So in May I started to become very anxious (GAD) which ultimately led to depression. I was completely floored, couldn't do much of anything, didn't sleep for days and it felt like time was passing very slowly. I eventually went to a doctor and she prescribed me Paxil and 20 Ativan for sleep. It took me a few days to work up the courage but I started taking the Paxil and I can't exactly tell when it began to work. I felt better almost the first or 2nd day and steadily got better after that which made me believe it wasn't the medication but something else. A day or two before taking the Paxil I had a near panic attack because I could not sleep and everything in my world felt like it was falling apart so I decided to take an Ativan and it must have helped because I slept for 8 hours with no issues and woke up feeling a bit off but somewhat alright.
Fast forward to now, about 3 weeks ago I took my last Paxil 20mg by weaning off. I weaned very quickly and the only side effect I had was a bit of vertigo but everything else seemed fine. Now it's been a full 3 weeks and I am all of a sudden feeling very anxious again and I am torn between it being withdrawal or actually relapse of my symptoms, I have Paxil left over and I don't know if I should take it or not.
All of this comes off of 3 years ago when I had my first episode of anxiety and decided to not take anything and it cleared up after a couple weeks, my therapist at the time was amazed. That time I went to the doctor and he prescribed me Effexor which I decided against taking.
Basically the question I am posing is, has anybody came off Paxil or a short period of time (3-6 weeks) and felt they had to go in because of emotional side effects? I had no brain zaps or sleeping problems. Did it begin to work again for you? Just need some reassurance or at least somebody to talk to about their experiences...
Thanks a lot if you read the whole thing.