Ooj64: reducing Seroxat / Paxil / paroxetine

[Ooj64]

😟

[Ooj64]

I have been gradually reducing from 50mg Seroxtat over the last six months supported by my GP.

last Friday, 6 days ago I reduced from my last 10mg per day to nothing. I am getting constant brain zaps and I’m feeling really dizzy. 

Im also definitely more sensitive, not depressed at all but crying more easily. 

Has anyone else had these weird symptoms? Any idea of how long they go on for?

thanks in advance. 

[Gridley]

Hello, OOj64, and welcome to SA.

 

We recommend tapering no faster than 10% of current dose every four weeks.  Your taper from 50mg Seroxat over 6 months was far faster, compounded by jumping to zero from from the relatively high dose of 10mg.  These two factors account for the withdrawal symptoms you're experiencing.

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

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Brain zaps, dizziness and heightened sensitivity are common withdrawal symptoms.

 

What is withdrawal syndrome.

 

Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list.

 

When we take medications, the CNS (central nervous system) responds by making changes over the months and years we take the drug(s). When the medication is discontinued, the CNS has to undo all the changes it made. Rebuilding the neurotransmitter production and reactivating the receptor and transporter cells takes time -- during that rebuilding process symptoms occur.  

 

These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

   On 8/30/2011 at 2:28 PM,  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.

Unfortunately, there is no way to predict how long withdrawal symptoms will continue.

 

How Long Is Withdrawal Going to Take? (this post - see below)

 

At this time, reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug is the only known way to help alleviate withdrawal syndrome.  The only other alternative is to try and wait out the symptoms and manage as best you can until your central nervous system returns to homeostasis.  Unfortunately no one can give you an exact timeline as to when you will start feeling better and while some do recover relatively easily, for others it can take many months or longer.  

 

Reinstatement isn't a guarantee of diminished symptoms for everyone but it's the best tactic available.  You're still in the time period where reinstatement predictably works, up to 3 months after last dose.  It is best to reinstate as soon as possible after withdrawal symptoms occur. We usually suggest a much smaller reinstatement dose than your last dose.   Then, once you've stabilized on that dosage, which can take several months,  you can begin a 10% per month taper down to zero.   Please read:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms. -- at least the first page of the topic

 

If you are interested in reinstating, I would suggest reinstating 1mg of Seroxat.   It takes about 4 days for a dose change to get to get to full state in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.

 

This link explains how to obtain the small non-standard doses of Seroxat/Paxil.

 

Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine)

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Please research all supplements first and only add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can post updates, ask questions and connect with other members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ooj64]

Thank you so much. I did think I was coming off the medication very quickly considering I’ve been on it for so many years.

i was encouraged to do this by my GP but am thinking I have probably made an error. Time for a re think - watch this space.