PaxilAbe

[PaxilAbe]

I'm on my third time trying to withdraw from Paxil. Was doing well for about 3 months after complete cessation. Started noticing withdrawal effects which became more severe after 5 to 6 months. Now am experiencing severe physical symptoms (body aches, insomnia, burning sensations) making day to day activities and work difficult. Considering reinstatement of Axil after 8 months just to try to get back to normalcy. 

 

Signature:

Paxil 1998 - 2018

Tried short term switch to Zoloft in 2013.

Tried withdrawal August 2016 - November 2016

Off Paxil November 2016 to July 2017. Severe symptoms. Reinstated. 

Trying again March 2018 - May 2018 taper. Off until present but strongly considering reinstatement. 

 

[ChessieCat]

Hi PaxilAbe and welcome to SA,

 

SA recommends tapering by no more than 10% of the current dose followed by a hold of about 4 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

When the drug is taken away too quickly we can get withdrawal symptoms:  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms

 

If you do decide to reinstate we suggest that you try a small dose, especially when you have been off the drug for more than a few months.  Do not go back on the last dose you were taking.  It will probably be too much and might make things worse.  Please read Post #1 of this topic:  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Once we have additional information (see below) about your doses we can suggest a dose for you to try.

 

It is better to start with a small amount and increase if necessary than to risk taking too much.  It takes about 4 days for a dose to get to full level in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.  You will need to patient and stay as calm as possible and try not to panic.  When we panic we can make bad decisions.  Some members have panicked and taken too much and/or increased too soon and ended up making things worse.

 

Please keep daily symptom notes on paper to see how reinstatement is affecting your symptoms.

 

This topic has links to Tips for Tapering various drugs and explains how to get the dose you need:  Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine)

 

Thank you for creating your drug signature.  However, we need information about the dates and doses.  If you don't know the date use early, mid or late and the month.

 

Keep it simple.  NO diagnoses or symptoms please - thank you.

• details for last 2 years - dates, ALL drugs, doses
• summary for older than 2 years - just years and drug/s

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

 

This is your own introductions topic where your can ask questions about your own situation and journal your progress.

[ChessieCat]

Here's some additional information which might help you to understand what is happening:

 

Recovery isn't linear it happens in a Windows and Waves Pattern

 

Withdrawal Normal Description

 

When we take a psychiatric drug, we are adding chemical/s to the brain.  The brain then has to change to adapt to getting the chemical/s.  It might have to change something to do with A and then once that change has been made it affects B so another change has to be made and so on down the line.  It is a chain reaction, a domino effect.

 

The same thing happens when we take the drug away.  That's why it's possible to experience such a vast array of withdrawal symptoms, and they can change, and be of different intensity.  These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

On 8/31/2011 at 5:28 AM, Rhiannon said:

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

 

AND

 

On 12/4/2015 at 2:41 AM, apace41 said:

Basically- you have a building where the MAJOR steel structures are trying to be rebuilt at different times - ALL while people are coming and going in the building and attempting to work.

It would be like if the World Trade Center Towers hadn't completely fallen - but had crumbled inside in different places.. Imagine if you were trying to rebuild the tower - WHILE people were coming and going and trying to work in the building!  You'd have to set up a temporary elevator - but when you needed to fix part of that area, you'd have to tear down that elevator and set up a temporary elevator somewhere else. And so on. You'd have to build, work around, then tear down, then build again, then work around, then build... ALL while people are coming and going, ALL while the furniture is being replaced, ALL while the walls are getting repainted... ALL while life is going on INSIDE the building. No doubt it would be chaotic. That is EXACTLY what is happening with windows and waves.  The windows are where the body has "got it right" for a day or so - but then the building shifts and the brain works on something else - and it's chaos again while another temporary pathway is set up to reroute function until repairs are made.  

 

[ChessieCat]

During any taper, there will be times of discomfort.  We strongly encourage members to learn and use non drug coping techniques to help get through tough times.

