Paxil for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder User Reviews

• magcook
• August 8, 2015

"I have always suffered from anxiety and obsessive thoughts,but with in the last year it took a turn for the worse. I had a job loss and couldn't sleep for almost two weeks and in turn starting getting panic attacks. Then intrusive thoughts, I truly thought I was losing my mind. I was scared all the time and hopeless. I went to a therapist and this did help, I also got out on effexor 70 mg daily. I never thought I was going to get better. I started paxil three weeks ago, 20 mg. It has truly changed my life. I feel like me again. I'm writing this in hopes that someone who reads this that feels hopeless and scared doesn't give up. There is help, hang in there. If I could do it, so can you."

• Sharub
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 11, 2014

"First of all, I never realized that I had OCD until I told my doctor I couldn't sleep because I couldn't control my thoughts. I thought OCD only manifested itself in physical rituals. Paxil has literally saved my life. It broke a 14 year cycle of racing, uncontrollable thoughts/insomnia/anxiety/depression. I have been taking Paxil for 15 years now."

• faded...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 30, 2013

"I have had a good experience with Paxil thus far, and I wanted to put it out there because I think it's usually the bad experiences that prompt folks to write these reviews! I'd tried other SSRIs (Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Celexa), with bad results, so I was hesitant. I started on 10 mg/day for two weeks then went to 20mg. At first I didn't notice much, but by the third week my obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety were greatly quelled. I feel a general sense of well-being and satisfaction with life, yet I'm still productive/creative/ME. No ill side effects whatsoever. I hear the withdrawal is a bear, and I'll cross that bridge when I get there, but, so far so good."

• sapph...
• February 27, 2009

"It worked for me, It worked for me, It worked for me....oops...must have missed this mornings dose (LOL). I have suffered from GAD/OCD for a few years. Most of the time I was worried and anxious and suffered panic attacks and general high-stress feelings before taking Paxil. I take 10mg's of Paxil once per day for about 6 months now. I am starting to see my previous behaviors that only prolonged and worsened my anxiety disorder. I am able to relax, calm down, sit back and actually make myself relax, even during high stress times. I hope to not be on Paxil for very many years, but it did help me, help myself out of OCD/panic hell. Counselling was just as important as Paxil, and re-learning how to make yourself chill. Paxil Helps!"

• Anonymous
• August 12, 2010

"Excellent to stop intrusive thoughts and depression. I would not be without it, I have gone through college and am a successful social worker who can now help others. I have been able to go to a lower dose but still keep it in my regimen because I would rather live a full life than a fearful and indecisive one."

• Post...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 7, 2019

"Give Paxil a chance. I looked at all the horror stories on here and am glad I chose to ignore them and continue with the drug. I was on it for 8 months total. It took about 4-6 weeks to take full effect and weaning off was a big uncomfortable. It controlled my symptoms and helped me gain control of my life back. I was not paid to say any of this I just know I was scared to try it, and you shouldn’t be. Your doctor prescribed it for a reason. Be patient, the side effects I had in the beginning of diarrhea/dizziness went away as my body got used to it. Good luck!"

• Roy
• October 27, 2015

"I have had anxiety for over 40 years and I never thought I would feel like this. Paxil has help me a lot and I wish I had taken if earlier. It help me with my anxiety being about 80% less. I'm not as compulsive now. I lost 20 pds because I was not as anxious and eating all the time."

• Opalg...
• July 2, 2011

"I am 23 years old and I have been taking Paxil since I was 11. It has worked extremely well for me over the years and I have had little to no problems with my OCD. When I was 17 I tried to go off the medication (with the help of my doctor) and it was extremely hard. I became really depressed and had horrible headaches and nausea. I decided to go back on the medication because it wasn't the right time in my life to deal with so much stress. FYI, if I skip/ forget a pill I get really bad nausea and I tend to bruise and scar very easily. If you are looking for something to treat your OCD this might be the medicine for you."

• Too...
• January 18, 2017

"I only started Paxil last night. I took 5mg and about 2 hours later it felt like a steel curtain had dropped on my looping intrusive thoughts. ADs have always been a problem for me. They only work to an extent and the side effects are intolerable. I'm taking Paxil long enough to hopefully bridge my way from the difficult place I'm in right now, to some place where I feel more confident and comfortable. This morning, the intrusive thoughts returned with renewed vigor. I took another 5mg and again, 2 hours later they were gone. It's surreal being present. I'm used to spending my time ruminating on the past or fearing the future. This will take some getting used to, but if this is a sign of things to come, I have hope."

