Reading through the Experiences with Paroxetine I couldn't help notice that most of them were negative. I guess this is probably due to a successful experience being less interesting and therefore not worth posting. Regardless, this is a report on the success of the drug.
I went to my GP to complain about my Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder, and he prescribed 20mg Paroxetine daily, in addition to referring me to a psychiatrist I have yet to hear back from.
I took my first 20mg tablet at around 6:00PM and went to watch a film with some friends. By the time the film ended (ca. 8PM) I had noticed that I couldn't help jittering my leg, I felt incredibly awake and hyperactive. Suffice to say I got no sleep that night, in addition to feeling confused, nauseous and unable to stop twitching.
I felt so bad I didn't take any more next day, and decided to resume in a days time. I expected to get the same horrible side-effects when taking my next dose, but surprisingly they weren't as bad at all, I still couldn't sleep properly and still felt sick, but it was an improvement. I continued to take the drug for a further week, by which time the side effects were almost non-existent.
After two months I realised that my OCD had only slightly decreased, which could have easily been a placebo effect. I also felt more tired than usual in the evenings. My GP suggested I increase my dose to 30mg instead. With 30mg I noticed even LESS side effects than with 20mg. I was again hyperactive and irritable in the first week of increasing the dose, though nowhere near as bad as when I first tried 20mg, but this went away. Now, two months after starting with 30mg my OCD has decreased very substantially and I don't even feel sedated like I sometimes did with 20mg. 'Tis all good!
ADDITIONAL: Interactions with alcohol
Reduces tolerance to alcohol, I was a lightweight to start off with, but now I can get reasonably pissed on 1 pint of ale. Suffice to say I no longer drink casually.
ADDITIONAL: Increasing depression
I take Paroxetine for OCD, not depression. I have at times notice almost bipolar symptoms, being manic during the day and depressed and feeling suicidal at night, I just have to keep telling myself that this is the drug causing this and the depression will pass.
This stuff has really turned my life around and I'd have been a fool not to battle through that one initial week.
