2009 starts the same way 2008 ended, with more horror stories from the readers of Seroxat Secrets:
I am a Paxil Widow. Prior to taking Paxil, my husband was a loving, caring, responsible husband. After being prescribed Paxil, the nightmares began. He became agitated easily, depressed, and began to binge frequently on vodka. He also became very paranoid and suicidal. I contacted his dr.’s but got no responses. On June 17th, he told me he loved me and always would. I told him how much I loved him and exited the room. About 10 minutes later, I heard a loud bang. He had put a .45 to his head and ended his life. I know in my heart, mind and soul this would not have happened if not for this evil drug. Ironically, after his death I sought therapy and the first thing the dr. said was I need to be on antidepressants….My response…NOT NO BUT HELL NO!!!!
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I am 37, a user of Seroxat and have been now for over 11 years. I want to thank this website and also the Seroxat users group for letting me know that I am not alone. The frightening thing is that having travelled all over the world and been prescribed the drug in places as far afield as Honduras I thought that the problems I have had with the drug were unique to me and now I discover there are millions of us. How could this have been allowed to happen and why is there not a class action lawsuit to protect us all and hurt GSK in the only place it can..i.e the pocket!!!
I at this point am afraid I could be on the drug for the rest of my life as I simply don’t have the support network to go through the withdrawal process, having tried it a few times I know that I will not function as a human being for a very long time and working as I do would be impossible.
I want to do something!! I’ve written to my MP, sent in a yellow card to the MHRA, but there must be something more that can be done!!!!
I would like to say to anyone who reads this that if you have never taken the drug DON’T!!! If you have issues with life as we all do then don’t let a GP push a drug on you that will only create other problems for you to deal with for which there can be no solution. Find another way however hard it may be to find.
I wish you all the best
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People are urged to drink alcohol on Seroxat because Seroxat causes intense agitation (Akathisia) . The craving and consuming of alcohol (or in some cases other drugs such as valium or pot) takes the edge off the effects of Paxil for some people. How tragically ironic that a drug which is prescribed for depression creates a side effect craving for an “depressant” (alcohol)? , which in turn exacerbates the users problems. Seroxat is simply a mind f*ck drug. If you think you had problems before Seroxat, take it for a few years and then you’ll really know what it feels like to have mental problems.
The drug is so insidious that it makes you think you are going mad. So it’s very easy for GSK and the psychiatrists to continue to tell you that it is you and not the drug which is changing your behavior, the cruelty of subjecting someone to a mind-fuck like Seroxat can only be known by those whom experience it and survive it. It is truly a hell like no other. A complete annihilation of the body, mind, emotions, personality and soul. Seroxat is nihilism in Tablet form. Recovering from the ravages of withdrawal is yet another stage of the Seroxat, picking up the pieces after the horrors of Seroxat is akin to the Post traumatic stress that soldiers experience after combat. The dehumanization which the drug and then withdrawal creates is cruelty personified.
There is also the problem of mixing Seroxat with alcohol. This can have dire consequences for most people. I myself drank a lot on Seroxat, I didn’t know why until I figured it out, I needed to take the edge off the unbearable side effects. Side effects like depersonalization , De Realization , De humanization , Akathisia and Paranoia. Unfortunately even just three pints of Beer would cause me to behave completely manic and out of character. Seroxat is bad enough on its own, throwing alcohol into the mix is courting with disaster.
This drug needs to be pulled urgently before any more people are harmed.
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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.
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I would like to tell everyone about my experience with taking Paxil. I am doing this so that you may make an informed decision should you decide to take this drug. I was not given that option because certain side effects, though known, have not been disclosed to the FDA, physicians, or consumers.
I was prescribed Paxil by my doctor during an especially stressful time in my life. I had no history of mental illness nor was I diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. I took this medicine, actually a very low dose, from 2001 – 2005. When I decided to stop taking it, I cut my dose back gradually and weaned myself off of it entirely.
I began having gastric distress. This began as I was cutting back on the Paxil and continued long after I quit taking it. I had diarrhea every day for 2-1/2 years. Just about everything I ate went right through me. This lasted all day long, every day. From my research, I have since learned that most of the serotonin in your body is located in your intestines, so it makes sense that if you take something that adjusts that serotonin level, then your intestines would be affected.
