I often wonder this… what’ll happen 10 or 20 years down the line…?
When I look back on my time on Seroxat, with hindsight I can see the terrible harm it did me then. I can see how it slowly changed ME – the person I was, the person I am… it made me someone different. That is scary. It harmed me physically as well while I was taking it, but at the time none of my illnesses were connected to Seroxat by Doctors.
As for withdrawal, that hit me quite badly. My memories are not clear at all, but I kept a diary during that time and it makes for frightening reading. I don’t pour over it but sometimes I’ll have a look and be instantly transported back in time. But that’s not what I want to talk about.
I’m thinking about the future.
In 2007, I hope that we can all agree on a few givens:
Seroxat is a powerful drug…
Even its makers do not fully understand what it does to the brain and body of patients who take it…
Seroxat has many side effects…
Seroxat is addictive – millons of people find it hard to very hard to stop taking it…
Withdrawal can cause physical and mental traumas…
Seroxat can harm babies in the womb…
Seroxat can cause suicidal, homicidal and violent acts…
Seroxat is not a good thing – it’s not Glaxo’s gift to the world…
What long term damage has Seroxat done to the millions of patients who were prescribed it? What’s going to happen to us all in 10 or 20 years?
And what’s Glaxo doing to find out?
seroxat secrets... 
March 27, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Well, we know who the de juris regulators are. And the MHRA seems to be doing precisely the same as GSK. Meet the de facto regulators, chaps – because the likes of us are the only ones asking the awkward questions!
Matt
August 2, 2013 at 4:36 am
I have come off Seroxat after using it for 5 years. A month after using it I noticed that my sex drive died completely. Now that I am off the drug, not only has it returned but it has returned with a vengance. I am 50 years old now and I wake in the morning with an huge erection. I need sex the way I have never needed it before. Constantly. It is taking over my life. The only thing that matters to me is sex. I was never like this before in my whole life! Being single now (I started on Seroxat because of my divorce after 25 years of marriage), I am now a frequent Swinger. I go Dogging and pay prostitutes for sex. I will have sex with someone new at least 5 times a week. I don’t even lose my erection after I have reached orgasm. I just carry on! Does anyone else out there have the same problem? Because this is ruining my life! It may seem funny to some people, but not to me at my time of life, and not having a partner who I could bang all day every day. I am really becoming desperate because nothing else matters to me. I can’t work and I don’t even eat because all I want to do is have sex. Please tell me there are others with this problem!
August 24, 2013 at 4:48 pm
I think this site here may have some answers to you and most of the people here – New Rat Study: SSRIs Markedly Deplete Brain Serotonin http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mad-in-america/201011/new-rat-study-ssris-markedly-deplete-brain-serotonin – As I see it comparing to other hormone drugs is turning off the natural serotonin in the brain- why should the brain keep on trying to keep up the serotonin if a “outsider” is doing all the work? So no wonder that people even feel worse or can not get off these “mind over taking drugs “- and other too much estrogen lower serotonin and also testosterone and both man and female need testosterone to have desire to have sex – Look at all the food we consume-all pestisides- all the plastic containers which all go into estrogen ( sorry my English- Im Icelandic and English is not my language) and all these are making man less man and well..womans more prone to breast cancer..Other..the reason why woman not get pregnant when they are on the p-pill is that the chemicals in the pill tell the brain that we are pregnant while we are on th pills! So think about the womans who get moody- put on weight- get bigger breast and tender -blood pressure op and all…all same as some woman get while pregnant…! Anyway look into this ..that will not harm you do it and tell others.. SSRIs Markedly Deplete Brain Serotonin http://pssd.forumotion.com/t72-ssris-markedly-deplete-brain-serotonin – Most SSRI drugs contain Spdium Fluoride – Hitler was the first one to add it into the drinking water in the nazi camps ..why? Because it make people easier to mind control and less fertile! These bastards are working on to make ll a mind controlled slaves! I know to many people who have taken their life and also others on these drugs..so..well..one thing these drugs seam to work fine for is cutting down sex drive – = not making babies= depopulation….I just hope you and all other who post here know there was nothing wrong with you probable in the beginning…but markeeting and selling drugs and inventing new types of illness that is the case… Now what was called Passion is called Obsession ..they can not prescribe drugs for passion but when re-named to obsession..then it is other case..Sex on Antidepressants http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/05/05/sex-on-antidepressants/
December 20, 2013 at 4:10 pm
I had a normal happy sex drive/life with my husband before going on the drug, I lost nearly all sexual feelings after taking the drug and was very rarely interested in sex all the time I was on it. I came off the drug after 13 years, almost immediately I experienced excessively strong sexual feelings and would climax up to 7 or 8 times each time. these feelings died down after several months. I wonder how long you have been off the drug?
March 27, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Have you considered joining the withdrawal & recovery group
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Withdrawal_and_Recovery/
March 28, 2007 at 3:45 am
I know of one Seroxat user who was permanently damaged from Seroxat, ( Paxil in the US) , she was paid a settlement by GSK and subsequently gagged …
She suffered neurological damage to her brain …
Im sure there are many more similar cases of this happening…
Anyone who has been on Seroxat or other SSRI’s long term has been a human guinea pig…
December 15, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I think i may have the same 😦 it would have been nice to be able to chat to someone who has suffered the same
August 24, 2013 at 4:04 pm
I think this site here may have some answers to you and most of the people here – New Rat Study: SSRIs Markedly Deplete Brain Serotonin http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mad-in-america/201011/new-rat-study-ssris-markedly-deplete-brain-serotonin – As I see it comparing to other hormone drugs is turning off the natural serotonin in the brain- why should the brain keep on trying to keep up the serotonin if a “outsider” is doing all the work? So no wonder that people even feel worse or can not get off these “mind over taking drugs “- and other too much estrogen lower serotonin and also testosterone and both man and female need testosterone to have desire to have sex – Look at all the food we consume-all pestisides- all the plastic containers which all go into estrogen ( sorry my English- Im Icelandic and English is not my language) and all these are making man less man and well..womans more prone to breast cancer..Other..the reason why woman not get pregnant when they are on the p-pill is that the chemicals in the pill tell the brain that we are pregnant while we are on th pills! So think about the womans who get moody- put on weight- get bigger breast and tender -blood pressure op and all…all same as some woman get while pregnant…! Anyway look into this ..that will not harm you do it and tell others.. SSRIs Markedly Deplete Brain Serotonin http://pssd.forumotion.com/t72-ssris-markedly-deplete-brain-serotonin – Most SSRI drugs contain Spdium Fluoride – Hitler was the first one to add it into the drinking water in the nazi camps ..why? Because it make people easier to mind control and less fertile! These bastards are working on to make ll a mind controlled slaves! I know to many people who have taken their life and also others on these drugs..so..well..one thing these drugs seam to work fine for is cutting down sex drive – = not making babies= depopulation….I just hope you and all other who post here know there was nothing wrong with you probable in the beginning…but markeeting and selling drugs and inventing new types of illness that is the case… Now what was called Passion is called Obsession ..they can not prescribe drugs for passion but when re-named to obsession..then it is other case..
March 28, 2007 at 9:43 am
This post is very thought provoking.
I still suffer with short term memory loss. A five minute walk to my local shop sees me repeating the shopping list of three items whilst walking… it has become such a joke now that the shopkeeper suggests things I may have needed upon my five minute journey there!
I also have a very low tolerance to sudden loud noises and on occasions feel like John Hurt in the Alien movie (Scene where Alien rips out of his stomach)
Question is…. will I be like this for the rest of my life?
I certainly wasn’t like it before I was given the ‘wonder drug’
Fid
March 28, 2007 at 10:35 am
There are many symptoms I still have 2 years off Seroxat and my biggest fear is that some of them may be permanent, but no one can help and no one can give us any answers.It really angers me there is so much help out there for smokers, drinkers, street drug addicts, but nothing for us!
May 1, 2012 at 8:56 pm
No help for drinkers unfortunately, unless you fancy AA……spesh ones who’ve been on Seroxat in past….. so think before you post!!!! (not meaning to be stroppy…just telling it from diff angle!) xxx
March 28, 2007 at 10:59 am
I was thinking about more serious problems really – I’m wondering if Seroxat/SSRI users might be more prone to develop diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s or perhaps cancers… because all SSRIs are basically unsound drugs, but have been marketed to such vast numbers of people for so long there’s the possibility of a massive time bomb that could make the problems we today attribute to Seroxat use pale into total insignificance.
January 20, 2012 at 9:00 pm
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT AND I HAVE JUST COME OFF THIS DRUG AFTER TWENTY YEARS. THE DR GOT ME OFF IT ONLY AFTER I DEVELOPED P L S A RARE MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE ONE IN TEN MILLION I GOT OFF IT VIA VENLOFAXINE SPELLING SUSPECT WHICH ITAPERER OFF SO THAT I AM DRUG FREE TOO LATE FOR ME I AM ONLY LEARNING TO USE A COMPUTER SO EXCUSE MISTAKES
December 20, 2013 at 4:03 pm
PARKINSON’S DISEASE – a very serious disease. They used to say it results in death now some experts say it doesn’t cause death but it does really. It is extremely difficult to get palliative care for parkinsons because of the financial cuts even though experts say palliative care is needed throughout the disease.
I have every single symptom of parkinson’s disease and my gp said it was the seroxat/paxil/paroxetine it goes by different names, that had caused all these neurological problems. I was on the drug for 13 years. I was put on it after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia that went misdiagnosed by my doctor for 6 years which led me to feeling a bit depressed because I did not understand what was wrong with me. I also experienced all the other problems to do with the drug as well.
PLEASE, PEOPLE GET OFF THIS DRUG! Parkinson’s goes mainly undiagnosed. they call it drug induced Parkinsons and believe the symptoms will go away when you come off the drug. This is rubbish! Some of the symptoms may ease for a few months then they come back. Then they call it Parkinson’s disease. You will be lucky to get a diagnosis. I am only 52 and I have advanced stages of the disease. I have told my family if/when I die they must insist on an autopsy and inquest to prove that I had Parkinson’s disease.
This drug is now being called the “thalidomide” of the brain.
This drug causes serious BRAIN DAMAGE.
Dementia is also a big part of Parkinsons. I am mainly bedridden and wheelchair bound. I can’t even wipe my own nose for big parts of the day. I am intelligent and have full capacity of my mind and then have periods of severe brain damage and dementia for other parts of the day. Every system in the body eventually becomes affected. I was a successful business woman in the UK before all this.
If anyone wants to speak to me about the symptoms please do not hesitate to contact me, my e-mail is lindylooo11@btinternet.com
March 28, 2007 at 3:20 pm
obviously being a long time sufferer here from seroxat,still worrying lingering symptoms ect,this is something that scares the crap out of me.I wonder if i will ever work again,ever tolerate stress,improve my short term memory,and the big ones what is there to come for the rest of my life,am i now doomed.I am a 37 year old woman who wants a life again ,but i really dont know what damage i will be left with,does anyone?.
After 30 mths off the crap i still feel like i have altziemers already,so will i have it for real in later life?,i suppose we are just the poor victims who will have to be the ones to find out,because lets face it,GSK don`t even know how the god damn drug works ffs,and its only now the drug has been around and fed to millions of unsuspecting poor souls,that they chose to tell us this.
Sorry but its about time now they gave some straight answers.
July 18, 2017 at 5:31 am
Hi, sorry to hear of your situation. I myself am a Seroxat addict, I can never come off it !! Tried several times, but it’s they only drug that works !!
After 10/15 years on it I now feel like I’m loosing my mind, but no-one will listen !
Could you give me any advice from your experiences that may help !?
I’m 40 years old, with a life of a 70 yr old !
Any advice appreciated
January 8, 2019 at 11:48 pm
My goodness I’m replying to your story on Seroxat. I do hope you can come off it. I was on it for 5 years I ended up in hospital for 3 months while trying to withdraw. I am doing ok now off it for 15 years but still have flash backs. Wishing you well x
April 10, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I have to say I ponder the same questions as the rest of you who have posted. What if we never had a low Serotonin level and this was artificially increased to the point where our brains have forever been damaged. The drug certainly had a detrimental effect on me, like most if not all of you I suffered a horrendous withdrawal reaction to the drug, what lies ahead? I’m prescribed more drugs than ever before 30mg Diazepam, 30mg Zispin, and 400mg Pregabalin in the aftermath of Seroxat. I’ve been diagnosed as suffering ‘Severe Panic Disorder’ something I didn’t suffer previous to Seroxat, in my view Seroxat was the cause!
July 12, 2014 at 1:15 am
I also have severe panics apart from the PL S I mentioned but now they know I am a survivor of childhood neuroblastoma they call it ‘radium poisoning’! Pull the other leg- I am a young 65 who cannot walk.So now it’s not PLS – it’s radium 60 yrs later Mensa but I can no longer remember events accurately.Crosswords – I’ve to keep checking the clue as I forget………When the Professor told me it was Radiation it gave the medical profession a convenient excuse.My reply was to show him a photo of me fat and spaced out on this drug .He said a bit heavier and I showed him another with the same child in my arms( grand-daughter) 5wks later and slim.They all cover up for each other. let’s all get together and sue Glaxo Kline……No? I had 5 yrs of Hell getting off this- electric shocks etc and I should never have mentioned the childhood cancer in retrospect….gave them a great excuse to free that improperly tested drug from blame. Can we organise a legal challenge against all this suffering?
April 14, 2007 at 9:33 am
[…] What will the be the long term effects o […]
April 25, 2007 at 11:07 am
I used seroxat for about 1.5 years, after 2 months of using it it had strong impact on me, I became very agrissive, I had fights with my boss, my wife, taxi drivers, etc.. I don’t remember having a single fight before seroxat for 15 years at least. I resigned from my job, almost devorsed my wife and put all my life upside down..
Stopping seroxat was not too hard by reducing the dose for about 1 month, not too easy but not very hard..
2 months after stopping it, I was in a stressful situation and I had a panic attack for the first time in my life, it was bad and I thought that this is the end, I’m going mad, the attacks happened like 2-3 times a day.. very bad experience during the attack.. I tried to deal with it but I couldn’t stop it, so I started using Xanax which was said to be good for panic attacks, never had one after that, but I have been using xanax for 1 year now, and don’t know how to stop it, I feel dependant on it..
I strongly believe that there was a relation between stoping the Seroxat and having the panic attacks, although that I was exposed to a situation that trigered the attack..
April 29, 2007 at 9:32 am
[…] What will be the long term effects of ta […]
April 29, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Oh the Ironies of Seroxat…( they just get better and better)
Prescribed for Panic and anxiety…But it states Anxiety as a side effect?… And if you miss a dose, not only will your head feel like its been squeezed in a vice, but you will have the mother of all panic attacks thrown in for good measure.. (think heart attack and stroke and you will get the picture)
Prescribed for depression, but can make you suicidal, think suicidal thoughts and has a littany of side effects that would not only make you depressed, but just might kill you….( serotonin syndrome)
Prescribed for post traumatic stress…
But the trauma of a common severe withdrawal reaction will give you stress on a level you didnt realize was humanly possible to experience…. Post traumatic stress would be a picnic compared to a severe Seroxat reaction in withdrawal…
( Think.. your worst nightmare, and then some… )
Prescribed for OCD…
But it might make you a homicidal-aggressive-zombie freak… And give you OCD on top of that…( akathisia, depersonalisation, derealization )
Prescribed for social anxiety and generalised anxiety….
And shyness…
But could make you sweat profusely, have muscle spasms, nightmares and literally shit your pants in public places (not good for the social life , you would have to agree… )
Yes Seroxat…. it’s a funny old drug…
June 6, 2007 at 8:24 pm
My thoughts and feelings were pretty frightening before taking Seroxat, so it has definitely helped. Unfortunately I have gained a lot of weight (am not overeating) and realise there is a certain level of detachment I’m kept in by the drug. I have taken it for 3 years.
