Sottana: Paxil withdrawal - questions and concerns

[Longroadhome]

How’s it going Adili ? 
thinking of you ..

[Sottana]

@Longroadhome doing ok. Ups and down. Will probably start tapering again in a month. How are you? 

[Longroadhome]

How have you found Altostrata advice ? 
she is very good and makes you look at daily routine to see if it interferes with CNS and symptoms 

 

im having some better days ! 

[Sottana]

@Longroadhome I started celery juicing about a week ago and things have been slightly better. I’ll probably wait a month or so and then just start tapering again, unless things continue to improve more and more. I’m so happy you’re doing better!!!! <3333

 

by the way, how do you taper again? Do you make your own liquid or dry cut? 

[Longroadhome]

2 hours ago, Adili13 said:

@Longroadhome I started celery juicing about a week ago and things have been slightly better. I’ll probably wait a month or so and then just start tapering again, unless things continue to improve more and more. I’m so happy you’re doing better!!!! <3333

 

by the way, how do you taper again? Do you make your own liquid or dry cut? 

I taper brass monkey way 

2.5% cut each week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 weeks then start again . Always By 10% of current dose 
glad to hear you’re  feeling a little better Adili 

have you considered tapering May relieve you of some  symptoms if your feeling this way due to poop out ? 
 

have good weekend 😊

[Sottana]

@Longroadhomeyeah, that’s why I’m considering tapering. I think I will somewhat soon. Do you use a liquid or do you weigh your dose though? 
 

you have a great weekend too!! 

[Longroadhome]

1 hour ago, Adili13 said:

@Longroadhomeyeah, that’s why I’m considering tapering. I think I will somewhat soon. Do you use a liquid or do you weigh your dose though? 
 

you have a great weekend too!! 

Used liquid now for well over a year 

[Sottana]

@Longroadhome do you make the liquid using tablets or is it pharmacy liquid. 

[Longroadhome]

Pharmacy 

[sunnysideup69]

Hello @Sottana, how are you? Hoping you're doing ok. How's the celery juicing?

[Sottana]

@sunnysideup69 hey friend. Some things are somewhat improved while others are pretty revved up. No akathisia for like 8 days, so that’s great. My anxiety and neurocrashes are bad though, having a few a day that leave me in bed for like 45 mins to an hour. The juicing is going good, still keeping up with it. Seems like the first few days it really benefitted me and after that it didn’t have much of an impact. I’m starting to think I need even more time to stabilize, though I really want to taper. What a journey, so brutal. How are you?? 

[cathnz]

On 7/6/2020 at 11:33 AM, Adili13 said:

@sunnysideup69 hey friend. Some things are somewhat improved while others are pretty revved up. No akathisia for like 8 days, so that’s great. My anxiety and neurocrashes are bad though, having a few a day that leave me in bed for like 45 mins to an hour. The juicing is going good, still keeping up with it. Seems like the first few days it really benefitted me and after that it didn’t have much of an impact. I’m starting to think I need even more time to stabilize, though I really want to taper. What a journey, so brutal. How are you?? 

@Sottana do you think it was the juicing that reduced the akathisia? 

 

[sunnysideup69]

@Sottana hey pal, am so glad the aka has gone! I'm okay, thanks, still a bit up and down but it's tolerable, nothing severe. Getting a bit frustrated with lockdown and bored. But am generally doing pretty well  

[Sottana]

@cathnz I’m not sure if it’s the juice or just time but my aka is definitely down, though, my other symptoms are as strong as ever. 
 

@sunnysideup69 so happy to hear things are going smoothly, all things considered. Are you thinking of tapering soon? All the best xxx

[Sottana]

Anyone ever feel activated/more anxiety from vitamin c? Seems I literally react to everything. 

[Longroadhome]

Hi Adili 

I haven’t tried Vit C 

but I do tend to react to supplements I’ve cut them all out since last year but was thinking of trying magnesium again and Vit D because I’m low on it. 
so glad the Akathesia has decreased . 
 

