QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
I really need another person's input. My doctor just put me on Paxil. I am reading all the bad things about it, what the side affects are, the long term effects, and also the withdrawals of getting off of Paxil. Can you help me on this?
Thank you very much.
ANSWER:
Paxil is a very safe medication. Individuals with the generalized anxiety disorder and
irritable bowel syndrome often have problems taking it. There are no dangerous side
effects.
Because Paxil is short acting, one can feel ill withdrawing from the medication. This can
be prevented by slowly lowering the dose or by temporarily switching to a long acting SSRI
medication like Prozac.
