Anti-Anxiety Medication Paxil

Many people suffer from anxiety, panic attacks and depression, all of which can be treated with medications such as Lexapro, Zoloft, and Paxil. Many people have heard of Zoloft as we know the commercials with the little bubble being sad and then happy. Lexapro is another one that can be well known, but what about Paxil? Paxil is used more for anxiety and panic attacks than depression, but can be used for all three as well as other issues such as obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and self mutilation. Many people take Paxil daily, myself included. Most times doses are started out as small as 10 milligrams. While there are many people who take this medication, but do we know what it is?

Paxil is a form of medication called Paroxetine which is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. What that means is Paxil works with the serotonin in the brain by correcting the chemical imbalances. It reduces the entry of serotonin into the nerve cells allowing it to build up in the brain. Serotonin is involved in controlling moods, sleep, body temperature, and appetite. For those reasons Paxil is also used to help treat sleep disorders and other mood disorders other than depression. Paxil is used to treat depression by reducing extreme sadness, hopelessness and lack of interest in life. But Paxil also helps with panic attacks and anxiety by working with the chemicals in the brain that trigger the panic attacks.

Panic attacks and anxiety disorders could really inhibit a person's life and can control how they live. Many agoraphobics deal with anxiety about leaving their homes, and have panic attacks when they do. This is the most extreme of anxiety disorders, but there times when untreated disorders could lead to such extremes. There are times when you do not want to take Paxil and should talk to your doctor. If you are breastfeeding you do not want to take this medication as it might have effects on your milk, again consult your doctor about it. Also you should consult your doctor if you have liver or kidney disorders, bleeding disorders, epilepsy, and bipolar disorder (manic depression). If you do have bipolar disorder you should talk to your doctor about more intense treatments.

There are some things that you should avoid if you are taking Paxil One of the most important ones is alcohol. You do not want to drink and excessive amount of alcohol because this could increase the risk of some of the side effects. Cold or allergy medications, narcotic pain medications like hydrocodone, muscle relaxers and seizure medications could add to the risk of sleepiness that is cause by Paroxetine. Paroxetine combined with some other medications could increase risks or even impair your thinking and/or reactions to things. Some over the counter medications could affect the side effects of Paxil and you should talk to your doctor if you take Aleve, Motrin even Advil, to be sure that it is okay that you use them together.

There are many different side effects from severe to less severe. The less severe ones include sleepiness, insomnia, headaches, slight dizziness or sexual dysfunction such as lack of desire. Some of the more severe side effects include seizures, problems with balance, fast heart rate or easy bruising or bleeding. If you experience some of the severe effects you should call your doctor right away. The most I personally have experienced from taking Paxil has been slight headache when I first started taking it and slight sleepiness. It is possible that when youfirst start taking it to have increased thoughts of suicide, but that is common with many anti-depression/anti-anxiety medications: it does go away.

I am not a person who takes medication willy nilly, but Paxil is one of the only medications that I am willing to take. I can honestly say I have never felt better. The panic attacks are gone and I am able to do things that caused me to have an attack such as driving on my own. There maybe some severe possiblities of side effects, but those are the most severe, you shouldn't count Paxil out based on them. Talk to your doctor about what treatment would be best for you when it comes to panic attacks, anxiety, and/or depression. Those are things we don't want to let just go, but should seek treatments.