I am trying to decrease the amount I take (20mg). Done it before but the feelings I get are frightening. Am trying to reduce dose crumb at a time, leaving a month or so before each reduction. I feel I should maybe exercise more and take brain enhancing nutrients e.g. vit B complex and omega 3 oil. Am researching that side of things…
June 6, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Good luck Debbie, just take it slowly and carefully. It’s not a race!
Have you looked in on Paxil Progress? The link is over in blogroll just to the right side of the page – they will be able to help with the vit B complex and omega 3 oil stuff. Just join up and post a message.
September 14, 2012 at 4:55 pm
You can also get seroxat as a liquid so you can come off it even slower than reducing the tablets, though my doctor didn’t know you could get it in liquid form!!
June 15, 2007 at 10:09 pm
People thinking about the possible long term effects might like to read the book Prozac Backlash. The book The Anti-Depressant solution supposedly takes people step by step through figuring out how to get off ssri’s with as little misery as spossible.
July 17, 2007 at 12:52 am
I was on seroxat for over a year I went up to 60mg at my peak. The key is reducing and increasing the dose very slowly to find the level. I was reducing for 6months before I came off.
However, my memory and concentration are not like they were in the past. It might be the class A drugs I took that caused me to have a nervous breakdown thats at fault… It’s years ago now. Somehow after mixing loads of drugs I found that everyday I woke up feeling sick with anxiety, not nice. I couldn’t speak and avoided people. I suppose you could say going on to seroxat saved my life, but maybe it also ruined my brain.
If someone was a bit down I wouldn’t suggest ssri’s to them. On a light note being on 60mg is like a mild e-trip every day!
July 30, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Have been taking seroxat for 9 years now, cannot come off dispite two attempts, horrendous long term side effects including memory loss, hallucinations, vivid nightmares ,unable to distinguish from reality, problems with perception, especially under stress. Has been real trouble.
October 24, 2012 at 11:57 pm
My husband has been on Seroxat for 25 years. \He was also drinking a lot and his blood pressure was heading to dangerous levels so his GP put him on a BP tablet. Three weeks after starting on BP Tablet he got violantely ill as a result of a seizure. He vomitted stale blood(coffee grind). He was in ICU for 3 weeks and is now over the physical effects of the seizure but his short term memory is badly effected and suffering with nightmares, confusion and the poor guy is is the darkest of places. He is still getting mini seizures and one full blown seizure even though he is on Ebulin. His scans show a white marble effect in both right and left temporal lobes. The doctors are puzzled by the scans. They thought he had contacted Encephelitis and now are not happy with that diagnosis. They are doing a brain bioply shortly to see if that throws light on the subject. He is in Rehab at the moment. Has anyone anything to add. My gut feeling is the combination of Seroxat, alcohol and BP tablet may have caused this damage. The doctors dismiss my theory and I am left with a husband that is 24 hour care and left terrified of what the future holds for our family
December 20, 2013 at 5:13 pm
GO TO THE SITE drugs.com and it can tell you all the interactions of different drugs and interactions of diseases with those drugs. I was shocked to find out how many contra-indications there were for the prescription drugs I was taking. it showed my doctors to be negligent. I am in the UK and the full extent of all my GP’s negligence is still coming to light. Make sure to scroll to the bottom of the pages to read information for health professionals. It is very illuminating. The side effects listed for the general public do not draw our attention to all the serious medical conditions those side effects represent. I have come off ALL my prescription drugs.
I was admitted to hospital with very serious symptoms of SEROTONIN SYNDROME. They say it is rare but seeing as doctors fail to recognise it very often, the statistics would flag it as being rare. The symptoms are profuse sweating, high temperature, high blood pressure, irregular or fast heart beat or pulse and body spasms. I also developed loud involuntary vocal noises and stuttering as well which I had never ever experienced before. I had top to toe spasms that looked like seizures. It can be a very dangerous illness that can cause death if not treated quickly. I was very seriously ill with it. I had told my doctors about the sweating and heart beat reaching ridiculous proportions for over a year previous and also mentioned my blood pressure was always on the high side or borderline high as well. So look out for these symptoms and if they become worse. I also experienced some spasms and jerks in my arm and hand prior. The US health advisory bodies started issuing warnings about serotonin syndrome and now the drug company have been made to put it on the leaflet in the seroxat box.
I now still have all the symptoms of parkinson’s disease caused by the seroxat after coming off the drug. I had so many of these symptoms before but did not realise what they were. it was only because I was left with the involuntary vocal noises, stuttering and much worse jerks that I found out the other symptoms were also parkinsons related. I had already been suffering advanced stage parkinsons symptoms and had not realised which isn’t surprising when considering all the brain damage problems this drug causes. I have made another post regarding this.
August 6, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I took seroxat for almost 2 years, given to me by my therapist for borderline personality disorder. Very shortly i went from 20mg to 40mg. I gained weight, my eating habits were super unhealthy, i started taking more drugs and alcohol, changed jobs and boyfriends all the time, had a lot of suicidal thoughts etcetera. i stopped taking seroxat unplanned and cold turkey. I could say i went to hell and back during cold turkey but it surerly convinced me that this drug was not doing me ANY good. Stopping with seroxat is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I am learning by myself how to deal with my borderline and how it is just a part of me. seroxat created more symptoms and made the symptoms `i had much worse and I really dont understand why it is still given to so many people who ate made victims of this drug. What does scare me is what the effects of the drug will be in the long run…i only took it for 2 years but how will that effect my brain now or in 20 years from now?
August 9, 2007 at 9:12 am
I find it rather intriguing reading the different affects people have had on this drug.
I have now had four episodes of depression in the last 12 years, and was told after the third to keep taking anti-depressants for the rest of my life to stop the imbalance of low serotonin levels in my brain.
However, things were going so well in my life at the time, that I kept forgetting to take the medication, and after 6 months or so, I had stopped taking the drugs.
I was alright then for a couple of years, didn’t think about it, and then I lost my job. Within a few weeks I was unable to think clearly, didn’t want to know about life, just wanted to die.
However, I have since gone back on to seroxat. Initially, I shook all day and felt sick for a couple of months, but then things started to calm down.
I now take seroxat every morning, and have done for over 2 years now, to me it’s like a vitamin tablet, I need it to function properly!
I’ve now changed my career, and neary completed my studies to be a qualified accountant, so I don’t think I have been affected by memory loss somehow. I feel more positive and able to take life in my stride – it may not always go well, but keep things in perpective.
I guess I’ll have to carry on taking Seroxat now, don’t think I could do without it, but it does concern me a little if there will be affects in 20 years time, but at least I’ll be around to find out.
In terms of weight gain, I have gone up and down throughout my adult life, increasing every time I’ve felt better but on medication. However, this time I have solved this – just set one of your goals to get fit. I did, and I’m now fitter than I’ve ever been, it’s good for your mood as well.
Good luck everyone, let’s hope we are all around to blog about this 20 years from now!
August 9, 2007 at 9:50 am
Good luck Martin – I think that 2 years in I was happy with Seroxat – but I’ll bet my house that one day in the future you won’t be so positive about Seroxat… and I don’t know who told you about the serotonin imbalance rubbish but that is simply NOT true. Go back and ask whoever it was to tell you what is the correct level of serotonin for a man of your age and then ask them to measure what level you currently have.
Let me know what the answers are.
August 29, 2007 at 10:10 am
Hello – I took Citalopram for a year and then venlafaxine for 18 months. I recognise a lot of the experience that people have mentioned with initial positive feelings about the drug, only to realise that it is actually doing harm. I stopped taking venlafaxine over a year ago and still feel much ‘altered’. My memory is damaged (by this I mean short and long- term memory) and my sense of self has been confused by the whole disorientating experience. As I realised what had happened I got very angry but refusing to accept the position I was in only compounded the problems. I have now acccepted it and have found over the past few months that the feelings of utter numbness have thawed slightly. Please can someone who has toughed it out for longer than a year tell me whether they have found that the post-withdrawal problems get significantly better over time or do I have to accept that this is what I am like now?
I regularly get this sensation that my brain has switched off, especially once I am tired – I don’t mean that I am just too tired to think – it feels like a total absence of sensation. I also feel reduced physical and emotional sensation. I am positive that this is due to my brain having become dependent on venlafaxine – and, without any scientific knowledge, wonder whether the please pathways, particularly associated with dopamine, have been altered in my brain because I do not enjoy music anymore and am now hyper-sensitive to alchohol (one or two mouthfuls of wine or beer completely alter the feelings in my brain). Of course, I have not met a doctor who does not think that any of this is anything other than ‘anxiety’ and I have pretty much given up on a solution other than to keep on accepting and not fighting the position I am in. From what I now understand about depression, I never had severe depression in the first place and, as far as I am concerned, should never had been given medication.
Can I recommend Mindfulness Meditation Therapy to anyone who feels that they have suffered a problem that has chronic implications? There is an 8 week secular programme that was developped by Jon Kabat Zinn for chronic pain and then developped for depression in the UK as Mindfulness Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. It is very useful for anyone who has to accept living long-term with the reality of something painful, whether that is physical or psychological.
September 7, 2007 at 1:58 pm
I used paxil/seroxat for four months in 2000,nobody included my doctor believed me when I complained abouth the drug. I also didn’t like listening to music or watching a movie anymore what scares me, it is the first time someone (Iestyn) mentioned this.instead coming off valium with the use of seroxat I now need sleepingpills aswell.I am too sick too sue the gsk factory.
September 17, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I have been taking seroxat for 7 years now, should I have been taking them for this long?
September 18, 2007 at 5:38 am
Everyone is different Nicola – I can’t possibly advise you. If you want more information and to discuss what you’re feeling, then the place is Paxil Progress.
Good luck.
September 23, 2007 at 8:16 am
I have been taking paroxetine/seroxat now for nearly 12 years- like some of you- at first it was great and I got my life back- 2 years ago I started to feel dizzy all the time- i had various tests including hearing and even an mri- nothing could be found. Then I read that dizzyness is a long term side effect of seroxat. The dizzyness became worse (or I just started to panic) and then I became obsessed with it and was convinced that I was going to pass out and die. It was a real problem especially when driving. I started to reduce the drug on my 40th birthday this year- March 12th 2007. I was taking 40mg- today I am on 15mg. I feel crap, dizzy, tired , anxious, nauseous, night sweats, panic , feeling that you are dreaming etc etc- I have reduced the dose by 5mg each time and didnt get these extra side effects until I reduced from 20mg to 15mg. I reduced about 1 month ago now and i feel so desperate. I just want a normal life- I want to enjoy my children, my home etc etc. I have to sleep for 2 hours each afternoon and I still wake up knackered.I cant drive far I cannot exercise- I feel fat and ugly I eat crap because I am so unhappy .Cant someone help me? PLEASE i am so desperate. My GP thinks I should increase the seroxat back up to 20mg but then how can I ever get off it?
February 8, 2010 at 12:19 pm
How are you doing? Did you get of of Paxil?
September 24, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Hey Sarah
I would advise you to check out paxilprogress.org
http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/
Its a forum for people who have been and are going through paxil/Seroxat withdrawal ect..
They are very helpful and supportive people there..
All the best..
🙂
November 12, 2007 at 2:10 am
My wife has been taking Seroxat for almost 12 years. At the moment we often do not see her before 1pm or later each day since she seems to need vast amounts of sleep. Is this a side effect experienced by others?
November 18, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Hey Brian
!2 years is an awful long time to be on Seroxat. About the need for a lot of sleep. Yes, Seroxat has powerful sedative properties, it can make you sleep a lot and is very common. Maybe get her to come here and learn more about Seroxat. Alternatively she might want to contact paxilprogress.org , its a web site that helps people come off Seroxat(called Paxil) in the US. All the best. 🙂
http://www.paxilprogress.org/
November 30, 2007 at 7:51 pm
My brother is on and has been Seroxat tablets for the last 17 years!! From reading information and watching programmes on this, I think this the longest someone has been them.
My mum and I would love to get him off the tablets but no professional person will try – I think they are just to scared.
At the moment my brother is in hospital and has been for 9 days. This is due to his anxiety, agrophobia and his drinking problem. My brother never used to drink before went on the Seroxat tablets, now he is an alcoholic!! He says that he drinks to self medicate himself as the Seroxat is not working for his anexity, for which he was prescribed the tablets. His illness is worse now than when it started all those years ago – but what can you do?? He suffers really bad withdrawels from them if he misses them for one day!!
We wish someone could help but the answer we keep getting is that there is nothing anybody can do. Because he drinks heavily now, the professionals say that they can’t take him off the tablets because of the drink but he can’t give the drink long enough because of his panic attacks!
We thought with him being hospital this time something would be done but it seems the same thing is going happen, they will send him to a place to rest and then send him home after a few days. This is no good because it will just start again!
Since starting the Seroxat tablets my brother has become an alcoholic, been sent to prison, beaten up his sister, been violent to his girlfriend, comitted numberous crimes, self harmed himself, tried to commit sucide, been abusive to the family, wreaked my chance to get married, lied to my mum – the list could go on and it’s all because of these tablets!
My brother is a completly different person now from what he was!!
Just felt that I should let you know this as I, my mum and my brother feel let done by the system.
February 8, 2010 at 12:26 pm
has your brother gotten of paxil? how ?
December 2, 2007 at 9:54 pm
17 years on Seroxat, thats the longest I have ever heard of..
Poor guy, It sounds like Seroxat really has its grip, I can only imagine the turmoli your brother feels, I was on it for almost 4 years and i had most of the symptoms/personality changes you described about your brother.
He is very lucky though, to have a sister who cares , and im sure he needs a lot of support, so well to you Lynette.. 🙂
Here are some contacts for your brother..
Email Michael Corry, he is an Irish psychiatrist who is against the use of Seroxat and he helps people to come off Psychiatric drugs, he is a very good doctor and he is totally against the drugging of mental illnesses. and the deceit of drug companies.
admin@depressiondialogues.ie
Also you could try David Healy, another Irish Psychiatrist , based in Wales, he is also an expert on Seroxat and the problems it can cause…
e-mail: Healy_Hergest@compuserve.com
David Healy
Cardiff University
North Wales Department of Psychological Medicine
Hergest Unit
Bangor, LL57 2PW United Kingdom
Also you could Try Andrew Herxheimer , he is also a medical expert on the dangers of Seroxat…
Andrew Herxheimer
United Kingdom Cochrane Centre
London, N3 2NL United Kingdom
The Seroxat users group is good too..
http://www.seroxatusergroup.org.uk/
I wish you all the best in helping your brother, I am sure he needs all the help he can get, Seroxat should have been banned years ago, I would be pretty sure that the Seroxat has caused these changes in your brother, but if he is on Seroxat that long, he is proably very lost and severly dependent on it, even though it is causing him harm..
If he can try to taper off it very very slowly,( as slow as his system can tolerate) he might not suffer the worst of the withdrawals..
I hope he can find help…
Good luck 🙂
December 2, 2007 at 10:28 pm
One quote that stood out was Martin’s : ‘I now take seroxat every morning, and have done for over 2 years now, to me it’s like a vitamin tablet, I need it to function properly!’
…and they say it’s not addictive huh?
Fid
December 3, 2007 at 1:35 pm
….and they say it’s not addictive huh?
Yeah total Con Job Fid…
They prescribe you a drug like seroxat which in turn makes you become dependent, and the withdrawals are so bad that you feel you cant function when you miss a dose… ( in my estimation thats a physical addiction)
Hey Glaxo! When are you going to set up a Seroxat withdrawal and detox center for all the Seroxat addicts in the UK??? …
Or would doing that be too much of an acknowledgement of the truth about your nasty drug and the grave misdeeds of your dispicable company…. ?
January 25, 2008 at 10:27 am
ive been on seroxat for 15years im now 37 yrs when tried to get of it in 97 was really ill
February 11, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I’ve been on seroxat for 8 years now. I went though a pregnancy on them. My now 6 year old child has not shown any kind of symptoms or disorders. Seroxat saved me from a severe depression. I don’t see why I should get off them. I have some side effects, and yes, we do not know the long term effects, but do you realise how invalidating and dangerous a depression can be?
