I don't think we are talking about "addictive" here. I may not know what I'm talking about, but I can speak from personal experience. Quitting them IS hell. I don't know if they affect everyone the same, but a close friend of mine had the same experience with Paxil. To this day, I am convinced I really didn't need to be taking the stuff, but my doctor insisted at the time. Quitting Paxil was the mos maddening experience of my life. Not to mention, it made me lazy, fat, I couldn't sleep while taking it, the side effects were quite troublesome. But above all and the one thing I will never forget above all is the 2 months of hell going cold turkey. The only escape from it was sleep, and that doesn't work too well when you have a job.
Obviously, I can't critiqu every anti-depressany on the markey, but I think there are really only a couple of classes that have only mildy different formulas among the class itself.
I surely won't sit here and tell someone not to take it if their doctor is insisting, but I can sit here and tell you that getting off of this stuff is not a pleasant experience; it's an outright living nightmare. In my case, 15 years ago I would classify myself as moderately to severely depressed at the time and the medication either helped only in a minor way or I'm giving the drug credit for the natural course of healing... who knows. I decided to quit after sitting down and doing my own research. The placebo results from the drug testing are what prompted me to quit... they were exactly as this article stated, no better than placebo.
But I will say this, personally I'd rather be depressed and drug free if I'm ever in such a position again, that's how bad it was.
geez, i need to work on that spelling, that was horrendous.
There have been a number of complaints about the newer SSRI's and Paxil has had more than it's share... one site covering this issues of Paxil withdrawal that I found is Quitpaxil.org and these folks report experiences much like yours. And Paxil seems to have a particularly bad rap. So, if your Dr. isn't paying attention to this.. perhaps it is time to find another. Just understand that your experience with Paxil is not remotely similar to the normal reaction to other commonly prescribed anti-depressants. Your physician should know what they are doing or refer you to someone who does.
I surely won't sit here and tell someone not to take it if their doctor is insisting, but I can sit here and tell you that getting off of this stuff is not a pleasant experience; it's an outright living nightmare. In my case, 15 years ago I would classify myself as moderately to severely depressed at the time and the medication either helped only in a minor way or I'm giving the drug credit for the natural course of healing... who knows. I decided to quit after sitting down and doing my own research. The placebo results from the drug testing are what prompted me to quit... they were exactly as this article stated, no better than placebo.
Long term use of any drug leads to an effect called resistance. The effectiveness of the medication decreases as the body adapts to removing it from your bloodstream before it can have its effect, and the sites of action become resistant to the level of neurotransmitter produced by this dose because often depression is the result of the mind attempting to suppress processing specific information, so it can increase its resistance over time.. by redoubling the mechanism it used in the first place to create your depression.
Ultimately, if your depression has a cause, you have to deal with that cause, the drugs just treat the symptoms.
I don't know what your specific issues are and it is inappropriate to discuss such in an open forum.
You sound like you are finding your way, and becoming a more informed traveler on this path. There is lots of hope, and a great deal of hype to sort through. Modern Psychology is on one hand making great strides, but on another hand is greatly limited by the very core assumptions that this work is built upon. But, like all things psychology is not standing still. Often the problem of the patient is sorting through too much contradictory information rather than too little information.
But, the first words that come out of any professional dealing with non-organic Mental illness should be go to church, ask God for help, read the Bible and learn to live a good life, and finally stop by for help and assistance as you work toward that goal. Granted, such advice is nearly pointless as the individual having such problems is very likely to be the last person to choose what is the most effective solution or they wouldn't be needing the help in the first place. Such is the nature of all difficult problems.