40jack Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 (edited) Hi I'm new to this site. I joined basically because I want to get off my seroxat so I came here for some support. I've been on seroxat since 1994 and although I have been off meds in the past this last stint which is seven years is proving the most difficult to date. Edited November 12, 2017 by baroquep December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus baroquep Posted November 12, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 12, 2017 Hi 40jack, Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA), am glad that you found the site and have the opportunity to taper off of seroxat safely and successfully. These drugs have proven to be very difficult to discontinue, as you've no doubt experienced, for a much larger percentage of the population than the pharmaceutical industry is willing to admit. At SA, it is recommended that a person taper by no more than 10% of their current dose with at least a four week hold in-between decreases. The 10% taper recommendation is a harm reduction approach to going off psychiatric drugs. Some people may have to taper at a more conservative rate as they are sensitive to even the smallest drops. I would encourage you to have a look at the links below, connect with other members by posting in their introduction threads and familiarize yourself with the recommendations made by SA so that you can make an informed decision so that you can safely taper off of Paxil for good. In our observations over the years, Paxil seems to be a difficult drug to discontinue and it would be wise for you to be cautious as you reduce the dose particularly as you have been on the drug long-term. Before you begin tapering what you need to know Why taper by 10% of my dosage? Tips for Tapering off Paxil Thank you for filing out your withdrawal history signature, this information is helpful but would ask that you edit it so that it fits into the format that moderators will be able to understand at a glance. The preferred format is suggested below and it would be great if you could take the time to edit your signature into this format. Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature • Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. • A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. • Any drugs prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years. • Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago) • Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016. Current Prescription Drugs for Hypothyroidism: Synthroid 100mcg / Cytomel 5mcg (15 years Pristiq/Effexor)Tapering Schedule September 15, 2016 - switched from Pristiq 50mg to Effexor XR 75mg; November 10, 2016 - reduced to 67.5 Effexor XR December 9, 2016 - reduced 60.75 January 5, 2017 - reduced 54.67 January 30, 2017 - reduced to 49.0 February 20, 2017 - reduced to 44.0 May 20, 2017 - reduced to 40.25 (holding for additional month due to late onset of withdrawal symptoms after this taper) July 17, 2017 - reduced to 38.24 August 15, 2017 - reduced to 37.5 (50% of my original dose) October 15, 2017 - reduced to 35.6 November 12, 2017 - reduced to 33.8 December 15, 2017 - up-dose to 35.6 December 28, 2017 - up-dose to 37.5 Link to comment
Madeleine Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Welcome to the forum! 200 Zoloft; 10 mg Zyprexa; 4 mg valium as of May 2021; Valium taper: July 16: 3.5 valium; July 30: 3 mg (paused valium taper); Aug. 23: 2.5 mg Zyprexa: July 26: 8.75 mg; Aug. 9: 7.5 mg; Aug. 30: 7.1 mg ------- Dec 1, 2016. 10 mg zyprexa for 1.5 month. Started taper mid-Jan. 2017. Cut 1.25 mg every 2 weeks; smaller cuts 2.5 mg down. Stopped at .6 mg. May 7, 2017: zyprexa free. Zoloft: Dec1, 2016, 200 mg. Started taper: Jun12, 2017: 197.5 mg; Jun19,:195 mg; July 2:185mg; July 9,:180 mg; July16,: 175; July 23: 170; July 30: 165; Aug6: 160; Aug13: 155; Aug. 20: 150; Aug.27: 146 mg; Sept3: 145 mg; Sept10:143 mg; Sept17:140 mg....Nov5: 122 mg...Dec3:112.5 mg; Jan14, 2018: 95 mg...Jan28: 90 mg; Feb21:80 mg; Mar11: 75 mg; May2:70 mg; May15: 68 mg; May28: 65 mg; Jun9: 62 mg;Jun25: 60 mg:July22: 55 mg; Aug25: 45 mg. Aug28: 50 mg...Oct 28: 38 mg; Dec.4: 30 mg; Jan8,2019: 25mg; Feb6: 23.5 mg; Apr1:17.5mg; May1:1 mg; May 5: 18; May 18:15mg; June 16:12.5mg; Sept 10:11 mg; Sept.16:10 mg; Oct. 1: 9mg; Nov. 27: 8mg; Dec.5: 7mg; Jan.1,2020, 6 mg; Feb1: 5 mg; May 1: 2.5 mg; Jn 1: 2 mg; Jy 1: 1.5 mg Link to comment
40jack Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 Hi Madeleine, thank you for the warm welcome. I appreciate it. December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted November 12, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 12, 2017 Hi, 40jack, Welcome from me too. Could you put your seroxat/paxil dosages in your signature? Also, please let us know how long it took when you stopped seroxat in 2003. That is, did you taper or cold-turkey? Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium End 2021 year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper. Taper is 95% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper. Current dose as of April 1: 6.8mg Taper is 91% complete. Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotics, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice but simply information based on my own experience, as well as other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
40jack Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 Hi sorry yes I'll amend now. I tapered in 2003 but I've also in the past cold turkey which was an eye opener. I've tried to come off recently about 3 months ago, my GP put me from 20mg down to 10mg but after 3 weeks I had bad withdrawal and went back up to 20mg but I badly want to come off them altogether. December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted November 12, 2017 Moderator Share Posted November 12, 2017 Hi Jack -- welcome to SA. I'm sorry to hear that the paxil is causing you a rough time. I went through many years of it myself. The good news is even though paxil is one of the hardest to deal with it is possible to get off of it successfully. We need to make sure that you're good and stable after your little "mishap" three months ago. Waiting another month before tapering would be a good idea, just to let things settle out. Baroquep gave you some excellent threads above that will have a lot of good information about getting started. The key to tapering paxil is to go slowly with small changes. I did 10% every six weeks for y taper and it worked quite well. I did a modified taper referred to as the Brassmonkey Slide which is quite effective at reducing the symptoms that accompany each drop. If you're interested I can explain more later. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