• ibubb...
• October 24, 2023

"Paxil works great, also Luvox works but Paxil seems a little better. Zoloft tried to work but then it stopped. Really, Paxil is the best for me. It stops the OCD, anxiety, and depression. No side effects and at 60mg. I wouldn't go any higher."

• k8teeee
• July 28, 2010

"I took Paxil for about 10 yrs (no weight gain) and quit it recently with the help of my primary care doctor by weaning off of it for 6 months. Unfortunately, 2 weeks after quitting, my symptoms of anxiety and depression have returned 2-fold! I have not been formally diagnosed with anything yet, but do know that Paxil worked the BEST for me! I want to go back on it, but it is Category D- so IF I ever want to have a baby I cannot be on it while pregnant! At the moment, I am trying Wellbutrin, after trying 3 weeks on Buspar to help me (that didn't help). It's only been a week on Wellbutrin and I see some improvements, but nothing like the Paxil. I may ask to go back to Paxil if switching medicines doesn't work. I felt like "myself" on Paxil!"

• lauri...
• August 3, 2016

"I took Paxil for 5 years. I have been off Paxil now for 7 years, and ...I suffer from OCD and panic attacks. I am 49 years old and have suffered since childhood with my "issues". I won't go into great detail.I do not take medicine, but I was in VERY bad shape when I started on Paxil. Within a few days, I slept, stopped washing my feet, counting things, and those obsessive thoughts were gone.THANK GOD. I did gain weight, and my family described me as being an emtional zombie. I chose to discontinue taking Paxil on my own, which was a bad idea. NEVER. I say NEVER do that. I am lucky that I am still alive. If you choose to quit taking it please do that only under the care of your physician. Today I am not cured, but I am happy and living norm"

• NBN
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 5, 2021

"I’m 42. Suffered OCD since elementary school but never knew what was wrong with me. The more successful I became at life, the more I got worried. It affected my work a lottttttt. 2 years ago, my worries increased and I started having panic attacks and anxiety everyday. I was miserable and thought I’ll go crazy. Started using Paxil and then lamotrigine. My life started changing gradually to the better and I started feeling the best after around 6 months of taking the medications. After suffering for around 35 years of compulsive thoughts, rituals especially before going to bed, wasted time on checking things around, I felt a different life. I won’t say I’m 100 percent OCD free, but 70 percent less would be fair. I was against mental medication whole my life. But now I would encourage patients to talk to doctors and see their options. God bless science!"

• Mmano
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 16, 2018

"Was on prozac for OCD at 16 when I tried everything to avoid medication, therapy, journaling, exercise, medication, water intake a healthy diet enough sleep and it still wasn’t enough. It gave me crazy heart burn and by 17 I was on Paxil. That with mindfulness, water intake, a healthy diet and exercise has saved my life. I can’t speak for depression but for OCD it is an integral tool to help me, but be warned by itself it won’t do that well. It’s a tool not magic"

• Anonymous
• May 20, 2010

"I have been taking Paxil for 5 years. Since I turned 50 and my blood pressure shot up to 210/102. Paxil was the biggest blessing. NO, I DID not gain any weight. Well I gained two pounds only because I ate my way through them."

• Sures...
• June 12, 2015

"I'm 36yr old doctor. I had been on Paroxetine for past 8 yrs.weaned just 6 months back.I developed post subcapsular cataract last year. Operated both eyes with IOL. the morbidity it has produced reflects in my day to day activities. I never heard of cataracts as a side effect by paroxetine until I developed one. only when I searched on net I could see few studies suggesting cataract as a side effect of some SSRIs and Paroxetine is one among those.I had to wean it as I was afraid I might end up in more rare and serious side effects in long term, say for eg renal failure in another few yrs.But its a wonderful drug in controlling OCD. Soon I'm about to restart it or a new SSRI due to relapse. OCD makes me feel living blind is more easier than with OCD"

• anony...
• August 21, 2010

"I started using Paroxetine after I received what was the most traumatic news of my life, and it caused my anxiety to go into complete overload. I started having bad panic attacks and terrible anxiety. I also started suffering from really bad obsessive thoughts! My doctor put me on Paroxetine and I have been on it for about 4 weeks now, along with Xanax for short term use until the paroxetine really kicks in. Well I must say that I do feel ALOT better, but not as good as I did before all this started. I'm being a little impatient? I'm told that the Paroxetine takes at least 3-4 weeks before it really starts to work and as I said, it's only been 1 month since I started taking it. I just want the way I used to love life to come back!"

