lp51: going off Paxil?

[Ip51]

Help needed..I tapered to 7.5 ish without a problem. Now all hell breaks loose if I try to go further. What should I do? 10% drops no longer work. The results of the drop are so devastating I cannot function, panic attacks all night, lack of sleep builds up and I end up a total basket case ready for the hospital. So I reinstate back to a "normal feeling and life is normal. The drug haze lifted at about 10mg so I am O.K. Would like to get off Paxil but don't have to. Any ideas are welcome. Alice

Edited May 29, 2017 by scallywag
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[Skyler]

Help needed..I tapered to 7.5 ish without a problem. Now all hell breaks loose if I try to go further. What should I do? 10% drops no longer work. The results of the drop are so devastating I cannot function, panic attacks all night, lack of sleep builds up and I end up a total basket case ready for the hospital. So I reinstate back to a "normal feeling and life is normal. The drug haze lifted at about 10mg so I am O.K. Would like to get off Paxil but don't have to. Any ideas are welcome.

 

Alice

 

Hey Alice, Welcome aboard. Sounds like you may be looking for help with a very sloowww taper plan, possibly with micro cuts. Alto is well versed in this area and will doubtless chime in shortly.

 

You had to reup back to 10mgs? Bummer. Hope you can get back to 7.5 mgs and drop at a comfortable, albeit turtly pace. Sorry you had such miserable withdrawal symptoms. ~S

[Altostrata]

Welcome, lp. I moved your posts here as your Intro and Updates topic.

 

Often when people are tapering, and with Paxil in particular, they hit a wall at a lowish dose.

 

Making smaller decreases, 5% or less, may work. Do you have liquid Paxil?

[Altostrata]

lp, you mentioned elsewhere you had just gotten off a benzo. Did you jump into tapering Paxil right after?

[Ip51]

Reply finally to older messages

 

Did not jump off the benzo and immediately onto Paxil withdrawal. It was a long time in-between. Now have found a way off. Ultra slow, but it works. Any faster does not. 1%drops every 4-6weeks. Will take 6 years, very evil drug for me personally.

Alice

[Altostrata]

Are you titrating with the Paxil liquid?

 

How did you find out you needed such small decrements?

 

Did your benzo withdrawal symptoms go away completely?

[Ip51]

Are you titrating with the Paxil liquid?

 

How did you find out you needed such small decrements?

 

Did your benzo withdrawal symptoms go away completely?

 

Hi Alto...good questions

Let's see

1. I substituted the pills with the liquid and am taking the amounts needed to get off. The liquid is in mL so had to translate mg into mL. It was easy. ML are exactly half of the mg dose. I had no weirdness transferring over to the liquid but proceeded carefully. Did equal amounts and held for a bit to make sure I was OK. I don't think that is titrating. Is it? I am thinking titrate means you add water to the amount in powder form? Is it basically the same think as the commerc.

2. Trial and error was the exact scientific way I found my Paxil dosage. (-: I started with the 10% suggested drop and had horrid symptoms so reinstated for a while. Then tried half of that and it didn't work so reinstated. The symptoms were so bad I just thought I could never get off. Then a friend of mine on this site...Skyler... Suggested 1% drops. So I thought what the heck and it worked. Get a few symptoms but not so devastating so am doing these crazy slow drops every 4-6 weeks. I also discovered that if I go any faster, I can get a build up of symptoms several weeks later. So I have to wait out the 4 - 6 weeks at each drop.

3. Yes, benzo symptoms went away completely. Each month after the "end" got better until it was just all better. Very good news for us all.

It is funny, right from the beginning I thought Paxil was evil and that the benzos weren't. For me, Paxil is far more difficult to withdraw from so it IS the more evil!

 

How about you? Are you withdrawing from both or just one of these incipate drugs?

 

Alice

[Altostrata]

I am doing much better, thanks Ip. 8 years off Paxil (too-fast 3 week taper), I'm almost recovered.

 

Thanks for that information. A lot of people will be helped by it.

 

("Titrate" means go up or down in dosage by small amounts.)

