Paxil CR

I've started taking Paxil CR (12.5 mg), and I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about side effects (i.e. sweating, tingling, etc.) and especially if they go away after the initial onset - or if they are more permanent. I've been taking for almost 3 weeks now and while my muscle tension seems less the last couple of days, I'm not sure if this is a new phase.

I've spoken to my doctors previously, but it's hard to describe how I feel. It's not normal, but I'm not sure if this means that it is "kicking-in"

Also - how about alcohol with Paxil ? I hate to quit all drinking, but I don't want to drink right now because I feel worse on less alcohol than before.

Advice? Anyone?

I was unable to take paxil as I had bad side effects. each person responds differently. You know your body better then anyone. I think that you described your symptoms well. Are you feeling better at all? I know that AD's takes 4-8 weeks for full effects.
Im sorry I wasnt much help. Sorry.

What side effects did you have? I'm not sure what are side effects, or just the normal physical effects of anxiety.

Bottom line, is that in the afternoon especially, I feel kinda funky. If it's the drugs, what are my options, and if it's just temporary, then I'll deal with it.

Also - how long should I go without sympton improvements until I try something different or up the dosage.

The most common side effects of Paxil are nausea and headache, which go away in a few days to a week or two. Sexual dysfunction is actually the most common symptom (loss of desire, difficulty having an orgasm or getting aroused). It generally takes 2-4 weeks before any antidepressant starts to take effect, sometimes as long as 6 weeks. Some anxious people prefer to take their Paxil in the AM, as it has an initial very mild sedating effect. Others prefer to take it at night to help them sleep. The medicine works 24 hours so it doesn't matter. Paxil should not be stopped suddenly, as you can go into an uncomfortable withdrawal (sweating, anxiety, panicky).

It can be taken with alcohol, however alcohol in large amounts is a depressant and intereferes with sleep (making heavy drinkers wake up in the middle of the night). Your symptoms of sweating/tingling sound like the general effects of anxiety but is it possible for the Paxil to give you some heart palpitations (noticably strong or quick heartbeats) as you adjust to the medicine.

The FDA recently recalled Paxil CR because a very few of the tablets fell apart in the packaging. Their was no contamination or anything wrong with the medication itself. As a result there may be shortages of Paxil CR. In that case you can take regular or generic Paxil in the following conversion:

25mg Paxil CR = 20mg regular Paxil
37.5mg Paxil CR = 30mg regular Paxil
50mg Paxil CR = 40mg regular Paxil

Paxil is an excellent drug for anxiety.. hang tight.

My side effects were kinda weird. Paxil made me feel like I was in a cloud. I (for the first time in life) didn't have one thing on my mind. I couldnt think about anything. Like my brain was like DUH!! I also had a huge panic attack on it in the beginning. Like I said before, everyone responds diffrently to medications. I am sorry again. I am still no help. : (

Has anyone experienced extreme light-sensitivity or other vision-related side-effects when taking Paxil?

I just started on it last week for depression & anxiety - my doctor told me to take half of the 20mg pill for the first week. My eyes are killing me. I've never felt so persecuted by fluorescent lighting in my life!

i was on Paxil for awhile. i took it at night and had lots of mild side effects, like nausea and headaches...i'm also pretty easily affected by even the most mild of sedatives so i was really sleepy a lot. One thing that didn't help me was that it made me feel very removed from everything, just like i was in a cloud the way that jmo531 said. i didn't really need that since part of my problem in the first place was a rather severe sense of detachment.

one thing to be careful of is DO NOT LAPSE IN DOSES. i made the mistake of waiting to late to get a refill and the pharmacy was out so i had to wait two or three days to get more and in that short time i was a wreck. withdrawal was horrible. my hands were shaking, it added this 3-D effect to my vision which made me dizzy and nauseous and i had panic attacks. be very careful that you take it regularly. of course, like i said, i'm pretty sensitive to medication so that might just have been me.

that was pretty much the only time it really affected my vision...probably because i was mainly in a fog most of the time.

on the other hand (and i know i'm talking too much here), it was good medication and it really helped on days when i had therapy because it helped take the edge off some of the negative effects of remembering. i guess it just depends on what your initial problems are.

Unfortunetly Paxil & other SSRI's side effects will "mellow out", but you will still get the usual (sweating, slight trembling, sudden anxiety, mild confusion,)

Use w/ alcohol differs from person to person; I am an alcoholic & have an extremely high "drug tolerance" (in other words it takes an elephant tranquilizer to put me down) If you're not sure what kind of effect it's going to have on you......take it slow & try to be aware of when things are changing (high anxiety but shrugging it off for more booze to calm down, is one) PLEASE take care, take it slow.................and of course, ALWAYS talk to your doctor about potential side effects FIRST!!

Be careful w/ SSRI's, they're not real safe in more way than one.......my 2 cents worth

No side effects for me from Paxil, and my doc has recently upped my dosage to 40 mg. daily. It's a godsend. Don't be too quick to interpret what you think are side-effects. It may just be anxiety till the med kicks in!!
Seeker

Paxil CR escalated my bi-polar mania into a full-blown major manic episode (at 75mg/day over 6 months). SSRI's just don't work for me. Lithium has been my godsend.

Dolfin