Hippiegoddess: Paxil withdrawal 3 months after tapering

[Hippiegoddess]

Roughly 3 months ago I quit taking Paxil 20mg. I was on it for about a year. I in fact did google before hand about tapering and I tapered off for about 4/5 weeks. I was making bad life decisions and had anger issues but otherwise, I felt okay. I’ve gone through a lot of life changes in these last 3 months but nothing catastrophic in nature. I moved back in with my husband. We had separated for 6 months. Other than that, no loss of job or death in the family. 

 

     About 2 weeks ago I started to not feel well. I started to feel extremely depressed and withdrawn. Episodes of crying. Those I could handle. But about a week or so ago, I started to develop flu like symptoms, but no flu. No coughing, no fever, no vomiting. But otherwise, my body felt like I had the flu. Then the anxiety started. And we’re not talking about brief panic attacks. I mean spiraling ones that would come in waves for hours on end. 

 

       I felt so sick, I went to the Er. I couldn’t take it any more. At that point, I had been in a state of perpetual panic and flu like symptoms for 48 hours with no relief. They did labs, ekg and X-rays. Said I just had anxiety and sent me home. My days seem to get worse, and not better and it’s frightening me. 

 

Daily symptoms:

Flushing/hot flashes 

chills/shivering 

headaches 

nausea 

muscle aches and pains/tightness

chest pain to the touch

lightheaded 

heart palpitations

fatigue

blirred vision

EXTREME anxiety. Hourly. Never ending.

Waking up at 4am nightly feeling like I’m dying 

loss of interest in everything. I’m merely a vegetable. 

 

Has anyone else experienced this drastic delayed response? I have nothing else to attribute it to. I would also like to note that I start each day feeling my best (still not well) and progressively get worse throughout the day. Night being the absolute worst. So much so, that I absolutely fear bedtime. I’m scared that I’ll comtinued to degrade and won’t ever be myself again. 

[mammaP]

Hi HG, welcome to SA, sadly you are suffering from delayed withdrawal, it is quite common for it to hit anything from days to a few months after quitting anti depressants. We have even had some members feeling withdrawal after a year off! Doctors rarely know the safest way of tapering, and we recommend tapering no more than 10% of the CURRENT dose with at least 4 weeks between drops. Many of us found our way here after tapering too fast, I did too, and ended up in withdrawal after a month off the drug. 

Do you take anything else at all, including supplements and over the counter?  

 

It is possible that a very small reinstatement could ease the withdrawal,  just 1mg of paxil could help, No one EVER wants to reinstate but it is the only way to stop withdrawal. Most people become sensitive to the drug after being off for a while, and cannot tolerate the doses they took before quitting, but a timy dose is often tolerated and can help a lot. When you are stable you can then start to taper off that tiny dose. This is your topic to update your progress and ask questions, I hope we can help you to feel better. 

I will get some links for you so that you can understand what is happening to you. 

 

What is withdrawal syndrome? This topic contains links to other very helpful topics, I especially recommend the one on brain remodelling. 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/603-what-is-withdrawal-syndrome/

 

About reinstating

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/7562-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms/

 

Tapering paxil. you will find how to get the tiny doses in this topic. 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/405-tips-for-tapering-off-paxil-paroxetine/

 

We need all our members to fill in their signature, with their drug and tapering history. You can find how to do that here.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/12364-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

 

[Hippiegoddess]

I went back to my doctor because my night sweats/hot flashes, heart palpitations, horrific panic and tremors sent me to the ER several times. Blood work came back fine every time. Ekg fine every time. Thyroid fine. Chest X-ray fine. I was placed back on paxil because I couldn’t get the symptoms to stop. I spent endless hours in bed with cold rags on me shaking internally with panic in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t let go of me.  

          I was started on 10mg of Paxil again (husbands wishes because I’m losing it at this point and non functioning) then up to 20. I lasted 7 days total..however for whatever reason, I had a terrible adverse reaction to the Paxil this third time around and had to discontinue it 3 days ago. The side effects were debilitating. Like my body and nervous system had just had it with this drug. I started to develop ringing in the ears, intense panic, internal tremors that would like hours like my insides were vibrating. I still have those a week later and 3 days off the med. my skin started to feel like it was literally burning. Not a hot flash like I was having before, but actually painful burning sensations in my arms and upper body. Like someone injected vile poison into me. I couldn’t eat anything the nausea was so extreme. In just a week I’ve lost 10 pounds. I cannot even look at food. I become a vegetable.  