February 25, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Paroxetine 30mg has been a total lifesaver 7 years down the line.
Fairly upsetting thoughts before the drug.
Slight change of personality but not in a bad way.
Insufferable headaches and vivid dreams when not taken.
Prob on it for life but am one of those rare cases of OCD.
August 31, 2016 at 5:59 am
Have been on this time 14 years, previously as stint of 6 years. I cannot get off, have tried. The severe mental symptoms I was having are related to Adrenal failure, I have Addison’s disease and other chronic diseases. Question is are the tablets causing the afdrenal failure or did the adrenal failure cause the servere mental symptoms. The write up for mental symptoms of Addison’s would suggest it is the disease. However I might never have needed the seroxat had they treated me for my disease instead of depression, ocd and anxiety.
Lately I am very dizzy on lying down or turning laid down and cannot walk without losing my balance. I have brain fog and I am morbidly obese without over eating. That could of course be down to the replacement steroids. who the hell knows? 😥
March 13, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Rita Says:
February 11, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I’ve been on seroxat for 8 years now. I went though a pregnancy on them. My now 6 year old child has not shown any kind of symptoms or disorders. Seroxat saved me from a severe depression. I don’t see why I should get off them. I have some side effects, and yes, we do not know the long term effects, but do you realise how invalidating and dangerous a depression can be?
Hey Rita
Your child is lucky, seroxat can cause malformations in newborns, GSK warn about this now..
Being on Seroxat for 8 years is a very long time, but of course it is your decision to continue , it is extremely difficult to quit Seroxat though when taking it long term..
I myself do realize how dangerous and debilitating Depression can be , having suffered from it myself, but i can honestly say that depression before seroxat was a walk in the park compared to the how i felt after 4 years of Seroxat….
All the best..
March 13, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Nicola Says:
February 25, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Paroxetine 30mg has been a total lifesaver 7 years down the line.
Fairly upsetting thoughts before the drug.
Slight change of personality but not in a bad way.
Insufferable headaches and vivid dreams when not taken.
Prob on it for life but am one of those rare cases of OCD.
Nicola the insufferable dreams and headaches you describe are withdrawal symptoms.
Its your choice to stay on it..
And I this blog is just highlighting the dangers..
Good luck with your journey..
🙂
March 28, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Hi, I have taken seroxat for 11yrs, after losing 2 babys, through no fault of my own.
I was prescribed this junk by my doc, hailed the wonder drug, no side effects Blah the liar! Taking the drug no problem until my body became intolerant at the 10yr mark, and I was forced to decrease. Because my gp tapered me in the wrong way, and I was extremely ill, he then gave me propranelol, diazepam and prozac, when none of these further drugs were having any effect on my terrible withdrwal symptoms he then decided ” just stop the pills I gave you, no wean, no nothing. So here am in the worst throes of w/d you can imagine, severe brain fog and mental problems imaginable, after 4.5months, I end up back on seroxat but only at 20mg, because my doc reckons its a return of my original depression, caused by the loss of 2 babys, My God 2 lose 2 children is the pits, and how I hate to say this, but to go through w/d off this crap is 1000 times worse, than anything I have ever experienced in my lifetime. You would naturally be grieving and depressed if this happened to anyone, and especially, not long after my mum who was diagnosed with stress/anxiety dies of stomach cancer. Well what can I say, yeah I thought I knew what depression was, that is until I Tapered from seroxat, the chemically induced depression you get from this drug is the worst form of depression I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE, along with the debilitating anxiety/panic attacks, I also never suffered from prior to tapering.
Where can we go to for support? NOWHERE, no-one believes what this drug has done to thousands like myself.,
No DOCTOR, can offer any help with side effect problems, WHY? cos they say there aint none – we are up the swanee without a paddle, and after w/d is that going to be the end of the nightmare,
March 30, 2008 at 8:39 am
I have been on Seroxat for 19 years, so maybe this is the longest I don’t know. What concerns me is what damage is being caused to your internal organs, which no one has seemed to mention. I have tried to come off seroxat many times and have been suicidal and the withdraw is extremely dangerous, even after cutting seroxat down you still get the withdrawal problems, shaking, sickness, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts. My memory has been bad for some time now and before I read all these comments I would not have thought it could be the seroxat, I’m thinking differently now!!
April 2, 2008 at 2:47 am
To Belinda And Adjopom ..
Welcome ..
11 years is a long time to be on Seroxat and 19 years is definately the longest I have ever heard of Belinda , my heart goes out to both of you, having gone through Seroxat withdrawal myself, i understand the horror it can bring..
Inform yourself from this site..
Great info here.. and great links to other sites..
Refer your doctors to this blog too and check out paxilprogress.org .. (Seroxat support site ) ..
I hope things get better for the both of you soon..
🙂
April 20, 2008 at 6:31 pm
i believe i have been on Seroxat for the past 20 years and thank God I was recommended them. what lots of you are forgetting is that most of the symptoms you now associate with seroxat could have been there before or would naturally have been felt over the years. why did you take seroxat in the first place? obviously because you were not functioning without them. would you rather have stayed with your ocd or risked it getting so bad that you wouldn’t have been able to lead a normal life. I m not saying that I couldn’t be better but had I not taken anything, done nothing about my condition, I’m sure I’d be much worse off. unfortunately, one of the drawbacks is that they’re pretty expensive.
June 1, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Im sorry but you really haven’t got a clue what your saying. You say that the symptoms may have been there before seroxat, I did not have ocd or a drink problem before treatment but developed them on ssris which landed me in prison and losing my job of 14 yrs. I had a stable life before ssri’s but turned into a zombie with dangerous behaviour I consider myself lucky for still being here. You are one of the lucky ones if you havent suffered any side affects why are you posting ?? but others have suffered and these websites are life savers for many who have nowhere else to turn. So if you cant comment by being supportive of others than I suggest you dont bother.
May 10, 2013 at 9:08 pm
i took seroxat for about 5 years for panic disorder and depression.the medicen saved my life!it putted my brain into an order, it gave me back the joy of life,it made me dream of future again and plus it increased(back then) the sexoual intercurse a lot!im OFF seroxat for about 4 years now.back then the only side effects iuse to have was to sleep a lot of hours and feel a litle nomb sometimes.i cutted the drug grandoually and same time started yoga ,meditatione,running,painting and guitar and got merried!i!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! experience now no side effects.i think seroxat as all medisens fixes something and hurms something.someone has to mesure his problem and if his life is no life at al,l seroxat is a hope for his future.dont take such medicans whithout , mesuaring the risks.as for those that fells difficult to stop drugs just find a hobby and stick with it.i also think that some herbs might help some individuals(not abuse,just when needed)valeriana.pasiflora rhodiola.chamomile.check also l thianine and melotenine.hoemeopathy also gives good resalts in mood problems.jogging too!there are so much safer things alternative to seroxat ,prozac and staff like that.drugs must be your last choise.as for the memory problems some of you have try b6 and b12 vitamins with gingo bilimba, meditation, and reading books of your interest.it wont do miracles but itll help a lot.and for the last, try to focus on the soloutions and no to the problems.this is the way promblems get solved. i hope the best for your lifes because all lifes are a gift and important to the existance.(please sorry for my bad eanglish).
December 20, 2013 at 5:40 pm
The longer you are on it the worse the risks are of permanent brain damage.There are so many symptoms that you wouldn’t think would be important that have very serious consequences attached to them.
Please understand that this drug can and does cause Parkinson’s disease. I have all the symptoms of advanced stage Parkinsons. This is not the only prescription drug to cause it. this is not a secret and the drug companies and doctors know this, it is well documented. They call it drug induced Parkinsons and believe the symptoms will disappear when you come off the drug, this is not entirely correct. Some symptoms ease for several months then can come back at a later time and then they call it Parkinsons. they are then not treating this Parkinsons as drug caused. it is very difficult to get a diagnosis for Parkinsons. I predict in another 20 years all hell will be breaking out over this.
I too was led to believe a lot of people require this drug for life. This is why I stayed on it for 13 years. It is not true. The fact is the drug doesn’t actually work well for depression for that long. Many people still suffer depression while on this drug.
December 20, 2013 at 6:52 pm
To answer your question, I have Parkinsons disease caused by seroxat. I most certainly wouldn’t have had this condition otherwise. I am 52 years old.
I also suffered a life threatening condition called serotonin syndrome that was caused by the seroxat. I certainly wouldn’t have been seriously ill with this condition otherwise either.
I was placed on seroxat because I was feeling unhappy because my doctor failed to diagnose me for 6 years and I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia. What I actually needed was a correct diagnosis to get an understanding of the condition and physiotherapy. I got neither. The only thing I got was seroxat and was wrongly told most people need to stay on it for life. I had young children and was a very successful business woman even with the fibromyalgia.
Both the conditions I encountered are known to be caused by this drug by the medical proffessions and governing and advisory bodies to the drug companies. This is why the drug companies are made to put the warnings on the packets. Serotonin syndrome is now named on the packet. Neurological symptoms related to Parkinsons are also listed on the packet, but unless you are a doctor or health professional how would you know that a collection of vague sounding symptoms amount to something like Parkinsons Disease or Motor Neuron Disease. If you only knew all the diseases and irrepairable damage to your body’s systems and organs this and other prescription drugs can cause. The drug company who make this drug placed over 3 billion English pounds to one side to pay compensation to people for some of the the law suits. I am not sure if they were actually made to put this money aside for this by their regulating body who found them guilty of misconduct. The opinion is they are going to need a great deal more than this amount of money. Drug companies do not pay out unless they are liable. This is the tip of the iceberg, how many people like me don’t have the money to take on this large drug company? How many cases are settled out of court and are bound by a silence clause?
The truth is, the majority of people who are placed on this drug become worse off than if they had never gone on it. A great deal of people never needed to be placed on it in the first place, it is over prescribed. the drug company were also found guilty and brought to serious account for recommending it for children when it had never been approved for minors and still isn’t.
I cried when I read one young persons statement about how they physically held him down and forced it down his throat against his will in an institution for young people and children. He said the staff used to call out to the children, ” Come and get your happy pills kids” then the night staff used to place bets and pay some of the children to fight each other
I have had my solicitor draw up a living will and advanced directive of decisions that is legal binding. With parkinsons disease you eventually lose capacity of your mind due to dementia. I have made my wishes clear about what drugs I do not want to be given. Seroxat is right at the top! doctors are warned that this drug and others like it can make Parkinsons Disease worse yet they still prescribe it to these patients who quite naturally feel down or depressed coming to terms with having the condition. Can you imagine how I would feel being prescribed this same drug that actually gave me all the Parkinson;s Disease symptoms in the first place?!! My fear is that doctors can work a way around these living wills to do what they want to you.
May 5, 2016 at 9:45 am
I have a friend who has been on Seroxat over 16 years. Her personality has completely changed. Despite pleading for help to come off it her GP says she can’t. She is 78 years old and her brain is so bad that she cannot remember basic things like when I mentioned my granddaughter had Chicken Pox she asked me wgphat on earth it was! Also she gets the shakes at night. I am so worried, but the Doctors do nothing…..
April 24, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Oh My God Mary Louise ..
20 years on Seroxat! Holy shite!
I can only imagne your withdrawal, it could take another 20 to come off them…
You have completely missed the point of this blog..
This is not about wanting to be on medication, being happy to take medication or being naive enough to think we need medication for emotional disorders…
This is about the fact that GSK didn’t warn about the severity of side effects or withdrawal reactions…
Both of which can be horrific .
If you haven’t experienced withdrawal and you are happy to continue taking one of the most notoriously toxic and dangerous drugs on the market then that’s your choice, but don’t have a go at those who are wise enough to know better…
May 22, 2008 at 10:23 am
Seroxat is good for the peop who needs it to have a better life qulty….. yes in the end of the rode it is bad to use it and live pecfully, but some time you have to do something to go on with life other than hearting your self or others.
well i am on it for the past 5 years and guss what? i heat that but i got to leave.
love you all
May 26, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I just got prescribed seroxat by my doctor, but I got Paroxetin, which is supposed to be the same. I started taking 10 mg 3 days ago. last night I couldnt sleep, I was up for like 2 hours just shaking, and I couldnt stop.
My question:
– arent the mediaction supposed to kick in 1 – 3 weeks after you take then, and not two days?
– did any of you have shaking as a side effect?
Today I was different then any other day, I was outgoing, and I was OK with my life. not too good and not too bad, just fine , and it felt good.
May 31, 2008 at 4:37 pm
To Pitbull ..
If you are on Seroxat 5 years, your body has become dependent on it, and if you try to come off suddenly you will hit a withdrawal crash. Best to wean.
To Milli ..
Sounds like you are on a Generic ( cheaper copy) of Seroxat..
If I were you I would stop taking the Seroxat as soon as you can, read the stories here..
Seroxat is poison..
They say that the medication takes a few weeks before you feel the full effect, but it will be in your system as soon as you begin to take it, the shaking sounds like Akathisia to me, Seroxat can cause all sorts of nervous system disorders from brain shivers to spasms, tics and tremors…
If your taking it for anxiety or depression, it would be best to address why you feel the way you do with a good psychotherapist, drugs like Seroxat do not cure emotional problems, they mask them, the when you try to come off after some time, all hell breaks loose and you end up 10 times worse than you were originally..
All the best to both of you..
🙂
July 3, 2008 at 9:02 pm
I have been on Seroxat for about 20 years for depression and anxiety. I too have found coming off the tablets impossible! I have terrible short term memory and I feel that this drug has changed my personality. I am far more confident than I used to be. However, I can also be aggressive and confrontational. It would not surprise me if I end up with Alzheimers! On the other hand, I know that if I hadn`t been prescribed the drug, I would either still be very depressed or dead!
July 7, 2008 at 5:59 pm
When I was 19 I was prescribed seroxat for depression by our family gp – with hindsight a good talking to would have been far more effective! I took it for a couple of months and felt spaced out, decided to stop and get stuck into my studies and experienced withdrawal symptoms so literally weaned myself off it. I didn’t think much of this until recently when I read an article and realised it is a common problem with the drug. 11 years later I am troubled by terrible night sweats and occasional terrifying nightmares which leave me thinking my heart is going to explode out of my chest. My doctor has no idea what causes the sweating but I have never connected it to the seroxat before – could it be related after 11 years??
July 9, 2008 at 3:42 pm
My doctor has no idea what causes the sweating but I have never connected it to the seroxat before – could it be related after 11 years??
To be honest Nicky, and not to alarm you but I think that Seroxat is one of the most dangerous drugs ever made , anyone who has ingested Seroxat has actually been a human guinea pig…
It would be difficult to say what is and what isn’t from ingesting Seroxat and that is why the drug companies get away with so much, because the effects are so hard to prove..
One thing I do know is, I have never been the same since Seroxat, and I know of others who are much worse than me , all as a result of taking Seroxat on trust…
That said, I think you will be ok after 11 years off it, that’s just my opinion and I am not a doctor …
Take care 🙂
December 20, 2013 at 7:25 pm
Absolutely, the sweating is connected to the seroxat. that was the main symptom that went away after I stopped taking the drug. Be very aware about the risk of a very serious life threatening condition called SEROTONIN SYNDROME that is caused by seroxat and is now listed in the warnings on the leaflet. One big symptom of this is profuse sweating. I suffered this. They say it is rare but I am not convinced because most hospitals and doctors miss it. Watch out also for higher blood pressure and a racing or irregular heart beat, higher temperature and any muscle spasms or jerks.
