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SusyM: New here. Paxil 2.5 mg


SusyM

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Been taking Paxil since 2006. Went from 30 mg to 20 mg years ago and then to 10 mg. This year I decided to try and come off Paxil altogether.

I now realise I may have been tapering too fast. I went from 10 (5th of May) to 5 (on 6th of June). I actually felt good and I decided to jump to 2.5 after a few days. Been on 2.5 since the 11th of June and it has been getting a bit rough at times. The brain zapps I can handle. I can even be happy about being able to cry again. I am not happy about the hypomania (mornings), bouts of anger, the foggy confused state. I have decided to stay at 2.5 for the moment.

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi SusyM and welcome to SA.  I'm glad that you found us and sorry that you need this kind of information. 
 
I agree with your suspicion that you tapered too fast.  Cutting 7.5 mg from 10 mg of Paxil is a big jump in a few days!  One of the things we suggest to people is to listen to their symptoms.  Great work on hearing yours! 
 
The zaps, crying, hypomania, anger/irritability, and fog/confustion are all symptoms of withdrawal syndrome. If you want relief from them, are you willing to increase your dose back to 5 mg, hold there for a 4 weeks or as long as needed for the symptoms to resolve or become manageable? Often people find that after 4-5 days at the higher dose, their symptoms lessen considerably. You could then start a nice slow 10% taper from 5 mg, possibly as early as mid-July.
 
This topic, or thread, in the forum is your place to track your progress, ask questions, chat with others, etc. To find it again quickly, you may want to save it as a bookmark or favorite. Another option is to follow the topic, which you have already done.  Thanks!

We're big on educating yourself here so that you can take responsibility for your taper. Some threads relevant to where you're at right now:

What is withdrawal syndrome
About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms
Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine)
Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

It can be really helpful for you to see what's happening in your taper -- part of that education -- by recording and tracking your symptoms. Here's what many of us use to do that: Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list

If you want to understand why your recent cut of 7.5 mg is hitting you harder than any of your previous 10 mg cuts, the transmitter occupancy curves discussed in this thread (and research paper) provide a good explanation:
Why taper paper: dose-occupancy curves
 
It's helpful for the moderating team to be able to get your meds and withdrawal history in a quick glance rather than having to read all your posts. The tool that we have to do that is a signature that appears below each of your posts. Here's instructions on how to create yours:
Please put your withdrawal history in signature

 

Come back and let us know what your next steps are and how you're doing.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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Thanks! I will go back to 5 and take it more slowly.

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi SuzyM, 

 

I just wanted to welcome you as well.  I'm glad you are willing to go back to 5 mg and go more slowly.  Paxil has been a very problematic drug to come off of for long time users.  Our moderator Brassmonkey has been micro-tapering Paxil very successfully as have many folks on this forum, and it truly does pay to go slower the lower you go, as scallywag pointed out with the "why taper?" paper.

 

If you do this correctly, it will be down-right boring LOL!

 

SG

Started ADs back around 1995 after bad break-up, starting with Prozac.  Switched to Wellbutrin, and then to Effexor in 2002
Effexor XR 2002-2014 up to 225 mg at one point, down to 37.5 mg towards end but back up to 75 mg in 2014; now realize I had W/D as I dropped down, memory very poor about history.  Extreme emotions, poor concentration as I stepped back down, didn't connect the dots!
Summer 2014 reduced to 0 very quickly, was sick of anhedonia/sexual dysfunction due to meds, depression never controlled if not worse. Didn't recognize WD since symptoms built slowly (thought I had ADD! and menopausal on top of it), starting with severe sweats, very bad cog-fog and memory issues, culminating in weight loss, severe anxiety and depression, panic, severe apathy and insomnia by eight months off.  Saw p-doc who put me on Remeron, increased from 7.5 mg/day to 37.5 mg by May 22, 2015; still doing very badly though able to sleep.

June 1. 2015 Reinstated Effexor XR 37.5 mg, Remeron dropped to 30 mg PM. Immediate relief of symptoms, like nothing had ever happened!  Joined SA and began on advice of friend who recognized it was WD all along! Began tapering in July 2015.

Been tapering both meds ever since, focusing on one more than the other or doing no more than 5% of each per month.

12 mg Effexor and 5.8 mg Remeron (mirtazapine SolTabs to make a solution with OraPlus) as of 5/4/2017 

Update 3/14/18: 2.9 mg Remeron and 6 mg Effexor; 6/10/18:  2.6 mg Remeron and 4.9 mg Effexor

 

My intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/9313-squirrellygirl-effexor-withdrawal-etc/page-2#entry196679

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

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Went back to 5 mg this morning. If all goes well I am going to taper with 10% in 4 weeks time.

 

I was prescribed Paxil in 2000 also and was on it for 7 months and then cut back from 20 to zero in a month with a schedule provided by my psychiatrist. It all went well then. I felt the zapps, I was grumpy, nothing more. But then 7 months on it or 10 years must make a difference and my brain is not as flexible maybe as it was in 2000.