[Ip51]

I am doing much better, thanks Ip. 8 years off Paxil (too-fast 3 week taper), I'm almost recovered.

 

Thanks for that information. A lot of people will be helped by it.

 

("Titrate" means go up or down in dosage by small amounts.)

 

Almost recovered!? 8 years...yikes. I guess it takes that long to either recover or titrate off ever so slowly as I am. I hate this drug!

[Ip51]

Things are going well now. I found my taper rate tobe .05 mg for a week then another .05 mg for at least a month. It works. Any faster than that is utter hell. I will be free in 6years.

And there you have it!

 

I am down to 6.8 mg and am getting ready for the next .10mg. Every time I drop even that tiny amount I have symptoms but at least they are bearable. I dread each drop! But at least once things settle down it stays settled down for as long as I want, 1 month to 2 months.

 

I hate this so much but am really trying to keep an accepting attitude. If I get too angry and frustrated then they win at destroying my life. By staying accepting and calm, I get to have a life and I win.

[flower]

you are an inspiration to me.

[Skyler]

Things are going well now. I found my taper rate to be .05 mg for a week then another .05 mg for at least a month. It works. Any faster than that is utter hell. I will be free in 6years.

From my journey on the benzo slowww boat.... And having watched you come pretty much straight down on your benzo taper, I understand the your consternation about so slowly sliding off Paxil. You may well need 6 years, and having the WD Sword of Damocles so close for every cut is daunting, but you will be slowly distancing yourself from the toxic effects of Paxil the further you reduce. And Paxil has to be one of the worst, so congrats on your tenacity!!

[Ip51]

Thanks! Yes, it is daunting, maddening to have such big symptoms at such tiny tapers. But it is either that or give up and stay on it forever. Not the end of the world but then they (the drug companies, the denial, the silencers, the evil doers win and I cannot allow that.

A.

[Jemima]

What a great attitude!

[Ip51]

What a great attitude!

 

Thanks!! I am happy to hear this. I just don't want this "medical mistake" to ruin our (my) lives.. Or as little as possible anyway. I want to stay in the winning position. I want all of us to stay winners by finding whatever we could possibly come up with that works. The only way I could make that happen is to go so dang slow it that it is truly maddening BUT it keeps me in the control seat.

 

Kapla to all! (Klingon for "success").

Alice

[Ip51]

Well, had to get sick...dang it all! Winter viruses are flying around as usual. One guy died! OMG! An acquaintance died from the flu! Now I hear that happens more often than we realize! Scary! Almost as scary as a psychotropic drug epidemic! So many people are put on these drugs for lots of different reasons. The key for the flu is to keep your immune system healthy. The key for staying off these drugs....tell everyone. Don't trust psychiatrists? Don't trust anyone regarding these drugs? Only the people here can be trusted as far as I can tell and on forums like this. Why is that? Are they afraid because there are no quick cures for minor or major mental ailments? Is it money, greed a and power that rules? Are these drugs used to control us? Or are they the outcomes of misinformation, a mistake and trying to save face? I guess it doesn't make a ton of difference because we have been had no matter what reason! I hate being tricked, lied to and deceived by people we trusted. And, I guess, that is exactly what happened!

 

Despite my outrage, am doing OK with slowly withdrawing. No updates. Had to take a break so I could function during this school term...can't teach properly when withdrawing, so have to hold for periods of time. Plus have a winter virus to deal with, need my energy for healing.

 

Hope you all are doing OK too. Am curious how others get through periods of holding at a certain level for periods of time. I do OK with that. I could hold for years at a certain level and then continue when ready. How about you!

 

Alice

[Skyler]

I guess it doesn't make a ton of difference because we have been had no matter what reason! I hate being tricked, lied to and deceived by people we trusted. And, I guess, that is exactly what happened!

Hi Alice.. I'm no longer angry about the drug debacle we find ourselves enmeshed in. I went into a fury on realizing it would take me SIXTEEN MONTHS to taper off the last 1 mg of diazepam. I worked my wrath out in a series of vitriolic posts on this site, and it has finally and mercifully dissipated. I've come to the conclusion that staying angry is feeding the Big Pharma cartel.. perhaps the anger existed only in my mind.. but I don't want to concede even that small piece of my sanity to them.