I will try to tell you how this has changed my life. It affects everything that I do, from what kind of job I have, where I go, vacations, where and what I can eat. I have had many tests run by specialists and there is no other cause for the diarrhea. I can also tell you that there have been some very embarrassing moments because of this.
About 2 months ago, as an experiment, I started taking the Paxil again. And guess what? The diarrhea stopped almost immediately. I found a blog called Paxil Progress, which is a blog for people who are trying to wean off of Paxil and it seems that my story is not unique at all. This drug causes bowel incontinence, bloating, horrible gas and pain along with the chronic diarrhea.
I wish I had known what this drug would do to me before I started taking it. Please do your homework. The doctors will not tell you about the side effects and withdrawal symptoms, nor will GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Paxil. Can you guess why they don’t tell you? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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6 years ago before i started to take seroxat, i was fine,sociable,outgoing, laid back but went to the doctor after bad experience with a violent partner and claimed i needed a proffessional to speak to and thats when they suggested to put me on these so called miracle working drug that happens to help take all your problems away when really all its doing is helping to create more than you already have in the first place.
I now suffer anxiety,suicidal thoughts,stomach cramps,nausea,bleeding,lack of sleep,mood swings,ringing in the ears,aggression,violence,weight loss and so on.(Im pretty sure other seroxat sufferers understand the symptoms aswell as me).
I am completely and utterly disgusted with GSK and think it is about time something should be done!Why should we all go through symptoms as such as the above,and have our lives ruined and put on the line for money grabbing companies like these?
what i dont understand is whether it is actually the doctors/government fault for prescribing these killer drugs.10.000 signatures protesting against this should be recognised and it’s most definitely not a coincidence that we all are suffering the same symptoms.
Gsk killers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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hi
i have been on seroxat for sixteen years since my son david died as a result of prematurity. I have been up and down with it but his last eighteen months since my mum passed away it has been terrible. The agitated leg that winds everyone up because i cannot stop it moving when i am out. The weight gain is making me so miserable i have never been so big. The mood swings i snap every six weeks and cannot stop talking. I cannot think quietly about anything it just comes out of my mouth. I cannot remember things i black out. I am sick and so bloated. I cannot have any feelings i cannot cry or laugh then all i do is just cry in the middle of a shop or similiar. I ould go on but my family are getting fed up of the nasty swings but all my doctor has done is to put my tablets up to 30mg and keep giving sleeping tablets for the insomnia. I am getting desperate i dont know what to do can anyone recommed anything please
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OMG. This is crazy. I have been on Paxil for about 7 years. Originally I was on 20 mg twice a day for a nervous disorder (imbalance). My neurologist had read studies how Paxil helped with it. I have to say it did help with that problem but I have gained so much weight and when I drink I have done stupid stupid stuff. I don’t really have the cravings of alcohol. It is more a situational thing for me. Nice day. Get off work on a Friday and have a few beers. Well, that few turns into 12 and then I say mean things to people. I never get physically violent but I have said some very mean and hateful things via email and text messages. I have been on Paxil CR 25 MG for the last 3 or 4 years. I gained a lot of weight. Now I am not the best eater in the world but not the worst either. Not bad enough to explain the weight gain. I had no problem drinking 3 or 4 beers with the neighbors and then going to bed or just chilling out. Now when I go to have 3 or 4 beers it turns into 12-15 beers. It has had a negative effect and I can only say I am thankful my wife found this website so I can talk to my Dr. about paxil before it ruins my marriage, job or worse. My problems have been mostly minor but I could see them getting worse. geez. I don’t want to quit it cold turkey because it does help with my balance problem but it has only created another one. Thanks for everybody being honest. Keep the comments going and I will continue to share my experiences.
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Seroxat has DESTROYED My life and My future .. period…
After three and a half years since taking Seroxat.. I have been left with a multitude of sever and debilitating problems, both physical and mental.. Some of which i could never have imagined in my wildest dreams prior to taking this drug..
