Paroxetine and Headaches: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Mar...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 17, 2019

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "In short: Pros: Truly helped with my anxiety. Cons: Caused jaw clenching and nasty side effects when trying to quit. Here's the full story: I took Paxil and then the generic form, Paroxetine, for about 15 years. It worked wonderfully for my anxiety. I had some mild side effects in the beginning - sleepiness mostly (which was a good side effect for me). Once I was on it for a few years, I started waking with headaches and noticed I was clenching my jaw quite a bit. I got a dental device to help with the jaw clenching, which helped temporarily. Then I tried a lower dose, which helped for a while, but then my anxiety would get worse, I'd up the med and the clenching increased. Ultimately, I decided to switch to Lexapro, which I've been on for about 7 years now. Side effects of tapering off the Paxil were awful - major increase in anxiety, inability to sleep, and when I did sleep, I had very vivid dreams which exhausted me."

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 21, 2019

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I've only been on it for 3 days. It made all my muscles hurt. I have a really bad headache, it made my pupils huge. It kept me awake all night! It made me randomly shaky or hot or cold, just a lot of side effects. So it makes it not even worth taking. I hate this stuff, I'm never taking it again."

• KMH...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 19, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I am taking 20 mg of paroxetine a day. I have only been taking it for one week, but I am starting to feel a lot more positive. I don't feel as tired, I'm not comfort eating, and I find myself in a better mood. I understand it has only been a week, but I haven't felt this 'up' on other SSRIs, my previous one being sertraline, which did not agree with me. My side effects have been a headache (for the first three days), constant dry mouth, trouble sleeping through the night, my jaw feels tight, and lack of appetite. I also suffer from trichotillomania, I have still found myself pulling eyelashes. It has only been a week, so I hope I continue to improve."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 21, 2015

For Depression "I have been on paroxetine for a month now, and I can say it has helped my depression and anxiety a lot. It stopped all of my suicidal and unhappy thoughts. The only negative thing I have to say is it causes me to have headaches."

• RWa...
• September 20, 2018

For Depression "My doctor realized that I am super sensitive, so he knows that he has to start me off extremely low. So, I was just prescribed 10 mg of Paxil, but he actually just wanted me to start out taking half for a week. Which is a good idea because of how sensitive I am. Tonight, after I took the half, I soon got a little spacey, and I became really tired and had a little bit of pressure in my head and behind my eye. But today is also the first day of my period, and I sometimes get headaches with it, so I don't know if it was because of the Paxil. But I dozed off for a bit, and right now I feel pretty okay, and I was just on my bedroom floor snuggling with my pitbull. I am just so desperate for something to work because I have been struggling so badly with such severe depression, and the anxiety has manifested into crazy OCD symptoms, where I am constantly checking things and washing my hands, and it's making me feel crazy."

• RWa...
• September 20, 2018

For Depression "My doctor realized that I am super sensitive, so he knows that he has to start me off extremely low. So, I was just prescribed 10 mg of Paxil, but he actually just wanted me to start out taking half for a week. Which is a good idea because of how sensitive I am. Tonight, after I took the half, I soon got a little spacey, and I became really tired and had a little bit of pressure in my head and behind my eye. But today is also the first day of my period, and I sometimes get headaches with it, so I don't know if it was because of the Paxil. But I dozed off for a bit, and right now I feel pretty okay, and I was just on my bedroom floor snuggling with my pitbull. I am just so desperate for something to work because I have been struggling so badly with such severe depression, and the anxiety has manifested into crazy OCD symptoms, where I am constantly checking things and washing my hands, and it's making me feel crazy."

• Min...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2021

Paroxetine for Panic Disorder "Started on Oct. 14, 2021, to take Paxil 10 mg. I’ve been dealing with panic attacks since 2014, but never got medication for it till now. For the first week on it has been a rollercoaster. First 2 days I was doing fine, till Sunday I started to have a feeling of coldness in the back of my head that went down my whole body, palpitations, dizziness, and a headache. I got scared that I even called my mom. Those symptoms followed up the next day. Tuesday I felt like I was choking to a point that I had a panic attack. My body felt numb and cold. I was sweating a lot too. Thank God we got home. On Wednesday I felt emotionless and went to the doctor to let her know the side effects. She said they can put me on another medication, but I said no. I didn’t want to go through another symptom, so I stuck with Paxil. Now I woke up to shortness of breath and again had a panic attack. I felt chest pain, headache, and trouble sleeping. And I have the common side effects. Just hope for the best!"

