hockeyxshawn
10-21-2010, 12:04 AM
Hello there everyone! My name is Shawn. I am 26 and from Northern California. I started on Paxil when I was 22 for social anxiety problems, and it did help me for a few years but was never warned of the withdrawal symptoms when my doctor put me on it (seems to be common.) Last August I felt I was doing really well and started the tapering process. It was tough but I got through it and was feeling well.
About 3 weeks ago, one year after being completely off Paxil, I started to feel symptoms returning worse than I have ever experienced. It started with shortness in breath, heavy heart beat, and horrible insomnia. I got scared so I saw my doctor, got blood tests and a physical but everything came back normal. Later in the week my symptoms got so bad I went into urgent care to be checked again but he insisted it was just anxiety. I started on 10mg of Paxil again and most importantly, started therapy for the first time. 2 weeks later I'm not really starting to feel well yet. I have been dizzy constantly, getting headaches, short of breath, weird stomach ache that almost feels like I have a really bad empty stomach, restlessness, crazy mood swings. I feel totally out of it all the time, can't focus on simple tasks, and have started to lose interest in many things like playing hockey and softball, which were activities I used to really look forward to. Sleeping has been tough too. I've been having vivid dreams and waking up suddenly multiple times a night with a weird adrenaline rush sensation that goes through my body. When I try to fall back asleep I just jolt back up with the same sensation again.
This anxiety is really starting to put a damper on my life. Nothing sounds interesting to me anymore and it's really frustrating. I have been avoiding my friends and the ones I love because I feel so crappy. The weird thing is that it feels like the symptoms come in waves, but they are constant through out the day. I have been reading books, keeping a journal and going to therapy to help me out. I think I just need to be more patient.
Thank you all for listening to me. I look forward to coming in contact with you and hopefully offering some help to someone else' life. Any feedback or help with my situation would be greatly appreciated too :) Thank you.
About 3 weeks ago, one year after being completely off Paxil, I started to feel symptoms returning worse than I have ever experienced. It started with shortness in breath, heavy heart beat, and horrible insomnia. I got scared so I saw my doctor, got blood tests and a physical but everything came back normal. Later in the week my symptoms got so bad I went into urgent care to be checked again but he insisted it was just anxiety. I started on 10mg of Paxil again and most importantly, started therapy for the first time. 2 weeks later I'm not really starting to feel well yet. I have been dizzy constantly, getting headaches, short of breath, weird stomach ache that almost feels like I have a really bad empty stomach, restlessness, crazy mood swings. I feel totally out of it all the time, can't focus on simple tasks, and have started to lose interest in many things like playing hockey and softball, which were activities I used to really look forward to. Sleeping has been tough too. I've been having vivid dreams and waking up suddenly multiple times a night with a weird adrenaline rush sensation that goes through my body. When I try to fall back asleep I just jolt back up with the same sensation again.
This anxiety is really starting to put a damper on my life. Nothing sounds interesting to me anymore and it's really frustrating. I have been avoiding my friends and the ones I love because I feel so crappy. The weird thing is that it feels like the symptoms come in waves, but they are constant through out the day. I have been reading books, keeping a journal and going to therapy to help me out. I think I just need to be more patient.
Thank you all for listening to me. I look forward to coming in contact with you and hopefully offering some help to someone else' life. Any feedback or help with my situation would be greatly appreciated too :) Thank you.