Thousands of testaments to the contrary.. and still the authorities and Doctors refuse to accept and or recognize that there are VERY serious problems with this drug.
We have trusted in the MHRA to ensure we are given safe drugs.. and trusted our Doctors, who are the real consumers.. now we are left to pay the price..
There is a growing number of people like myself who will never stop trying to bring awareness to the despicable atrocities that are being caused by GSK and Doctors for no other reason than greed.
So what are the victims like myself supposed to do now.
There is NO help available.. NO support.. NO validation..
Its just not good enough..
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February 1, 2009 at 12:19 pm
SHOCKING…PLEASE GO TO VIRTUAL MEMORIALS AND TYPE IN THE NAME LORRAINE (LORI) PEANUT I AM OUTRAGED.. PLEASE READ MEMORIAL SLOWLY. AND MOSTLY SIGN MY GUESTBOOK- ALSO PLEASE PASS HER PAGE AROUND THE WORLD. I WANT THIS STORY TO COME OUT
November 9, 2009 at 10:00 pm
http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcases/suspicious-suicide-of-sister
finally solved decades later….just months ago
OUTRAGED!!!!!
THEN IS STILL NOW….EVEN WORSE!!!!!
April 3, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Hello, I am reading this as a research before i go buy the drug (Seroxat). I was having sexual problems (cant maintain an errection) as well as other problems like, feeling of anxiety, can talk to people-socialize well (although i used to very good), have a decreased sexual desire, and depressed… the doctor prescribed 3 medicines: Seroxat, Xanax, and another one that starts with a B – cant read his hand-writing he says it helps with anxiety. Anyway, I didn’t know what to do, after talking for 45 mins with the doctor he said that I have obsessive thinking (a form of OCD). That i focus too much on details and think a lot and repetitively about things happening, that is why i cant get/maintain an errection, cannot focus…etc. Anyway, if I don’t take Seroxat (which he said should slow down my obsessive thinking process) how am i going to get better!? i see all the things people wrote on this blog, and now i’m even more afraid to take the medicine. But i’m in a catch 22 – what should i do?! I dont wanna take medicine, i said that to the doctor. he said, well fine if u wanna go run your mouth off to a psychotherapist which would tale a long time and a lot of money to heal. otherwise, trust me, listen to me, take the pills and you’ll get back better than you used to be even… PLEASE HELP ME GUYS!
July 18, 2009 at 12:04 am
From my experience with Paroxetine I can say it surely wasn’t helpful for maintaining an erection, because it killed my sexual desire. But then I understand how it could do wonders for premature ejaculation. Though there should be better alternatives for the latter, I think…
April 14, 2009 at 2:05 am
DON’T take anything. My husband has been on Paxil for a little over a year because he had premature ejaculation. It did not both me but it did him. I thought that if it helped him feel better that was great. After about 3 months of taking Paxil his behavior changed. He did things that I never dreamed of him doing. The latest is that he is jeopardizing our marriage of 13 years. I love him and am willing to do anything to save our marriage. I have told him before that I feel that the medicine is causing our problems but he will not listen and refuses to believe it. He has no idea why he is doing the things and is acting carelessly. I don’t know what to do. I am considering talking to the doctor and letting him know of his behavior. The problem is that he still has 3 months before having to go back to the doctor for a refill and I am not sure that our marriage will last that long with his behavior.
October 13, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Sounds like exactly what happened to me. Heartbreaking. I’m alone now.
December 5, 2011 at 3:47 pm
I know exactly how you feel. That drug has almost ruined my marriage. My husband started being incredibly mean, I knew it was the drug because before that he wouldn’t have done or say any of the things he started doing. I got to the point that I told him to leave, it was so bad that I would have paid him to leave. He started getting off the drug. It took him six months and he was committed to doing doing so. In the mean time to take care of myself and the kids I checked out of the marriage otherwise I am not sure where I would have ended up. He has been clean of it for 5 months now and seems to be getting his old self back to before he was on the drug. However, I am still scared. The problem with this drug Drs prescribe it however there is no support for people who are living with partners who are taking it. It leaves you all alone.
