Yes, I too experienced and some times still experience the 3am wakeup call...I do believe it has something to do with the meds., because when I have stopped them in the past, the 3am wakeup calls stopped too. That's why any time I am on meds. , I also have to be on anti-anxiety meds and sleep meds too, or it doesn't work. I think it is probably a common experience. That is why there needs to be more research into the meds we are taking and experimentation with alternative medicines...also, my doctor said you have to take the meds in the morning, or you will not be able to sleep at night. One more thing; I have had to wait for about 3-4 months before seeing real good results with any medications. Keep trying, and tell your doctor everything!

Chimpmaster- I am so proud of you for what it's worth! To go back to school and learn how to help others is brilliant of you. You will definitely succeed, that is for sure. I know for a fact you have reassured me as well as many, many people on this site. I'm sure I do not stand alone in making this comment. Actually I have always wanted to be a Social Worker for troubled teens and children but got pregnant and never finished college. Lately I have been thinking of doing this again. Now that you are realizing your calling, maybe I will too! See how much one positive person can create a chain reaction??? Anyhow, thank you for the advice yet again. I am going to take my dr's advice and continue the Paxil, albeit grudgingly, and see where it takes me. I have been virtually panic free since my first week of starting it, but there are times when I get to anxious when life starts moving a little too fast for my liking. I guess I am learning to deal with that. It's tough. I just hate the fact that I was ever and still am sick. It makes me sick to think about it. How I was once "normal" and didn't have to take mediction. For anything but headaches. Now forever it seems I will be filling out that line on forms that say: Are you currently taking any medications? If so, what kind and what dose? Ok, well enough about that. I'm a work, and must get back to doing what I do best at the moment. Take care and I will keep posting here to let others know how things are going and hopefully more and more of those post will be in the "Success Stories" category. :) Good luck to you and hope to hear from you soon. Please keep us posted as to how you are doing with the panic and your schooling. Bye for now, Misty

Hi Misty, Id recommend you take your dr's advice. SSRIs are not a short term solution. They should be taken for a minimum of 6-9 months and 12+ months is often recommended. You are probably benefitting from it now in general, but its a dangerous trap to discontinue it too early. Relapse is a very common event if you try and do this. I have a friend who did this and she relapsed big time (from zoloft) after trying to discontinue after only 4 months. You should try to accept the fact that you may be on it for over 12 months. I can empathise with how you are feeling. Some days I wake up and almost forget that I was ever sick. I make sure I remind myself though that I was (not too often though!), that I am better, but this will require continual maintenance. As for me, Im doing great thanks. A Milestone today. 4 weeks without even a minor panic attack, and only 1 in the last 2 months. Im really well into recovery. I feel great, better than ever before and am really enjoying life. Family is well thanks too. Ive made a big decision. I am going to get out of IT and go back to university to study to be a clinical psychologist. I want to help people with anxiety disorders. I feel that pharmacology is probably my strong point so I may major in it. Its a big career change and I may be forgoing the money and so called prestige, but I think it will be well worth it. Im very excited about this decision. I have made a remarkable recovery and I feel a calling to give something back. I definitely have a passion for this type of stuff (which is probably pretty obvious from my involvement here I guess)....

Chimpmaster, Thanks for the advice. Sorry it has taken so long to respond. I've been busy this week. I spoke with my Dr. today and he suggested that I take the Paxil and Wellbutrin in the morning because on this new dose of Paxil which is NOT time released he seems to think that I am getting the majority of it at night and that is causing me to wake up alert and stuff. Also he said that this could be the reason that I am feeling anxious around the middle of the day. Because my dose is it's lowest as the day goes on. One thing I am not happy with is the fact that he wants me to stay on the Paxil for at least a full year. I don't know, I'm tired of complaining. You ever get that way??? I'd like to just forget that all this has happened. I want to go back to the way things were sometimes. But then again I was so much more stressed and never took any ME time. Anyhow, thanks for everything and I will keep you posted. BTW, how are you doing lately? How is your family? Good I hope. Talk soon, Misty P.S. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Also, as for drinking alcohol, in moderation that is normally fine with Paxil, luvox, celexa, lexapro and prozac. From what I have read zoloft is the only one that really interacts badly with alcohol. The key word here is moderation! So for a girl, no more than 12 standard drinks per week, with 1-2 days without a drink, and no more than 4 drinks in a session, averaging 2. For guys its twice that, but no more than 6 in a session. You can talk with your dr about that too, but that is the normal advice in my country at least.

