Please make sure your mother recieves medical attention immediately. I have been on Celexa (another anti-depressant/anxiety drug) for almost 10 years. About two years ago I tried to wean myself off of the medication over a three month period. Even though I did this with a doctor's supervision, I still had terrible withdrawal syptoms after I was off of the medication. I felt anxious, irritable, exhaused, but unable to sleep and when I started to think of suicide, I knew I had to go back on the medication. The majority of doctors out there still believe that there is no such thing as withdrawal from anti-depressants. I can tell you that there is NO DOUBT that these withdrawal symptons are very real. And I know that Paxil can be one of the most difficult ones to get off of. Please seek help from a doctor who understands the consuequences of stopping medication, and once your mum has some sense of calm, I recommend the "Feeling Good" book by Dr. David Burns, who is on the leading edge for treating people with depression.

If you can't find the psychiatrist, call her ob/gyn (many daughters go to the same as their mothers, or at least know who she's seeing). Call her GP. Get her to the hospital (you can call 911 and describe her typically violent behavior, so they can come ready to restrain her if they need to). Don't call social services; don't call the police - call 911.

It can be a brain tumor.

It can be a bizarre reaction to paxil withdrawal.

It can be an interaction of hormonal changes (particularly adrenal) with any number of things.

If she never used to be a violent person, it seems far far more likely she's having a medical issue than anything else.

Even if she used to be moody, I would strongly hesitate at the idea this is a behavioral issue and assume -- particularly since she's your mother -- that this is a health problem and treat it as such.

3 Years ago my 90 year old mother caught pneumonia and the doctor prescribed antibiotics and paxil. It completely unhinged my mother who had terrible nightmares and could see that she was losing her mind. Her mind had been one of the very sharpest I had known, for 90 years. But after Paxil she suffered the manic anguish of the damned 22+ hours a day. That is what she called it and that is what it was. Horrible Horrible. Everyone except my brother thought her brain was completely fried. But wonder of wonders, he figured out that it must have been the paxil, and he took her off it, and after 4 weeks she started to improve. He stayed with her 2-3 months before the effects were clearly gone. btw - she weighs under 90 pounds.

The dosages of these drugs are not calibrated for seniors. !! They have a very different metabolism, and must be carefully monitored.

My mother is completely back to normal (she'll be 94 in April), refuses to take the elevator, and has more energy and direction and SPUNK on the phone, over and over again, than anyone I know. And I talk with a lot of people on the phone.

Calvin Arnason

...and I did go a bit crazy. However, it was of the general irritability/sleeplessness variety that Cary talked about - not the physically and emotionally abusive to people I care about sort. Although some of that is inevitable - my boyfriend, for example, found the constant crying and complaining a bit trying - your mother's behavior is being caused by something else & the stopping of the Paxil is only a piece of that. She sounds almost manic or borderline - certainly not your run of the mill depression.

As someone who took Paxil for almost 10 years I can tell you that your mother may be having a negative reaction to an abrupt interruption of treatment. I would recommend that you talk to the doctor who gave her the prescription, as Cary suggested, but that you also find out why she stopped taking the Paxil to being with. The side effects might have been too harsh for her to handle and I should add that even if you have been taking it for a while your body can change its reaction to it, and even stop working. Also, antidepressants have the power to stop us from realizing things that are not going well in out lives and when you stop taking them you are suddenly faced with years of accumulated problems that have not been dealt with. She may be just now be dealing with the death of your father. It sounds like you mom if going through many issues at the moment: withdrawl, a sudden and maybe scary new perspective on her situation and maybe even a problem she didn't know existed.

Get in touch with her doctor or, if you fear she might be locked up or something, a doctor you trust. I should also add, even though it is probably not the case, that her ex-boyfriend really did do something awful that made her act the was she is acting.

I really wish you and your mother luck. A sudden interruption of Paxil and similar drugs is really very harsh. I know from experience.

AncientAssyrian wrote:

"These days, you go in and say you're blue, down in the dumps, sleeping a lot, can't deal with winter, lonely, gaining weight, losing weight, sleeping too little, and so on, and they whip out the scrip pad, and you're walking out with Prozac, or Paxil or Xanax or Klonopin -- oh, and some Ambien to help you sleep of course."

That was our experience exactly.

For years my father-in-law was a motivated, self sufficient individual. He owns several businesses in a small town (you sometinmes have to do a little of everything in a small economy) that have done well. He has always been a quiet, relatively contented individual.

There came a period in his life when he began to worry about retirement and the usual things that concern an older person. He complained to his country doctor about some sleeplesness, and was prescribed Paxil and Ambien. Long story short, he nearly went insane before getting completely off mood altering drugs.

I think these doctors are invloved in kick-back schemes, as we soon found out that nearly half of the members of his small town church (mostly older people) were on the same medications.

I seem to be dealing with more and more people who don't seem to care about anything. They function, but have no spark. No ups, no downs, just a drone-like life. I think it is a conspiracy of some sort. For people who are not on these drugs, it can be very difficult to work with those who are. Their house could be on fire, and they will just smile and say "why worry?"

I am thinking about writing a book: "Living Straight in a Prozac World"

Poco