40jack Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 55 minutes ago, brassmonkey said: Hi Jack -- welcome to SA. I'm sorry to hear that the paxil is causing you a rough time. I went through many years of it myself. The good news is even though paxil is one of the hardest to deal with it is possible to get off of it successfully. We need to make sure that you're good and stable after your little "mishap" three months ago. Waiting another month before tapering would be a good idea, just to let things settle out. Baroquep gave you some excellent threads above that will have a lot of good information about getting started. The key to tapering paxil is to go slowly with small changes. I did 10% every six weeks for y taper and it worked quite well. I did a modified taper referred to as the Brassmonkey Slide which is quite effective at reducing the symptoms that accompany each drop. If you're interested I can explain more later. Hi brassmonkey, thank you for your kind and encouraging words, I've realised already from reading on here that tapering from 20mg to 10mg is easy too quick. I will wait a while then try again. I am definitely interested in the brassmonkey slide could you explain. December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted November 12, 2017 Moderator Share Posted November 12, 2017 Hey Jack-- It's a method of lessening the impact of a 10% (or any size for that matter) drop by spearding (I hate this spell checker) it out over four weeks. To do a 10% taper a person drops 2.5% a week for four weeks and then adds on another 2 week hold. This gives a total or 10% every 6 weeks which is close to our recommended taper rate. By doing smaller drops all the symptoms don't hit at once and are often much milder than doing the whole 10% at once. I came up with the idea at the beginning of my taper and used it successfully the entire way down. Since then we have had a large number of members start using it or variations with very good results. If this sounds interesting, when you're ready to taper I'll help you get things set up. Brassmonkey 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted November 12, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 12, 2017 And there is even a tapering calculator you can use (it can be saved): Tapering Calculator - Online I've just noticed that the heading shows + 3 week hold. I think this is an error and the actual form has 2 weeks. * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
40jack Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 14 hours ago, brassmonkey said: Hey Jack-- It's a method of lessening the impact of a 10% (or any size for that matter) drop by spearding (I hate this spell checker) it out over four weeks. To do a 10% taper a person drops 2.5% a week for four weeks and then adds on another 2 week hold. This gives a total or 10% every 6 weeks which is close to our recommended taper rate. By doing smaller drops all the symptoms don't hit at once and are often much milder than doing the whole 10% at once. I came up with the idea at the beginning of my taper and used it successfully the entire way down. Since then we have had a large number of members start using it or variations with very good results. If this sounds interesting, when you're ready to taper I'll help you get things set up. Brassmonkey Brilliant thanks for sharing, only one issue for me is how do I break my tablets down that small. The GP won't give me the liquid as it's too expensive! December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
40jack Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 Brilliant thanks for sharing, only one issue for me is how do I break my tablets down that small. The GP won't give me the liquid as it's too expensive! December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
40jack Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 13 hours ago, ChessieCat said: And there is even a tapering calculator you can use (it can be saved): Tapering Calculator - Online I've just noticed that the heading shows + 3 week hold. I think this is an error and the actual form has 2 weeks. Thank you for the calculator Chessie. December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted November 13, 2017 Moderator Share Posted November 13, 2017 That's where the digital scales come in Jack. You grind the tablets up and take just what you need, and save the rest for later. Using a digital scale to measure doses It's really pretty easy. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
40jack Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 Had a real bad night last night, feel unstable so I think I need to stabilise before I try and come off. My GP wants to put me on mirtazapine but it's this med easier to taper off from than pixil /seroxat which I'm reading is one of the harder ones to come off. Feeling very low this morning. December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
40jack Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 Also what I don't understand is if I've been on 20mg for so long why is it that it's now not really working? December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
bhasski Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Its what is known as poop out. Most psych drugs have this which happen to loose their effect. 08/13 - 01/14Olanzapine, petril MD (Clonazepam ), Dicorate ER (divalproex). Soza 10 (Zolpidem) 02/14 - 05/14Flunil 20mg , Divaa OD 250 mg(divalproex), Amisulpride 50mg (1-0-2), zolfresh 5 mg , Quetiapine05/14 - 08/14 Venlafaxine 75 xr ( 1-0-1), zapiz 0.2510/14 Zaptra 12.5mg , Oxetol xr 150mg (0-0-1)11/14 - 08/15Paris CR 25 (paroxetine) , Oxetol xr 600 mg (0-0-1), nitrest 5mg , Quetiapine for a month.09/15-11 Venlafaxine XR 75 ( 1-0-1), Mirtazipine 15, Respiredal 0.5, Lamitor 25, zillion 10.12/15-02/16 Off Meds (C.T) 03/16-Mid April Sertraline, Aripropazole, Quetiapine, Etizolam. After that : CT and on OTC supplements (Roadback), now on Ayurveda Link to comment
40jack Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 21 hours ago, brassmonkey said: That's where the digital scales come in Jack. You grind the tablets up and take just what you need, and save the rest for later. Using a digital scale to measure doses It's really pretty easy. Ah right OK thanks brassmonkey. December 1994 started seroxat /paxil 20mg June 2003 stopped seroxat seroxat/paxil November 2009 started seroxat 20mg until present day. Link to comment
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