[sunnysideup69]

8 hours ago, Adili13 said:

@cathnz
 

@sunnysideup69 so happy to hear things are going smoothly, all things considered. Are you thinking of tapering soon? All the best xxx

 

Well, not very soon, to be honest. I've been rethinking. I want to get as stable as possible and I'm also looking at upcoming events. I'm due back at work, post lockdown, in September, which is going to be a bit of a transition after six months at home.

Don't think I want to make any changes before or during that time, it's probably going to be a bit stressful. I'm in no hurry to begin a taper in these current circumstances. 

I guess there's never a perfect time, but I'm going to wait a bit longer. I'll settle back into work in that first term and see how things are at Christmas, it's only five months away. 

How about you?

[Sottana]

@sunnysideup69 now that my aka has reduced, I’ve also really been rethinking and thinking I possibly need more time. I’m happy you’re being as careful as possible. I’m taking it week be week. Unlike you, I don’t have any real responsibilities so I can kinda play it by ear. It seems like you’ve been consistently making progress,  I’m sure you’ll get to a place where you’re ready to taper by Christmas. 

[Sottana]

Still having crashes pretty much daily 8 months into my hold. Man, so easy to lose all faith on this journey. 😞😞😞

[Longroadhome]

Hi Adili 
Try not to worry 

I think we could all say the same 

during windows we can cope much better as symptoms lay low but the waves are so very hard to get through. 
everyone on this site knows exactly what you’re going through. 
some people for a while go though wave after wave before it begins to break up and windows start to happen ( read this on the Bayliss Frederick site) with Small windows first of all and then they get wider and wider until one day Adili that window opens and never closes ..

The window will be yours one day you will own it

you will have earned it  And it will be up to you how you spend that fantastic forever open window .. 
It has your name on it 
stay focused on your goal x

 

[Longroadhome]

I was just thinking of a film I watched many years ago called 

The Incredible Journey 
there was a retriever a terrier and a simese cat Who travelled 250 mile through Canadian wilderness to return to their home. 
so determined they went through great suffering They helped each other.  when one felt weak the other was strong and eventually were successful. 
they shared their experience Just as we are doing here. 
there is strength in numbers we are all travelling 

“the incredible journey” together and together we will make it to the other side x

 

[sunnysideup69]

On 7/11/2020 at 9:27 AM, Adili13 said:

Still having crashes pretty much daily 8 months into my hold. Man, so easy to lose all faith on this journey. 😞😞😞

 

We're keeping the faith for you, for when you can't, dear @Sottana.

[Sottana]

@Longroadhome thank you so much my friend. I’ll have to watch that movie,  sounds great. It’s been so hard for me lately, just an endless waiting game, but it is always nice to know people are thinking of me. 
 

I appreciate you @sunnysideup69

[Sottana]

Has anyone experimented with tapering down to 12.5 paroxetine ER and using that pill and it’s extended property to stabilize better than being on a liquid dose or paroxetine standard release. 

[ChessieCat]

I suggest you ask this question in the Paxil topic:

tips-for-tapering-off-paxil-paroxetine

 

[Sottana]

@ChessieCat ok, just did, thanks 

[Colonial]

5 hours ago, Adili13 said:

Has anyone experimented with tapering down to 12.5 paroxetine ER and using that pill and it’s extended property to stabilize better than being on a liquid dose or paroxetine standard release. 

 

I started on 2 of the 12.5 mg extended release. When I first tapered, as per my signature, I continued to take 1 of the tablets and only changed over to 12 mgs of the liquid. It was a good thing I did, because I had alot of trouble adjusting to the liquid, as per the messages in my thread. The liquid is immediate release and I had to go to dosing myself 50% of my liquid evey 12 hours to avoid major WD Problems since the liquid would all rush into my system at once and only last about 19 hours causing a roller coaster of the blood concentration in my brain.

[Sottana]

@Colonial are you still dosing the liquid twice a day? 

[Colonial]

Yes, if I didn't I had bad withdrawal towards the last 5 hours before it was time to dose again, whether I took it 8 am or 8pm, it didn't matter.

Once I split the liquid into 2 even dosages things evened out. 

