Paxel is an antidepressant. It is an SSRI drug, attempting to balance out your seratonin levels. Seratonin is a natural chemical in the brain that controls your mood. Paxel is mainly used to treat clinical depression and anxiety.

Obviously Paxel should not be combined with alcohol and most other drugs. That's usually a given with any prescription medication. Sometimes doctors do choose to combine it with a 'mood stabilizer' drug, though, for cases like bipolar disorder.

Some common stated side effects of Paxel include dry mouth, sweating, restlessness, and insomnia. Now I feel the need to tell you about a horrible experience. Unfortunately, one time about 6 months ago I missed a scheduled appointment with my psychiatrist and ran out of Paxel without really even realizing it. I had no idea what I was in for.

I remembered that they had said they have to ween you off drugs of this nature, but I didn't really know or care to know why. It didn't seem all that important to me. I was very wrong. Let me just list a few things that began to happen within just a few days of my abruptly ceasing to take Paxel: extreme nausea and dizziness, confusion, headaches, lightheadedness, and an effect that I can only describe as 'brain zaps.' It was absolutely terrible.

The moral of the story is to always listen to your doctor, as cliche as that sounds. I'm no expert, and I don't know whether or not the effects of quitting other antidepressants cold turkey would be the same as with Paxel, but I would imagine they would be.

After telling about the negative effects of Paxel, I should probably tell you about the positive effects as well. The drug definitely changed my life for the better. My mind doesn't wander anymore; I can stay focused and concentrate. I also don't have mood swings and am much less depressed. As long as you stick to the prescribed regimen, Paxel is a wonderful drug.