MissDee: help me help my son

[MissDee]

My son has recently withdrawn from Paxil, and is now struggling to survive every day.

 

I'm on the East coast and he's on the West coast, so it's been horribly hard for me not to be there for him through this.

 

He did taper down slowly, and was on a few milligrams for a very long time before withdrawing completely. 

 

The one mistake he thinks he made was reinstating himself to a very low dosage, when the symptoms became too much to bear.  

 

He has lost loads of weight, and when I flew to stay with him a week recently, I was shocked to see him SO thin.  He was unable to hold his pants up, nothing for him.

 

He feels everything went from bad to much much worse,  when he reinstated.  He tells me now, that it's like he's being tortured every day.

 

He has tried many things to help, but nothing is helping at all.  He's now on klonopin and it worked really well for a week, and now it barely helps him sleep a few hours.

 

He's very weak and unable to do what he needs to do, pay bills, get food, etc.

 

He has been through this before, many many times he's tried to withdraw, but always went back on as it was too much to bear.  But THIS time, it's the worse it's ever been, and we don't know what to do now.

 

He needs SOME relief, if only a tiny tiny amount to go on, but we've tried everything.

 

He has also gone to the Psych ER twice, but they only threw antipsychotics at him, which did nothing, and made it worse.

 

He has some Tramadol and Gabapentin,  but is deathly afraid to try them, because he feels the reaction might push him over the edge.

 

PLEASE help me help him!!!  This is KILLING me to know how much he's suffering every day!

 

My intro: I'm a 66 year old woman in Upstate NY.  I'm preparing a tiny house for him, IF he ever gets the strength to fly here.  Right now there's no way he can.

 

We're open to anything you can offer.  

 

He's not well enough to post at this time. 

 

Very nice to meet you all, but I wish it weren't under these conditions. 

 

Miss Dee

[Gridley]

Miss Dee, I'm sorry your son (and you) are going through such torture.

 

Has he tried magnesium and omega fish oil?  Many people in withdrawal find these calming.  Start with one at a time and at a low dose.  There are many forms of magnesium; I recommend magnesium glycinate.

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You can also consider Melatonin for sleep.  Start at a very low dose (like 1/2mg) and see how that does for a few days.  If necessary, you could increase to 1mg, but I wouldn't go any higher due to the destabilized condition of your son.  Get the Melatonin without B6, which is often added to it (B6 can be activating).  The extended release version works better for me than the regular.

 

[MissDee]

1 hour ago, Gridley said:

Miss Dee, I'm sorry your son (and you) are going through such torture.

 

Has he tried magnesium and omega fish oil?  Many people in withdrawal find these calming.  Start with one at a time and at a low dose.  There are many forms of magnesium; I recommend magnesium glycinate.

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You can also consider Melatonin for sleep.  Start at a very low dose (like 1/2mg) and see how that does for a few days.  If necessary, you could increase to 1mg, but I wouldn't go any higher due to the destabilized condition of your son.  Get the Melatonin without B6, which is often added to it (B6 can be activating).  The extended release version works better for me than the regular.

 

 

Hello Gridley .... thank you so much for your reply.  🙂

 

Yes, my son has tried all of the things you've mentioned, and the Melatonin made him MUCH worse!  It hit him hard!  He suffered horribly for 24 solid hours!

 

That's the problem, anything we've tried has made things worse ... so now he's absolutely terrified to try anything.

 

Miss Dee

[LexAnger]

I'm so sorry miss Dee!

i can relate to your sons pain as I have been in the same status for years ever since updosing lexapro for just one day! These drugs do great harm to the brain and body in a mysterious way when a person is sensitized going through withdrawal then reinstate.

 

you may want to add a signature to include his meds history which will be showing to each of your posts.

 

what are his symptoms, before and after reinstate?

 

lex

 

 

[mammaP]

Hi Miss Dee. welcome from me too. I am sorry to hear your son is suffering so badly, I know how that feels! Can he join us himself or is he not able to? It would be helpful because we have a lot of questions and his answers would help us to help him. 

We need to know all drugs he has taken, when he started and tapered drugs especially the paxil that he has tapered recently. 

 

How long was he taking it, how long has he been off and when did he reinstate, and at what dose was the reinstatement. Is he still taking it?

Gabapentin is a drug that has many terrible side effects and with a sensitive nervous system would likely make him worse. Tramadol is a highly addictive drug that is responsible for more deaths than heroin, it is very very hard to taper. I am tapering it after taking it for 12 years for pain and it is harder that the effexor I tapered for 3 years!   It soon becomes ineffective so higher doses are needed. I am glad that I only ever took it at night but even with such a low dose it is still causing problems tapering and it stopped helping years ago. 

Does he have a pattern to his symptoms?  Is he worse in the morning? It would be good if we can have a 'diary' of his symptoms, starting when he gets up in the mornings and coveruing 24 hours. Including what he eats and when he takes any meds or supplements. 

Is he taking klonopin? If so, how is he taking it?  When did he start it? I am sorry for all the questions but they are important if we are to help him. 

[Gridley]

Miss Dee,

 

Here's how to add a signature.

 

To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

[manymoretodays]

Welcome from me too Miss Dee,

Here is another link clarifying what we need to see in a members signature:

What we need to see in a signature

As mammaP said that would be very helpful if he could join us himself.

I'm wondering how long he has been off his medication,  and what medication he last took, and then for how long? 

This kind of information can be briefly summarized in the signature.

Love, peace, healing, and growth,

mmt

 

 

[MissDee]

Thank you all SO much!  He and I have been alone in our struggle, and it's like a tiny bit of Heaven to have others assist us.

 

I will talk with him tonight, and try and get all the information you need.  My memory isn't so good anymore.

 

He's barely able to get off the couch, eat, or go to bathroom, so I don't think he can post here.  But I will ask him anyway.

 

Once I get the info, I'll put it in my signature.

 

Miss Dee

[MissDee]

I can tell you that he's been on Paxil for at least 15 years.  He's tried several times to withdraw, but could not.

 

His last attempt was just a couple of months ago, and it was so bad, he reinstated on a very tiny amount, maybe 1 or 2 mg.  It was pill form, and he shaved it.

 

He then become WORSE, so he stopped completely again after only 1 week.

 

At that point, it was the worse he's ever been.

He did menton that it didnt feel like withdrawal, but very diffferent.  No brain zaps, almost as if he has Seratonin Syndrome.

 

I realize you'll need specifics, but that gives you a bit of an idea.

 

He tells me he feels his days are numbered, as if his body and mind can't take this much longer, since it's torture every moment he's awake.

 

My heart breaks ....

[Gridley]

Miss Dee,

 

There are many, many different AD withdrawal symptoms.  This list contains some of the common ones:

 

Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list.

 

When we take medications, the CNS (central nervous system) responds by making changes over the months and years we take the drug(s). When the medication is discontinued, the CNS has to undo all the changes it made. Rebuilding the neurotransmitter production and reactivating the receptor and transporter cells takes time -- during that rebuilding process symptoms occur.  

 

Youtube video, 4 minutes: Healing from antidepressants

 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2018 by Gridley

[MissDee]

I've talked to my son .... waiting for him to send the info.

[ChessieCat]

Have you got the information from your son?  If yes, please post it in this topic.

[Altostrata]

MissDee, can your son join this site? We might be able to help him.

 

He might get a prescription for liquid Prozac and take 0.5mg -- much less than the Paxil reinstatement he attempted. But we need to hear from him to figure out if that's enough.