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myself said:
The first 2-4 weeks I had many side effects from it but after that I was ok. I was on it for three years. After taking a depression managent class my physician took me off it because I needed to be able to feel a full range of emotions in order to work on my Dissociative Identity Disorder. Antidepressants are meant to keep the person at neutral - not too sad and not cartwheel happy either.

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Hello!

I'd like to help clear up some misconceptions about antidepressants. Yes, many people do get a flattening of affect - or flattenting of emotions -feeling not depressed but not great either. Many report feeling "blah" or "plain" on SSRIs like Paxil. However, that's not the intended effect. The goal of SSRIs like Paxil is to help achieve a "balance" of serotonin between synapses and one theory shows them to downregulate serotonin receptors on the post-synaptic receptor. Which means - that if you have too many or too little serotonin receptors - meds like Paxil work to "correct" the number of receptors. However, as I stated above, this downregulation can also cause flat emotions or anhedonia. Sometimes to combat this, doctors augment Paxil and meds like it with a stimulant (Adderall, Concerta, Provigil) or another antidepressant like Wellbutrin.

So, you could say that this flattenting of emotions is "normal" for SSRIs - but not the intention - if that makes any sense.

As for Paxil itself - many do experiences side effects upon beginning treatment. It's important to follow your doctor's instructions and start low and go slow - meaning, start at a low dose and slowly move up. This helps to reduce the severeity of side effects. Side effects can include: night sweats, weird dreams, irritability, insomnia, fatigue and sexual side effects - among others. However, just because a med has side effects doesn't mean you'll have them all - or any for that matter.

If you are experiencing side effects, I would talk to your doctor about perhaps lowering the dosage for a while so your body can adjust to the medication. Then slowly increase the dosages. As some members have already posted - side effects usually go away within a couple weeks.

I hope this helps!
Jerry