I have been on Paxil for 10 years now for underlying depression. I'd been struggling with the depression for the better part of 7-8 years, and finally had had enough and was ready to get treated. Paxil had worked well for my Mom, and in those early days we really weren't too worried about side-effects ;) so I went on it.

It has been very helpful for me. Emotionally speaking, it works. Since developing PTSD I've had to increase my dosage a bit. My baseline dose is 20 mg, but there are spurts when I need 25-30 mg. I self-assess and administer with the monitoring & blessing of my doctor.


THAT SAID............ it hasn't been a perfect ride!!!

(1) I have gained 60 lbs. in that time. I realize that Paxil is not the sole culprit in this, but I do feel that it has changed my metabolism at least in part, to make it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it. And naturally, since we are depressed and anxious, that makes it that much harder to commit to dieting and exercise.

I am also a carb junkie, I literally get a small "high" when I eat carbs, and carbs are also my weight-gain nemesis... my body is particularly sensitive to carbs and seems to pack 'em right on. :( The Paxil has not gotten rid of the addictive feelings nor the high. If anything, it has made the weight-gaining aspect worse -- it takes fewer carbs to really set my system off-kilter and eliminate any chance of burning off fat that day. :(

(2) I have lost easily 1/2 my hair. *sigh* This just tears me up. I can deal with a chunky figure a lot easier than I can deal with thin hair. I used to have gorgeous thick, wavy hair. About 5 years ago it started falling out, slowly, and it got to the point where you could easily see my scalp from all angles, no matter how I styled it.

My stylist, who's cut my hair since I was a kid :) was the one to bring up the change in my hair a few years ago, and ask about medications. I brushed it off, until about 6 months ago, when I finally got good & fed up!! So I did a whole bunch of research on SSRIs and hair loss.

It is believed by some that SSRIs may block the uptake of some necessary minerals. The most common references were to Selenium and Zinc, so I collected recommended base dosing from several internet sources (medical websites, not quack websites) and also verified the side-effects of Selenium and Zinc (to make sure I wasn't poisoning myself on accident). Everything came up A-OK (in my opinion, and based on what limited information I found), so I started on 50 mg Zinc and 200 mcg Selenium daily.

It took about 6 weeks and I saw new little hairs growing!!! *insert dancing smiley here* I was ECSTATIC. Since then the hair has continued to grow in, especially on the sides near my face, at the hairline. I don't have any new hairs on the crown of my head (where I need it most, *sigh*) but it is such a RELIEF to have more hair on my head. It makes me feel like I am not as broken, my hair is not broken :) it is not my fault, the meds were blocking mineral uptake.

The hair coming back in is very thin (skinny strands, not thick), but I am trying to remember that it took years & years for my hair to get to this point, so it is probably going to take several years to nurture it back. Nothing heals immediately, not to mention the time it takes for a hair to even grow. :)


Part of why I am posting this here is because there is not much information online about SSRIs and hair loss. And, the drug companies state that hair loss is a "very rare" side-effect, yet the information I found online seemed to reflect it may be grossly underreported (possibly because patients don't realize that their hair is falling out -- or that it's their meds causing it. My Mom, for instance, firmly believed her hair loss was caused by aging.). So by posting it here, I'm helping to get the word out to others, that hair loss CAN be caused by Paxil.

Incidentally, my Mom is still on Paxil, and her hair has thinned even worse than mine. :( Paxil is the only medication or source of intake we have in common. We live in different homes, totally different water sources (I am on treated village water, she's on an unfiltered well), etc.

:D Bailey