October 13, 2009 at 8:47 am
Hello I have only just decided to find out about the Seroxat medication I have been taking for almost 19 years (prescribed to me in 1991 when I was diagnosed with post natal depression). The Seroxat has certainly put a great deal of weight on me (I haven’t eaten any more than I have in the past) and taken away the desire to have sex. I have tried unsuccessfully several times to withdraw from this medication but each time I can only get so far before I start to feel as though I am going mad. I can only equate it to what it probably feels like when trying to withdraw from a powerful drug like heroin. I don’t think I am able to hold a job – due to taking the Seroxat medication. It has made me confused and muddled and I don’t always seem to know where I am. The medication has caused problems with my memory. I am now 47 and fear for the future.
November 5, 2009 at 1:53 am
I have been on paxil for almost four months and it has completely ruined my life. This is my second time taking the paxil as I took it a little over a year ago for a two month period. The first time I went on the paxil I had no side effects and was feeling better then I had in a long time. I was feeling great and the doctor said to ween myself off and I would be fine. I did so and stayed pretty even keel until this past summer. I started to feel like I couldnt be “myself” and had some anxiety issues. I went back onto the paxil and the last four months have been a living nightmare. I dont know what to do and think I am going insane. What can I do???
November 9, 2009 at 9:55 pm
http://www.Drugawareness.org/recentcases/suspicious-suicide-of-sister
FINALLY SOLVED. SPREAD THIS LINK..AND HELP FIND OTHER FAMILIES STILL IN THE DARK.
1981…THEN
IS NOW! 2009!!!!
November 22, 2009 at 11:41 pm
If you begin to feel awful it obviously isnt working for you !
It isnt terrible for everyone and can and does stop anxiety even tremors.
Its pot luck who it works on and who it doesnt,When I weaned 10 years ago I got electric shock feelings for a few days in my head but no biggie.
I,ve been on it now nearly 2 years and these horror stories are really scaring me,I have put on 77 pounds on in weight but I also stopped smoking at the same time.
I hope I have better luck when I eventually come off them but probably my anxiety will come back and tremor.
This is the only pill that has worked for me.
Wish me luck.
December 23, 2009 at 5:34 am
Good evening.
I was on Paxil for only one month five years ago at ‘only’ 15 mg. On the final week of it, I started to become disoriented, weak, and felt as if I couldn’t regulate my body temperature. I was an athlete, and all, and never got sick. Due to the onset of distressing symptoms, I decided to quit the drug and weaned off of it over the course of a week (though the dr stated that that was unnecessary). Long story short is that this one month “experiment” utterly altered the course of my life. I was in graduate school at the time (had just completed my first year), however following my taper, my body crashed. My symptoms included: extreme weakness, dizziness, constant distress, vomiting, distorted vision. Basically I was totally impaired with symptoms I had never felt before….never knew existed before. I felt like my nervous system had exploded and I just had to sit tight.
Well, it took over a year to recover PHYSICALLY from that experience. However, as I would unfortunately come to find, that one year loss was just the beginning. I forced myself through my last year of grad school pissed off for the detour, however due to not being able to stop and EMOTIONALLY heal from all that, over the next year I would grind myself down to dust by not stopping and taking care of myself. So… I eventually had to pay the price and have spent the past few years recovering and developed a lovely case of PTSD. I know this story sounds severe, but all I can say is that it was and still is. I realize I am in the far minority for extreme cases, but decided to finally share since I am yet another example of what can go wrong.
I know I will fully heal in time, but who asks for this shit?
March 23, 2010 at 1:08 am
Lawrence,
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. Based on your story I think you may qualify for compensation. ANYONE who has taken paxil may qualify for compensation, in the tens of thousands.
A friend of mine who had a stroke after taking paxil was paid $328,000 in October of 2009. Here is a resource that can help you. http://bit.ly/9Mlrkf – Don’t delay, get your money while you can. Your health is important!
-Jason
October 13, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Paxil ruined my life and I’ve never taken it.
