I'm a 36 year-old male. I've been taking 40mg of Paxil for 10 years. I have to take the name-brand, because the generic doesn't work for me (tried 3 different times). A few weeks ago, the old feelings of anxiety started creeping back in. Racing thoughts, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, overwhelming sense of fear, etc.

Now, I am feeding that anxiety with more fear. I am afraid that Paxil isn't working anymore, and I am scared that I will have to come off of it. I have read all of the horror stories about Paxil withdrawal, and it scares the living heck out of me. Currently, if I miss a day or two of taking it, I already start to have brain zaps. I have a feeling withdrawing from Paxil is going to be...hell on earth, and I have a wife and 2 kids that I have to support.

My question to you guys is this. Has anyone experienced this before? Will upping the dose from 40 to 50 help? Has anyone added a 2nd medication to an SSRI that is "pooping out" with success? Has anyone switched from Paxil to another SSRI with any success?

My doctor added .25mg of klonopin 2 times a day until I can get everything back under control, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

I'm a little desperate here, as anyone reading this can probably relate to. Anxiety sucks!

A little side note: I am currently under a bit more stress than I typically am used to. We are moving to a new house in 2 weeks, I received a promotion with added responsibility 1 month ago, and my daughter is dealing with some minor separation anxiety...which I have been worrying about.

Thanks again for any help. ac.

If Klonopin is not helping can you try something else like Atavan or Xanax? Maybe one of these would work for you. I've been presribed all of the above and Klonopin works for me but Xanax doesn't (it makes me more anxious). It all depends on your chemistry.
I was on Zoloft for five years in the past and I came off of it. If you have to come off Paxil just do it very slowly. Like a week of 40, then 35 next week, etc. until you are weaned from it. But I would try to find a benzo that works for you before you attempt to come off of it.
Have you tried upping the dosage yet to see if that would be effective? I just had to up my dosage of Zoloft because I found the dose I was on was losing effectiveness...and it had been fine for a couple months.
I can feel your desperation. Hope you are feeling better.

The same thing happened to me years ago with paxil. (i'm a pro at switching meds, I'm on my third or fourth at this point.)

I would first and foremost talk to your doc. Then with your pcp's help switch to a differnt med. Ask your doc. to ween off of paxil, while starting a new med..

for instance...

take 1/2 of your paxil, while starting 1/2 of a new med (effexor, cymbalta, lexapro.. whatever), then down your paxil, while you up your new.

It's typical that meds loose their effectiveness with your body. You can even try upping your paxil.

good luck and let us know how it goes.

hey caidkin. do the new meds work well once you switch? do they work as well as the original paxil?

Same thing happened to me -- my Paxil stopped being effective after about 10 years. From what I gather, this is not unusual for SSRIs. I cross-tapered to another medication (Lexapro), so it is certainly doable. I didn't find the Paxil withdrawal particularly debilitating, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. Yes, you will feel funky and get the brain zaps for a while, but the cross-taper will help minimize that. It's not the most fun, to be sure, but it beats suffering from full-blown panic and anxiety by a long shot.

-Jeremy