 

Understanding what is happening helps us to not get caught up with the second fear, or fear of the fear.  This happens when we experience sensations in our body and because we don't understand them we are scared of them and then start to panic.

 

This document has a diagram of the body explaining what happens in the body when we become anxious:

 

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/AnxietySelfHelp.pdf

 

Anxiety Stuff - all kinds of stuff about anxiety attacks and things that help ...

 

Audio FEMALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Audio MALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

dealing-with-emotional-spirals

 

Dr Claire Weekes suffered from anxiety and learned and taught ways of coping.  There are videos available on YouTube.

 

Claire Weekes' Method of Recovering from a Sensitized Nervous System

 

Audio:  How to Recover from Anxiety - Dr Claire Weekes

 

CBT Course:  An Introductory Self-Help Course in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

 

Resources:  Centre for Clinical Interventions (PDF modules that you can work through, eg:  Depression, Distress Intolerance, Health Anxiety, Low Self-Esteem, Panic Attacks, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Social Anxiety, Worrying)

 

On 4/28/2017 at 4:03 AM, brassmonkey said:

 

AAF: Acknowledge, Accept, Float.  It's what you have to do when nothing else works, and can be a very powerful tool in coping with anxiety.  The neuroemotional anxiety many of us feel during WD is directly caused by the drugs and their chemical reactions in the brain.  Making it so there is nothing we can do about them.  They won't respond to other drugs, relaxation techniques and the like.  They do, however, react very well to being ignored.  That's the concept behind AAF.  Acknowledge, get to know the feeling involved, explore them.  Accept, These feelings are a part of you and they aren't going anywhere fast. Float, let the feeling float off as you get on with your life as best as you can.  It's a well documented fact that the more you feed in to anxiety the worse it gets.  What starts as generalized neuroemotinal anxiety can be easily blown into a full fledged panic attack just by thinking about it.

 

I often liken it to an unwanted house guest.  At first you talk to them, have conversations, communicate with them.  After a while you figure out that they aren't leaving and there is nothing you can do to get rid of them.  So you go on about your day, working around them until they get bored and leave.

 

It can take some practice, but AAF really does work.  I hope you give it a try.

 

 

[PaxilAbe]

Hi ChessieCat,

 

Thanks for your reply and your encouragement. I am reviewing the various links and information you sent.  Meanwhile I have updated my signature. Let me know if this helps. 

 

Thanks again!

[ChessieCat]

Q:  How did you feel when you were taking Celexa and Prozac?

[PaxilAbe]

Hi ChessieCat,

 

The Celexa actually made the symptoms much worse. The Dr I was seeing was a psychiatric medication specialist and she agreed it wouldn’t work for me based on physical observations. To be honest I’m not sure if the Prozac might have worked had we given it more time but I had already missed so much work we went back to the Paxil and symptoms resolved to a workable level within a couples of weeks. 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, PaxilAbe.

 

We would call that a fast taper off Paxil.

 

Going on and off psychiatric drugs can make your nervous system hypersensitive to drugs and sometimes supplements and even foods. Very few physicians, even psychiatrists, understand this. This is why we recommend reinstatement at such low doses, to avoid kindling of symptoms.

 

Paxil in particular is difficult to quit and requires careful tapering. Because it is so difficult to go off, Prozac is often substituted, as it is somewhat easier to taper. However, you have to allow your nervous system to stabilize before tapering again.

 

If I were you, I might try 1mg Prozac and observe what it does for at least a couple of weeks. Improvement will be gradual, there are no silver bullets for withdrawal syndrome. You need to treat your nervous system gently. Please let us know how you're doing.

[PaxilAbe]

Hi Altostrata,

 

Thank you for your information and encouragement.  I've often heard Prozac may be the best way to finally withdraw from Paxil. As noted earlier I probably didn't give it a long enough trial when it was tried before. Other than getting it made at a compounding pharmacy do you have a recommendation as to how to get to a 1 mg dose?  The dose I was prescribed when we tried before was a 10 mg capsule. Do you know if it is safe to open the capsule and measure the 1 mg into water to create a suspension. Noted that I am not asking for medical advice just checking to see if you have any information you can share until I can discuss with my doctor. 