Hi Misty, glad to hear you have been doing well. 2 things to consider here. 1) You have decreased your dose by 5mg from 25mg to 20mg. Paxil is a strong drug and 5mg is a noticeable amount. The doseage adjustment may be having some effect. This should smooth out after around 10 days. You may find that 20mg isnt enough, then again you might be fine due to the wellbutrin. 2) CR vs non-CR. These drugs do work differently (I am assuming the generic brand is not controlled release). CR works by maintaining a consistent, slightly lower dose throughout your body over the dosing period (say 24 hrs or whatever). Non-CR builds up quickly, peaks, and then gradually reduces its level over the half life period, at which time its level is half the level when you first took it. Normally another dose is taken at that time, say 24 hrs. As you have half the previous dosage still in your system, the new full dose tops you up, and your dose will tend to remain higher for longer. This is why repeated dosing of non- cr drugs tends to even out after a while. To give an example, on the CR you might have 90% effectiveness all the time. With the non-CR, this will be 100% for the first few hrs, then it will gradually drop to 50% over the half life period. With repeated dosing, this will probably go up to 110% or something for a couple of hrs, and settle at maybe 75-80% at the end of the half life period. So as you can see, they tend to work a little differently. With non-cr your dosage at 3am is probably higher than what you were used to on cr, but it will drop a little lower during the day. Eventually, after say 7 -10 days this will stabilise, which is what they call the "period to reach a stable state". So you really have 2 options. Wait it out and see if it gets better, or talk to your dr about changing the dosage or changing to another ssri (or back to the CR). Note that studies have shown that generic brands are not always exactly the same as the brand name, so this can create some inconsistencies also.

Trish, Hi. I am taking the Paroxetine in the evening before bed. I usually go to bed around 10:30pm. I also take it w/ the Wellbutrin. This is the way I've been doing ever since I started the medication and I've never had this effect. I've only been on "Paxil" for 1.5 months and Wellbutrin for around 2-2.5 months. I was taking them both in the morning in the beginning, but I was too drowsy to function at work and was yawning constantly. Hope this helps you guys help me!!!!

Are you taking the medication in the am? It could be where the CR is time released over the day, and now since your taking the non time released it could be wearing off quicker closer to dosage time, you might do better taking two 10mgs tablets of Paroxetine once in am, and once at same time at night.

Hi all! Fortunately I have been doing very well lately. Well good enough that I haven't felt the need to come here and vent as much. :) I started seeing a therapist last week on Thursday and just in our "get-to-know-you" session I already feel comfortable with him. I think it's a good thing that I finally took that step. I always felt like I was admitting I was crazy or something by going to a therapist. :confuse: First let me say that I hope everyone is doing well here. I try to take the time to read some of the posts here and give my two cents worth, but not nearly enough as I want to. I've been having a problem, myself lately. Maybe you can help me. Last week, I started taking the generic form of Paxil (peroxitene)(sp?) at 20mg a day along with my normal dosage of Wellbutrin at 300mg per day. I was taking 25mg of Paxil CR before that, but I have no insurance and you all know how expensive these meds are!!!! By switching I have cut my monthly cost at least for the Paxil by 50%! Anyhow, now the last three nights, I've been waking up at 3:00AM, or very close to, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and not being able to go back to sleep until around 5:00AM. It sucks. I'm getting to where I don't look forward to going to sleep anymore because I know I'm going to wake up. I try to tell myself it won't happen, but I can't help it. Also, last night, I had some weird dreams. Not particulary scary or anything, but like weird. I don't know. It seems like I've been dreaming alot more lately and can remember the dreams in more detail upon waking up. And, everything is clear in my dreams. Not foggy like usual and skipping in and out of "frames" like the transitions are very detailed and all. Maybe I'm just being paranoid because I've read so many post's on here about vivid dreams and such and insomnia. I've never had any trouble sleeping through the night before though. And I haven't been on here to read anything in almost two weeks. So, has anyone dealt with the waking problem before in conjunction with the meds? Just curious. I feel like I should call my doctor about it. I hate being on the medicine!!!! :mad: I can't be myself. I can't hang out with friends and have a beer or two....and If I do Im so paranoid that I will have a seizure and then I feel like **** all the