• Buddy
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 20, 2019

"I started taking Paxil because of OCD and intrusive thought disorder. However when I took Paxil it seemed to make the intrusive thoughts worse or more frequent. So I stopped taking Paxil and I still have intrusive thoughts but not as bad"

• N0ctu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 10, 2021

"This is the only drug that has helped my very intrusive thoughts subside. Not completely but MUCH better than where I was before. I spent months in a psych unit, taking drug after drug, getting ECT with no effect, and then suddenly I was prescribed paxil and a weight was nearly instantly lifted off of me. I felt like a good person again. I gained no weight on this drug, but have experienced little sexual desire. I also don’t clean as much (another symptom of my ocd) and that’s been a little hard on me. It also caused me to not be able to sleep at night but I’m now also on trileptal 900mg and trazadone 75 and that has helped a lot. I still need to be on another booster for my paranoia and am going to try a low dose of latuda but I’m much better than I was before with the help of paxil."

• Itsno...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 19, 2018

"Taking paxil for intrusive thoughts. It’s been very effective at cutting done the thoughts which is a welcomed relief. I can’t tolerate high doses due to pains in the body. But was on between 20mg to 7.5mg over the course of 3 years. Then tried to stop and the thoughts cam back. Right now on 10mg and going back up with the doctors help. The meds, Exposure Response Prevention Therapy (ERP Therapy), and a 12 step group OCA have been effective in minimizing symptoms. Very little anaorgasmia but it increases as I go up on the meds. Don’t beat yourself up and give it time to work. It’s a slow gradual improvement with meds. I felt different about 2 weeks, and then every week after I improved. If you can’t figure it out and there’s no conclusion it’s the ocd."

• hls
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 9, 2022

"There are a lot of negative reviews of Paxil floating around in cyberspace, but I can confidently say that it saved my life. 8 years ago, I was going through an incredibly stressful period, resulting in a nervous breakdown. I had always been an anxious person but my OCD became unmanageable at this point. I was suffering from violent intrusive thoughts and lived in a near constant state of panic. My mother had been prescribed Paxil for similar issues, so with the help of my psychiatrist I decided to give it a try. Within weeks, my intrusive thoughts had lessened and I felt true peace for the first time in months. I remained on a tiny dose of 10 mg for 7 years until recent circumstances required me to switch to Zoloft. However, I am actually thinking about going back to Paxil at some point as I prefer its more sedating effects. The only reason I'm not rating it 10/10 is because of the side effects: I did experience a significant decrease in my sex drive and gained some weight."

• Lynn
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 1, 2018

"I have been on Paxil for 15 years (except when I was pregnant) It's been great for my OCD, but still makes me feel tired and I've gained weight that's hard to lose on it. I'm switching to something else that might be more energizing and doesn't pile on the pounds. Overall, I think it can be an awesome drug for anxiety and OCD in my experience, but there are a lot of side effects compared to other SSRIs."

• Fidog
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 11, 2021

"This drug can do a lot for people with depression and maybe anxiety but it does not help OCD. I took it for 6 months and while my mood was great, the ocd was still very severe. I ended up weaning off of the drug very slowly since it wasn’t doing much, and it was the worst nightmare I’ve ever experienced. Not only did by ocd/anxiety come back tenfold, but I started getting severe hot flashes, night sweats and suicidal thoughts. My doctor told me as long as I eat healthy and get exercise, the withdrawal symptoms will start to dissipate. However, after 8 months of being off this drug now, I am still going through severe withdrawal and will most likely have to go back on SSRIS again at the end of the month. I would advise anyone with OCD or even depression for that matter to stay away from this drug, because you’ll NEVER get off it"

• Orand...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 16, 2021

"Took this drug for around 6 months for severe OCD as well as panic attacks and depersonalization and it helped a lot, got my anxiety and obsessive thoughts under control and made it easier to deal with them. There were plenty of side effects such as sexual dysfunction, weight gain, increased apathy, drowsiness/tiredness and etc however most of them have subsided after quitting the drug and the withdrawal was not that bad either because I tapered slowly."

• Cryst...
• November 12, 2016

"Paxil made me gain 5 lbs.. I noticed most of it was in my abdomen. It also made me very tired. I gained 15 lbs. overall. I was taken off it, but my energy wasn't coming back. It turned out I had a thyroid problem due to my carbamazepine, which controls my epileptic seizures."