Misc Seeing tracers on Paroxetine (Paxil)

[oliverfrank22]

I've been taking Paroxetine for severe anxiety and depression for a little over a month now. I started at 20mg and am now taking 30mg.

I've been waking up almost every night feeling oddly anxious and very dissociated (dissociated feeling is similar to the dissociated feeling from nitrous oxide but without the "good feeling") and seeing afterimages as I move my eyes and seeing tracers if I move my hand in front of my face. Also my pulse feels quite weak when this is happening. This has also happened a few times while I'm awake, so it's not that I just had a bad dream or something.

I asked my psychologist about this and he basically said he didn't know what it was but he didn't think it was from the Paxil.

I decided to test this so I stopped taking the Paxil for two days. During these two days and one or two days after I started taking it again I did not experience this happening. Because of this I think it's safe to say that it is most likely caused by the Paxil.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on here and what I should do, if anything? I wonder if possibly this is caused by some of my previous drug use that has somehow caused changes in my brain that are making me react to an SSRI differently. The drugs I have taken that have an effect on the serotonin system are ecstasy (once) and psylocibin mushrooms (twice).

Also I did Tramadol at least 15 times a few months ago, and I think I remember this happening once while I taking tramadol.

Thank you.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ I've experienced this (and mania) on SSRI's as well: sertraline and now citalopram.

I can't give personal experience as to whether I think serotoninergic drugs caused this as I went on both medications well after I had started using 5-HT-ergic substances. I do know that I am stopping to take the citalopram though after only three days on it.