caperjackie Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hello everyone, yesterday was 9 months to the day since I have put any of that foul poison (paxil) into my system - by far the longest I have been off meds in over 14 years. This has not been any easy road (parts of it quite brutal to be honest) but if an old gal like me (almost 60) can do it, then there is hope for everyone. I am still dealing with some withdrawal issues but am surviving and looking forward to more improvements to come. My advice to anyone coming off these drugs is to not sweat the small stuff, appreciate the good times and to not blame every little thing on WD - sometimes a tummy ache is just a tummy ache. Good luck to you all - time is a great healer and things do get better. Link to comment
angie007 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) Hey Jackie, Congrats on 9 months off, and thank you for coming here to share your story, it will help others struggling to believe things really can and do get better, im really pleased to hear your doing well, please update again - soon.x Edited January 15, 2012 by angie007 Began taking 30mg Seroxat on 15th Jan 1997 for grief issues. Remained at that dosage until Dec 05, did doctor ct, akathesia set in along with being non functional and overly emotional, brain fog. Doctor prescribed prozac, propranelol and diazeapam to counteract side effects, and told me to ct those 3 after 2.5/3 months use, induced wd seizure on 2nd day after ct. Was reinstated on seroxat 20mg in april 06, remained at that dose until Nov 07 and began a very slow taper lasting 56 months, finally DRUG FREE on 11th may 2011. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted January 15, 2012 Administrator Share Posted January 15, 2012 caperjackie, thanks for posting. Good advice not to worry over every little twinge! How did you get off Paxil? What were the symptoms you dealt with when you first came off? Did you see any patterns? Was there anything that helped reduce symptoms? This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
caperjackie Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Thanks Angie and Alto, Alto I came off paxil the 'wrong' way because I did not know any better and the only way I could figure out how to do it after 2 disastrous cold turkey attempts over the years was to skip doses. I did this slowly over a year by skipping one dose per week, waiting a month and then skipping another per week. After I got down to one a week I stretched it to 8 days for a week and then 9 days etc. By day 14 I thought I had it licked but WD set in and for the next month I truly thought I was going to die. The first 2 months were brutal and many, many times I said 'if I had known it was going to be this hard I wouldn't have done it'. During that time I had all the usual symptoms, flu, zaps, suicidal ideation etc. Slowly things started to improve but during months 6 - 8 a rather deep depression along with anhedonia hit and I once again started to think that the whole thing had not been worth it. Glad I held on though because I believe I may have seen the worst of it. My remaining issues are screaming tinnitus in my right ear - this started while on paxil but got considerably worse during WD, numb feet and waves of particularly nasty foot and leg cramps. Every now and again I get a few hours break from the tinnitus which gives me hope that it will eventually go away completely. If it does not - it will be the price I have to pay for getting off the darn stuff - not ideal, but there u go. Increased and sometimes very high anxiety levels have been with me throughout but my understanding is that as the brain heals itself these will level out. All told it has been quite a journey. I take fish oils and magnesium and credit these with helping me get through. My hope is that this story will help folk to realise that there is light at the end of this tunnel and it is worth reaching ...... hang in there everyone. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted January 15, 2012 Administrator Share Posted January 15, 2012 My hope is that this story will help folk to realise that there is light at the end of this tunnel and it is worth reaching ...... hang in there everyone. cj, that is a crucially important message. How did you find out about magnesium and fish oil? (I've also found these to be very helpful.) Do you have any tips about how to cope with symptoms, mentally or emotionally? This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 25, 2015 Administrator Share Posted February 25, 2015 caperjackie, I added our cheerful "here comes the sun" symbol☼to the title of your Intro topic, to show you're recovering.Please continue to let us know how you're doing. I hope you will add your story to our Recovery Success Stories eventually! This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted April 11, 2015 Administrator Share Posted April 11, 2015 caperjackie has posted her success story here caperjackie 4 Years Off As is our tradition, I will lock this topic as recognition of this new phase in her life. Please continue conversation in her Success Story topic. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Recommended Posts