tatjanap: Paxil recovery success story

[tatjanap]

So, was prompted to write this by an update email of this website which said to contribute if we have had success.

 

About 5y ago I started having panic attacks which I suspected were from a physical cause but very extensive testing could not find the problem and I relented and they gave me Paxil.

 

6 months in I started tapering off and first of all could not taper any more than 1mg per week, at 20mg that was a very slow taper. When I finished the taper, a few weeks later the insomnia and brain zaps started, and they only happened as I was feeling asleep, jolting me awake.

 

For about 18 months I was a wreck. I wont list all of the things that did not work.

 

In the end I went to a dr in Germany (if its allowed I will add which) who tested everything there is (I mean that) including neurotransmitters (blood urine and spit). I even had a 24h Holter ECG. He told me that I was perfectly fine except that I was borderline for hypothyroid and that I had been borderline when the panic attacks started (old bloodwork) and that the symptoms fit snd that its bad medicine to not put the two together - this should have been treated instead of giving me Paxil.

 

He gave me supplements, diet recommendations and sent me home. I started to gradually get better during the next few months. I had a setback after 2-3 months of really good improvement - some excitement my body saw as stress set me back. I was still not as bad as I had been however. Then I realized that maybe I should see an acupuncturist considering they are trained to see the body as whole and not just one system malfunctioninng. I found one who was also an MD and she gave my case a lot of thought. I was again becoming a lot better.

 

I did acupuncture every day for probably a month or two and then we started tapering - every two days, a few days a week etc. That took probably about 6 months but I was really fully functional now. for about a year or two, whenever I felt slightly off I would go and get 2-3 acupuncture sessions that week. 

The most interesting thing is that in the beginning of visiting the acupuncturist, when I was still sweaty and having panic attacks, when she finished I was instantly better and it didn’t feel like I had taken medication, but quite simply that I was the old me.

 

I still carried emergecy clonazepam around for a few years and had trouble sleeping when I forgot it at home if I travelled, simply because I was still AFRAID of the insomnia. I still hate it when something (say a neighbours party) impedes my sleep but its all just likes and dislikes now - there are no effects left whatsoever. 

 

I think it a medical crime that we can test neurotransmitters now yet we dont and instead just prescribe antidepressants without checking. 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by ChessieCat
just spacing, paragraph breaks for ease of reading

[ChessieCat]

Hi tatjanap and "welcome" to SA,

 

For the benefit of the other members, tatjanap has been a member since July 2016 but never made any posts.

 

Thank you for sharing your Success story with SA.

 

And I wish you well in your psychiatric drug free life.

[ChessieCat]

Some information for members who are tapering their drug.

 

tatjanap reduced by 1mg per week and the last dose was 1mg.

 

SA's recommended tapering protocol is to reduce by no more than 10% of the CURRENT dose followed by a hold of at least 4 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.

 

1mg as the last dose is much higher than SA would recommend.  The lower the dose you jump off at the better.  A last dose to aim for would be about 0.025mg.  Some people can manage a higher jump off dose, and others might need to go lower, and of course the last dose can be dictated by whether you are able to create very low doses.

[Phoenixmama]

@tatjanap thanks for giving us your success story 🙏 as you know it means sooooooo much to all of us ❤️

[Phoenixmama]

how long did it take for you to start feeling better and how long would you say wd lasted? 🙂

[Knosretep]

@tatjanap, thanks for coming back to leave your success story, and congratulations on your recovery!

[Malon]

Thank you for sharing and congratulations. Another Paxil surviver and even from Germany. Did you suffer from fatigue?
Can you PM me the name of the doctor, please?

[Mutfael]

Thank you for telling your success story.. I'm still on 4 mg of Lexapro and I don't know if the withdrawal symptoms will last or not?  Does a 4 mg dose have withdrawal symptoms?

[slowphie]

Thank you for sharing your recovery! I’m so

happy for you. 😊 I’m in Germany too, would you mind sharing the details of the doctor?