MayBug: Paxil withdrawal

[MayBug]

Hey everyone,

I'm new here and I've seen many helpful threads. There must be lots on Paxil withdrawal but there's so much to go through, I hope y'all can help me out regardless.

Basically, I used to be on 40 mg of Paxil. I'm coming off it in order to get on a mood stabilizer, started taking 30 mg before yesterday. 

I'm experiencing quite the bothersome symptoms: severe dizziness, loss of appetite and feeling numb (rather than me the usual depressed). Can anyone relate to these while having been on the same dosage of Paxil? How are you dealing with the withdrawal symptoms and how long did they last?

Thanks for reading and wishing you all well!

[manymoretodays]

Welcome to surviving antidepressants MayBug,

 

Let's try and get you started here.  I'm going to leave you with a lot of links to different areas of the site that apply to your opening post.

This is your introduction/journal page where you've done a brief introduction of yourself to the community........... a place for you to post questions about your own situation, and keep us updated as well. 

 

We recommend a harm reduction approach to withdrawing from A/D's and other psychoactive medications.
Why taper by 10% of my dosage

The 10% rule is applied to the previous dosage, NOT the starting dosage.  As you continue to taper, the reduction is based on each previous dose.

Tips for tapering off Paxil(paroxetine)

This ^ is the main thread we have about tapering off Paxil.  And then the link below has a ton of information as well that I think you will find helpful.

Symptoms and self-care

I don't know if you have had time to peruse the site much, so I'm going to leave you with even more links to information that we have here....... for you to take a look at.  Try to at least read the first couple of posts in each link.

Oftentimes by going slowly and judiciously reducing an A/D there is much less likelihood that withdrawal symptoms will be severe.

Before you begin tapering

The symptoms that you describe could certainly be related to withdrawal. 

What is withdrawal syndrome

 

We ask all new members to complete a signature for us as well.  This is the portion that you will see below each post.  However, the signatures can't be seen if posting/reading from some smart phones and I phones.  You can, however, write your signature from those devices.

How to create a signature

The signature helps us greatly to see your history at a glance, as well as any recent changes.  So do your best to get that done for us.  Dates, Medication name, dosages.  Include all your medications used in the last 12-24 months and then briefly include any other psychiatric medications used before that time period.  Definitely list the "mood stabilizer" that you have recently started or are thinking of starting.  If you haven't started it yet you can just mention that in your narrative section here on your introduction page.

 

Hopefully that's not too overwhelming.  You don't have to read or look at everything at once. 

Again, welcome aboard.

 

Love, peace, healing, and growth,

mmt

 

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by manymoretodays
clarity

[Centime]

Welcome MayBug. I too am tapering off Paxil. I’ve found that going very slowly is the key to success. Going from 40 to 30 mg. is fast! The general rule is no more than 10% of the previous dose a month. Brassmonkey suggests 2.5% a week for 4 weeks, then stay at that dose for two more weeks. That works really well for me. If you’re getting withdrawal symptoms, you need to slow down. I’m down to .650 (by weight on a microgram scale), which is about 36 mg. I think. For a long time I kept trying to go faster—bad idea. Now my withdrawal symptoms are way less—mostly faintness when I stand up from sitting or lying down. This web site is wonderful—i’m So happy that i found it. Best of luck and please keep us posted.

[MayBug]

I'm glad about receiving such quick responses!

 

@manymoretodays, I'll definitely have a look! I'll also create my signature, thanks for the links and tips!

 

@Centime, now I understand what the 10% rule implies. However, and I don' t know if this has to do with where I live (in France) or if calls for me to "craft" smaller doses, but I only have tablets of 20 mh. The lowest dose in the pharmacies I've been is 10, so how do you do it? 

[Centime]

Hi MayBug,

 

I bought a scale that measures milligrams. You can get one on Amazon—not expensive. In a minute I’ll find the link and post it for you. I measure the weight of 40 mg (two 20 mg. pills), then subtract 2.5%. I then use an emery board (nail file) to file off a tiny amount. I keep weighing the pills until it’s right. I have a pill organizer for a whole month, and so I only have to do the filing once a month. It takes me about 20 minutes  to do 30 pills.

 

For example, two 20 mg. pills weigh .704. I want to subtract 2.5% so I multiply .704 by .975 and get .686, so I file one pill down until the two of them together weigh .686. I take that much for one week. The next week I want to go down another 2.5%, so

 

.686 times .975 = .669. I file one pill down so that the two of them weigh .669, and so on.

 

Another way you can do it is to go to a compounding pharmacy—they can custom-make pills for you. I’ll probably do that when I get down to tiny doses that are harder to weigh. Right now I’m at .633.

 

It’s important to understand that you’re going down 2.5% of the previous dose, not the original dose!

 

I’m getting off Paxil because I learned that the withdrawal symptoms can be very similar to depression, the reason I started taking it to begin with. I’m 67 and have been taking it for 30 years!!! I want to know what my mind is like without it. In the past I tried many times to get off it but went too fast (I didn’t know) and it was BAD. Now I’m following Brassmonkey (a smart person on this site)’s advice: Go down 2.5% each week for 4 weeks, then hold at that dose for two more weeks, then continue. It’s working. My withdrawal is now mild—lightheadedness when I stand up.

 

Here’s the link to the scale: https://smile.amazon.com/Smart-Weigh-GEM20-Precision-Milligram/dp/B00ESHDGOI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1534007736&sr=8-4&keywords=gemini+20+portable+milligram+scale

 

Good luck to you. You’re brave to be dealing with this at your age. People here are very understanding and it’s a big relief to have such good company. Best, Centime

[MayBug]

Heh, you clearly have mastered this art. Thank you very much for all the info, it's definitely helpful.

 

Take care,

MayBug