GiantsWSC Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Waltje, I was in the same boat as you, went through waves, lots of insomnia and took zolpidem to help me get sleep. I definitely suggest holding a taper longer and don't try to rush to get to the next drop, this is not a race. If you take your time and extend your holds it will eventually pay off. Sometimes you might need to hold an additional month maybe two, your body will tell you. As for things to help you relax I always suggest Mindfulness Meditation. You can find plenty on youtube to listen to. Here's one I've used to help me relax and clear my mind: Hope this helps, you'll pull through this!!! Taken paxil for over 15 years probably closer to 20. Tapering since Oct 2013 from 10mg Gemini 20 scale thanks to BrassMonkey! Oct 6, 2013 9.2 mg Nov 27 8.6mg Feb 2 2014 7.8mg March 16 7.4mg March 30 7.0mg May 18 6.2mg July 6 5.8mg Sept 7 5.4 Oct 19 4.8 Dec 14 4.6 Feb 8th 2015 4.2mg Mar 22 3.8mg May 10 3.4mg July 19 3.2mg Sept 6 2.8mg Nov 8 2.5 mg Dec 27 2.3 Feb 14 2016 2.0 Mar 19 updosed to 2.5mg May 4 2.4 June 12 2.2mg July 31 2.0 Sept 11 1.7mg Nov 13 1.5mg Jan 22 2017 1.3mg Mar 19 1.0mg April 20 0.8 June 0.7 Aug 0.6 Sept 0.5 Oct 0.4 Nov 0.3 Dec too low to weigh so I'm eyeballing it the rest of the way!! 2018 Feb 10 finally stopped !!!!! Keeping fingers crossed!!!!!! Its' 2022 now and feeling good after 4 years of being off Paxil. Continue to stay active with a positive attitude and getting plenty of sun. Current Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, D with occasional K2, C, Super B Complex, Magnesium, Zinc, Fish OIl, Lecithin, E, and probiotics. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Songbird Posted April 6, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 6, 2018 What kind of daily schedule do you have (work hours, etc)? What have you been eating and drinking, e.g. anything with caffeine? Are you still taking fish oil supplements? Any other supplements? 2001–2002 paroxetine 2003 citalopram 2004-2008 paroxetine (various failed tapers) 2008 paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine2016 citalopram May 20mg Oct 15mg … slow taper down2018 citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg 18 Nov 3.8mg 2019 15 Mar 3.6mg 21 May 3.4mg 26 Dec 3.2mg 2020 19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg 2021 29 Aug 2.4mg 15 Nov 2.3mg Link to comment
Waltjie Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 9 minutes ago, Songbird said: What kind of daily schedule do you have (work hours, etc)? What have you been eating and drinking, e.g. anything with caffeine? Are you still taking fish oil supplements? Any other supplements? I work roughly 7am to 4pm. I am not really eating much the past few days, but I literally force myself to get some food down. I don't drink coffee, but today I have had some tea, just to try and sooth myself. I take fish oil and magnesium. Nothing else. My biggest concern currently is the fact that I can't sleep. I've gone 3 nights now unable to sleep any significant amount. I don't think I can hold on much longer... Why NOW after so many months am I going through this?? (2002 - 2007) Arapax, Cipramil, Effexor, Prozac (2008 - June 2017) Escitalopram, 15mg daily (Started tapering July 1st 2017, 10% pm) July 13.5mg August 12mg September 11mg October - 12March 10mg 12-14 March 9mg 15 March - present 10mg Link to comment
Waltjie Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 I've used some Zolpidem to just get SOME kind of sleep. And I am REALLY scared to take benzos to try and calm down... (2002 - 2007) Arapax, Cipramil, Effexor, Prozac (2008 - June 2017) Escitalopram, 15mg daily (Started tapering July 1st 2017, 10% pm) July 13.5mg August 12mg September 11mg October - 12March 10mg 12-14 March 9mg 15 March - present 10mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Songbird Posted April 6, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 6, 2018 Tea can also be stimulating, especially in w/d. I once destabilised myself with a cup of tea. Also some people find fish oil can be stimulating. I had to give it up when my taper got below a certain point as it started to make me feel a bit