"I lost weight on Paxil and my sex drive went through the roof."

I was one of the first to post here so I thought I would comment on some other posts.

I went through major twitching episodes which lasted OVER A YEAR (I was on SSRI's over a 4 year period). Eastern medicine (such as Chinese and Indian [ayurvedic]) explain that the drug may be out of your blood but not out of the organs. Yes 4-6 weeks to be able to switch drugs but the remainder stays in your liver, spleen, kidneys, and BRAIN for up to a year. Therefore, the longer you are on these drugs, the more ingrained they become with the organs in your body and the longer it takes to get out.

My experience with Paxil was atypical. I have been turned into a rapid cycling Bipolar because of the SSRI's. I lost weight on them and my sex drive went through the roof. I feel like I am getting back to normal (after TWO AND A HALF YEARS since my last dose). Yes, I am a bipolar controlling it without medications. What am I using? Polarity Therapy, Ayurvedic medicine, Therapeutic Body Massage (this is INCREDIBLE for those energy twitches and headaches), and orthomolecular medicine (see this month's "Natural Health" magazine for the article on Margot Kidder for further information.

As in other posts, remember that your doctors can't POSSIBLY know everything about everything. They are seeing patients all day and don't have the time to do updated research on EVERY medication that is out on the market. It is up to US to be vigilant and tell our doctors about things like this web page to get the word out. Don't let a doctor talk you out of what your intuition is telling you. THEY are NOT the ones experiencing what you are. You know what your body did before you were on this medication and it is up to you to insist that there is a problem.

-- submitted by Orty, 47