I was telling my GP about some of these symptoms a year before I became suddenly very seriously ill with Serotonin syndrome. Even when I had sudden onset of full head to toe body spasms that looked like fits, critically high blood pressure, dangerously high temperature, profuse sweating and severe dehydration, fast irregular heart beat and involuntary vocal noises and stuttering speech problems, my doctor diagnosed a water infection! The hospital found NO water infection and couldn’t find out what was wrong with me. This condition needs to be treated within 24 hours or can and has caused death in some individuals
July 11, 2008 at 9:00 am
Hi Everyone,
I stopped taking Seroxat March 2008 having reduced the dose from 20mg to 10mg and alternating days of taking it over the course of 5 or 6 weeks with my G.P.s knowledge. I had taken the drug for around 8 years because each time i had tried to wean myself of it i felt unwell – dizziness,nauseous, and emotional. I remember having a chat with a G.P. 6 years ago regarding long term use of Seroxat and was told that i was ok to take it all of my life as i was probably not producing enough serotonin. But anyway as i said, i have been off it now for several months and feel quite unwell at times -nausea and the feeling of butterflies in my stomach is almost constant. Dizziness comes and goes all day long but is especially bad when i am tired. I am trying very hard to remain positive i keep fit and work full time.One, withdrawal?symptom that has gone now is the whooshing noise i used to get in my ears and the strange sensation when i moved my eyes from left to right. Yes i too have nightmares and i dont sleep anything like the 12 or 13 hours per night that Seroxat induced.I must say its good to know i am not alone as this is a scary experience. Best wishes to all. Anne
July 11, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Hi Ann – welcome to the party… you stopped taking Seroxat quite quickly and you haven’t really been off the stuff for that long, so I would guess you’ll still be feeling pretty rubbish for much of the time.
I hope your GP no longer subscribes to the serotonin imbalance theory as we all know today that’s complete bollocks!
I think you’ve done really well to stop taking it though and things will improve for you… albeit slowly.
August 14, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Hi Everyone, I took seroxat for 2 years, I got hallucinations that were so frightening. I would try and walk out into my garden and I felt about 3 inches tall and the plants were like the rainforest. My most disturbing side effect was a real loud buzzing noise that I could feel going from one side of my head to the other. It was so strong sometimes it would make me lose my balance. I had this 2 years after I stopped taking this drug. Like many others it changed my personality. I was confident, assertive and very driven before I got prescribed it. To this day some 15 years later my concentration is non existent and short term memory is just a joke.
Really glad to have come across all the stories about this toxic drug. Still have awful insomnia, nighmares, night sweats and anxiety.
I don’t think we will ever find out the damage this drug can truly cause.
Drug companies are very powerful, and offer lots of incentives to G.P’s to prescribe it. I remember being told by my G.P it wasn’t addictive!! It was like coming off heroin, total nightmare!
August 24, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Hi all
I am just at the start of my fourth withdrawal – some four weeks in – and I am determined for this withdrawal to be my last. I am planning this withdrawal over two years and reducing using the liquid form of Seroxat, coming down from 30mg to nil. I’ve been on this drug for 11 years, since I was 19, and I have almost killed myself on each of the three previous attempts at withdrawal.
I am writing to wish all those who are attempting to withdraw the best of luck and my support. I encourage everyone to inform themselves as much as possible about withdrawal – there are lots of sources of info out there now.
I’m hoping that this very protracted withdrawal will assist in enabling me to finally be free of this drug, which ultimately, has ‘kept me on hold’ for all of my adult life and prevented me from ever getting to know the real me.
Although I’m scared of what the future might hold being off the drug, because I feel so addicted to it, I want to know myself away from Seroxat and be given the chance to live in whichever way I choose.
I admire all those who are committed to withdrawing from this drug.
August 27, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hi all
I had a breakdown in 2004 and was prescribed seroxat – it has been hell ever since. I never had suicidal thoughts in my life before taking it but am now plagued by them. I have made lots of irrational decisions and have lost my career and my famioly. I am constantly on edge and would advise anyone thinking of going on this poison not to. I am off it now and he been for a month. Still trying to get my life together again. My wife does not believe that this stuff did this to me as I was Mr Happy prior to taking it. This stuff is evil and should be withdrawn now!
Is there any more plans for Panorama to expose GSK further?
December 20, 2013 at 8:05 pm
I hope Panarama are going to do more exposes of this drug and the drug company who make it. I wouldn’t hold my breath on the full truth coming out for another 30 or 40 years. Look at what the BBC did with the Jimmy saville issue.
I am keeping a diary with as much information as I can on what seroxat has done to me. I am also considering writing to the panarama programme makers to make sure they know about the Parkinsons connection, and how drug induced Parkinsons disease comes back as permanent Parkinsons only a few months after stopping taking the drug. Nobody is taking the drug induced Parkinsons as seriously as they should because they wrongly believe the symptoms disappear after stopping taking the drug. The class action in the USA for seroxat causing Parkinson’s disease is now buried, I can’t find it anywhere, if anyone knows about this or any other similar case please can you let me know.
GPs are making mistakes so don’t report the incidences in order to cover their own backs. Your GP is supposed to carry out a drug review on you every 6 months. My drug reviews consisted of the doctor reading out my prescriptive drugs and me confirming I was on them.
There are prescriptive drugs that also interact badly with the seroxat so I checked with the easy to use site called drugs.com, I was shocked at how many contra-indications there were on the drugs my GP had prescribed me. Watch out for a drug called METOCLOPRAMIDE it was prescribed to me at the same time as seroxat for over a year.it is a red warning alert for doctors not to prescribe it for patients on seroxat (or paroxetine as this drug is also known by other names as well).
August 27, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Dez – I suggest you get your wife to look at this site. She can email me if she wants to and I’ll happily tell her what happens to people when they take Seroxat.
You’ve only been off a month, so take it easy – there’s still a long way to go.
Good luck.
October 28, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Thank you for this great site! i have been on seroxat (called Artemis in Spain) for 10 years now. Gradually been reducing the dose over the last 5 years (yes it has taken me that long!) so I can finally come off them, but scared about the future as still prone to panic attacks and don´t know how i will cope if not taking seroxat atall. Thanks for all the positive comments and wisdom on this. I will keep reducing the dose (now on approx 15mg 5 days out of 7) and see how I go….
Liz
November 14, 2008 at 1:05 am
Hi,
I’ve been on and off the same medication since my late 20’s. Now at 34 I have accepted that these pills help but I can relate to what you are all saying. I have put on loads of weight and its hard to feel emotion. I don’t want to be on these but know it stops my panic attacks and axiety bouts. Its very hard to come off and I’ve come off them a few times, my longest period being 7 months but now it last for three to four weeks and I relapse. When coming off I cut my dose slowly and take my time but there’s no time when I’ve felt healthy enough to kick them for ever and think I could be smitten (addicttied).
December 2, 2008 at 10:27 am
Hi all, it is a bit of a relief reading some of your posts but also really scary. I was on Seroxat (only 30mg) for about 7 years for OCD/depression. I had several attempts at coming off it and finally did at the beginning of this year. I was so pleased with myself. Since then I have plummeted and have this overwhelming feeling as if I have just ‘woken up’. I have done some awful things whilst on the drug and had wondered if it could have been due to it?! Reading these posts has made me think it’s possible. I don’t know what to think. I’ve been put on Prozac 20mg but it’s doing nothing for my anxiety. Do you think 30mg seroxat could have had effects where I ‘didn’t really know what I was doing’? Sorry to babble on so.
February 12, 2009 at 5:31 am
Wow………. I don’t even know how long I’ve been on and off paxil………12,15 yrs? got on bec. cancer, divorce, job loss, move, then off, ….after several months so so depressed; dr advised me to start again. repeat ..repeat..
found your site and education ! hope! the depression is a side effect of w/d !!!!
yep, my personality’s changed. I’m still loving, caring but not outgoing and playful; causious and shy.
phyisical side effects have been horrendous…hearing loss, tintitus, severe itching, alcohol abuse, constantly doing, going; hard to sit still, teeth grinding, anxiety, food alergies up the kazoo, weight gain even tho I eat healthily and exercise.
a meditation practice has been a wonderful addition to my life these last 7 years. I’m down to 10mg and quit as of 2 days ago.
left messages for the 2 docs that have prescribed the paxil; have not gotten a call bk.
wish me success.
thank all of you for your input.
February 16, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Hi everyone
Just wanted to let you know my story. I was put on Seroxat in 1994 when I was 17. I took it on/off for 2 years and already felt it was addictive. I then came off it quite suddenly because i was worried about drinking with it and suffered a breakdown, hospitalisation etc etc. I was only 19. I believe it was the Seroxat that caused my sudden depression/anxiety breakdown. I begged to be put back on Sx cos I knew it would make me feel better. It did, but I am now 32 and still on it! However, good news is I have been reducing it very gradually for 2 years and am now down to half a tablet (10mg) every 7 days. I did it by cutting down to 10mg every 2 days, then every 3, every 4, every 5 etc. I then stay on that pattern for about six weeks before adding another day. I plan to continue until I am taking 10mg every ten days and then that should be it. I tried SOOOO many times to come off it before and felt horrendous but this seem so far to be really working for me and I have barely suffered at all, although I know it is a very long process and not what the doctors recommended (generally they were unhelpful and crap, either “come off it if you want” or “stay on it if you want”, ie, forcing all the decisions on to me but still making out they are privy to “expert” knowledge ie, drug representatives’ spiel). Anyway, just wanted to say, I think you can come off it – you just need to find the right time and the right way. It is an awful drug though.
February 17, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Hi Liz here again.
Had to go back up to 25mg sertraline one day 17mg the next as withdrawal so bad. Some people have suggested going on to Prozac to make withdrawal easier, but I am not sure if I should do this or just reduce dose very gradually as on sertraline for 12 years. Any advice appreciated.
June 20, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Hello everyone.
I have been on seroxat for 1 year and had to take other stuff also in the past ( efexor, prozac…)
It really helped me and thanks to the seroxat i could build a strong base for myself to continue my life on a way better level
now i am off for more then one year and i notice my weight is still higher as before, but maybe also because i am more relaxed and less stressed.
imy opinion:
the reason why so much peole write here is because they are still depressed and still full of anxiety and psychotic behaevor ( dont want to offend sorry)
if they have a problem they make it bigger and get trapped in the anxiety trip….( i know what i m talking about).
i am off and have a dow to earth view on the subject, but if you are still depressed you get those crazy panic toughts about everything.
also about seroxat.
good luck to all of you
om mani padme hum
December 20, 2013 at 9:18 pm
Check out the side effects list on the leaflet in the box and work out what diseases these side effects represent. Some of these diseases affect your nervous system and other vital systems in the body. Don’t expect to find all the side effects spelled out or listed on the leaflet.
Check out the 3 billion pounds the drug company put aside to pay compensation to some people in law suits, NOTE this was not money to fight the law suits but money to pay the COMPENSATION to people who’s lives they destroyed with this drug.
This drug is known as the “Thalidamide of the mind” The perfect crime. because the crime is against some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
Lots of people are also being prescribed this drug just because they have hit a unhappy time in their lives because of a physical illness, not a mental illness and this drug is very actively being pushed on them and is over prescribed. It is a far stretch of the imagination to assume everyone complaining about side effects from this drug, was or is psychotic, depressed or anxious, and for those people who do suffer these symptoms, well shame on the drug company for exploiting, using and abusing those people for monetary gain. Plus it is highly probable some people only became psychotic, depressed or anxious after taking the drug because the drug itself may these problems. This drug has already been proven to cause people to commit suicide, and the drug company have paid out a huge amount in compensation to families of these suicide victims. Young people have been found to be especially vulnerable to this drug and that is why the UK government have issued warnings to GPs about prescribing this drug to young people. if you did not feel suicidal before taking this drug there is a strong risk you may feel suicidal after taking it. If you had suicidal feelings before taking this drug there is a very strong risk you will feel suicidal after taking it.
If people still continue to feel anxious, depressed or psychotic as you say, while on the drug, then I make the point that I and others believe very strongly that the drug doesn’t work or it stops working after a period of time.
I have my own experiences of this drug and I too am a very down to earth person like yourself and also a very intelligent person, in-between the episodes of terrible brain damage this drug has caused me to suffer on a daily basis.
Like many other individuals families, my husband and family have witnessed at close range what this drug has done to me. The families and spouses of these people are not stupid and they are in close proximity to their loved ones.They know the person on and off the drug better than anyone including the doctors. These family members are not depressed, anxious or psychotic, their opinions are important and count for a lot. My heart goes out to anyone going through this completely alone, I know how hard this is and it must be truly awful for you. Please know there are people who really care about what happens to you. I don’t know you, but I care.
To help make a difference, something small you can do is to go to the yellow card scheme online and leave a report of any symptoms or side effects you suffer from any prescription drug. I only found out about this today and I am going to take a look with a view to recording my reactions to this drug. I’m not sure if it is a government run scheme to amass data to utilise on side effects and reactions to drugs.
July 7, 2009 at 6:25 pm
my opinion:
the reason why so much peole write here is because they are still depressed and still full of anxiety and psychotic behaevor ( dont want to offend sorry)
What a ridiculous statement to make…
Have you lost touch with reality altogether? ..
So you’re on Seroxat a year?…
Enjoy the “honeymoon period” while it lasts …
July 8, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Hi Everyone
I’m Andy, I’m in the UK and have been on seroxat for 10 years now and was originally prescribed it for severe panic and anxiety attacks.
Over the years I have had good and bad times, I’m currently on another withdrawal attempt which is going well. In September 2008 I was taking 20mg per day, I then started to alternate this to one day 20mg, next day 10mg, the side effects were minimal to none, over time I added a extra day where I only took 10mg until I was at 10mg per day.
January this year I switched to seroxat liquid, using a syringe to measure out my dosage, I have reduced this by 0.5ml (1mg) at a time. I am now down to 1.5ml (3mg) per day. I recently went to Bulgaria for 2 weeks where I attempted a 1ml a day but the side effects were too harsh so I have gone back to 1.5ml, I’m sure I will get steady at 1ml soon by alternating the dosages as I did with the tablets explained before.
I wanted to share this information with you to let you know withdrawal is possible if done steadily and easily, I know what it’s like to search the web about seroxat in search for ANY positive feedback or some hope of a light at the end of the tunnel.
At this point in time my short term memory and ability to do simple math is somewhat appalling, and I think I can safely say looking at other posts this is a side effect of either withdrawal or long term use of seroxat. I still feel depressed alot although looking at my life from outside the box I should be happy.
I would love to hear from anyone who has managed to come off seroxat altogether and managed to get their brain activity back to normal or pre seroxat state, if anyone has done this, please let us know how you did ie and give us some hope !
Also, handshakes and hugs to everyone else out there struggling with this drug, and remember you are not alone, and it is the drug, you’re not going mental and you’re not stupid. If you do laugh during a funny film or moment, smile at a great event, cherish it so you can remind yourself you are not incapable of happiness. Try and think positive and make a list of reasons to smile in your life, family, pets etc etc and let this be a constant reminder.
&
Burn in hell GSK
July 8, 2009 at 7:18 pm
I have read so much about Seroxset this past three weeks trying to find answers and I have to say I feel so sorry for everyone who has taken it. My sister had a full Hysterectomy a few years ago and 5 years ago she was given seroxset to help the lack of seratonin, it was a 10 mg daily. If it sounds like I don’t know what I’m talking about I don’t. Don’t know how to spell it, never mind use it, anyway she seemed to be ok and I didn’t know she was taking anything and we meet up twice a week. About 12 months ago she started to experience confusion, her husband noticed her eyes were empty one day only for a few minutes but then it got more frequent. At times she didn’t know what she was doing, where she was going and who she was. She has a job and loved it, looked forward to going in to work and didn’t want to take time off so stuck with the weird feelings until she wasn’t able to concentrate any longer on the tiniest things. she went to her doctor and he gave her more Seroxset…a 20 mil tablet which she took for 6 weeks until her memory lasted only ten minutes.It has got to the point where when I call her to ask what she’s done, she makes stories up, been to the shops, saw friends etc when in fact she has’nt been anywhere,she sits and stares into the garden.Conversation tires her out and she’s tired all the time, she doesn’t eat and her weight has plummetted to 7 stone, she shuffles instead of walking, her headaches are frightening and cold towels around her head are her only relief she has gone from a vibrant woman to a harrassed one. Her husband brings his work home so she is not alone and I visit but she doesn’t know I’ve been.My heart breaks when I see her and I really don’t know what to do. Her husband is absolutely marvellous and he’s also hurting, neither of us can believe it. He took her to a doctor last week who said reduce the 20 back to 10 which they have done and she has an appoinment to see a mind phsyciatrist next week.I have taken down the names of the doctors you mention which gives me and has given her husband so much hope, a life line just knowing someone out there might be able to help. there is no doubt in my mind at all that Seroxset however it is spelt is bad in more ways than one and a living hell to my sister and all those who love her. i wish everyone who takes it could walk away from it, could use the power of positive thinking and lean on a loved one and not a tablet but thats easy for me to say…there but for the grace of God go I.
