kingkeen: Tapered off of my meds too fast. Should I go back on them to taper properly? Or stick out the pain. This is horrible.

[kingkeen]

I’ve been on Paxil 30mg for 6 years and just recently tapered off at 5 mg every 2 weeks. I know this is NOT the proper way to taper but i didn’t realize how bad it would truly be. I’ve been at 0 mg for 3 weeks and feel awful. Not as bad as when i tried stopping cold turkey but at times it is comprable. Im seriously wondering if I should go back on Paxil to 10-15 mg and then taper off at a 10% rate per month to have less withdrawals. Obviously I want to be off my pills forever but right now I am struggling and don’t know what to do. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I need help. 

[Onmyway]

Welcome to SA kingkeen, 

so sorry to hear that you have been suffering. It is not unusual for people (me included) to not understand how bad this can be until we get there. In your case you have attempted coming off before and that also sensitizes the system and can make subsequent withdrawals harder. 

 

Take heart, however, this will get better. The best thing for you to do now is to reinstate a small amount of the drug - 1mg or so and see whether that will relieve the withdrawal symptoms. You can wait it out for a week but often people see effects sooner. If that is not sufficient and has not made things worse you can updose slightly to see if more would help. We usually do not recommend going back to the full dose as sometimes we are too sensitized and that can make things worse and it would leave you with a bigger drug burden to taper. 

 

Here is some information on reinstating

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants

 

This will also have information on tapering afterwards. 

Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine) - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants

 

Not sure what your symptoms are but perhaps this can help a bit too? 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants

 

In the meantime, can you please add the summary of your drugs in the drug signature. Here is how: 

How to List Drug History in Signature - Introductions and updates - Surviving Antidepressants

 

Hope you get better soon, 
OMW

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Shep
updated post with new username

[kingkeen]

I'm one month into 0 mg after tapering at a horrible rate, and today was by far the worst day yet... I know recovery isn't linear and that each day is different but holy ****. I don't know how I am going to make it through the next 12-18 months of my life. Can hardly perform at my job, but I can't afford to lose my job as I haven't been able to save much over the last 6 years for a various number of reasons. My boss is understanding but I am nearly useless right now. 

 

Regardless of my financial situation, even if i was wealthy, i seriously don't know what i would do to get through this. I know the light at the end of the tunnel is roughly 12 months away, but i don't see myself getting there. I AM NOT SUICIDAL. I haven't been suicidal or even had a singular thought of suicide in over a year. What I am trying to say is that i don't think im going to make it. if i lose my job im *****. I wouldn't be able to get a new job while going through withdrawals and i would 95-100% go bankrupt if i lost my job. I fear becoming a crazy homeless person but that seems to be my fate right now. 

 

I need wise words right now. 

[Altostrata]

Hello, @kingkeen.

 

Please add your updates to your existing Introductions topic rather than starting new topics.

 

Did you see this?

 

On 8/20/2021 at 6:57 PM, Onmyway said:

The best thing for you to do now is to reinstate a small amount of the drug - 1mg or so and see whether that will relieve the withdrawal symptoms. You can wait it out for a week but often people see effects sooner. If that is not sufficient and has not made things worse you can updose slightly to see if more would help. We usually do not recommend going back to the full dose as sometimes we are too sensitized and that can make things worse and it would leave you with a bigger drug burden to taper. 

 

Paxil is a very difficult drug to go off. Suggest you get a prescription for liquid paroxetine (Paxil) and take 1mg to start with an oral syringe. See how that affects you over a week, let us know how you're doing. We have seen often this small amount reduces withdrawal symptoms, but you may need more.

 

You'd stabilize for some time and taper off later by tiny amounts. Still, paroxetine can be a bear to quit. Alternatively, you might substitute fluoxetine (Prozac), or citalopram (Celexa), which might be somewhat easier to eventually taper.

 

If you cannot get liquid paroxetine, fluoxetine. or citalopram, you can make your own liquid from a tablet (must be immediate-release). See Tips for tapering off paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat)

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[kingkeen]

yes i did see that comment and have done that for the past two days, hoping for stabilization but i feel worse. I do understand it takes roughly a week or two to get re adjusted to a new dosage so i am going to continue to take 1 mg but like i said, i feel considerably worse today than i have at any point so far so i get worries ingesting more Paxil.

[kingkeen]

My initial About me has some incorrect info/ is lacking info. first and formost i tappered terribly. I did 5 mg every week straight up until i hit 0 and im in living hell currently. DONT DO WHAT I DID. TAPER PROPERLY. READ THE TAPPERING THREAD ON THIS WEBSITE. IT WILL SAVE YOU MONTHS OF MENTALL ANGUISH. I had a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) when i was 18 and got put on Celexa because i had slight suicidal thoughts. I never had any real plans of suicide but definitely thought about it. My physical recovery time was about 2 years but my doctors always told me i would be on these pills for life and I fought them tooth and nail. They never told me WHY i might be stuck on these meds, i now know its because withdrawals are horrible and they know if they tell you the truth then you wont take them, but I never believed I would be on these pills forever. After being on my meds for two+ years i actually became suicidal and wanted to kill myself because i tried quitting cold turkey and it was hell but I didn't know about how crucial tapering was to the success of anyone trying to get off of their anti-depressant. My doctors never gave me the information necessary to ween myself off the meds and it nearly cost me my life. Even now 6 years out from my head injury, they still advise me to stay on the meds even if i tapered off of them properly. I know this is wrong of them to say. I know my pills are what have been ******* me over. I've taken multiple neuropsych evaluations at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta and my functioning is good! Its literally these pills that kill my focus and memory and make me feel like ****. 