 

The most important thing for me was to reduce BOTH doses evenly. Not drop 1 mg in the am but keep the pm dose the same because that made my dose too uneven through the day and when I finally got around to dropping the nightdose, it was too much all at once.  Dropping just the one dose gives our body a false sense of security if the dose drop is in reality too high but it's not until you finally get around to dropping the evening dose that it ctches up to you.  So it's better to drop both dosages by a half a mg for a total of mg daily, than to drop just one dose by a full mg, not really have a true idea of how its messing with you, and then drop the evening dose 1 mg later on, because once you eventually get around to dropping the night dose, its too late if its too much of a cumulative drop for your system. 

[Sottana]

So how would I go about switching to two doses a day? Slowly or all at once? @Colonial. @Altostrata what are your thoughts on this dosing twice a day for drugs with a shorter half life? 

[Colonial]

I just changed over right away.  If your taking the whole dose in the morning, just take half of it then and take the other half 12 hours later.  It's better to get your body used to doing it that way BEFORE your next drop.  This is all predicated on the notion that You had been on extended relief to begin with, if you weren't than its a  non issue. But I dont see in your signature line what you were taking originally or how your taking it now.  But your symptoms "could" in theory be worse than they need to be if you were used to the extended version and now your taking liquid all at one time of the day.

 

How were you taking it originally, and how are you taking it now?

 

For example, I could take either 2 or 3 of the 12.5mg extend tabs and it made no difference either way, so obviously the 25 mgs was locking down all of my brain, the 3rd pill was doing nothing, so if you look at my signature, you see for the taper, I continued on one 12.5, and only changed the 2nd half of my med over to liquid, even with still taking 1 extend pill, the WD was bad if I tried to take the other half as all one dose. 

 

 Starting ds 2 (12.5 CR'S) = 25 MG PAXIL CR 1/21/15: 1 Pill + 10mg liquid (2 weeks)

I took the 1 pill and 5 mg of liquid in the morning and the other 5 mg of liquid at night, for a total of 22.5mg

 

I don't remember where, but I had gotten information that the liquid formula I was on stayed in your system 19 hours, so if you make a little flow graph for yourself, putting half the med in at 8am, and half in at pm, you can see its less of a "rise and fall" on our system.  It made a HUGE difference in getting my symptoms under control, since they were due more to how the med was "dumping" in my brain than actually lowering my dose.

[ChessieCat]

3 hours ago, Adili13 said:

So how would I go about switching to two doses a day? Slowly or all at once?

 

You could take 1/2 the dose 1 hour later each day.  If, as you get closer to the 12 hour gap, you find that your sleep is being affected you could step back 1 hour and see if your sleep improves.

[Sottana]

@Colonial I was on extended release like 2 years ago, I’ve been on standard release since. I’m really considering all the info you’ve sent and thinking about how it could potentially stabilize me. 
 

@ChessieCat that’s a good way of doing it more gradually 

[Colonial]

 

Remember, your not "skipping" and entire daily dose, your still taking 50% of it on time, and at the most your only delaying the other 50% 12 hours if you make the change all at once. If you want to try a more gradual approach as Chessie pointed out, and only "delay" the other 50% for just a few hours for a few days, and spread it out every so often it shouldnt take you too long to get to the 50-50 schedule. Eventually your brain will adjust to the med being in your system in a more even fashion. 

 

The problem with taking it all at once, is when you make drops, it's affecting you at a higher rate when the med is max in your system, instead of evenly throughout the day. If that is still of any issue once a person has changed over to once a day for an extended period no one can prove, but your brain got used to being on it 24-7, not most of the day and then nothing.  Just dont wait until you make a drop to change how you take it, do it first.  

 

 

[Sottana]

@Colonial I’m not gonna drop and then do it, I promise you. I’m gonna wait a couple more weeks, if I don’t se any more improvement, the twice a day dosing will be the first thing I try. Thanks so much for your input, it’s so good to know I have another option and another thing to try. 

[Sottana]

Feeing completely lost. Still experiencing pretty severe symptoms almost 9 months out/daily SI. I’m going to try to split my dose in half in a couple weeks. If that does nothing for me, I’ll just have to resort to tapering again. I’m seeing no benefit from holding at this point. 

Split it in half and take half aim morning half at night is what I meant.