Mrs Allen
August 31, 2009 at 2:52 am
I’ve been on Seroxat (20mg) now since 2004 so it’s nearly six years since i popped my first one. In all honesty i’ve never had a problem with the drug. If i miss a dose or two i do start to feel very aggressive and not really in control of myself so i dread to think of what i’d be like coming off them, but then again, i feel a plan coming on to take GSK to court for making me rob a bank whilst going cold turkey, lol. I haven’t had an urge to drink alcohol, infact my drinking days came to an end after being sent to prison in 2004 which is where and why i was prescribed the drug in the first place AND i quit smoking 18 months ago without a problem and i’ve never looked back. I’ve never really been in trouble with Police before and i’d certainly never been to prison so i was shaken up and very anxious by the whole situation which is why the Prison quack forced Seroxat down my neck, i didn’t have a clue what they were but his exact words were, “They’ll take the edge of your anxiety”. I did suffer from anxiety beforehand many years ago for quite some time and never really let it control me so much but that’s a different story. Anyway, i went to jail for beating some muppet up who basically picked a fight and was punching well above his weight. I’m a very big feller.. Next thing is… i wake up every day and go straight to the cupboard for my Seroxat. It’s bliss ! 6 years on Seroxat and i feel like a million quid.. Am i the only one who doesn’t give a monkies if i have to stay on them for the rest of my life ? Some people take cocaine, weed, speed and whatever else every day of their life and still live to cash their pension. Some people smoke like chimnies and drink ale like fish every day yet they’re still on that stool at the end of the bar coughing,slurping a big cold glass of ale and cracking jokes. More recently i feel i’ve been scaremongered by all these websites/blogs over other people’s experiences of Seroxat which sound really bad and it’s making me think, what if ? and, should i try and come off them ? But why should i cease taking them if i feel good ? I don’t get bad side effects. The most i get is a bit of a messed up sleeping pattern and a dry mouth. I don’t get nausea, i got my partner pregnant and my erection/ejacualtion is better than ever so no bother there. My diet and eating are good. Sometimes i feel like a bit of a weakling but i have to carry around 19 stone of musclemania and it gets tiring so live with it. Aparts from that i’m a happy 33 year old male who just rolls with the punches life throws at me..
October 10, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hi! I was prescribed seroxat because I had some pretty severe panic attacks and I was headed for a severe depression. I only took it for about 2 weeks and in 20 mg doses. At the begining I saw some good effects as before I couldn’t even eat or drink. I then stoped using it and had some side effects. Anyhow I managed my anxiety after having read this book: “Human Givens – How to Master Anxiety”. The authors are Joe Griffin & Ivan Tyrrell, from the UK. In the end it’s only a problem of software in our brains. Suggest you read it also!
P.S. I think that seroxat is bad on the long term but useful in some cases on the short term.
November 12, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Hi, I’ve been on seroxat 12.5 mg for 1 month now, my doctor has suggested that i go on it for another 2 extra months, then quit taking it. Can i quit taking the 12.5 mg dose straight away or do i have to cut it down gradually. I know that those are lowerst mg u can get on seroxat pills. I am also taking xanax 0.5 mg on anxiety attacks, but i can feel that I’m gradually building a tolerance to it. Please any advise is appreciated, as I am very worried now about continuing on the drug after reading all the comments and side effects from it from long term users. Thanks
November 25, 2013 at 7:39 pm
you have to cut it down gradually or ull have very bad withdrawal effects
January 7, 2010 at 1:24 am
Firstly this is only intended for those who have problems with the drug, some are fine on it, so if your not suffering with any problems then keep taking it but for those of you who felt anything like I did read on…
I took this drug about 12 years ago @ 20 years old, doctor was useless and tried to convince me it was all going on in my head and that the drug was perfectly safe – I weaned myself off it after 8 months of what I can only describe as torture, I started to have what I can only describe as fits and my father (who had some experience of clinical depression) knew I had to come off it and we decided I would go against the doctor and get off it ASAP – it was making me feel worse then the depression it was for.
This is how… I took the pills alternate days then halving it over a few weeks, but THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP IS: when I felt unbearable sensations i.e panic attacks hallucinations etc I would take a 10mg tamazipam (sleeping pill) and chew it (it has no flavour) and then let it dissolve under my tongue within about 10-15 min I would start to feel like a human being again – it put me incontrol of my thoughts and stopped any panic attack they don’t put you to sleep they just take the edge off, do this while on them and coming off and then as necessary after took me approximately 4-6 years to feel 99% again and I find it hard to explain to average folk (so I don’t bother normally) the kind of hallucinations audio disturbances, suicidal feelings I felt etc – you guys know if your going through it – I just want you all to know that although many years on you will get better I say 99% because I still think I get kind of symptoms only on an extremely mild level sometimes when I’m dehydrated (after a drink with my mates) I find that when they appear they take the form of mild hallucinations and vivid dreams.
Be strong you will make it made my personality is now cast iron strong and nothing scares or phases me now because I know what fear and hell really is – unfortunatley its still like it was yesterday ok maybe the day before yesterday but you know what I mean.
After comming off this drug (over 10 years) I lost weight went down from 17 and half stone to 12 and half, I went on and completed a Masters degree in diabetes and work for a major london hospital – and to think 10 years ago I was in phisical agony like I was sitting in an acid bath, was watching angels flying around my bedroom and being told by a nurse I might have to be sectioned.
Be strong your all here today reading this and so am I so you can do it, this drug (for some) actually makes you feel like you’ll never get off it – if that makes sense? It’s not just an addiction in my opinion it distorts your sense of will power too so just fight it and you’ll come out the other side, and no its not just going on inside your head.
If anyone wants to contact me even by telephone I will try to help if I can, and best of luck. Greg
February 8, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Hi, I have a brother I am worried about. I have been gone for about seven years and now I am back wondering how no one sees he is in trouble. They know he drinks and assume what they see is caused by that. Being eleven years sober I tell them there is no way. I find out he is one paxil and now xanax. I heard he likes the calming effect of drinking on them. He does very strange things and does not seem to care or no how to care about his life. I look at him and know he is confused.
I tried to contact his doctor and you know hippa, I did make myself clear to them about his drinking in hopes they would tell the doctor. I am going to make an appt there myself to try and speak with him.
The bad thing is I have been gone and we are not close enough for him to talk to me anymore.
People are concerned and dont understand, they think he should get help. Oh, at lot of good that does to trust doctors or exspect him to want to help himself, I dont think he has a clue what is going on.
What to do?
March 29, 2010 at 6:22 am
Hello! i have been on seroxate 20 mg for 2 years now! i cant imagine if i can get rid of it.
mmm i feel miserable and unfunctional really. I feel as i am good the day long BUT i do not have any hope in anything. just sleep and wait tomorrow and just like that.
I think there are so many long term feelings that increase with time as you are (involved) in taking seroxate day by day, dependance, addiction moreover nervousness, feeling empty without emotions without love, confused most of your time and nervousness outbreaks that make all people who love you change their minds. you make them ( who love you) disappointed and keep trying to understand and develop a way to deal with you.. that is like the shit..
i am 30 years, but seroxate sometimes makes me feel as you going to throw your self or hang your self (suicidal) that is it.
April 30, 2010 at 11:17 pm
I am 59 years old,and over 20 years on seroxat. I have to say seroxat lift my deep deprsion symptoms and change my life not only to fill good but woke up with in me desire to achive in my life things beyond belive. I tried to gradully reducing dose from 30mg to 20mg but after several days i started to fell usless,and decided to came back to previos dosage.I dont really know if i ever will be without seroxat. i am happy and have normal life i do not wont back to “black days”.I dont worry of long term side effect of seroxat i prefer live shorter and live good than live long and misreble.
July 2, 2010 at 1:35 am
I was given Seroxat for depression at 17. My functionality decreased on it. 6 months in, I missed a dose and felt a bit odd. The same thing happened a week later and I found myself craving the next one like a drug addict. Realising something was not quite right, I threw them in the bin and went cold turkey. I felt physically ill for two weeks – just how people describe coming off drugs.
Some side affects persisted months after that.
It’s widely accepted in other fields [than psychiatry] that prescription drugs in other fields can cause serious long-term complications. It’s also accepted that recreational drugs which alter these chemical levels may cause serious long-term damage, and may even cause or contribute to mental health problems.
July 28, 2010 at 12:24 am
“It’s widely accepted in other fields [than psychiatry] that prescription drugs in other fields can cause serious long-term complications”
It is widely known in psychiatry, but you are correct it is not widely accepted, it is also not widely discussed and is something of a sacred taboo within mainstream psychiatry. Psychiatrists are dangerous drug pushers, they are wolves in sheep clothing. They’ve had a pretty good scam going on for a very long time and a very profitable one too…
August 31, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Hi i was on seroxat for 16 years and went up to 60mg and had two children on it. I came off it to have my third child for a year and suffered really bad mood swings, anger problems, sweating and sort of muscle quivers. Eventually they subsided abit but i remained obsessive and angry and irritable, maybe a little less than the first few weeks but still enough to trouble me. I went back onto it when i started getting panic attacks after my third child was born and i had to have an emergency tooth removal due to an abcess, this terrrified me and i was convinced i was gong to die, which admittedly was a possibility if they had not opperated however i felt unable to cope after that. However after 5 months i came off them again, relatively quickly, within 3 weeks. Again had the same withdrawl symptoms but thought i could cope. Now the physical symptoms seem to have stopped but emotionaly i feel a mess and have become depressed and am seeing a therapist to help me. I wonder how much of my depression is due to the withdrawl, although it is now 6 months since i have been off them, i dont feel happy or myself and find it hard to connect with people or feel ‘present’ with people and when doing things. I feel very sad and vulnerable and cling to obsessions with things and people to make me feel better but i know this is not the answer. I am at risk of destroying what is actually probably a lovely life with lovely children and husband as i cant seem to feel the happiness and keep searching elsewhere to find some fulfillment or feeling in my life. I dont know whether it is just simply the withdrawl and whether it will get better. I dont even know if i was only happy then because i was on the tablets and have infact never been truly happy. I was only 18 when i started and very young and confused and depressed. I had eating disorders and self harmed. I feel like i have gone back to that person, but now i have the added bonus of being angry and resentful, which were feelings i didnt used to have. I have always been hysterical but never aggressive.
Sorry this has gone on a little but would love to hear from someone somewhere who might have some advice for me.
September 13, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Hi
I took seroxat for ten years for severe depression and OCD. My doctor recently suggested I try to come off it and I did. I’ve been taking citalopram for 6 months now and its just not working as well. I take 40mg now and before I was taking only 15mg seroxat and felt much much better. I don’t know what to do now because I want to go back onto seroxat because I was just much happier before.
Maybe I’m just one of the very lucky few who the drug works really well for….
September 13, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I have only ben on seroxat for over 3months.i have only experienced 1 terrifying hallucination which happened within the 1st few weeks of being on it,i was asleep and woke up and screamed when i looked at my boyfriend,his face looked evil and he wasn’t himself,i looked away and when i looked back again he was him again.he got a terrible fright when he saw how scared i was.my doctor told me seroxat isn’t addictive and that i have an imbalance of serotonin in my brain,i don’t know if I am addicted yet but I am afraid of what will happen to me if I decide to com off it.I am going to go and ask my doctor tomorrow if I can start to come off seroxat before I end up being on it as long as some people on your site have been. Can you please tell me if you think I will have bad withdrawal symptoms or will it not be that bad because I havn’t been on it very long?
September 13, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Your Doctor is a fool – the ‘chemical imbalance’ story is pure bullshit – ask him what the correct level of serotonin should be in your brain, then ask him to measure your current level…
The man is a lazy fool.
Here are some links – print them for your doc: https://seroxatsecrets.wordpress.com/?s=the+lie+chemical+imbalance
DO NOT just stop the seroxat though – come off it slowly.
I hope you won’t have a bad withdrawal.
June 1, 2011 at 9:22 pm
lololol love the answer might ask my own Doctor that one.
September 14, 2010 at 8:25 am
Hey Justin, when i was on seroxat i was happy too and it did work really well for me, but the withdrawl was hard and looking back on the way i was on seroxat although i was happy i kind of believed i was invincible too and so kind of had no fear and took on anything and everything in life. That sounds great, but there were no limits and eventually i would reach a crash point.
Also i didnt like the side effects, i came off them to relieve the side effects and to feel ‘real’ again, i felt abit like i had lost all my real emotions and feelings about things.
Hope it works out for you. 🙂
January 12, 2011 at 6:53 am
I think anyone taking seroxat for more than 2 years should talk abt coming off the drug with their G.P and try to get some psychotherapy. I personally have been on the drug for 5 or 6 years, and have had 3 failed attempts trying to come off it. I felt worse coming off the drug then before I went on it. I came off it slowly too so am begining to think I will be stuck on this drug forever. I am seen a therapist at the moment and fortunately she is anti drugs in treating anxiety so I will try to get off this drug again and I’m gonna try my hardest. If I could go bak in time I would never have agreed to take such shit! The mental health system is so messed up and we have all been used as guinni pigs in the past and its still going on. When I tried coming off the drugs 2 years ago, I got really intense panic attacks, couldnt breathe properly even though I wasnt even anxious but it was like something was triggered in my brain now that I was off them. I had to go bak on them or I dont know what would have happened tom me. I also developed these weird ticks, where I had to move my head bak and fourth and squeeze my eyes. So ya I was really losing it. I was on edge all day, it was a nightmare. Alot of ye worried abt what will happen us in 10/20 years time and I totally understand that. I try not to think abt it in detail or I’ll get myself into a mad worry but lets hope we will all be ok. GLAXO KLEINE SMITH YOU OWE US ALL AND WE WANT ANSWERS AND THATS BEFORE YOU ARE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS!!!!
good luck all
December 7, 2012 at 1:10 pm
i agree , i just try to get through 1 day at a time 10 – 20 years time hopefully if im still around ill prob b doing the same x
January 12, 2011 at 5:32 pm
I was diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depression, started using Seroxat 6 days ago and today I am feeling dizzy, tremor, accelerated heart beat. I don’t feel good. I’ve read all your comments and I am so scared to continue using this drug. Is there an alternative treatment for this? Should I even be using Seroxat?
January 12, 2011 at 11:25 pm
Biba..
Try a homeopath , a massage therapist and change your diet…
All safe..
All helpful..
Seroxat is poison..
March 29, 2011 at 1:45 pm
is there a relation between taking seroxate and having hallucinations?!
April 15, 2011 at 9:43 pm
I WENT TO JAIL BECAUSE OF IT & (BECAUSE OF MY BEHAVIOR.) IT CHAINGED MY PERSONALITY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. I LOST MY WIFE ,KIDS & JOB BUT THE SHRINK SAID IT WAS NOT THE TAB THEN LAFT ??????????????????