jittery. What kind of work are you doing - do you feel it is at all stressful? I'm trying to think of anything that could help to reduce stimulation of your system or contribute towards calming it down. I understand how stressful it is not to be able to sleep. I once went without sleep for a whole week. Eventually I was able to get some sleep by doing multiple relaxation exercises a day and using a sleep CD at night. You have to keep at the relaxation exercises, they can take a week or two to have a significant effect. It does seem odd that this problem started after you seemed to have stabilised for a little while. I'm sorry I only have my 2 cents worth of ideas and don't have any brilliant solutions. Hopefully other folks will come along with some other ideas to help. 2001–2002 paroxetine 2003 citalopram 2004-2008 paroxetine (various failed tapers) 2008 paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine2016 citalopram May 20mg Oct 15mg … slow taper down2018 citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg 18 Nov 3.8mg 2019 15 Mar 3.6mg 21 May 3.4mg 26 Dec 3.2mg 2020 19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg 2021 29 Aug 2.4mg 15 Nov 2.3mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Songbird Posted April 6, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 6, 2018 21 minutes ago, Waltjie said: I've used some Zolpidem to just get SOME kind of sleep. And I am REALLY scared to take benzos to try and calm down... How much Zolpidem and how much sleep did you get? Yes, you need to be very careful with benzos as you don't want to end up dependent on another drug as well. Also, be aware that z-drugs like Zolpidem can also cause dependence in a similar way to benzos if you use them regularly. 2001–2002 paroxetine 2003 citalopram 2004-2008 paroxetine (various failed tapers) 2008 paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine2016 citalopram May 20mg Oct 15mg … slow taper down2018 citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg 18 Nov 3.8mg 2019 15 Mar 3.6mg 21 May 3.4mg 26 Dec 3.2mg 2020 19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg 2021 29 Aug 2.4mg 15 Nov 2.3mg Link to comment
GiantsWSC Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Waltjie, I forgot to mention I never took an entire pill of zolpidem, I always cut them in quarters and took them that way. A whole pill (10mg) was way to strong for what I needed and I didn't want to start another drug dependency. I still use it today even though I've tapered off paxil but less frequently. Taken paxil for over 15 years probably closer to 20. Tapering since Oct 2013 from 10mg Gemini 20 scale thanks to BrassMonkey! Oct 6, 2013 9.2 mg Nov 27 8.6mg Feb 2 2014 7.8mg March 16 7.4mg March 30 7.0mg May 18 6.2mg July 6 5.8mg Sept 7 5.4 Oct 19 4.8 Dec 14 4.6 Feb 8th 2015 4.2mg Mar 22 3.8mg May 10 3.4mg July 19 3.2mg Sept 6 2.8mg Nov 8 2.5 mg Dec 27 2.3 Feb 14 2016 2.0 Mar 19 updosed to 2.5mg May 4 2.4 June 12 2.2mg July 31 2.0 Sept 11 1.7mg Nov 13 1.5mg Jan 22 2017 1.3mg Mar 19 1.0mg April 20 0.8 June 0.7 Aug 0.6 Sept 0.5 Oct 0.4 Nov 0.3 Dec too low to weigh so I'm eyeballing it the rest of the way!! 2018 Feb 10 finally stopped !!!!! Keeping fingers crossed!!!!!! Its' 2022 now and feeling good after 4 years of being off Paxil. Continue to stay active with a positive attitude and getting plenty of sun. Current Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, D with occasional K2, C, Super B Complex, Magnesium, Zinc, Fish OIl, Lecithin, E, and probiotics. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Songbird Posted April 10, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 10, 2018 Hi Waltjie, haven't heard from you in a few days. Are you okay? 2001–2002 paroxetine 2003 citalopram 2004-2008 paroxetine (various failed tapers) 2008 paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine2016 citalopram May 20mg Oct 15mg … slow taper down2018 citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg 18 Nov 3.8mg 2019 15 Mar 3.6mg 21 May 3.4mg 26 Dec 3.2mg 2020 19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg 2021 29 Aug 2.4mg 15 Nov 2.3mg Link to comment
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