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Sorry to hear that there is no improvement. You might be in poop out and experiencing WD because of it. If you are in poop out, other drugs may be of zero value and just add side effects along with paxil WD. I did see Altostrata at one point recommended citalopram as an alternative to paxil when one is struggling to taper paroxetine. . I had a bad experience with prozac so I would never recommend it. I know the anxiety you are feeling is mountain like to you. Did you get a chance to read Claire Weekes books "Hope and Help for Your Nerves". Please do, it was very helpful for me and many others here. Remember the anxiety is adrenaline in overdrive. It will not hurt you. You are safe. Thanks for the update. Be kind to yourself.

No pude sanar las heridas morales devastadoras que la psiquiatría me infligió ni las originales anteriores a la psiquiatría porque estaba drogado, químicamente desconectado, pero también psicológicamente por el trauma salvaje que fue la intervención psiquiátrica criminal y del que desconecté por completo químicamente obligado a tomar Sertralina y psicológicamente disociando mientras estaba sucediendo por su intensidad.

Track your symptoms carefully. Hopefully within 4 days you will see improvement or at least no worsening. I am glad she recognized this for what it is. Though it doesn't change anything, it is nice to get some affirmation. I've had a couple good days so hoping it lasts. Thanks for asking. ❤️🤗

Be very careful when reinstating. Do it with the support of a psychiatrist that knows about withdrawal. I now have PSSD, after trying very small doses (I did it in an incorrect way). Reinstating and changing doses may increase your risk of PSSD. And believe me strong PSSD is probably one of the worst diseases someone can get.

Libby123 - hang in there, try to relax as much as you can, remember it’s not you, just the reaction to lowered medication. It might take a while before things improve but it will be worth it 🥰

Glad to hear this! Enjoy your window and hope it lasts! 😊

@LostInCanada Hi lostincanada, I have been very down over the last week or so with the nerve like pain in my forehead and eyes everyday so I have decided finally I will make a drop of 2.5% tomorrow morning. Even though I had withdrawal symptoms first, the severe neurological symptoms (AKA, head pain, tingling down arms overnight and severe terror) started after the up dose. Even though they are mostly milder it is the head pain that is debilitating after 5 months with no real improvement. Also thinking about it about a month after the up-dose my eyes were blood shot and one of the eyelids was swollen as if the the drug was too strong now. On a positive note this week is that a blood pressure specialist (she’s actually an Endo ) put it in writing that my severe hypertensive crisis at the beginning of the withdrawal phase when I was back on 10mg after missing doses was likely caused by Paroxetine withdrawal. I will let you know how I get on. Thanks again for all your help and I hope you are doing ok.

@SwedishDespair Hi, I have no advice but insightful of you not to stop completely. I made that mistake. Hope you get the advice you need so you can heal further…

Having brain fog, memory issues and difficulty taking decision since I entered protracted withdrawal, I find having a daily routine helps a lot. I also forget less stuff, wich help a tiny little bit with anxiety. I use Finch for Android, to help building and following my routine. Some of my daily goals (out of order): Get out of bed Eat breakfast Take vit D & omega 3 Do the dishes Start the diswashers Take the kids to school Brush my teeth Go for a walk Take a shower etc. Same here!!

Hi Manny, sorry to hear about your girlfriend's issues! I'm sure it's super scary for both of you.. Sorry I can't give a good advice about the meds, other than that all psychotropics (ADs and APs) decrease the blood pressure Two long shots: - the thyroid medication might be relevant, did she get her thyroid hormones checked after starting it? - it might sound silly, but hot weather makes the low blood pressure worse, and it is what triggers tachycardia I think (the heart tries to compensate). Very simple natural remedy is drinking salty ayran, esp. when out in the sun. BUT if the Toviaz is making her retain liquids, this might make it dangerous to retain salt too, so please check with the doctor who prescribed it first! How much water does she drink in a day? /edit: Toviaz might be related to the blurred vision. Try asking her doctors to lower some of the drug(s) rather than increasing them or adding even more: https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-151902/toviaz-oral/details - if you can find an alternative for the incontinence (e.g. drinking water and teas throughout the day and then stopping for 1-2 hours before bed or even sleeping with socks on ), go for that rather than a drug.

T h a n k s @Jaffa How are your WD today? I read in your thread. At first it was not the most important to go off completely. Should have stayed on 12,5mg much longer after a big reduction. Didnt even know this world existed. Thought I was brave but feel more afraid now. Also at that age when hormones are falling, WD domino effect. I did kind of a c/t, seems harder to recover then. Negativity goes against my personality but this is unlike anything else. I believe a lot of people here can make it through but I don't know how I'm going to. Grateful for you kind people and support… 💛

Unfortunately, the tinnitus persists, but I'm doing my best to accept it and move forward. My wife and kids are understanding - I try not to complain too much 😬 Other than that, however, I'm doing well. Just chipping away very slowly, crawling through this marathon. Thank you for asking. So true. Sunday brings me rest and Joy. Thanks for being such a kind and compassionate encourager 😊

When withdrawal happened, since late 2019 actually, I have been consumed by feelings and emotions that I couldn't comprehend, I lost that understanding at the hospital, between February and March 2017, and the insights that I needed to recover wasn't in the MH system/industrial complex, in fact, it was very far from it. I feel and felt so immoral, and bad, because I lost all my moral, mental, social and emotional resilience, since I was hospitalized and drugged, and this is something that you can't recover in a short span of time, you need to face life adversities, to suffer, to develop that distress tolerance, coping skills and resilience. When I was drugged I couldn't face my painful moral conflict and trauma, I was chemically disconnected from them, and I slowly started to loose all my distress tolerance, coping skills and resilience, being unnecessary for my life, my mind forgot them, I became more vulnerable to future revictimizations and more sensitive to my moral suffering, which was already excruciating by the time I started taking Sertraline. By the time withdrawal happened I had completely forgot my moral suffering, conflict and trauma and lost my healthier coping skills, distress tolerance and moral, emotional and mental resilience, so I got psychologically shattered.