June 1, 2011 at 9:50 pm
bronske, I really feel for you because the same thing happened to me, I had never been in trouble before in my whole life until I went on seroxat and then ciprimil I was like a zombie and developed an intense craving for alcohol which sent me hypomanic and confused. Try to find a good solicitor who will appeal for you and get an expert witness from this website not any old psychiatrist as they are useless (made that mistake myself, you may as well be having a consultation with your dog). I wish you luck and just remember you are not alone.
May 1, 2011 at 11:00 am
I came off seroxat 10 years ago – was prescribed for very mild depression and stayed on it for about 8 years. Tried many times to come off then one day it dawned on me that my brain wasn’t working at all and I just stopped taking it and nothing happened! Since then my brain has continued to deteriorate. I used to be a happy, intelligent person but now I feel like a person with Alzheimer’s and truly believe that I am developing it. I enjoy nothing in life, having lost all my interests over the years and, if there was a button to push to end it all, I’d have pushed it a long time ago. Is there nothing that can be done to reverse the damage caused by Seroxat?
June 2, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Well have to say this week has been the biggest eye opener off my life.. have read through loads off the postings on here and I’m astonished at the destruction seroxat has caused. Well were assuming that !! Does anyone out there have concreate evidence or know of any deffinate reseach that concludes what looks obvious to me? why are these drugs being given out… What’s your story then your all probably wondering.. well found out this week that my mother inlaw has been taking this drug for Thirty Years !! she has always since I have known her, we questioned over the years what was wrong and have spent many a family gathering trying to figure out what it was all about, but their very taditional, private people that wouldn’t and couldn’t discuss this until now. She has had the symptoms that you all describe for many years!! I’ve been married to her son since 1988. I can’t beleive what I’m reading, what hope is there for her after half a lifetime on this drug !! where do we go from here..? Surely I should be thinking off involving a lawyer after 30 years !! does anyone have any advice!! how can someone be given this drug for that amount off time, knowing it’s effects..
June 19, 2011 at 9:02 am
Does anyone know of anything which can help reverse the long term damage caused by taking Seroxat for too long. I’ve written before and no one responded so I suspect that the answer is ‘no’. My brain just doesn’t work – I can’t learn new things and have absolutely no interest in life whatsoever. I’m concerned about my job because I make so many mistakes – from being an intelligent, capable person I’ve turned into someone who goes about in a semi-zombie like state. Can anyone offer any advice at all on how to get myself out of this state? Mac
July 25, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Oh my god i cant beleive what im reading on here, I have been on paroxatine for 17yrs now and would love to come of them but have been told by my doctors that i wont ever be able to. Has anyone been on them for that long and managed to come of them.
Lisa
November 6, 2011 at 6:47 pm
I know someone who was on Seroxat for over 15 years.. he weaned off it… it is possible…
December 20, 2013 at 10:44 pm
I was on it for 13 years at the higher dose and came off it altogether. Your doctors should be forced to swallow it every day for 17 years then they might be entitled to have an opinion.
I slowly dropped down to one tablet of 20mg and took it alternate days then every 2 days then every 3 days and was fine up to a point. you can and should do it reducing the amounts in smaller doses than this. I believe you can get it in liquid form to do this.
I am not the best person to advise because I was so upset about learning the truth about the damage this drug did to me, I eventually came off the last 20mg tablet every 3 days really quickly within 2 and a 1/2 weeks and suffered what I believe is known as cold turkey symptoms and they were truly awful. The worst part lasted only a few weeks and as a whole a few months at the most. I am not going to describe how bad it was because it doesn’t have to be that way for everybody. The important thing to remember is that the withdrawal symptoms don’t last forever. Although I never want to go through that ever again, in one way I am glad I did it relatively quickly and got free of it. I would have hated to have upped the dose again and again because of the withdrawal effects. Some people do this for years and get stuck on it. it is so hard for them especially when trying to hold down jobs or raise children at the same time.
The most important thing is that you get off it, you will be so glad you did. this drug has given me Parkinson’s disease and I have the symptoms of the later stages and am now severely disabled and bedridden a lot of the time. The Parkinsons Disease symptoms are horrific and they don’t tell you how bad it really is on the parkinson’s organisations websites because they don’t want to upset newly diagnosed people. I also have periods of the day when dementia kicks in and my husband looks after me. It is truly distressing for both of us. But the episodes of clarity I do have are good quality, much better than when I was on the seroxat.
It is worth it in every way to your body and mind and for the remainder of your life to get off the drug, especially if you don’t yet have any neurological side effects from it. There was a huge class action in the USA against this drug for causing Parkinsons but it is buried now. the drug company is making settlements and putting gagging orders on people to make it difficult for people to find out about it.
I was once a very pretty, stylish, successful business woman running my own multi-faceted business . I stood at Earls court international trade shows in London with my own formulated product range, sold franchises, owned shop, salon, therapy centre, small factory, wholesale, was getting into export and formulated for other companies.
Now I am a blithering wreck most of the time because of the neurological damage, I have incontinence and bowel problems, jerking of my arms and head, swallowing and choking problems, I drool and when the dementia kicks in my husband has to wipe my mouth and my nose because I can’t even do that for myself. Neurological problems effect every system in your body.
This drug company will never put a gagging order on me. I have only just decided to speak out about all this today and this is the first site I have been on. I have declared to my husband that I will make my life count for something and while I am able I intend to tell as many people as possible about what this drug company are doing to people. I don’t know how long i have left to live now because the disease for me has progressed at a rapid rate and I am now at serious risk of all the other complications the Parkinsons has caused.
August 4, 2011 at 1:59 am
I have taken seroxat for 14 years on and off. The biggest side effect is….it cures my anxiety and my depression enabling me to live a normal life.
August 27, 2011 at 11:48 am
Hi i took seroxat 12 years ago for about a year then weaned myself off them, but after having a second child i started taking them again about 5 years ago. In the past few days i have been getting pulputations. I know this is a side effect when starting or withdrawing from the drug, but has anyone else experience it 5 years down the line. I am not taking any other medication and it may have nothing to do with the drug at all but just wondered if it had happened to anybody else,
thanks.
December 20, 2013 at 10:59 pm
Yes. I started having bad palpitations and very fast irregular heart beat develop after taking the drug for over 9 years.
It is also one of the symptoms of Serotonin syndrome that is a very serious, life threatening illness caused by seroxat (paroxetine). There is now a small warning about this on the leaflet in the box. I developed this condition. There are lots of symptoms to it. I listed the ones I suffered in other posts on this blog.
September 1, 2011 at 12:08 pm
I’m starting to believe all these conspiracy theorists now and the new world order thing and that getting as many of us on these drugs will dampen all of us down so much that we will not be able to think for ourselves any more and they will have complete control over us, computers are a good thing but we are becoming lazy mentally and letting computers think for us, without them we are finished as we are forgetting how to live manually. my doctor told me I would also be on them for life but I couldn’t help notice a grin from him when he said it as if he had completed a task or something, I’m not paranoid but open to all suggestions.
January 14, 2012 at 6:13 am
i was on paxil (paroxitine in nz) for 10 years….finally got off trying to figure it out in the dark ..all the doctor said was come off slowly…well that is not very specific is it…anyway i did it over 10 months but at no time was i stable in doing it …it is now 15 months off paxil and i have had a 15 months of hell…forget holding down a job. The uncontollable anxiety continues daily ..and i just hate it. i feel so bad that i believed all the lies from 2 differesnt doctors…i have no zeal for life ..or enthusiasm…i hope there is an significant improvement in the next 12 months …dr healy said in his wonderful writing it can take 1-4 years….i pray im one of these lucky ones who can recover within 4 years else im scared…no terrified ..i will be like this for life …i can now see i came off to fast.!
mark
January 24, 2012 at 4:13 pm
I was on seroxat for twenty years and couldn’t come off despite repeated attempts. When I was diagnosed with primary lateral scelosis, the doctor got me off quickly enough by giving me venlavaccine (not sure about the spelling), which I could wean my self off over a period of 6 months. I hope this may be helpful to anyone trying to come off this dangerous drug. As PLS is a very rare disease I blame the drug, but I have no proof.
January 29, 2012 at 10:25 pm
It is hard to know where to start. On Seroxat for 13 years and I am changed both mentally and physically for the worst. Vivid nightmares are commonplace and are the norm now – infact I know no differant now. Low moods and withdrawal into my own coccoon is a common daily theme. Then there are the physical sideeffects – electric shocks in my head, uncontrolable shaking, over weight and always tired. I try to focus on a project / subject but my memory lets me down leading to anger and frustration, once a clever chap – now nothing – magic drug – no way. Each day is an increasing struggle to the point of being alive, coz this is not living.
I do take solice from others in the same predicament, but who in the really gives a shit or moreover can do anything about it.
Ed
April 8, 2012 at 8:05 pm
why we all email this evil company how make seroxat ?? theri name : Glaxosmithkline
😡 i have no life now
May 18, 2012 at 12:30 am
im almost 40 and was prescribed this horrid drug way back in the mid 90s when nobody knew anything about it..im STILL on it 😦
where do i start? it doesn’t work.it has so many sides..unprompted and profuse sweating,night sweats,short term memory can be funny,nightmares..as for libido,sexual probs..im so embarrassed i can’t discuss it with doc or missus
May 18, 2012 at 12:35 am
re my sexual sides caused by seroxat..difficulty getting erection,difficulty maintaining it,decreased orgasm.
Some wonder drug!!absolutely regret i ever went to the doc all those years ago when i felt down 😦
i know now it was the environment caused my anxiety but i ws a kid then and knew nothing.
they shouldn’t be on the market and SKG should compensate the lives they ruined
June 19, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Hello to all. Me too, Im very worried about my Seroxat taking. It’s been four months now and few weeks ago I started taking less, half pill.. Cant take them anymore but am so affraid of withdrawl symptoms that I already feel. My brain simply doesnt work. Cant concentrate to do anything. Almost not eating, washing myself.. no desire to do anything. And a constant worry and sadness. And, alcohol drinking.. cant stop. Dont know how to help myself but just know that gotta leave it. Got it for depression and borderline.. from a psychiatrist who saw me for half an hour. 😦 Im so scared. And I see lots of you as well. Dont know what to do for my brain and concentration.. Im not myself anymore.. Wish some miracle to happen.. dont wanna lose my head. Good luck to everyone, to get out of this hell.
July 19, 2012 at 1:04 am
Hello there
I have just read some of the stories above and feel very humble and glad :o) This is due to the fact that I am not going mad and imagining some of the withdrawals that I am experiencing.
I began with a daily dose of 40mg nearly three years ago. It was only when I moved that my new doctor has said he wants me off of these drugs, this is mainly due to the fact that we are trying to conceive. After my doctors reaction I was very worried and followed his plan to cut back. I am now on 10mg and need to stop. I just can’t believe how long things take me to complete. I have always been slow but I finally managed to get out of the house this evening. I have an understanding partner but he does not really understand how I feel. I am also fed up with everyone saying how I should be more positive when I feel like this. I have come off the drugs extremely quickly and NO I would not recommend this.
I am very sensitive with noise and wondered if this was just me or part of the drug withdrawal?
Wishing everyone some calm and happy thoughts :o) xx
August 9, 2012 at 3:01 am
thank you to all of you with your coments i was on soraxat for a couple of years and to hear the same problems aint nice but i no iam not completely alone on understanding it, especaly the fact that that drugs changed me for life all i ever think about is herting myself or others and it all started with SEROXAT, iam 25 now and was bout 13 14 when on it, tho it made me very good at school i got in to so much more trouble and fights, sorry for spelling, i take floxatine now which seems alot better for me, i have also take trazohdone to help me sleep which didnt realy work all i found was that i got addicted to it and mertazapine made me very very angry all the time tho helped me sleep. people oh suffer from depression arnt weak there alot stronger than the averidge person
September 1, 2012 at 4:08 pm
shadi
please all i want to know if seroxat do these symptoms that mentioned in the articles or it is depreesion or anxiety please reply?
September 6, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Hi All,,
I have been on seroxat for about 20 years now , it made me a differnt person anger etc , had a divorce after 25 years.
i did contact the solicitors in wales who said they had a very good case after waiting five years was then told
that they could not go ahead ?????and that they would more than likely lose the case ?????
Why dont we all get together now and all try ourselves to bring this matter up again , the tablets have made my
life a nightmare in all honesty and i am still on 20mg and cant seem to get of them , surely if we all went to Glaxo smithkline and stood outside for a day they would listen to us like they did to people in america and the people got
paid out . i have just been stopped ESA Allownance i have no job and dont know who to turn to next.
September 30, 2012 at 4:56 pm
Hi Samantha here if you need to chat i was on seroxat for over 13 years and i understand how hard it is to stop i originaly took it for panic attacks anxiety and have found coming off harder than i ever thought it would be :0)
October 6, 2012 at 10:36 am
dear karl ,
do u experience a memory probleme or like confusion during you take seroxat.
October 30, 2012 at 10:30 am
Hi
I was on seroxat away back in 1996, on them for many years for depression. I watched a documentary on the experiences/side effects on patients and decided to stop, as suicidal thoughts were there, very agressive, mood swings etc. I told my doctor i didn’t want anymore – since then I have found I have severe sweating (and I mean severe, I am absolutely soaking from head toe), my body heats up so much, I also take cold sweats. Other symptoms are coughing, I have the worst cough ever, I have been diagnosed with coughing asthma, and as mentioned in other messages above, my memory is very very bad. I believe all my symtoms are related to me coming off seroxat, but my doctor has dismissed this and does not appear to be helping me in any other way – each year gets worse, it’s embarrassing, I have no energy, I’m moody and still agressive. From a shy quite person to a monster.
December 7, 2012 at 12:58 pm
as i sit here and read all the comments i am in tears , i have bn on seroxat for 10 years and hav no immediate plans to come of them as i am afraid . i started them when i began having panic attacks at 19 ,every time i try to come off them i suffer severe withdrawals and have to go back on them and go back to square 1 , wen i come off them not only is it panic attacks its a major anxious state i end up in . 1 of these episodes was wen i was pregnant . recently i have bn having problems with alcohol – not cravings or drinking too much , after i drink the hangovers put me on suicide watch again bk to square 1 . never had this prob b4 -dr has said that alcohol interfers with the seroxats metabolic rate thingy ? should i quit drinking all together .
January 6, 2013 at 5:26 pm
Hi I have been on seroxat for nearly 30 years and am coming off it because I feel like a zombie, no emotions bad memory and depression , does anyone fancy taking on the big boys with we, because I believe I hold the golden ticket !!!!!! Many years ago I wrote to Glaxo and got a reply, Stating…… There are no long term side effects , you can take seroxat indefinitely! Unquote ! Any lawyers want to represent us who have been affected, I do still have my letter off them of course!
January 7, 2013 at 6:12 pm
I have been on seroxat for 19 years and I am 50 years old. I came off it for three months but relapsed back into severe depression at the end of this time. I have now been back on it for the past two months and although the severest symtoms of depression have abated a bit I am sleeping most of the day and feel no motivation to do anything at all. I have tried other SSRI’s in the past but usually they make me more anxious. I live alone now have no job and feel like this is a living death. I don’t know if there is anything that can help me and secondary for me is non existent.
January 7, 2013 at 7:48 pm
I wonder if it was withdrawal symptoms and not your depression returning?
How did you come off? Fast or slow?
19 years is a long time to take Seroxat, so it’ll take a long time to come off the drug.
What does your doctor say about all this?
January 7, 2013 at 6:14 pm
That should read secondary care for me is non existent.
January 20, 2013 at 4:48 am
hi all i have been on seroxat since i was 18 im 41 now i have read and know from my own experiances that what ever disorder i had at 18 is going to be far worse now because of the drug but after all thease years i would be to afraid of what i could do to me the people i love and anyone else around me to even think of comeing off the drug.
my side effects when having a test to see how i react to a lesser dose ive allways been on 20mg are in my eyes quite horrific.