I fell in love with the most caring person in the world. they were prescribed Paxil and never visited the doctor again…that was ten years ago. He turned into an alcoholic, became abusive, sexually disfunctional and eventually left me. I know that before he was on those pills, that when he told me he would love me forever that he meant it. Paxil took him away and destroyed him…and I’m sure the worst is yet to come. I’m no longer there to catch him when he falls this time. I pray someone is. I love you Jonathan. I know the pain these pills are causing you. Please get help. I’ve already lost you once, I can;t stand to see you die.
December 16, 2011 at 5:06 am
Hello i ve just taken this pill og 25 mg for the first time today and now im in my office reading these comments whichscaring the hell out of me but i dont know what to do as im unable to control my problem on my own
December 16, 2011 at 3:31 pm
I would say talk to Doctor – you don’t say what your problem is. I’m surprised Docs still prescribe Seroxat when there are other SSRIs/SNRIs which are less controversial… there might be a better option for you?
December 16, 2011 at 11:17 am
I have taken seroxsat for many years i had and have a severe neurosis due to trauma suffered while evacuated in 2nd ww and coming home to a war wounded Dad who was an alchoholic also i think some of my illness is hereditery on my mothers side as depression is a feature of some of my relatives health problems i stopped drinking when my eldest son now 45+was born and was put on various pills,and ECT none of this worked i became idle and workshy content to sit at home my family would have been better off if i had kept on boozing as i worked ok before i took pills well i am sorry to swim against the tide but i do feel seroxat helps me now i can cope with my symptoms a lot better i still take lorazepam i have an addictive personality as evident in that its alchohol or drugs to prop me up,i personally think from my own experiences that we fail our own expectations and need to blame something,mental illness is not a recent thing,and some mentally ill people have been exemplary,some have been monsters, its the human condition,You do not have to take a medicine to know that we climb up,we fall,and so the search for peace goes on, some commit suicide,i understand all this and i also know it will end naturally one day thank God,till then i wish for you all peace however you find it.
February 13, 2012 at 2:06 pm
I have seperated from my partner who is on seroxat, from an outside view , watching someone being controlled by seroxat. The head shocks my ex had would change him in a second from being with me to trying to servive in the moment. He tried over six years to slowly come off the drug but after severe episode of depression last year, he went back on to the full dose. I was angry that he had wasted years coming off this drug and is now back to square one.
It has been like a third person slipping in on Dinner dates, days out with the children, smothering the takers personality.
I never understood the headshocks he used to try and describe but alot of seroxat users mention them, yet doctors have no solution or explanation for them. I wish i could know the man without seroxat muddling up his brain, its like a life sentence, just when he was so close to coming off he was back on the full dose.
I have noticed a change in him, very tired which is down to him mentally trying to think straight, gets angry fast and will not calm down. How can we trust doctors when they give out a S*%t drug like seroxat.
February 14, 2012 at 9:47 am
Hi, reading all these comments and stories, I am amazed at how badly this drug has affected people. I was on this drug for 7 years. I was on quite a high dose, (2 tablets a day). Two years ago, after 7 years of taking this drug I began to experience the head shocks that are described. In the past I would experience this feeling in my head if I had not taken the tablets for a couple of days because I had either forgotten or run out of the meds and forgot to get some more. This time I was taking the medication as normal and could not understand why this was happening… I went to my doctor – who was not the same doctor who prescribed aropax (seroxat) 7 years earlier…. She suggested trying a different anti-depressant. I weaned of the aropax over a period of 4 days then started on the new drug and have not looked back. I quit smoking and started going to the gym and running and swimming and I have lost around 15 kilos. I have stopped drinking so much… I used to drink a couple of bottles of wine every night when I was on aropax, now I would be lucky to have a couple of glasses of wine a month… I haven’t read anywhere about anyone trying a different anti-depressant in place of aropax… Everyone is saying they try to come off the drug but need to go back on it. But nobody says they tried something different.
May 23, 2012 at 5:08 am
This drug has ruined my life. Before paxil, I made 5x the amount of money I am making now, I had perfect credit, and was a straight A college student.
Since taking paxil, my credit took a nosedive, I make about $200 a week, and I stopped caring about school. I never pay my bills on time.
I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what changed. I then realized the only thing I did differently was starting paxil for “anxiety”. I am now stopping it under my doctor’s care.
Stay strong.