      Xanax was prescribed along side so it’s been helpful, but not nearly enough. Every single day of my life I feel like I’m just waking to survive the day. I dread going to sleep at night because I am woken every hour fuled with panic and full body tingling, numb arm and shakes. I feel like I’m living my worst nightmare every day of my life. I worry that I am permanently damaged from Paxil that ill never be okay again and it’s frightening. I have 2 little Boys who im

suffering to care for due to these symptoms. Thankful I have a lot of support for them. 

      If you include the 3 weeks I was having delayed withdraws plus the week of hell I’ve been on the meds, plus the 3 days off... I’ve been in sheer agony for a solid month. I honestly don’t know how much more strength I have. I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel and it scares me. I wake up in full panic and go to sleep in full panic. I haven’t eot

more than 1/2 hours at a time for weeks.  

 

Dailily symptoms-

internal tremors (like my whole insides are vibrating/quivering)

muscle spasms 

Hot flashes

rining in ears

burning skin sensations in my arms and upper body

dizzy 

confused 

anxious amplified by 100 (never been so anxious in my life)

fatigue

sick to my stomach 

obsessive thoughts about everything I feel

racing thoughts. Nothing dangerous. Just thoughts the flood and never end. 

I haven’t slept in week because I’m woken with floods of adrenaline or something?

feelings of disparity that I’ll never return from this. That it’s over for me. I’m doomed and damaged now from this drug. 

 

Things I’ve started -

fish oil 

multivitamin 

magnisium 

flooding my system with water

beeathing techniques

lots is bananas

 

feeling hopeless 😭 

 

 

[Hippiegoddess]

This was my third time restarting Paxil. I had suffered what I think was a delayed withdraw from Paxil stopped 2 months earlier. I took the drug previous for a year and the wirhdraw was horrendous. Lasted a few weeks and my doctor tried a new med (Lexapro) for 4/6 weeks and it made me hate everything. Discontinued and started back on Paxil. Things were going well for 4/6 months till the drug felt like it wasn’t working again. I slowly tappered off 30 mg over about 4/6 weeks. 

 

       I thought I had huge success because I had almost NO withdraws. which I thought was due to the tapering. I was so happy and shocked since previous withdraws were horrid. That was Until 2 months went by and I started to get very ill. Flu like, with no flu. Horrific anxiety that was debilitating. Hot flashes that would last hours on end. Mostly at night. Lots of other symptoms as well. Ended up in the ER 3 times!! All tests came back fine. Bloodwork, ekg, chest X-ray. All fine. 

 

      Went back to the doctor a couple weeks ago and was placed back on Paxil with Xanax. For whatever reason, this third time my body felt like it totally rejected the Paxil. I was severely ill from day 1. I took 10mg for 5 days then 20 for 2 because I had to call it quits. I was bed ridden with the systems below, which is till have 3 days off the meds that I was only on 7 days. 

 

Daily symptoms-

internal tremors (like my whole insides are vibrating/quivering)

muscle spasms 

Hot flashes

rining in ears

heart palpitations

burning skin sensations in my arms and upper body

dizzy 

confused 

anxious amplified by 100 (never been so anxious in my life) it’s almost 24/7 even during sleep

fatigue

sick to my stomach 

obsessive thoughts about everything I feel

racing thoughts. Nothing dangerous. Just thoughts the flood and never end. 

I haven’t slept in week because I’m woken with floods of adrenaline or something?

feelings of disparity that I’ll never return from this. That it’s over for me. I’m doomed and damaged now from this drug. 

 

Things I’ve started -

fish oil 

multivitamin 

magnisium 

flooding my system with water

beeathing techniques

lots is bananas

 

Feeling like I’ll never be okay again and feeling hopeless 😭  I spend 90% of every day either in bed or laying on the couch. 

 

 

[Carmie]

Hi HG, 

 

How are you doing?💚