yasba1: Paxil poopout after 18 Years

[yasba1]

I have been on Paxil since 2003. I tried to come off of it, but my "Depression" always came back, so the most I managed was usually about 3 months before I was back on it. During the pregnancy with my daughter in 2010 was the longest stretch without it. I was off Paxil for about 12 months. After giving birth I was hit with terrible insomnia (not because of the baby). I just couldn't sleep. As soon as I restarted Paxil my sleep went back to normal (7 or 8 hours a night).

 

One thing I always noticed during my breaks from Paxil was that my period was completely gone. Getting back on Paxil would normalize it right away and I would again have regular periods. It happens like clockwork whenever I tried to get off Paxil. All I got from my OBGYN was that if I didn't want to get pregnant at that time I should be happy about it... It just shows me that the Paxil (or better the lack thereof) was doing something.

 

I was doing good on Paxil and after all the failed attempts to stop I promised to never try again. If it helped, why should I? I would be taking it the rest of my life if it helped.

 

Then in September 2020 came the poopout. Paxil stopped working. I tried to increase the dosage somewhat, but that helped exactly 3 weeks before I felt down again. My doctor put me on different ADs, but nothing really worked.

 

The worst offender was Wellbutrin. I have MS since 30 years. Luckily not many symptoms. That changed 3 days after I started the Wellbutrin. I could barely walk, and my left leg was extremely weak. My neurologist insisted that this has nothing to do with the Wellbutrin, so I kept taking it, even though it didn't help and I had terrible insomnia from it. An MRI showed no new MS activity in my brain. That assured me in my conviction that the Wellbutrin was causing the issues so I decided to stop it. Within days my walking improved dramatically. Unfortunately it never came back to where it was before the Wellbutrin. I would say I am between 50% and 70% from where I was before. 

 

I also tried Effexor but that only worked for 3 weeks. Then I got back on Paxil and it was also 3 weeks and I was back feeling severely down. That is when I decided to try to stop all the medications, if they didn't help anymore anyways. 

 

So here I am now. Not having had a really good day since then. There have been many bad days, and some average and even some kind-of-ok days recently. I did notice the irritability right after stopping the Paxil mostly went away after a couple of weeks. But I now don't have my period anymore and terrible Insomnia where I get only 2 or 3 hours a night. 

 

 

 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @yasba1

 

I am sorry you are having problems with your psychiatric drug treatment. 

 

How did you go off Paxil? How did you feel after you went off? How long was it before you took Wellbutrin? 

[yasba1]

Hi @Altostrata

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post!

 

It was 3 months between coming off Paxil and going on Wellbutrin. When I quit the Wellbutrin I went straight back to Paxil the next day.

 

I always went off all the drugs cold turkey. Many years ago during one of my many times trying to get off Paxil I tried tapering. I remember there was a different forum, and they also recommended 10% per 4 weeks or so. I got liquid Paxil and tapered for maybe 3 months and I felt bad right away. Doctor recommended going back on Paxil, so I did.

 

In the past I remember having brain zaps when trying to get off the Paxil. Not the last couple of times though. When I quit 3 months ago I felt very down and very irritable. The irritability comes and goes, but I keep feeling down constantly. That started within days of quitting.

 

Four days ago, after reading through this forum, I reinstated Paxil with 1mg. I am not feeling any difference so far. Still very down and bad insomnia.

[Altostrata]

You tapered over 3 months this last time? Paxil can be very, very difficult to go off. 

 

You have been taking 1mg Paxil for 4 days? You may wish to increase it to 2mg, see if that changes anything.

[yasba1]

Just now, Altostrata said:

You tapered over 3 months this last time? Paxil can be very, very difficult to go off. 

 

You have been taking 1mg Paxil for 4 days? You may wish to increase it to 2mg, see if that changes anything.

 

Sorry if what I wrote wasn't very clear.

 

I did not taper this last time. I quit cold turkey from 10mg. I was taken it for about 6 weeks. I quit because it only helped the first two or three weeks and then it felt like I wasn't taking anything at all. I didn't even notice much difference from quitting, other than my insomnia started and I stopped getting my period.