 

I am currently reinstating to 1 mg of paxil because I tapered so fast and i feel so horrible. I've had multiple concussion, and a TBI, and no head injury I've had has ever hurt my brain more than what is happening right now. Smashing my head onto a bed of needles sounds less painful than what im going through right now. Please Taper Properly.

 

I know my posts have been all over the place and I am sorry. I can hardly focus on anything right now. I have so much to say but can hardly get the words typed out. My brain hurts.

 

[Shep]

@kingkeenThanks for the additional information. 

 

In your signature, you have 0 mg July 25, 2021. Do you have more specific times for when you reduced at a rate of 5 mg per week in 2021? Was it a certain milligrams per month? The reason I'm asking is because we recommend reinstatement doses based on how far out you are from your last dose and how you were feeling as you reduced. So the more specifics you can give us, the more detailed our advice can be. 

 

Also, when did you start having withdrawal symptoms? Do you remember the dose and the date? 

 

Rapid tapers make it difficult to remember details, so if you're hazy on specifics, that's okay. We can go by how well you're tolerating the reinstatement and any benefits of updosing a bit. 

 

Please continue letting us know how you're feeling at 1 mg. 

 

16 hours ago, kingkeen said:

Can hardly perform at my job, but I can't afford to lose my job as I haven't been able to save much over the last 6 years for a various number of reasons. My boss is understanding but I am nearly useless right now. 

 

 

Are you able to take short-term disability to give yourself some time to adjust to the reinstatement? Or perhaps some vacation or sick leave time? 

[kingkeen]

Shep, yes. June 25 2021 I started tapering 5 mg per week. I was at 20 mg so it was one month. 5 mg each week. I've been going through withdrawals for about two years because of the times i quit cold turkey. I haven't felt "normal" with or without the meds in two years. Been getting brain zaps since 4 years ago. There were many many many times where i self reduced my medicine, and there were definitely more times that i quit cold turkey but its hard to remember because ive been so out of it for so long. I didn't keep a journal because i didn't realize that i needed to. I can definitively say I've been going through withdrawals for two years because i have changed my dosage on my own so many times.

[kingkeen]

 

I will add the info to my signature

[Shep]

Quote

 Tappered off my 20 mg paxil  at a rate of 5mg per week starting JUNE 25 2021... bad idea... finally at 0mg July 25 2021.

 

Thanks for adding this to your signature, Kingkeen.

 

20 hours ago, kingkeen said:

There were many many many times where i self reduced my medicine, and there were definitely more times that i quit cold turkey but its hard to remember because ive been so out of it for so long.

 

You may have kindled your nervous system. Kindling is trauma to the nervous system due to abrupt changes and cold turkeys. Many, perhaps most, of the people who come into these withdrawal forums are also dealing with kindling or some degree of nervous system destabilization.

 

Even though you've only been completely off the drug for less than a month, starting at that 1 mg may be enough to stave off some of the withdrawal symptoms without causing your nervous system to hyper-react. 

 

Are you currently taking any supplements? We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

 

[kingkeen]

I work on a Hemp farm where we produce CBD and while CBD is very healthy and helpful to most, it makes my head hurt right now so i don't take it anymore. Might try magnesium or fish oil. Thanks for the help.

[kingkeen]

Been 5 days on 1 mg and it has helped tremendously. Thank you SA staff for your help.

[Shep]

Excellent update, kingkeen. Please let us know how you're doing over the coming days and weeks as you hold. 

 

 

[Erell]

On 8/25/2021 at 12:08 PM, Shep said:

Excellent update, kingkeen. Please let us know how you're doing over the coming days and weeks as you hold. 

 

Hello dear @kingkeen

 

I'm gonna ditto Shep and highlight her sentence : "as you hold".

 

I see in your signature that you plan to hold during two weeks then taper again : I would strontly suggest to hold for some months to help your body stabilise before making another drop.

 

You've been through a lot lately, and your body is already giving great positive signs to the recent reinstatement : please consider to give your CNS a break and take time to rest.

 

I know holding can sound like doing nothing or stepback, but actually holding is very proactive and allow the CNS to do all his repair work.

By taking good long holds after a destabiling event, we minimize the risks and prepare a smoother taper.

 

I also see in your signature that you plan to do a 10% taper every 2 weeks : this is way faster than what we recommend here, especially at such a low dose, please read :

 

1. why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

2. why-taper-sert-transporter-occupancy-studies-show-importance-of-gradual-change-in-plasma-concentration/

 

 

 

Take good care ☀️

Edited August 27, 2021 by Erell