 

Glad I found this site! Lots of reading to catch up to.

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Susy.  How are things going for you?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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Much better. The zaps are gone. My mood is more stable. I am definately taking the slow road

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Zaps gone, mood stable.  Boring is good. I'm glad to read that you're feeling better.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Still doing good. Actually I feel better on this low dose of Paxil than I have felt on 20 mg or 10 mg. Hopeful. I am trying a 10% cut on the 17th of July.

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Susy -- what wonderful news -- you're feeling better and stable!

A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-18 months particularly? Any drugs prior to that can just be listed with start and stop years. This gives the moderators a quick view at your withdrawal history; otherwise we have to read all your posts to get the picture. We can assist you more quickly if you have a signature and if you keep it up to date with each taper step. Please put your withdrawal history in signature

 

Many people report that cutting the last 5 mg of Paxil is harder than the previous 5 or 15.  You can quickly find other members tapering Paxil by clicking on the Paxil tag at the top of this thread. Please have a look around and consider a dose cut less than 10%.
 

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment

Filled in the signature.

 

Since 2 days I am feeling a bit down. I did have some external stressors, so I am not jumping to conclusions just yet. For the rest I am still doing ok.

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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Hi Susy. Thanks for filling in your signature.  Just a word of caution -  please take your time with the cuts and if you don't feel stable or up to it then hold steady for a while . If on the 17 th July you don't feel like you are ready then HOLD until you do . As well as following the calendar, if you can listen to what your body is telling you then you will hopefully taper down from this point in a successful way.

 

The main thing right now is to stabilize and find a reduction of symptoms and go on from here in a positive functional manner. Take it slow and steady. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6632-the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable/

 

Ali

Many SSRI's and SSNRI's over 20 years. Zoloft for 7 years followed by Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac, Cymbalta, Celexa, Pristiq, Valdoxan, Mianserin and more - on and off. No tapering. Cold turkey off Valdoxan - end of May 2014

 

                                                  Psych Drug - free since May 2014
.
         

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Thx Ali, I have printed out the withdrawal symptoms list to help me keep better track on how I am doing. I will definately HOLD if things feel a bit unstable.

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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The symptoms are increasing. I fear maybe I am paying the price for my earlier fast tapering. It started with a mild feeling of uneasyness a few days ago and now it has expanded to me being just able to concentrate at work. My mood is low or irritable and I am busy ruminating. Sleep is affected and I am having hot flashes an cramped muscles. In the evening I am mostly fine. This concerns me, because it reminds me of a depressive episode I had (the evenings were fine then).

 

Do you guys think that it might be wise to reinstate to a higher dose and then taper down super slow? I think I gave my grey matter too much of a challenge with tapering so fast before...

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Susy,

 

Feeling worse in the morning and better at night is typical of w/d.  It's because cortisol naturally runs higher in the morning to wake people up, but once our CNS is destabilised due to w/d, it runs too high and activates our symptoms.  I wouldn't worry about a depressive episode, well, at least not one that isn't related to w/d. 

 

I just read over your thread, and I'd suggest continuing to hold at 5mg for another week or so at least.  Sometimes things are uncomfortable while we stabilise.  You have made so many large and fast changes, so I don't think another change will help. 

 

Are you on Fish oil and Magnesium?  Do you have some good coping strategies?  Non-Drug Techniques to cope with emotional symptoms.

 

Just my 2 cents...

Karen

2010  Fluoxetine 20mg.  2011  Escitalopram 20mg.  2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS.  Effexor 150mg. 

2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants.  Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. 

Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms).

8 month hold.

2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent).

2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well.
Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea.

2023 Now on 7 micro-beads of Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops.

 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.'  Dr Gabor Mate.

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I am on magnesium and started fish oil today.

 

Funny thing...this day was a lot better than yesterday. So I will hold for now.

Dec 1999 - Jan 2000 - Prozac. Jan 2000 - July 2000 20 mg paxil. July 2006 - Present Paxil. July - August 2006 20 mg. August and September 2006 30 mg. Back to 20 mg without problems in 1 step.January 2009 down to 0 mg (from 20 -10 - 0). Unsuccesful and reinstated 20 mg in March 2009.In may 2012 combined the paxil with mirtazepine for 1 month after giving up smoking.

 

2016

5th May: down to 10 mg in 1 step. No problems, besides zapps. 6th June: down to 5 mg. Zapps.11th June: 2.5 mg. Increasing withdrawalsymptoms: zapps, hypomania, unstability, lack of concentration (foggy), emotional.16th June: reinstated 5 mg. Withdrawal symptoms decreased.

 

5 mg Paxil, 300 mg Magnesium (citrate), Fishoil (530 mg EPA, 160 mg DHA).

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