[Nessa213]

Sorry I've been kind of on and off for last few weeks. It's been kind of a crappy few weeks for me over here. (Ya know... it goes in and out... like it does.)

I just got back from my pdoc appointment and I told him what had been going on. He tells me that I've been getting panic attacks and prescribed Paxil for me. Does anyone else have experience with this?

Even before he wrote it out he expressed concern that I really need to watch out for Paxil as it may induce mania because, as he put it, I have "bipolar tendencies"... fancy way of saying it I guess.

Anyone else ever take it?

[Dylanzmama]

I took it for years before I was diagnosed properly, so I don't know how it works with other meds. When I went off of it (tapering down under docs supervision) I had a manic episode. Paxil has a side effect of grinding your teeth at night-watch out for that...

[BipolaRNurse]

Originally Posted by Dylanzmama

I took it for years before I was diagnosed properly, so I don't know how it works with other meds. When I went off of it (tapering down under docs supervision) I had a manic episode. Paxil has a side effect of grinding your teeth at night-watch out for that...

I also took Paxil off and on for years. I will NEVER forget the day it kicked in, which was loooooong before I knew I was bipolar: I woke up feeling like I'd just won the lottery! My eyes flew open, I popped out of bed like a slice of toast, I got a huge grin on my face and then literally skipped through the house like an overaged third-grader. I think it went on like that for several months---tons of energy, great mood, expansive and productive, didn't need much sleep.....you know, kinda like hypomania.

After awhile it stopped working, so I upped the dose and got the same buzz I'd had before. I got in the habit of lowering the dose in the summer and increasing it in the winter, which I thought was just brilliant. What an idiot I was---I'll always remember the time my sister and I were in Costco looking over Jane Pauley's book about her bipolar, and my sister looked up at me from her copy and said "Wow, I think you have that." And of course, she was right, but I went through another ten years before I was diagnosed.

[Nessa213]

I was in a FABULOUS mood last night... at 4am. Not sure if the Paxil had anything to do with that, but I haven't really had that "ok let's go do some laundry and maybe wash the walls in the middle of the night" feeling for about 3 or 4 months.

I didn't. For the record. I had to force myself to stay in bed since I had to go to work today. (And like the bad worker I am, I'm currently posting this at work.) But my brain was entertaining the hell out of itself.

[A Red Panda]

Originally Posted by Nessa213

But my brain was entertaining the hell out of itself.

I love that. I'm sitting here giggling at that image! My own brain does that too. It's a great way to describe it! hahaha. (seriously, I needed a laugh, so thank you! Lately my brain has been doing the opposite of entertain - it's been harassing itself.)

I was on paxil for years, but it was backed up by Tegretol. They worked pretty well for me for almost a decade. Until, they stopped working, and now, my pdoc won't try it again. Or any other anti-depressant.