A 5mg drop made me want to just go out and hurt kill destroy all, the effect was so severe in me that i had to isolate myself from everything and everyone in my world at that timeto insure that i didnt do the things that my brain was telling me to do.
I do truly belive that seroxat is to blame for this feeling that i got and would totaly agree that its the drug withdrawal that is makeing me feel that way.
However on 20mg i dont have thoughts feelings and anger hate and the terrible need to hurt people that i get on a lesser dose its someting that i have had to come to terms with that i am hopelessly addicted to the drug and may never come off it untill i am mabey to weak or infebled to do any damage.
The only problems i have today is a kind of warping sensation in my brain that lets me know that i need to slow down on something that i may be doing at that time like say driveing to fast ect.
If i knew now what i do about this drug of course i would never have taken it i never thought i had symptoms bad enought to require medication anyway but that is all water under the bridge now for the future and the rest of my life my only concern is that one day the drug stops working for me today i just see it as a way of keeping myself my family and genral joe public safe from me.
January 20, 2013 at 4:50 am
Its defo not a good drug and i hate the way the side effects was not made known to me but at 18 i probally wouldnt have listened anyway.
I know there are drugs out there now to combat the side effects and withdrawal symptoms but im sorry to say that for me now its a case of this is working for me as is im happy in my life i have a little boy who just turned 6 and i thank each day i get to see him because without the now addictive drug i take i dont belive id be here at all.
So i wouldnt even attempt anymore to mess with it.
February 9, 2013 at 10:39 pm
I have been on Seroxat for the past 12 years or more. I have to admit that at first it calmed me down and made me feel great. However I noticed that I was becoming more and more addicted to alcohol. Seroxat and alcohol have been my way of coping for the last 12 years. I decided it was time to come off the drug, and so have been weaning myself off it for the past couple of months. I feel like HELL. Terrific mood swings, dizziness, forgetfulness, short tempered, lost a few good friends with my uncontrollable outbursts, How long will it last. I have felt tempted to go back on the (magic) pills as my doctor called them, but at 55 years old am finding some inner strength to resist the pull. Thrown them all away, but now not taking any for the past week don’t know how I will manage. It has been good to read other peoples experiences of trying to get off of Seroxat and helped me know I am not the only one suffering. Be strong, confident, and positive and resist the temptation to revert back to the tablets. I know it’s gonna be hard but I’m determined to try.
Clare
April 15, 2013 at 8:59 am
Hi all I am really surprise to see how much people hate from this drug . I am 30 years old been using this drug 15mg every day since I was 19 . Yes it does have side effects like every other drugs but what about the positives ? Negatives are for me forgetting to do things somedays very tired , angry , upset , emmotional but the worst one really losing my sex drive. But the positive things was so much I couldn’t resist it . I struggle from emetophobia, anxiety , and heavy panic attacks I still got emetophobia but its a lot calmer and the things I have done with my self just the help of this drug is amazing . Some people smoke some people in to alcohol and these are have heavy side effects and can kill you . I never saw or heard any one die from seroxat or very critical damage I just don’t understand why every one here bulling the drug ! When I was down , when I couldn’t be able to go out from my house , couldn’t be able to eat anything cause I was thinking it will make ill this drug changed ! I hate the fucking side effects yes I wish there was less but it does help me change my life , I am married in a very successful career and can stand on my feet ! Yes I got bad days still but hey ho, this is life ! Guys today some of diabetic people have to have an injection everyday and is it not got any side effects ? To win cancer you have to get radiotherapy and all radiation is it got side effects yes! But sometimes the over come is better and so positive that we need to get over it ! And the last thing yes If I didn’t have used seroxat may be my sex drive would be better my memory would be better but would I really be here writing you that I am married and got a successful career NO 90% sure No ! I wasn’t able to get out the goddammed house anyway please when you writing here don’t forget some people like me have to have this pill and don’t write shit about it write some positives too for god sake .. May Allah bless you all
April 17, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Hi, Just read your comment, but what you forget to add is THEY DONT BLEEDING TELL YOU THAT YOU CANT COME OFF THEM WITHOUT WANTING TO KILL YOURSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE! THEY DONT TELL YOU LOSE ALL EMOTIONAL FEELINGS TOWARDS OTHERS AND JUST FEEL HEARTLESS AND EMPTY, THEY DONT TELL YOU YOU CANT REMEMBER VIRTUALLY ANYTHING THE LONGER YOU ARE ON THEM!!!!! Take it from someone who has taken 30mg from the age of 19 to now 48 thats 29YEARS IF they had warned me of these events I would have sourced another avenue. To top it all I physically hold a letter from GLAXO from 1985 stating—— There is no time limit that you can stay on these tablets. ( basically you are ok to say on them forever) yes you probably can but you turn into a Zombie with no memory and it gets worse the longer you stay on them….. You cannot come off them. So, as long as you know all this you stay on them and in another 18 years tell me of how good you think seroxat are then !!!!!!! Suzanne and may god bless you all too x
October 25, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Hi Suzanne, would it be possible to get a copy of the letter from Glaxo from 1985 stating that there is no time limit that you can stay on Seroxat. You can contact me on my blog- just click on the name here… Sorry to hear about your Seroxat experience, I hope you get well soon 🙂
April 24, 2013 at 8:46 am
Hi iam 17 and I was put on this drug a week ago for severe depression, the first day I felt really sick and every day since I’ve taken it my legs shake and can’t stay still and I am constantly tiered, I don’t know weather to keep taking this drug or not? what else is there I can take if I come off of it? and I’m concerned because I’m 17 but on the packaging it says for over 18’s only? I have to see my GP every week for my depression
April 25, 2013 at 5:43 am
I would ask your GP for something else – Seroxat is not very good for young people – I’m surprised your GP prescribed it for you.
September 1, 2013 at 9:48 pm
I’ve been on Seroxat for 10 years since I was 18. At that time I went through a few bad break-ups and found it hard to deal with them. My father committed suicide when I was 8 after a bad break up and of course, I’ve never forgotten that. I was admitted to hospital a few times for overdosing around the times my break-ups happened. I was put on Seroxat and have been ever since.
At this moment in time I’m going through a break-up from a 7 year relationship. I feel somewhat that being dependent on Seroxat has suppressed my feelings to the point I have had no ambitions or motivation. It’s really hard not to think that because I remember having ambitions and motivation back when I was growing up. I can’t really truthfully compare however, because such a long time to a very short time.
I seriously want to come off them. To try and find the person I never actually found. I used to have a sex drive and be able hold an erection and to ejaculate during intercourse. I used to be able to show affection and talk about things. I believe those reasons to be part of why I’m going through what I am now. We were meant to be trying for a baby and getting married but I didn’t have any motivation to do those things because I knew something wasn’t quite right inside.
Perhaps it may come across that I’m blaming them but haven been on them from such an early age it’s hard not to.
September 2, 2013 at 10:43 pm
Just thinking about what I wrote last night and what changed after taking Seroxat.
Shortly after taking it, I produced a desire to get drunk and take drugs. I’ve been drinking and smoking cannabis each evening for a good 9 years. I got into trouble with the police, once ending up in crown court a couple of years in. As time went on I got less bothered to do things and started going to bed during the day when I could. Not necessarily sleeping either, just lying and thinking. My appetite suppressed to only eating one square meal in the evening. I began drinking lots of caffeine, sometimes to the point where I was “buzzing”. I don’t get that way anymore but drink a lot of coffee.
Obviously a lot of chemicals going into my body and brain but the point is, I only started doing these things after continual use of Seroxat. Too coincidental for my liking. These are all things I want to change and I hope over time of cutting down on the pills they will follow.
October 8, 2013 at 11:03 pm
So, I wrote back in September, 5 weeks ago. I don’t want to read what I wrote then.
Over the past month I followed my Doctor’s advise and am now off the “happy pills”. I started taking 10mg for about a week when I last wrote, before I saw the Doctor. Instead of 20mg that I’d been taking daily for 10 years. I was told to cut down to 5mg for two weeks then to alternate the days of taking that for 2-4 weeks. The last 5 mg I took was a week ago tomorrow, two weeks after I started alternating.
Admittedly there were some side affects but mainly dizziness or light-headedness (when turning head), particularly when I started missing days but it was only minor and became less frequent. There were feelings of suicide at some points but I can’t really put that down to pills, I was still going through a lot from the break-up so I can’t hold them totally responsible. I still am going through the break-up to some degree but I feel a lot more positive, more outgoing and I am getting my confidence back. I feel a lot better within myself, everyone around me has noticed a change and I have stopped smoking cannabis too. I still have a few beers and that is the next thing. I was told not to do everything all at once.
I know this won’t apply to everyone, everyone is different but I just wanted to reassure anyone that there is hope. You aren’t necessarily stuck on these things.
Thanks for listening and good luck!
October 20, 2013 at 1:17 am
This is the best drug ever to be invented. It has changed my life a million times for the better in every way possible. Thank you GSK, you have given me my life back better than I ever thought possible!
October 20, 2013 at 5:10 pm
Good luck Garry – I’m guessing you haven’t been taking Seroxat for very long…?
I can’t say I share your view.
October 21, 2013 at 6:00 pm
15 years at varying doses up to 60mg a day, now taking 55mg a day and feel wonderful, confident, happy etc. Thank you for wishing me good luck though. However, my worry is the chemical effect. What if it’s making me feel really fantastic, but at the same time unknowingly to me its giving me cancer?? That’s what I’m worried about! What is it silently doing to me on such prolonged high doses?
October 25, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Garry, you are deluded..
October 25, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Yeah ur probably right, but it feels bloody fantastic !!! Obviously most people have had awful experiences with this drug, and I sympathize and believe every word of what they say – I would never have any reason to doubt them, but I have to speak as I find, and it feels like heaven on Earth 4 me !!!!!!!!!!
October 25, 2013 at 9:36 pm
I dont believe you to be honest…
October 26, 2013 at 4:02 pm
I’ve no reason to lie …..
November 4, 2013 at 10:54 pm
Have you ever tried to come off Seroxat though Garry?
November 5, 2013 at 1:41 am
Yes I have a few times. Let me tell you what happened. I did not crave the drug, so effectively I wasn’t hooked as I had no withdrawal effects in terms of the medicine, but the problem was that all of my obsessive compulsive thoughts came back, along with my severe anxiety from the generalized anxiety disorder. I also became horrible and quite violent. However, within weeks of getting back on, I was calm, easy going, chilled, and with minimal ocd and anxiety, quite frankly I was living the life of leisure again. I’m not saying I don’t believe you people – I truly do, because I have heard on the news how terrible this medication can be for some, but for me it’s ace – Heaven on Earth. I’m just worried about long term drug use, ie: in 20 years down the line will I develop toxin-caused cancers or perhaps early and severe neurological problems like dementia? Or other horrible illnesses caused by years of chemicals?? U see my worry – that’s the only worry really I still have???
November 5, 2013 at 7:46 am
as I said already.. you’re delusional Garry.. the effects you experience when you stop Seroxat are common withdrawal effects… you are addicted and dependent on Seroxat that’s why you feel better when you go back on it because.. like any additive drug (nicotine, heroin etc) your boy is now hardwired to the chemical and you need the chemical to function, to feel ‘normal’ etc The long term effects all seem to indicate that long term usage lead to chronic dependence, disability and damage….
November 14, 2013 at 10:34 am
You might not have craved it- but you did suffer withdrawal symptoms.. violence and aggression are known withdrawal symptoms and of course your OCD and anxiety would manifest because whilst on Seroxat you are not dealing with these conditions properly – you are merely numbing yourself with hits of dopamine and serontonin from Seroxat- an artificial and chemically induced feeling of calmness just like any addict gets from his drug….
The long term effects have not been studied in depth- but from my experience- I shudder to think what they are with something as toxic as Seroxat…
October 21, 2013 at 7:16 pm
God I can’t believe I read all the comments, anyway it’s good to know objectively what people thinks about this drug. For most illness drugs are life savers they have got positive and negative side effects. If you cancer if you have radiotherapy you kill the cancer cells but also the normal healty cells to but the reward is to be alive.
I have been using seroxat over 12 years and I can say it was a life saver for me, I am suffering from emthopobia , social anxiety ,panic attacks, depressition and some more mental problems.
I agree with lots of people that the drugs has side effects that can be dangerous but in some mental illnesses there are no other ways. Ssri help me finish my school , get a good job and marrie with a beautiful woman. Human brain is so complicated that it’s so easy to talk about the antidepressants not working. But there are lots of cases that it works. If your tooth aches you have pain killer and repair your tooth but this mental problems isn’t that easy. I couldn’t get out from the house and eat anything, but now look where I am yes still got the problems but mainly under control. Some times it’s ok some times it’s not but I can survive. All these negative talking going on in the internet and people talking like the only drugs gives side effects are ssri’s , which isn’t true. I recommend everyone drug free life if they can but if they can’t please don’t make people’s life more complicated by saying the drugs are bad for you. Some people doesn’t have any other chances, it’s not only about the thinking power sometimes you have chemicaly some thing wrong in your brain.
Anyway just a a note that I change to sertraline by reading online and talking with my GP it has been 3-4 months not better then seroxat I am costintly feeling sick and very sensitive . I am going back to seroxat by the looks of it . Even though I can read bad things about it. My only side effect was being angry,sometimes sleepy , weight gain and sexual senses getting fucked up. But these are sortable problems excises , better sleep and positive thinking.
November 5, 2013 at 10:41 am
After a bad period with sertraline as I said I come back to using the seroxat (paroxatine) again . What a wonderful change ! No sickness , no more waking up in the middle of the night, no more panic attacks.
People said that sertraline and seroxat both the same ssir but they are not definitely seroxat is far better drug. Yes the side effects are feeling tired and sexual problems but man it’s worth it.
November 6, 2013 at 12:06 am
But I had these terrible obsessive compulsive thoughts and severe anxiety before I ever went near seroxat. The ocd and anxiety have always been a huge massive terrible part of my life, so how can it be a withdrawal effect when I had it really bad before I’d ever heard of the medication? As soon as I went back on I felt wonderful again. I don’t know what to say, apart from it’s a wonderful life enhancing drug. If I am delusional, then all I can say is who cares ??? It feels fantastic !!! I’m living my life to the max now rather than hiding away in my room terrified of my own shadow like I was before !!
November 13, 2013 at 9:50 pm
Hello, it’s been a long while … so much water under the bridge over the past few years! Seroxat was prescribed to me back in 1993 to help with severe migraines … it didn’t work and in 2008 I was finally diagnosed with Antiphospholipid blood (Hughes Syndrome); put on Warfarin to thin my blood and the migraines completely vanished overnight …. brilliant.
However, I’m still taking Seroxat 20mg daily (now in my 20th year) and am beginning to see signs that one would normally associate with someone of perhaps 75++ years of age (I am 58) … ie memory dysfunction, aching joints and limbs, worrying blood results, potential liver damage (I am teetotal) and a variety of other ‘weird’ things going on with my body. I am in consultation with a GP, but of course he/she/they really know soooooo little about the effects of the drugs they so readily prescribe to us. (Is this a rant? … sorry)
Anyway, I wonder whether anyone reading this has anything useful to share regarding the effect of taking long term toxic drugs (Seroxat) and/or any specialist in the field who may be able to help? Is there a body/group of people with similar problems arising from the long term use of this awful drug? BTW I am in touch with Seroxat Users Group, and have access to David Healy (from a posting way above in this topic).
Thank you in advance … Doolally from Berkshire 🙂
November 25, 2013 at 9:53 pm
BTW I forgot to mention the reason WHY I’m still taking Seroxat …. because, as like soooo many other people, the withdrawal effects are just too much for me to cope with (after THREE unsuccessful and very scary attempts).
So please, anyone reading this who is considering weaning down … PLEASE get as much information and support BEFORE you start to wean down … it really really is important that you have a support system around you … believe me (and many others) you will need someone who understands the difficulties and symptoms at the end of a phone.