 

Power to us folks. Keep going Alice, you will get there, but most importantly, remember you are down from 10 mgs of Paxil, and the toxic properties become ever weaker.

 

Skyler

[Ip51]

I am at 6.7 mg now.from 7.5mg. I am sleeping OK and not getting anxiety attacks but big "whoosh" spells. .... Kind of like dizzy but not exactly. I went to my doc for more liquid syringes and blew away his nurse when I told her it would take 6 years to withdraw. She gave me more syringes...(-:

 

So, it goes on. Some weird days here and there, off balance all the time, near vertigo all the time but I learned how to deal with it so it is not a problem. I will be thrilled when I get below 6 mg. Will be a big hurdle. But could take another year to get there....oh well, whatever, just have to keep going and keep functional.

How is everybody doing?

Alicot

[peggy]

thanks for the update Alice - its good to discover our personal sweet spot with tapering isn't it? It gives us some hope for joy in the journey!

[strawberry17]

Ip51 can sympathise, it's taken me 4.5 years to get from 20mg Prozac to 4mg Prozac and now it looks like it's going to take me another couple of years to get off the last 4mg (I was on zoloft originally and couldn't get off it), I find it is a balancing act, you have to make a drop that's big enough to make you feel like you're making progress but small enough that it doesn't give you rampant insomnia and anxiety and dizzyness. I too now have a shed load of syringes

[Skyler]

Hi Alicot,

 

I wonder if you would have had the same experience had you tapered off Paxil before diazepam. You had an adverse reaction to the benzo, which made you sick, so you made the right call on which to taper first. But maybe neuro sensitization from the d taper carried over.. What do you think?

 

[Ip51]

thanks for the update Alice - its good to discover our personal sweet spot with tapering isn't it? It gives us some hope for joy in the journey!

 

Thanks! You are sooo right! It IS good to know and finally be able to get off this stuff. For a while I wasn't sure it was possible!

[Ip51]

Ip51 can sympathise, it's taken me 4.5 years to get from 20mg Prozac to 4mg Prozac and now it looks like it's going to take me another couple of years to get off the last 4mg (I was on zoloft originally and couldn't get off it), I find it is a balancing act, you have to make a drop that's big enough to make you feel like you're making progress but small enough that it doesn't give you rampant insomnia and anxiety and dizzyness. I too now have a shed load of syringes

 

I guess that is the name of this game....Years! It takes years not months for so many of us to withdraw! Disgusting as it is and there is so much denial out there about this, BUT, bottom line, we are doing it!

[Ip51]

Hi Alicot,

 

I wonder if you would have had the same experience had you tapered off Paxil before diazepam. You had an adverse reaction to the benzo, which made you sick, so you made the right call on which to taper first. But maybe neuro sensitization from the d taper carried over.. What do you think?

 

 

There is no way to know for sure but I really don't think it would have made a difference. I had the feeling all along that Paxil was the real evil of the two. I always felt that the benzo was really all I needed and didn't fear withdrawal from it as much as Paxil. It turns out I was right but didnt know why. I think Paxil did something to me that I sensed was much more "permanent" than Ativan. I know this is not true for everyone. For some it is the opposite. I think each body is unique and these drugs are just plain evil. They should only be given when absolutely necessary and with the awareness of how to withdraw. Actually it would be even better to come up with a better idea. For me the benzo was very helpful but the AD was a waste. It really didnt do much to help me.

[Ip51]

Well, I just hit 6.50 mg I tried an experiment this time by sliding down by smaller increments from 6.7mg

 

The good: symptoms were less I tense, no anxiety, no vertigo, less time with symptoms

The bad: still got hit with bad dizziness by the third day which lasted a couple of days. will try to go the rest of the way to 6.6 the same way and then hold for a month to six weeks to avoid the cumulative symptom time zone.

 

And yes, this will take forever but my goal is to make it the least symptomatic possible so I can just keep going for the next five or years.

[strawberry17]

The way you're doing it IP51 is the only way I could do it, think of the tortoise and the hare.

