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?
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
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
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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?
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
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
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: http://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
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…
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.
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