November 15, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Seroxat ruined my life for 6yrs when off it and still today I have knock on effects.i took 6months of weaning ml by ml sometimes half ml.my mood and aggression was the worst part alonside paranioa.i was a single mum that took a pill to take me out of post natal depression and instead several times nearly ruined me.i had suicidal thoughts alongside great confusion as to why I wld feel like this with two beautiful children followed by immense guilt.all seroxat did for me was strip me down bare and teach me to draw all my strength and have faith in myself despite loved ones doubting me.i did it and the freedom was overwhelming. I saw the panorama programme on seroxat and broke down and cried but seeing that gave me the strength to come off the last 5ml.words cannot describe how I feel towards this company.so wished I jumped on it and sued them at the time.i cld write a book of all these experiences but I have avoided it as its a time I wish had never existed.
November 25, 2013 at 7:33 pm
Ive been on paxil for the last 5 months because of panic attacks.. since the day ive started to take paxil (seroxat) i never – ever experienced another panic attack.. im feeling very well nowadays and i really love paxil it stabilizes my mood 🙂 the only problem i ve had is for some reason ive been belching more and more when compared to past, in last 5 months too much gas in my stomach and in my intestine which bothers me alot .. does seroxat (paxil) cause too much gas in stomach ? pls tell me how it affected your stomach and intestine after years thnx
December 14, 2013 at 10:27 pm
I suffer from both bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. I started Seroxat almost 2 months ago and it has done wonders (I take Seroxat 25mg and Depakine 500). I have never felt this normal in my life. Seroxat has helped me a lot, and I know it’s Seroxat doing the magic because I used to take Effexor and Depakine before, and I never felt as good as I do now. The only side effect I have is drowsiness and the sudden desire to nap at random times of the day.
You guys might be blaming a combination of causes for your symptoms on Seroxat alone. I saw many posts where people abused other drugs and alcohol as well as the prescribed medication, did not take their pills regularly, and yet blame Seroxat on their health issues.
December 15, 2013 at 8:18 am
That’s good Marz – I’m not sure what kind of Doctor would prescribe Seroxat (or any SSRI) for bipolar depression though… and be careful – you might be enjoying a placebo effect and nothing more.
Stay well.
January 27, 2014 at 10:56 am
It’s sad to hear all these stories of people having bad experiences of paroxetine. I started taking it about 10 years ago while I was going through a difficult bout of depression in my final year at university. It immediately had an incredibly positive effect on my mood – I was so much more relaxed and felt normal.
A short while after that I had some cognitive behavioural therapy, and this also remarkably improved my mood, outlook towards life and effectiveness in everyday life.
I’ve been on paroxetine ever since, at various doses. My sex drive is probably dampened and I sometimes find it difficult to orgasm (I’m a guy). But hey, if that’s the price I have to pay to be helped by this drug then I’m happy to pay it.
I probably don’t need to be on the stuff any more and my doctor is urging me to stop taking it. But I’m worried about stopping. I know that the drug probably only helps me a little nowadays, but I do have a worry that when I stop taking it I’ll be much less relaxed and will find it more difficult to be in a relationship and be successful at my job.
I really do have pity for everyone who has negative experienced on the drug, but like Marz, I would say that perhaps it’s not all due to the drug, and some of you may have been given it by your doctors inappropriately and/or not been taken off it by your doctors when you should have been.
Don’t discount all the people this drug has managed to help.
February 21, 2014 at 1:28 am
Here’s a brief history of my story and effects. I’m normally the sort of person who thinks that you get out of life what you put into it, and if you have a problem then don’t look to blame someone (or something) else, but the more I hear about Seroxat the more I wonder….
I was given Seroxat back in the 90’s because I suffered severe seasonal affective disorder. If it wasn’t for Seroxat I don’t think I would be here today. I used to start taking it in October before the real onset of winter and reduced daylight hours, and wean myself off it between March and June each year, giving me around 4-5 months of drug-free life..
The initial benefits (along with lightbox therapy) were massive and I shrugged off the side effects because I figured that side effects were better than the alternative (death by suicide). I don’t mean to sound flippant, but it’s a realistic review of how I felt.
Gradually the benefits got less and less effective and I eventually decided to try and “cure” the S.A.D. rather than just negate its symptoms. After doing my research, I feel I achieved this in 2003 by moving to a different environment (Brisbane Australia) that didn’t suffer so few winter sunlight hours. Unfortunately it cost me my first marriage (after 17 years) and most of my finances. However, apart from one brief period where I had to move further south to Sydney for work reasons during an Australian winter, I’ve managed to avoid the depths of despair brought on by S.A.D ever since, and have not resorted to drugs to alleviate the symptoms since..
I still have “down days” but I can recognise the symptoms and have come up with a lifestyle that allows me to deal with them (thank god for early morning rounds of golf!).
I’ve not had Seroxat in over 10 years, but I feel it took several years to rid my body of all the side-effects, and, for no real reason other than a “gut feeling” I do feel it contributed to my development of Type II diabetes, which was diagnosed in 2006 – although I felt that I had “Syndrome X” for a lot of the time I was taking Seroxat and mentioned it to my doctor who basically ignored me.
I’ve always been energetic, and although my weight fluctuated I used to find it very easy to increase the exercise/reduce the calories and get back to a healthy weight of between 10 and 11 stone. Since taking Seroxat I have found weight so difficult to shift. My weight went up by 3 stone (quite a lot when you’re only 5 foot 4! lol) after I started taking it, and although it stabilised once I stopped, I have never managed to get rid of all of the excess.
At one stage I was training hard twice a day(one hour aerobic and one hour anaerobic) 5 days a week and after 3 months I had only lost about 5 pounds. At my age (50 plus) I just found that level of exertion too hard to maintain. I’m still the best part of 2 stone over a comfortable weight.
My diet is average-to-good (small portions but an occasional sweet tooth or alcohol craving – I’m only normal lol). I try to walk at least 10k’s 3 or 4 times a week, but I get so frustrated that the weight just doesn’t want to shift. I know if I could shift another 2 stone my blood sugars would be close to normal and my blood pressure would drop those extra few points.
It’s very frustrating as diabetes has meant I need to take more pharmaceuticals to help control it, which I really struggle mentally with, after my results on seroxat.
Just another view…
April 25, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Hi Glen, yes I have noticed a bit of weight stuck to me too, but thought it could be my diet, not great.
As I am 65 and we put on a bit as we get older but perhapes it is the seroxate.
Good luck Glen and best wishes
Carol
April 25, 2014 at 1:52 pm
As a long time user of 20mg Seroxat for about 15 years now, I have to say they been fantastic for me.
Like all medications they are not suitable and do not suit everyone, I was told they where not addictive but they are, I was getting depressed and crying a lot and was suffering from anxiety, I was put on Seroxat and within two weeks really felt a difference in myself, my confidence was coming back and I felt brighter, I will take full responsibility for long term use as I would rather be the person I am now than the one I was becoming, I am much more confident than ever yes they do stop you crying except under certain circumstances, I had tried to come off of them very slowly twice, but could feel symptoms returning so in the end I gave up and continued taking them.
I recommended them to a friend who had suffered bad depression for many years and agoraphobia for 18 years after taking several different other medications she spoke to her doctor who agreed to give her a trial, 10 years down the line she is still on them and feels the same as me she’s had driving lesson’s passed her test and has a car, she can now go out she goes abroad and lives a normal life.
July 12, 2014 at 1:29 am
Wait until you cannot walk!
May 22, 2015 at 10:09 am
Hello,
My boyfriend is on Seroxat for 3 years now. He was taking 30mg everynight – I know he’s suppose to take it in the morning with the breakfast…
I happen to witness some of the drug’s side effects such as sleepyness all the time, low sex drive, being aggresive and that he’s not really comfortable with his mind which all those things affect our relationship.
His biggest fear is that eventually he will stop having the control of his mind and I am always by his side telling him this won’t happen and he’s doing great – but sometimes I am worrying it may happen. If he continious with Seroxat.
But once again – I think all those symptoms he’s having is from that shitty drug! I believe he’ll be fine without it.
So I asked him to reduce it to 20mg once a day, it’s been 2weeks – hopefully he will stop it complitely in the near future.
I advice everyone whose reducing Sexorat to workout and eat healthy. You need tostestorone and serotin – eat food that contains it naturally such as nuts, chocolate, olive oil etc. Feel alive, believe that you’re better without it.
January 28, 2016 at 12:31 am
MY EXPERIENCE WITH SEROXAT WAS A GOOD ONE
I took seroxat for 7 months and it’s been a month since I haven’t been taking the pill. To stop using the pill once it had helped me my doctor advised me to start reducing the dosis at a slow pase and that is what I did. While I has reducing the dosis, and now that I am not taking Seroxat I have been feeling fine. As any antidepressant Seroxat has secondary effects but in my case none of them where serious, I was sleepy and had low sex drive but besides that everything was ok. Seroxat did help me fight anxiety. I can now say that thanks to seroxat now I am closer no feeling “normal”, as I was before I had anxiety.
My experiencia with seroxat was very good and I want to write about this because, when I had to start using the pill, all the thing I found on the internet made me very afraid. I suppose only people who have had bad experiencias go to the internet to communicate but successful cases stay silent. I want people to know that, although some people have problems with seroxat, there are other cases in which this meds are a real life saver.
February 1, 2016 at 12:17 pm
i was on Seroxat after coming home from a deployment with the Army and diagnosed with PTSD.
I had to wean myself off the drug as the side effects were horrible to say the least. Instead of stopping the dreams and colds sweats, Seroxat actually intensified them which meant that as soon as I woke up and stopped crying my then wife and I had to completely change our bedding.
Also, on the few occasions where I had a good night’s sleep I would waken up with the erection from hell and would HAVE to have sex. This led to me going with any female who looked even slightly interested.
Coming off was easy for me as I’m quite strong willed, however I have read here that others have not been as successful and I wish you all the success in the future.
Good luck
June 14, 2016 at 10:16 am
I have been on this medication long term – for about 18 years now (20mg). I’m now 46. My life ticks over just fine. I don’t get panic attacks, extreme anxiety that stops me working or dropping out of jobs / unable to start new jobs, my depression is kept to a minimum. I’m frankly staggered by some of the negative comments on this site about this medication. Those of us who take this medication cannot be likened to drug addicts and suchlike. This is a medication that is designed to HELP people. Are those who take regular medication for bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia also drug addicts? This medication is a life saver for many people and, contrary to what a GP told me told me today, after a “medication review” (I might add, a GP who knows nothing about my history, life, tolerance to this medication; didn’t even know the purpose of my visit when I arrived with my review letter they send!!), unless there is definitive medical evidence based on sound clinical trials of the long term side effects of using this medication, I shall happily receive my prescription every 2 months and continue taking this medication. Yes, it’s not all rosy in the garden: I have a problem with sweating during the night if I eat lots of salty foods, my sex-drive is lower than normal and I can’t drink much without feeling anxious for 2-3 days after, but hello – salt, alcohol – these are bad for us anyway!
Let’s try and see a balanced view of this medication: everybody’s brain is unique, everybody’s chemical makeup is unique; not everybody will tolerate this medication short or long term. I tolerate it well, I’m among the group that tolerate it well.
October 15, 2016 at 5:58 pm
I’ve been on this for four months for post natal anxiety and i can honestly say after the first two months, that they tell you gets worse before it gets better, it’s amazing. I understand the sex thing though. But i’m massively sexed on them not coming off them. I wasn’t before. My husband is really chuffed! We all have to remember how we went to the doctor for help in the first place. They do have to go through different ones to see what suits our needs. So if it isn’t working for you, you need to talk to them. Also…i’m more worried about the affect of my illness in the long term than any physical/mental longterm side effects. Things take time to sink in. if you were on the tablets or not you could get any of the diseases mentioned above. You can’t say for sure if it’s the tablets or what you’re going through and your mind set to know. I worry about peoples searches about this drug that can actually help, might put people off.
October 28, 2016 at 5:36 pm
This post refers to those who have bad opinion about this medication.
It is normal that most of us have bad experience with seroxat because the brain is a very complex structure and it is not entirely understood. So it might work or not, it depends from one individual ti another. And about the “it only got worst” well if you read the prospect you will see that it is written there that in the first 2-4 weeks you have high chances to make you feel even worst than you were before, more then that it is also written that IF YOU WANT NOT TO TAKE IT any longer you have to stop progressively because if your not going to do that it will again make you fell like you was before…So please first read the prospect / internet / ask your doc, and than make your final opinion.
I took it 1 year and yes it had side effects but almost all medication what works on your brain has one ore more. But if you are strong and don’t give up you will experience the good results, but again is a chance that even after several weeks this won’t work, and this is just normal in this case you should try sth else.
All the best guys 😀
January 2, 2017 at 1:28 am
I took Seroxat back in the 90s for a year or so to deal with depression and agitation. I have to say that the experience was amazing. My symptoms disappeared and basically I felt like I was on a low but never ending dose of MDMA. The best thing was the effect on my sex drive. For the first and last time in my life I had the motivation and confidence to effortlessly pick up girls in pubs and clubs. It is astonishing how the ability to do this seems to be 90% in the mind. One of the most obvious side effects for me though was that I had real trouble ejaculating during sex. That lead to some very happy girls though some of whom I still see socially and they still blush when they see me.
I know all that sounds flippant but I have never forgotten that experience. However it should be said that after i stopped taking Seroxat I rapidly lost my libido and stopped having sex altogether. Also I remember my mother expressing relief as she said I had become a different person (although I think I had become the person I always should have been not the colourless, sexless depressive she seemed to prefer.) It is now 16 years without so much as having kissed a girl.
After 8 years taking no SSRI’s I relapsed into depression and ended up taking Zoloft (Sertraline) for 8 years. This was a totally different experience. Much less powerful – none of the MDMA effect. Basically I felt like a content zombie in la la land. No strong emotions, no libido and no deep thinking about what I was doing with my life – result: I made lots of bad decisions. After 8 years I became uneasy and decided to stop taking the Zoloft. The result is I have gone back to low level depression but also bad anxiety which I did not suffer from when younger. I feel like I was asleep for 8 years and that I have just woken up and lost all those years. I am now in despair as I am middle aged and yet somehow ended up being sexless for the prime of my manhood between the ages of 28-45. I just cannot understand how that happened. It feels like I was one person up to 28. Then another person till 45 and now I am back to the same person I was before 28. A completely crazy experience that has undermined my sense of who I am and my self confidence and sense of self worth. I now have to somehow rebuild my life.
I don’t think I took Seroxat for long enough to suffer withdrawal effects. However I can definitely see the bad effects of taking Zoloft for 8 years. Yet when I started taking it I remember my GP telling me that I would probably have to atke it for the rest of my life!
January 2, 2017 at 3:06 pm
Goldghost – I’m no doctor, but I advise you to start taking your seroxat again. It’s about quality of life and from what you were saying, your quality of life was much better when you were taking Seroxat. Also, check out alternative therapies such as mindfulness – this helped me massively too (especially with anxiety), also get regular exercise if you are able. Good luck. 🙂
May 6, 2017 at 9:22 pm
Reblogged this on seroxat secrets… and commented:
I wrote this 10 years ago… Still no answers
May 13, 2017 at 10:26 am
Hello !
I am on Seroxat for about 12 years. I don’t feel that drug destroys me. One side effect is night sweets but not every night. I believe few days in a week. This drug save me from panic attacks and anxiety disorder. My memorie is great. I do running 4 times a week. Maybe I will like to quit but why? I asking myself but still have no answer.
May 13, 2017 at 1:00 pm
Hi. I wondered what age you are? Have you ever tried stopping the drug?
October 31, 2017 at 11:06 pm
Yes in my experience seroxat change the ability of mind feeling emtions and happiness
November 17, 2017 at 5:42 pm
Seroxat I was take for 3 years and now I stop it it make my memory loss how I come bake my memory please help me I’m just 23 please help me