[Ip51]

Thanks strawberry/silver star,

Yes the pace of the tortoise is the way to go. Hare-like behavior would only put me in harm's way. So here we are, a bunch of turtles hangin out!

[Ip51]

I got mixed switching from mg to mL so ended up getting under 7 mg and then going back up to current 7. 2 mg. From now on will go by mL of liquid. Easier to keep track of. I am actually going by 2mg drops which is 1mL of this suspension liquid.

 

So in 2-3 weeks it will be a slide-dropping down from 3.6mL to 3.5 mL which will equal 7 mg and so on.

I am doing a slide- drop thing as I call it. I go slightly under the current dosage for. About 5 days. Then to about halfway down to the next mL for 4-5 days, then 3/4 down, then down to the next mL and hold for 3-4 weeks. The last time I did that I had almost no symptoms. That is my goal ... To figure out how to wean without symptoms so I can just live undisturbed and keep going until done!

 

I finally got a decent doctor. He just listens, gives me no grief about any of this and continues prescribing what I need. He is not on an ego trip! A rarity!

[tezza]

Hi Ip,

 

It sounds like you are doing a great job tapering! Going SUPER slow is the way to go. I'm very thankful that my doc is cooperating with me, too.

 

Wishing you the best!

[Ip51]

Thanks Tezza! It is very helpful to receive your supportive words.

[LexAnger]

Hi Alice,

 

Just thought saying hi to you and hoping you are doing well!

 

How are things going with you? Are you still at 6.05mg (it says ML in your signature, but I believe it should be mg)?

 

LexA

[dreamspirit]

Hi, I've been on paxil for 19 years now.. I started a taper Jan 2014 and did 1mg drops every 4-6 weeks (most drops being 4 weeks ) Didn't really have any withdrawl symptoms until I crashed this past July.. so it took a long time for my withdrawl symptoms to appear..

 

I was on 40mg and got down to 30mg and unfortunately had to reinstate back up to my original dose of 40..

 

Apparently I need to go way slower.. I'm going to let my brain recover for a few months before I start a taper again..

 

Would love to know how you are doing? :-)

[JanCarol]

Yes lp - how you going?  What is your dose right now, and are your symptoms manageable?

 

It's sad you had to learn the slow taper the hard way - but - the key part is - you learned it, and you are now in charge instead of the doctors and drugs!

 

Hope you are having a splendid holiday.

[Ip51]

To Answer your questions...I used liquid Paxil which is quite an expense for until I got to 6mg. I kept trying to keep going at 1% drops but it became impossible. I decided if I titrated it would be over ten years to get off Paxil. Because I prefer to function, I decided to give it up. So contacted a compound pharmacy and they make 6mg capsules for me which I will take for the rest of my life. I have serious problems with handling trying to titrate and measure and figure it all out due to MS. The repercussions of getting measurements confused are too awful to bother with it. So I am off the wagon. Gave up, accepted that I was an experiment that went wrong and am moving on.

 

Thanks for checking in tho. It is nice to know you are there. I am so furious about all this that I dare not get into it. I know how badly We have been screwed over by the "medical profession" who were lied to by the pharmaceutical companies. But, at least, I am not suffering symptoms anymore.

[Ip51]

Yikes!  My problem isn't the hold length but cutting the pills into such small amounts each time.  I don't know what to do about that.  I have MS and it is super difficult to do cuts of less than 1 % accurately, so I just gave up and plan to be on Paxil for the rest of my life, tho I would love to get rid of it altogether.  It does absolutely nothing except keep me out of withdrawal. I got down to 6mg and  then the withdrawal became so awful that I decided to just stop and have a life without constant withdrawal.  But it is good to hear that I am not alone in this struggle.  I just keep telling people to stay away from these drugs if possible because you just don't know what will happen.  I thought I would hop right off, but NOOOOOOO- surprise, surprise.  I had no clue and neither did the doc.  Some think I am making it up  - Hahahahahaha, sad but true!

 

-love to all and hoping you are not one of the ones who can't get off these drugs.  

[ChessieCat]

Paxil is available in liquid or you can make your own liquid.  See:  Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine)