Obsessing over Paxil withdrawal. Need some help!

I am a 36 year old male. I have been taking Paxil 40mg/day for about 12 years. I was originally diagnosed with GAD and Panic Disorder. I have done pretty well on the Paxil for these many years with minimal side effects. Occasionally, however, I have some breakthrough anxiety. When this happens, I am always worried that the Paxil is "pooping out" and I begin obsessively reading about the thousands of Paxil withdrawal horror stories that are out here on the web. Websites like paxilprogress.org and quitpaxil.org are full of people that have tried to quit or are in the process of weaning off of this drug, and they are all going through absolute hell. It really scares me. It's an odd feeling when you realize that you are afraid of the very thing that has helped you for so many years.

I guess my question to you is this. If the time comes that I need to change medications or come off of the Paxil, is it possible to do so successfully having been on 40 mg for so many years? What is the success rate of weaning off Paxil after long-term use (10+ years)? I recently spoke with my own psychiatrist about the breakthrough anxiety I was having, and about my Paxil concerns, and his recommendation was to up my Paxil dose to 60 mg/day or to augment with Buspar. I am a successful Art Director, a husband, and a father. I am so afraid that I will eventually lose those things that are most precious to me if I ever have to come off of this antidepressant. Any insight or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Kind regards.

I can't speak for others, but years ago I was on Paxil and I changed over to Celexa. I had no withdrawal symptoms at all. It was a long time ago, but I believe my dr switched me to celexa and I just started taking that instead of the Paxil. A couple of years later I weaned of the Celexa and I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms from that either. I think the trick is to cut back very slowly. My sister used to take Paxil and she stopped it suddenly. She did have a lot of withdrawal symptoms. If I were you I would try to switch to another SSRI drug. This is just my unprofessional opinion, but it seems to me like there are so many other similiar drugs out there with less side effects and the Paxil doesn't seem to be doing it for you anymore anyways.