hello all, i am on week two of 12.5 of paxil cr. i feel a lot better, but have noticed a significant increase in my appetite. obviously, i will gain weight. i am quite underweight and it will be very beneficial. i just wanted to give a warning to those who are not underweight and are thinking about taking paxil.
Hello, I just want to warn you about this because right now you think that it will be beneficial. I too was underweight before paxil and thought great 5 or 10 pounds might be good for me I might actualy have an *** then lol. At 5'8 125 I was pretty skinny and did not think that paxil would have an impact. The problem with paxil is that you do not just gain 5-10 pounds. When you gain weight it is massive amounts and you may regret this going from skinny to way more than you expected. 3 months ago I was complaining that I had gained my first 5 pounds at that time I wasnt too concerned but wondered if I would gain more. In just 3 months after going up to paxil 30 I gained 20 pounds! That is a very short amount of time to gain 20 pounds for someone who has never gained weight before! I can imagine that if I kept taking paxil that I would have gained even more weight which means that this drug causes many to gain huge amounts of weight and from what I have read from other people some people find that the weight gain is permanent! I am just praying that mine will now come off now that I have quit taking the drug. And also I did not notice my appetite increase so I am questioning whether that was really the cause since I used to eat like a pig before the paxil and all junk too! Just be careful because this turned out to be a big nightmare for me. For someone who never had to worry about their weight it is very hard adjusting to just trying barely being able to lose anything. Also paxil is addictive and when you find that you have gained too much weight on this drug and you want to quit you will most likely have a very very hard time. I threw up dizzy crying sick for two weeks and even had some effects after that two weeks. Now I have this whole new understanding of what people who are stuggling with their weight go through and you do not want to go there. Everything is harder, your body is heavier, and you feel much more uncomfortable. I definately dont feel as nimble as I did pre paxil with this added weight. Good luck.
Paxil CAN increase your appetite and slow your metabolism, but not always. My friend C. was on an extremely high dose (60 mg) for 5 years and did not gain weight.
I think it's an excellent drug for people who are underweight because of anxiety. I had a coworker who was severely underwaight because she couldn't eat when she was anxious and she was always anxious. After 2 months on Paxil, she was a new woman. She was still thin but not scrawny, and was eating every meal.
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has anyone tried an MAOI or other non-SSRI? i have gone thru all the SSRi's and although all work pretty well, i always experience the dreaded weight gain. btw, from my own experience, paxil is one of the worst offendors. not for everyone though, i have one friend who did not gain much weight on it, so you may be one of the lucky ones
