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Wonderdrug
Paroxetine (Paxil)
Citation:   CypherZero. "Wonderdrug: An Experience with Paroxetine (Paxil) (exp53913)". Erowid.org. Mar 25, 2009. erowid.org/exp/53913

 
DOSE:
30 mg oral Pharms - Paroxetine (daily)
BODY WEIGHT: 51 kg
Reading through the Experiences with Paroxetine I couldn't help notice that most of them were negative. I guess this is probably due to a successful experience being less interesting and therefore not worth posting. Regardless, this is a report on the success of the drug.

I went to my GP to complain about my Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder, and he prescribed 20mg Paroxetine daily, in addition to referring me to a psychiatrist I have yet to hear back from.

I took my first 20mg tablet at around 6:00PM and went to watch a film with some friends. By the time the film ended (ca. 8PM) I had noticed that I couldn't help jittering my leg, I felt incredibly awake and hyperactive. Suffice to say I got no sleep that night, in addition to feeling confused, nauseous and unable to stop twitching.

I felt so bad I didn't take any more next day, and decided to resume in a days time. I expected to get the same horrible side-effects when taking my next dose, but surprisingly they weren't as bad at all, I still couldn't sleep properly and still felt sick, but it was an improvement. I continued to take the drug for a further week, by which time the side effects were almost non-existent.

After two months I realised that my OCD had only slightly decreased, which could have easily been a placebo effect. I also felt more tired than usual in the evenings. My GP suggested I increase my dose to 30mg instead. With 30mg I noticed even LESS side effects than with 20mg. I was again hyperactive and irritable in the first week of increasing the dose, though nowhere near as bad as when I first tried 20mg, but this went away. Now, two months after starting with 30mg my OCD has decreased very substantially and I don't even feel sedated like I sometimes did with 20mg. 'Tis all good!

ADDITIONAL: Interactions with alcohol
Reduces tolerance to alcohol, I was a lightweight to start off with, but now I can get reasonably pissed on 1 pint of ale. Suffice to say I no longer drink casually.

ADDITIONAL: Increasing depression
I take Paroxetine for OCD, not depression. I have at times notice almost bipolar symptoms, being manic during the day and depressed and feeling suicidal at night, I just have to keep telling myself that this is the drug causing this and the depression will pass.

This stuff has really turned my life around and I'd have been a fool not to battle through that one initial week.

Exp Year: 2006ExpID: 53913
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Mar 25, 2009Views: 14,508
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Pharms - Paroxetine (148) : Combinations (3), Retrospective / Summary (11), Depression (15), Medical Use (47), Not Applicable (38)

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Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


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