How easy is it to start and finish Seroxat?

[steveo]

Without boring you with too much of my medication history, here it is in a nutshell:

Started Citalopram 11 years ago no problem
Got very well for years, came off last october no problems
January 2013 - Anxiety and depression came back worse than EVER
Jan 2013 - Went back on Cit straight away
March 2013 - Came off Cit as it was no longer working
March 2013 - Switched to Escitalopram
NOW - It's not working!

My p'doc wanted me to start Seroxat but clearly from the bad press about this drug, I am VERY hesitant. Despite that, my mum loves it (although cant come off it), and my sisters been on it twice and says it was incredible and started and came off it twice no problems.

Please can I hear peoples experiences? I will be switching from Escitalopram if I do take it so does anyone also have experience from switching from one SSRI to this one?

Just would love to hear as many stories both positive and negative as possible without spending hours trawling this section of the forum.

Many many thanks in advance.

Steven

[bab]

Hey there
I am on escitalopram, have been for last 6 years. I was on seroxat for about 15 yrs ago. It worked wonders for me. I came off it due to the bad press and it wasnt coming off it that was hard.. I came off it and didnt go on anything else and when the anxiety came back that was hard. When I went back on tablets I was put on Citalopram. And now Im on Cipralex. I have to say nothing worked quite as well for my anxiety as seroxat but im too scared to go back on it. I think all SSRIS's have the potential to be hard to come off and I think Seroxat is the same as all of them.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[steveo]

I have heard that if it works, it works WONDERS.

I'm aware more than anyone about the bad press. I am prone to suicidal thoughts which worries me slightly as I know Seroxat is known to be the main offender in that area.

Would love to hear more stories!!

[Darbysa]

Steveo

I have been on seroxat for 7 years and I have to say that for me it's been fantastic. I had no side effects when starting on 20mg. I did wean myself off it 3 years ago and apart from a few dizzy spells thought I had cracked it. However, my anxiety came back with a vengeance after a couple of months so the doc put me back on 10mg and I've been there ever since. I think I probably came off too quick ( have since read that you need a very slow taper) but have been put off trying to come off again. For the most part I am still very well on the 10mg dose. I do occasionally have a few off days but nothing like I was a few years ago and it's always short lived.
I know seroxat has bad press and I do sometimes think I ought to try to stop again but I feel so well on it I don't want to go through the withdrawal.
I will say that i have never had suicidal tendencies though and I do know there have been concerns reported that seroxat may not be the best choice for those who do. If I were you I might be tempted to discuss further with my doctor.
This probably doesn't help with your deliberations but thought I'd share my experience with you.

Take care

Sal x

[steveo]

Thankyou Sal. I appreciate you taking the time to write your experiences.

I just am in a hell of a situation right now. I need something to change. I can't carry on living the way I am.

Would love to hear more stories whether they be good or bad.

Steven x

[jayjoe18]

Hi Steven,
I've never tried medication (as you might know by my 1000's of posts about the topic haha!) but my mum is on Seroxat and she says it's changed her life. She's been on it for quite a few years now although she can't come off it. She tried once and had a really terrible time. I was younger and hadn't even started with my anxiety but can remember how bad she was. Despite this she's really happy on this med, she says she doesn't care if she's on it a lifetime because atleast she now has a life!

Hope that helps.

[SeroxVet]

Hello Steveo. As my name suggests, I'm something of a Seroxat veteran so perhaps I may be of some help to you. I was put on this drug back in the mid 90s when quite frankly they were giving them out like Smarties and there was never even a hint there would be trouble coming off it - it was being seen as a wonder drug. Prozac had been on the scene for quite a few years, but Seroxat (paroxetine) was soon the new number one as it was having very good results, particularly with people suffering anxiety and/or depression. And I was no exception. It dramatically improved my ability to function in stressful situations, which at the time meant most human interaction! I had a very stressful job and it helped greatly with this. I had no real side effects and it started to make me feel better within a fortnight. And so the years went by and things were generally OK. Not once did any of the doctors I had (I've moved about a fair bit) suggest coming off it and nor did they suggest I try therapy. One once said, "Oh, you've been on this quite a long time." But they didn't suggest how I might come off it or getting other treatment.
I would say after about 5-6 years of being on it I started to notice some unwelcome side effects. The most disturbing of these was physical and mental tiredness. And this got worse and worse as time went on to the point where I was pretty much tired all the time. I can remember w/ends sleeping for 10-12 hours, waking up, having something to eat and then being back in bed a few hours later and falling asleep! Something was clearly not right. I had also noticed that I felt somehow detached from reality. I've seen many people write about this. The cotton wool world effect, some call it, and I can relate to that. It's like you know what is happening but that you aren't really there. Things are no longer vivid and you feel sort of neutral about everything.
A couple of years ago I decided I'd come off it. I rushed it, with the usual disastrous consequences; the physical symptoms are pretty horrendous, never mind anything to do with mood etc. I then took it slowly, tapering down over about 6 months and just as I was coming to the end, I had a major setback in my life (a relationship ending) and immediately went back on 20mg again (what I had been on since the very start). But I was heartened by the fact that coming off - if you take it really slowly - is not a total nightmare, though there were some effects like the head zaps and electric shock jolts etc. Fast forward to last summer and I again embarked on coming off. Again, doing it very slowly. I had my last crumb of Seroxat in Jan. What I have come to realise is that coming off is only half the battle. Even after nearly three months, my body is still getting use to not having the drug. I have had headaches and nausea on a level that I didn't while coming off. I have also noticed a significant decrease in the pleasure of my orgasms, the first time I've ever had that happen. And also I have had some intense lows with suicidal thinking. These are happening at almost regular intervals every 24 hours or so. These are experiences that I never had before I was on the drug so I know this is not the return of old problems; this is withdrawal and after a few hours I feel pretty much OK again. And this is where I am at the moment. Given that I was on Seroxat for over 15 years, I am preparing for the long haul. I expect that I will continue to experience these effects for quite some time, probably a year or more.
So what are my conclusions? Well, this is a drug that has helped millions of people all over the world The bad press it has got is often frankly laughable. The most famous case is the man who came home and killed his family after less than a week on it. And the US courts found against the drug company in that one, despite there being zero evidence of a causal link! Would they have blamed a beer company if he had tried a beer for the first time that week? No. It is well known that these sorts of drugs take weeks to have any effect at all. As for the suicide risk, well, I for one would be astonished if hardly anyone who had been prescribed this drug had ever killed themselves. After all, we are talking about a group of people - depressed, anxious etc - who are already in a higher risk category. You would expect there to be a certain level of suicides. But not only is this drug not causing suicides, I'd say it is preventing a fair number. In fact, I read something the other day that pretty much puts the matter beyond doubt. The suicide rate for under 35s on SSRIs like Seroxat is actually lower than for the general population! So if someone in that age group is on these meds it is less likely that they will kill themselves.
So Steveo, I would not be put off by the bad press. However, if you do choose to go on them I would urge you not to see this as a long-term solution to your problems. These drugs only help you cope, they do not address the underlying problems. For that you will need therapy/counselling etc. If I were you I would insist on getting this as well as the meds. Fortunately for you, the NHS is now very much in favour of this joint approach so you should get support. 15-20 years ago it was almost impossible and most patients weren't clued up enough to ask. Things are definitely changing for the better in that regard. I just wish it had happened sooner as I can't deny it, I do think of those last 8-10 years on Seroxat as lost years, which took a toll on my career and my personal life. Crikey, I have gone on a bit. Hope this helps.