I've had two experiences with Paxil, one positive, one down right horrifying. Towards the end of my senior year in high school, I was experiencing very worrisome symptoms: dizziness, visual blackouts, extreme fatigue, and I even fainted once. So eventually, I went to the doctor.
Paroxetine
Encyclopedic
Encyclopedic
Typical encyclopedia coverage. Cross-reference for important decisions.
- 2 corroborating sources
- no dose data
- 28 combo interactions documented
- PubChem toxicity data
Encyclopedic
Typical encyclopedia coverage. Cross-reference for important decisions.
- 2 corroborating sources
- no dose data
- 28 combo interactions documented
- PubChem toxicity data
Aliases: Paxil, Seroxat
Summary
Paroxetine is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) used in the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic disorder.
Tolerance
Build-up
therapeutic effects take 2–6 weeks to stabilize; this is receptor adaptation, not traditional tolerance
Reset
discontinuation effects can last weeks; taper recommended
Tolerance Decay
Full tolerance
3d
Half tolerance
18d
Baseline
~30d
Effects
Aggregated from 64 single-substance Erowid experience reports; 64 Erowid reports where another drug was taken too are left out
Each bar shows the share of analyzed reports whose text mentions that effect — a mention is not always a first-hand experience (fear of an effect or something witnessed can count). Mentions saying the effect did not happen are left out; that check reads keywords, so it can miss some. The shaded band on a bar, and the small range after its number, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind. Fewer reports, wider band. Tap or hover any number for details. The second value is the Bluelight extractor's per-effect confidence; a dash means the row is Erowid-derived, which has no confidence measurement.
Effect glossary — · full glossary
Positive Effects 6
28.1% (95% interval 19 to 40 percent)
–
18.8% (95% interval 11 to 30 percent)
–
7.8% (95% interval 3 to 17 percent)
–
7.8% (95% interval 3 to 17 percent)
–
4.7% (95% interval 2 to 13 percent)
–
4.7% (95% interval 2 to 13 percent)
–
Adverse Effects 7
28.1% (95% interval 19 to 40 percent)
–
21.9% (95% interval 14 to 33 percent)
–
7.8% (95% interval 3 to 17 percent)
–
7.8% (95% interval 3 to 17 percent)
–
6.2% (95% interval 2 to 15 percent)
–
4.7% (95% interval 2 to 13 percent)
–
4.7% (95% interval 2 to 13 percent)
–
Also reported in combinations. In the 64 Paroxetine reports where another drug was taken too, 14 (21.9%) mention hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 2 (3.1%) a seizure and 7 (10.9%) psychosis. In the 64 single-substance reports: 9.4%, 3.1% and 4.7%. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Paroxetine alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.
Combinations
Cross-Check Paroxetine with another substanceCommunity Trip Reports
Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, Bluelight, and Dose.wiki. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance. Tags summarise each author's own verdict — how reports are classified.
Erowid 8 reports 3 neutral 5 cautionary visit
My brother has social anxiety and God only knows what other problems, and has a prescription to a Paxil everyday. He probably dont even take em, so I nicked a few to experiment with later on.
I keep hearing about the addictive properties of paroxetine, and have never experienced this problem. I began taking Paxil in early April and continued for about three months, until I ran out, basically.
Let me start off by saying that I will NEVER touch another antidepressant ever again. Several years ago I was suffering from rather bad anxiety, insomnia, and several months prior I had had my first panic attack.
When I was nearly 14, I was on summer vacation doing what most guys my age did. Stayed up late playing video games, watching movies. Just having a good time, day in, day out, trying to pack in as much fun as I could before I had to go back to school.
PROLOGUE: My life seemed to have begun with severe anxiety and hypochondriasis. By the time I was five years old I had already perpetuated ailments and self-diagnosis to seemingly justify the need of my obsessive compulsive and anxious behavior.
I had a shitty weekend and decided to go pharming in my dad's med. Cabinet... After going through several vitamins and tylenol I found a little blue bottle marked 'paxil, 10mg'. I looked it up and found that it was an antidepressant that could be used for things like OCD and schizo, and that it could calm you down...
History: Always been an anxious person, have felt my personality is quite outgoing but severely repressed due to an anxiety disorder involving panic attacks. These have been part of my life since adolescence and restricted my social growth during that time.
Pill Identifiers
27
known pill identifiers on record — view imprints, colors, shapes, and images
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Paroxetine's nerd page
Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more
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Helpful Links
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