 

This has been the same for the last two years. Whenever I tried restarting Paxil it worked for only about 2 or 3 weeks and then it felt like I wasn't taking anything. After stopping I didn't have any immediate withdrawal symptoms like nausea or brain zaps or anything like that.

 

I will try to increase to 2mg. What should I do if that doesn't help. Increase or stop? And how much time should I allow to see if it works?

 

 

 

 

[Altostrata]

In that case, if I were you, I'd reinstate 1mg fluoxetine or citalopram instead of Paxil, which still will be very difficult to go off.

 

28 minutes ago, yasba1 said:

other than my insomnia started and I stopped getting my period.

 

This sounds like a significant withdrawal syndrome.

[yasba1]

On 9/28/2022 at 2:35 AM, Altostrata said:

In that case, if I were you, I'd reinstate 1mg fluoxetine or citalopram instead of Paxil, which still will be very difficult to go off.

 

 

This sounds like a significant withdrawal syndrome.

 

I got Fluoxetine today and will try that. I see the reasoning behind that. 

 

Are weak legs a withdrawal symptom? Like I mentioned in my first post, since the Wellbutrin I have difficulty walking. After walking a hundred feet I have trouble lifting one leg and am totally exhausted. When I try to sit cross-legged I have to lift one leg over the other with my hands because the leg is so weak.

[Altostrata]

On 9/29/2022 at 9:01 PM, yasba1 said:

Are weak legs a withdrawal symptom? Like I mentioned in my first post, since the Wellbutrin I have difficulty walking. After walking a hundred feet I have trouble lifting one leg and am totally exhausted. When I try to sit cross-legged I have to lift one leg over the other with my hands because the leg is so weak.

 

Possibly.

[yasba1]

On 10/1/2022 at 4:21 PM, Altostrata said:

 

Possibly.

 

I am now taking Fluoxetine 1mg since about 3 weeks. I haven't noticed much change in my sleep and I haven't had a period yet. I will try to up the dose to 1.5mg.

 

Some days ago I started getting a constant tingling in my feet and sometimes in my hands. Is that another WD symptom? Or does it come from the Fluoxetine?

 

As I mentioned before, I do have MS, and these are also typical MS symptoms, but all these symptoms started with my poopout/withdrawal. 

[Altostrata]

Have you noticed any change in your symptom pattern over the last 3 weeks? What is your symptom pattern now compared to August?

[yasba1]

4 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

Have you noticed any change in your symptom pattern over the last 3 weeks? What is your symptom pattern now compared to August?

 

My overall mood is about the same.

 

Sleep is still bad, though I have to say I had two good nights of sleep within those 3 weeks.

 

My legs are still weak.

 

The tingling in my feet is new.

 

I am also getting headaches almost every evening. That started 1 or 2 weeks ago.

 

 

[Altostrata]

I would not increase fluoxetine. Are you taking any other drugs? What times o'clock do you take your drugs, with their dosages? What time o'clock does the headache start?

 

Are you getting at least 1/2 hour per day of gentle exercise, such as walking?

[yasba1]

On 10/25/2022 at 3:35 PM, Altostrata said:

I would not increase fluoxetine. Are you taking any other drugs? What times o'clock do you take your drugs, with their dosages? What time o'clock does the headache start?

 

Are you getting at least 1/2 hour per day of gentle exercise, such as walking?

 

I have stayed on the 1.5mg fluoxetine for a month. I am not taking any other drugs other than melatonin for sleep (see below). Headaches have stopped for now.

 

I finally have my period back. Whenever I stopped any of the SSRIs I stopped getting my period. So that is a good sign (would have never thought I would be happy about getting my period 😉)

 

My mood is still mostly bad. I did have a window of 1 or 2 days where I felt better, but went back right after. 

 

My sleep is still the same. I take melatonin every night but it stopped helping. I did notice though that some nights when I wake up I take 200mg ibuprofen and that helps me sleep. Even when I have no headaches or any pain. Anyone else experienced this? First time I though it was a fluke, but it already happened several times that ibuprofen helped me fall back asleep.

 

Should I already started tapering? 

 

[Altostrata]

What is your sleep pattern now? How has it changed?