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I think it is important not to jump to conclusions.
1) paroxetine (brand name Paxil) takes time to kick in. It does not work overnight or even from one week to another. Most people take 3-6 weeks to actually feel like it is working for them. Unfortunately the side effects tend to be immediate, and take time to disappear. But they usually do.
2) 10mg is not a therapeutic dose. 20mg onwards is. Most prescribers usually recommend to start with 5 or 10 mg per day and then slowly going up in order to limit the potential side effects. Sometimes just a little whiff (5-10mg) is sufficient, though.
3) side effects... I do not think they are usually that bad. They mostly occur during the first weeks of treatment, and then disappear. I know many people who have taken paroxetine, and none who have described the side effects as unbearable. Obviously, if it is not working for you, your doctor should help you find another solution. Thankfully there are so many, these days! But it is not a good idea to tell people not to take paroxetine because you had a rough first couple of weeks, or even because it simply didn't work in your case. ;-)
4) sexual side effects. I believe that they usually do not go beyond decreased libido, and possibly anorgasmia for a few weeks once the therapeutic effect kicks in (this is common to most antidepressants). But after a while most people resume their sex lives without any difficulty. Actually, for many people it boosts their sexual life, since before they were too blue/anxious to do anything with their lovers.
It is very unfortunate when medication does not work as we were expecting. But we must give it a chance, and also realize that what does not work for us may work very well for other people.
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One time when I was switching from Paxil to Zoloft I had to take both drugs during the same day. This may have been a coincidence but I had the best day ever. It was so good that a nuclear bomb could have been sitting next to me and I wouldn't have cared. I mean could anger me. I'll never forget it.
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Just to let everyone know, I'm finally done Paxil. I was on 1/8 of a pill, was still having withdrawls. I finally got to see my doctor and he said I should be fine then to stop taking it, so he gave me a prescription for Citalopram. Feeling so much better now, the nightmare is over. Slowly feeling more and more normal like the Paxil's out of my body. Thanks everyone for your support.
