Jurges: Paxil to Prozac taper

[Shep]

13 hours ago, Jurges said:

I take Klonopin .5 / night or late in the day for anxiety and sleep. 

 

In your signature, you have .25 mg - when did you increase the Klonopin to .5 mg? 

[Jurges]

Hi Shep - it's varies. Typically I just talk 1/2 of my .5mg but some evening I will take a 1/2 around dinner and a 1/4 to another 1/2 at bed time. I only get written 15 .5mg / month from my pysch. 

[Shep]

It's best to take these drugs at the same dose and at the same time of day every day. Inconsistent dosing rattles the nervous system. 

 

Do you notice that you need more Klonopin on the days your take Adderall? 

[Jurges]

I was diagnosed with ADD and given Adderall. All it does is give me energy and focus for a period of time then doom sets in. I know for certain that Adderall isn't sustainable for me. In fact I think it's making the Prozac withdrawal worse. It's been 20 days since my last Prozac does and I feel terrible. I'm thinking about getting back on something. I really would prefer to stay away from SSRI's. 

[Jurges]

Well I gave in and took a 1/4 of a 10MG Prozac capsule. I firmly believe my taper was WAY too fast ever since I got off the Paxil 2 years ago... 

[Shep]

On 9/25/2019 at 9:03 AM, Shep said:

Do you notice that you need more Klonopin on the days your take Adderall? 

 

On 9/25/2019 at 12:07 PM, Jurges said:

I'm thinking about getting back on something.

 

Jurges, are you here to taper your drugs? You haven't answered my question regarding the Klonopin and you're posting about going on another drug. 

 

I'm unclear what you need from this forum. 

[Jurges]

Yes I'm here to taper with but also trying to do this without the awful PAWS I have been getting. Hence the statement of "giving in" and taking a little bit of prozac to see if it would help. As far as the Klonopin I take .25 - .5 / day.  

 

Edited September 27, 2019 by ChessieCat
removed blasphemy

[Shep]

On 9/25/2019 at 9:03 AM, Shep said:

Do you notice that you need more Klonopin on the days your take Adderall? 

 

This is the third time I've asked this question. 

 

If you want feedback for your taper, please go ahead and start a drug and symptoms journal using the below format.

 

As long as you're taking "as needed" drugs, it's going to be VERY hard to help you taper. Doing a daily drug and symptoms journal can help you stay organized in how you're taking your drugs and hopefully, help you set up a schedule to take the same drugs every day at the same time and the same dose. 

 

The "as needed" dosing is very confusing to your nervous system and leads to nervous system deregulation.

 

Please post your drugs and symptoms in the below format over the coming days. 

 

On 9/27/2016 at 2:49 PM, Altostrata said:

In the course of discussion in your Introductions forum topic, you may be asked to keep notes on paper of your daily symptom pattern, including when you take your drugs, their dosages, and any symptoms. We ask this because there may be something we can do to reduce the symptoms.

 

What we need to see for every single day over several days is what symptoms you get before and after you take your drugs. If you're not taking any drugs and have withdrawal symptoms, we still need to see your symptom pattern throughout the day:

 

The time of day, dosage, and severity of symptoms are essential information. Include

 

- Time and dosage for all drugs taken throughout the day, psychiatric and non-psychiatric.

- Following each dose, note any symptoms. If you are having a reaction to the drug, it may take hours for a symptom to show up -- that's why we ask you to keep notes all day long.

- If you're not taking any drugs, your symptoms throughout the day.

- Your sleep pattern. Since so many drugs disturb sleep, if you find you're waking in the middle of the night, it could be from a drug you took earlier in the evening. If you're not taking any drugs, there may be ways you can improve your sleep.

And so forth. A diary, in chronological order, looking something like this:
 

Example:

DATE:

 

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

 

 

[Altostrata]

Jurges, how are you doing?