 

Thanks!

[ChessieCat]

Yes you can dissolve the contents of the capsule in water.

 

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

 

how-to-make-a-liquid-from-tablets-or-capsules

 

using-an-oral-syringe-and-other-tapering-techniques

 

Where to get oral syringes

[PaxilAbe]

Hi ChessieCat and Altostrata,

 

Thank you both for the information. I finally obtained the items I needed to mixup the liquid dose of Prozac  and have stated today on the 1mg / day reinstatement. I’ll keep you posted as to how it goes. 

 

As an update, my withdrawal symptoms have been more severe as of late. Especially the skin burning and head pressure and fog. Still able to make it to the office most days but have to rely on my wife to drive me back and forth. She is very supportive but I feel so bad to put her through this. 

 

Any addional insight anyone can provide will be appreciated. Thanks for listening. 

[PaxilAbe]

Hi ChessieCat and Altostrata , ,

 

I have been taking 0.5mg melatonin at night to help with sleep. I just recently read that melatonin can reduce the effectiveness of SSRIs. Since I have reinstated at the 1mg of Prozac will the use of melatonin reduce the effectiveness? I haven’t found this yet in any of the SA threads yet but I may have missed it. Any insight you can provide would be helpful. 

 

So so far the reinstatement has made me feel worse, more head pressure and slight dizziness along with more fatigue and “burning skin” sensations. I figure this may be normal, but I don’t want to hinder this with the melatonin. I am also taking Omega 3 supplements (epa and dha) up to an average of 3000mg/day total Omega 3 as well as Magnesium Glycinate up to an average of 400mg/day. Both of these supplements in divided doses throughout the day with meals. 

 

Thanks for any any insight you or others can provide. 

 

PaxilAbe

 

[ChessieCat]

Have you been keeping any daily symptom notes?  If yes, please them.

 

If not, please start keeping them for the next 3 days and post here in your intro topic.

 

Example:

 

a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

[Altostrata]

We need to see those daily notes, please.

 

Don't worry about the melatonin.

[Carmie]

Hi PaxilAbe, 

 

How are you doing? Have you been taking daily symptom notes? Sending hugs🤗

 

 

[PaxilAbe]

Hi All,

 

Decided to stop the reinstatement February 5th. Figured I would rather continue without meds than to have to go through the whole process again.  There’s been many waves and windows since then, but not as bad as when I was trying to reinstate. I know I didn’t give it much of a shot, but decided I didn’t want to get used to any medication again.   Most dominant symptoms are fatigue, tension, flu-like aches and pains, numbness/tingling and head zaps.  These vary hour by hour, day by day and week by week so it’s hard to journal a specific timeline. If I tried, I feel like I would be writing all day.  For now I’m just going to try to tough it out and rely on various support networks to get me through. Main support is wife and daughter who would rather have me this way without the meds than to have me dependent on the meds again. 

 

Had my annual checkup in late February and as suspected all bloodwork and other indicators came back normal.  Have also begun some counseling to learn how to cope with the stress. Again as suspected the Counseling Doc doesn’t believe it would still be withdrawal this far out, but so far he is not advocating any return to drugs. He would rather at  try to help me learn how to deal properly with the symptoms as he believes the stress is prolonging the symptoms. At this point who is to reallly say.

 

Thanks for the hugs!

[Carmie]

Hi PaxilAbe, 

 

Could you please update your signature and put in the date and amount you reinstated and the date you stopped the reinstatement. Thank you. 

 

It’s pretty usual that the doctors don’t think we are going through withdrawal symptoms, it would surprise me if they thought it was withdrawals.😁

 

Wishing you all the best in your recovery 💚