• Men...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 13, 2022

For Hot Flashes "My PA prescribed this med for hot flashes. I took it for a few weeks and was delighted with the improvement in my sleep quality. My hot flashes decreased in intensity. However, two weeks in, I began to feel malaise and a sour stomach. I didn’t put it together until 26 doses that the medication was causing excess stomach acid, headaches, and nausea. I researched side effects and realized it was paroxetine causing me to feel sick. I also felt woozy and doped up. My nausea caused vomiting, which burned my throat. I flushed the capsules down the toilet almost four weeks in. It took a week to escape the mental fog. I felt like my brain was peeling itself out of a latex cast for a week. My stomach was so bad, I developed a bleeding ulcer. I required a proton pump inhibitor and anti-nausea medicine after 26 doses. Quitting cold seemed like the best way versus tapering off because my stomach was raw, full, bloated, and nauseous. I threw up. I need a GI consult now. I'd rather have hot flashes. No go. Not for me."

• Say...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 24, 2019

For Anxiety and Stress "I am 30 now. I had a weird mental problem. I think no one had this problem. My situation is very hard to tell. I had several mental problems starting anxiety, headache, vision problems, fatigue, memory problems, and many others. I tried sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, duloxetine, clonazepam, amitriptyline, mirtazapine, lorazepam, and many other meds. I am now on paroxetine, let's see what happens. I took a very small dose, like 5 mg."

• Bel...
• November 3, 2016

For Anxiety and Stress "Took successfully in 2003-4 for PTSD and associated anxiety. No side effects (other than lost libido) and came off them easily under doctor's supervision. 13 years later, I was put back on them due to depression and anxiety. This time they have been horrendous! Headaches, bones in my face aching, nausea, a 'creeping' feeling through my hands, arms, and shoulders, disorientation, racing heart, not passing urine frequently enough, and terrifying sleep problems (insomnia but feeling like you're being suffocated and having awful thoughts). After 12 days, I realized I couldn't take these symptoms anymore. On the advice of a doctor, I ceased instantly. By Day 2, the withdrawal was awful - a more intense version of the side effects. Easing now (Day 4)"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 3, 2018

Paroxetine for Anxiety "Paxil is very effective, but it has way too many negative side effects. When I was on Paxil, I experienced nausea, headaches, fatigue, and a burning sensation in the stomach. I literally felt like a zombie that had zero energy. I’m glad I was not on it for too long, which made me get zero withdrawals, but it did keep me from getting anxiety or feeling depressed because I felt sick the entire time."

• fra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 20, 2017

For Anxiety "I am 35 years old male, and I have extreme anxiety (can’t move out of the house) and panic attacks. Started 3 months ago, take only 15 mg/day: 1st week: extreme nausea from 2nd week: felt nothing, sometimes I had some light nausea, but nothing serious side effect. From 4th week: definitely felt better, most of my anxiety and panic attacks are gone. From 12th week: the drug shows its evil side. I don’t know why, but I feel like a zombie. The extreme nausea is back, I always have a headache, and my appetite is totally lost. On one hand, this drug is great against anxiety, but on the other hand, it has many terrible side effects. I guess I’ll quit, not worth it."

• Anonymous
• June 9, 2010

Paroxetine for Anxiety "I have been on Paxil for 2 weeks. If you have anxiety, please try this drug. The first week was hell. I had headaches and mood swings. Then my whole life slowed down so I could catch up. Good luck!"

• Bro...
• April 9, 2014

Paroxetine for Hot Flashes "I got awful leg cramps and headaches. Did not help with hot flashes either."

• asd...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 6, 2018

Paroxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Bad headache. I drove a truck, and daydreams and racing thoughts were making me miss my turns or go past my stops. I also stopped taking it because of the headaches."

• Mag...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 14, 2020

Paroxetine for Panic Disorder "I don't feel good on this medicine, I have panic attacks and headaches."

• Ale...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 6, 2017

Paroxetine for Depression "Got headaches and felt tired constantly, so I switched to Prozac."

• Pur...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 6, 2012

Paroxetine for Depression "Caused me to have very bad headaches. Light sensitivity. Dizziness."

• TX ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2022

Paroxetine for Hot Flashes "I took it for 3 days and couldn't get out and about due to dizziness and headache. I feel like a junkie coming off a bad fix. Money wasted!"

• Nou...
• June 3, 2009

Paroxetine for Panic Disorder "This treatment isn't for everyone. It gave me hallucinations and headaches."

• Tin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 7, 2018

For Major Depressive Disorder "Just started meds a week ago. I have been having bad headaches."