
It wasnt me. It felt too good. The panic and anxiety was completely gone, but so was my personality. I wanted to be normal, not agressive. I felt high on life, like I could do anything, say anything, be anyone. I was fearless.
I point this out as a kinda bad thing because I was losing friends and family. The meds were suppose to help me. And it did, but I felt it replaced my being with an evil side.
Im not saying paxil will do this to you, but just sharing my experience.
Then there were side effects. I couldnt deal with it any longer.
I slowly weaned myself off the paxil after taking it for 3 months. 30 days later, I felt like my old self again, minus the panic/anxiety. I then started cbt which helped me immensely.
Today, I have coped with panic/anxiety for several years without meds. Only when I binge drank did my panic/anxiety return. Other than that, there were no issues I couldnt deal with even to this day.
I hear from others that paxil is hard to get off from and withdrawal is tough. For some, its a life saver, for others helpful or not. I, for one, had an experience unique only to me.
Good luck.
Intro
When I was on paxil in 96, i took it for 3 months.
My panic attacks were debilitating. I couldnt cope.
It took two weeks for the paxil to kick in.
(This is where the fun begins)
I went from an introverted, reclusive, antisocial type b personality. Two weeks on the paxil, and I became a giggolo with an attitude. Overly assertive, borderline rude, flirty, overconfident, type a personality.
It wasnt me. It felt too good. The panic and anxiety was completely gone, but so was my personality. I wanted to be normal, not agressive. I felt high on life, like I could do anything, say anything, be anyone. I was fearless.
I point this out as a kinda bad thing because I was losing friends and family. The meds were suppose to help me. And it did, but I felt it replaced my being with an evil side.
Im not saying paxil will do this to you, but just sharing my experience.
Then there were side effects. I couldnt deal with it any longer.
I slowly weaned myself off the paxil after taking it for 3 months. 30 days later, I felt like my old self again, minus the panic/anxiety. I then started cbt which helped me immensely.
Today, I have coped with panic/anxiety for several years without meds. Only when I binge drank did my panic/anxiety return. Other than that, there were no issues I couldnt deal with even to this day.
I hear from others that paxil is hard to get off from and withdrawal is tough. For some, its a life saver, for others helpful or not. I, for one, had an experience unique only to me.
Good luck.
Intro
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: my own little world
Posts: 9,071
My panic attacks were worse on Paxil as well. I take Lexapro, I recently started taking 20 mg. I can tell you if I drink, lets say one weekend, Im a mess and Lexapro seems completely ineffective for a full week. Ive been blah or anxious if I have been drinking. Its an SSRI alcohol affects your seratonin levels, so your deleting its purpose
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Berlin, MA
Posts: 41
Paxil did the same for me too. For the year and a half I took it I felt indestructable and had no inibitions as well. And coming down off it was brutale. But I did it. Then I learned through my pysch. that if you are bi polar or ADD or ADHD paxil can make you manic. Too bad I didn't know that years earlier. Anyways I am on ADD meds and they are helping me. I recently quit drinking for good and pot has been long gone.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Here
Posts: 123
thank u all!! how sick is my thinking, i just thought for a second a drug prescribed by doctor that will make me feel high and lower my inhibitions! hahaha...definitly an alcoholic over here! i really appreciate everything you have all said, its just so scary to go on meds for me!! so funny how when it comes to prescribed meds i worry about what i put into my body but when it comes to alcohol or taking a million xanax(when i am not trying to live a sober life) i could care less!! very interesting how my mind works!
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Holland
Posts: 90
paxil took away the panic attack attacks but made me a madman for 3 years before i quit cold turkey. In that time I stole things from my family, ended up in jail, drank litres of vodka because I didn't get any hangovers, got evicted from my house, beat people up and got beaten up, I didn't care about anything even personal hygiene or my family etc. etc. etc.
In other words, with paxil I had the worst 3 years of my life.
In other words, with paxil I had the worst 3 years of my life.
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Back in the USA
Posts: 2,661
Originally Posted by nakur 
paxil took away the panic attack attacks but made me a madman for 3 years before i quit cold turkey. In that time I stole things from my family, ended up in jail, drank litres of vodka because I didn't get any hangovers, got evicted from my house, beat people up and got beaten up, I didn't care about anything even personal hygiene or my family etc. etc. etc.
In other words, with paxil I had the worst 3 years of my life.
In other words, with paxil I had the worst 3 years of my life.
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