[Jurges]

Hi there Alto! Sincere apologies for the delay in responding. 
Well I’m doing just okay... my Dr put me back on Paxil 10mg on October 1 after not being on Prozac for 3 weeks. Increased to 20MG after 2 weeks then 30MG on November 1. The hope here was that reinstating Paxil would once and for all get ride of these PAWS. It slightly gave me some relief on the disorientation and dizzy feeling but not what I expected  - did absolutely nothing for depression and was emotionless. So fast forward to 12/10 I have been using Paxil 10mg and experiencing severe dizziness. It’s like not matter what I do I cant dial in a medication that will help with these symptoms... I go my PCP tomorrow and I know she won’t have any answers and will probably tell me to just stop since it’s been less than 3 months. I think my best option is trying to get stable on 10MG? Or do I look at a medication completely out of the SSRI class but go very slow on the Paxil taper??

[Shep]

On 11/4/2017 at 4:30 PM, ChessieCat said:

Because you have been off Paxil for about 30 days, and your last Paxil dose was 20mg you could try reinstating a small dose of 5mg.  Please do not go back on 20mg because it might be too much.  It is better to start with a small dose and gradually increase (by 1mg) than to start too high.  The sooner you reinstate the more chance there is of it being successful.

 

@Jurges This was the advice that ChessieCat gave back in 2017 when you were just 30 days off Paxil. The recommendation back than was a reinstatement of 5 mg of Paxil. 

 

On 11/6/2017 at 3:15 PM, Altostrata said:

If they get worse, please consider reinstating perhaps 2mg Prozac. A little bit can help, while 10mg might be too much at this point, with your nervous system fragile from the drug changes.

 

On 11/8/2017 at 11:24 PM, Jurges said:

Well I started back on 10MG of Prozac. Already feel irritated and brain dead. Ugh 

ill have to see this through. 

 

Back in 2017, Alto recommended reinstating 2 mg of Prozac.

 

Instead, you reinstated 10 mg which likely was too high a dose. 

 

11 hours ago, Jurges said:

my Dr put me back on Paxil 10mg on October 1 after not being on Prozac for 3 weeks. Increased to 20MG after 2 weeks then 30MG on November 1. The hope here was that reinstating Paxil would once and for all get ride of these PAWS. It slightly gave me some relief on the disorientation and dizzy feeling but not what I expected  - did absolutely nothing for depression and was emotionless. So fast forward to 12/10 I have been using Paxil 10mg and experiencing severe dizziness. It’s like not matter what I do I cant dial in a medication that will help with these symptoms..

 

This is far too high a reinstatement dose. Please see:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

When you went back on Paxil in October, you had been off that drug for 2 years, which is so far out, reinstatement may not work. However, since you've been on for several months, you may now be dependent on it. 

 

Are you still taking Klonopin and Adderall? 

[Jurges]

Dr replaced Klonopin with 1mg of Ativan for sleep in October. I take.5mg. I take 10mg of adderal during the day.

[Jurges]

Just got prescribed liquid Paxil.

[Shep]

Jurges, I've read over your thread and I'm not sure what you need or expect from this forum.

 

We're a site that allows members to work one-on-one with staff to help set up a safe and careful taper and to allow members to meet and support each other throughout the taper and recovery process. 

 

These types of drug changes you're making are very reckless and not something supported by SA. Because you've ignored all of our advice so far, it's clear you're more comfortable with your doctor's advice. And that's fine. But because we're very limited in staff and need to keep focused on members who ARE interested in SA's tapering protocol, instead of posting here on SA, please work with your doctor.

 

If at some point, if you wish to work with us to help guide you off this cocktail, then start a drug and symptoms journal as described in my post here and we can provide you with tapering guidance. Because you went back on Paxil in October at the same time you switched from Klonopin to Ativan, there's no way of knowing what symptoms could be caused by either of these changes. Ativan is notorious for causing interdose withdrawal (withdrawal in between doses due to the short half-life) and for causing rebound symptoms. You are also dealing with Major and Moderate interactions with your current drug cocktail (see this drug interaction report). So the drug and symptoms journal will be needed in order to sort these issues out. 

 

But again, if you're more comfortable with your doctor's advice, then keep working with your doctor, not SA. 

[JanCarol]

15 hours ago, Jurges said:

Just got prescribed liquid Paxil.

 

Hey Jurges, please update your signature, thanks!