I got really sick in Feb after my last post and didn’t start tapering then. I’m back! April 15 I tapered down to 33mg imipramine. (6% taper)

Hey, sorry for not reading through, my eyes are a bit tired atm. I found your topic looking for "menstrual" and thought sharing a similar experience might be helpful. And someone is reading (though the forum feels a bit lonely recently) I also noticed that crying happens close to my period, not sure if it's mostly pre- or post, as I've seen both. Today (3 days after the period and 3 days after the last cut of my drug) I had pretty unbearable crying throughout the morning (which is also the worse part of the day since I reached lower doses). I was trying to find a good moment relative to my period to make the cuts (bearing in mind that I'm tapering Abilify, which is seen as "lifting", though it's technically an anti-psychotic) and use the natural "bump" we get monthly. For now it seems mid-ovulation might be a good choice for me. Last 2 months I tried making the cut before the ovulation instead and it didn't feel so stable. Have you noticed a good correlation for yourself? I read an article about monthly changes to estrogen/progesterone in relation to base dopamine levels, not sure if it gives you some useful info: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5508121/ /edit after reading some more: "I wake up depressed, and I feel 100% better after lunch at around 1:30PM. I think I’ve noticed the better I sleep, the more depressed I feel the next day" - that's been my pattern for the past 1-2 years. I'm not sure, but maybe it started after the pandemic and my mildly unsuccessful attempt to return to regular daily routine (initially our office was not available, then I switched jobs to 2 work from home positions). I know for sure having to go out in the morning, even if it's just for shopping groceries and then coming back to work from home feels very different than just sitting around..

Hello @DisplayName3332024 Yes, I do. It took me roughly just under 3 years since I realize the cause and stopped messing with drug dosages. No waves or windows. Just a snail crossing a football stadium pace, but I got there. edit: Motivation has definitely improve since last post. I am motivated to do things every day. Only anxiety or lack of spoons stops me

I didn't solve my life problems and moral issues because I wasn't allowed to, as simple as that, to mature and develop as a person, to find balance and peace, specially because I was drugged, addicted, chemically deceived and suffering medical spellbinding, I wanted to, but I couldn't, being chemically and psychologically disconnected or extremely confused during withdrawal, having forgetting all my issues, not being able to understand and manage my emotions anymore, being indoctrinated into the psychiatric intoxicating moral system and ideas, etc. All these mental health "experts", moral gurus and cult leaders, that happily tell people that they're mentally ill, disordered, have medical conditions, that they need "medication" and psychological "treatments" without even having medical evidence for telling such things, to diagnose such "medical conditions", they don't have the minimum amount of insight, self-awareness and critical thinking to realize how impactful these "diagnoses" are, to realize that they're misleading moral sentences and judgements, that they don't diagnose any cause but just describe moral "defects" of the human condition and people's experiences. Psychiatry really made me believe that I was crazy, that I had gone insane, when I was the one arrested in a concentration and reeducation camp for a month and forced to take drugs against my will and the one who got his own human rights violated. That's how much it messed up my mind, how much it traumatized me, how much internalized oppression I had. I was terrified. Sertraline and psychiatry disordered me, my mind and my life, chemically and psychologically. They created this hellish mental and emotional chaos, nightmare. During my 2020 withdrawal and that narcissistic abusive relationship everything that was psychologically and chemically suppressed, because of trauma and Sertraline, came back. People here don't deserve to go through the hell that withdrawal, quitting psychiatric drugs, getting out of the MH system/industrial complex and rebuild their lives is.

To be honest, it's hard to tell if I'm getting better. I can definitely say my physical symptoms have lessened over time while psychological symptoms appear to take their place. My current windows often feel better than the windows I experienced at the beginning of my cold turkey, but at the same time, my waves will sometimes feel worse. I also seem to have more days that feel in-between a window and a wave, not particularly good or bad. I suppose this is a sign of improvement, it's just hard to be sure.

I guess that's good to keep in mind...I guess I am worried for me because I have already been having adverse reactions to the Lexapro before I did 10mg cold turkey like you did.

If I had to because of medical issues how quickly could I get off this. if I had to go cold turkey how bad / long would withdrawal be.

Thank you so very much @LizzieTish

Wonderful to read, LostinCanada 🤗 Amen to that 🙏

Dear Bailey, The God of all grace will restore you and make you strong. 💕 May the Lord encourage you and fill you with His healing strength. I am thinking of you and praying for you. Hugs, Elizabeth

@Ninabird Thank you so much ❤️

You will have to speak with your GP regarding concerns over your blood pressure. They will tell you if you need to take medication for it. We can only provide information and support regarding tapering psychiatric drugs. I would suggest testing the waters with a 10% reduction from 45mg to 40.5mg, to see if it helps your symptoms. Read the links I posted above for how to make the correct doses.