tdb1955 Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 (edited) Hi anyone, I started taking Paxil 13 years ago for social anxiety and general nervousness. At first it was a godsend, allowing me to fly, attend crowded events and generally making my life more calm. Fast forward to 2 months ago and my wanting to reduce my meds. My Doctor started me on a tapering off by reducing my dosage by 10mg every 2 weeks. Just stopped all Paxil 4 days ago. Now the craziness starts...vivid, nonsensical dreams, brain zaps, mild headache and other minor problems. What I have a problem with is the almost constant light-headedness. This has bothered my to the point that today I started on 10mg again. Felt pretty good during the taper off but not so great after stopping. Anyone else have a similar problem? Edited September 9, 2013 by tezza Added member name to title Using 30mg Paxil for 13 years. 2 and one half months age dropped to 20mg, one month age down to 10mg and stopped on 9/5/13 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus tezza Posted September 9, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted September 9, 2013 Hi tdb, welcome to SA. I know you really want to stop taking Paxil and you can, just much slower. We suggest 10%, or LESS, decrements of each successful taper, holding between tapers at least four weeks. Since your system is 'shocked', you may need to hold longer to get stabilized before beginning the tapering process. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/ http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/405-tips-for-tapering-off-paxil-paroxetine/ Thank you for joining us! http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1644-tezza-risperdal-withdrawal/ Seroquel and Mirtazipine Link to comment
Claudius Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 I never used a higher dose than 10 mg Paxil and auit "cold turkey" from 10 mg 6 years ago. The withdrwal drove me to utter hell, made me sicker than ever and on the verge of suicide. Now 6 years later I still suffer from some nasty residual effects. You are verly lucky to have found this site and I would urge you to taper down very VERY slowly. 10 mg Paxil/Seroxat since 2002 several attempts to quit since 2004 Quit c/t again Oktober 2007, in protracted w/d since then after 3.5 years slight improvement but still on the road after 6 years pretty much recovered but still some nasty residual sypmtons after 8.5 years working again on a 90% base and basically functioning normally again! Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted September 9, 2013 Administrator Share Posted September 9, 2013 Welcome, tdb. I would see if 10mg Paxil is enough to stop the withdrawal symptoms. If so, stabilize on this dosage for a month or more, then use Paxil liquid to taper off very, very slowly. The link Tezza gave you explains how to do this. Did the initial 10mg dose do anything for you today? This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Jemima Posted September 9, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted September 9, 2013 Welcome to the forum, tbd. I concur with Alto's advice, above. Paxil is a very nasty drug to quit and your doctor's idea of a taper was far too fast. Here's hoping the reinstatement works. Give it at least four full days before deciding if it did or didn't work. Psychotropic drug history: Pristiq 50 mg. (mid-September 2010 through February 2011), Remeron (mid-September 2010 through January 2011), Lexapro 10 mg. (mid-February 2011 through mid-December 2011), Lorazepam (Ativan) 1 mg. as needed mid-September 2010 through early March 2012"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -Hanlon's RazorIntroduction: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1588-introducing-jemima/ Success Story: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6263-success-jemima-survives-lexapro-and-dr-dickhead-too/Please note that I am not a medical professional and my advice is based on personal experience, reading, and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers. Link to comment
tdb1955 Posted September 9, 2013 Author Share Posted September 9, 2013 Thanks to you all for replying. I will continue to take 10mg for a little bit longer(2 weeks or so) and then talk to my Doc when he returns from vacation in Haiti. (Doctors w/o borders trip.) I never minded using Paxil, heck even some of the sexual side effects were kind of fun but now I wished that I has never been prescribed it. I would occasionally take Valium for anxiety with no problem. I guess the Pharma folks were pushing Paxil harder in 2000. Not having an addictive personality helped keep Valium usage to a minimum. I had a prescription for 30 pills and threw most of them out because they expired date-wise. Anyway a great thanks for answering my posting and I look forward to reading and replying often. Keep up the great work! Using 30mg Paxil for 13 years. 2 and one half months age dropped to 20mg, one month age down to 10mg and stopped on 9/5/13 Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted September 10, 2013 Administrator Share Posted September 10, 2013 One needn't have an addictive personality to become dependent on a benzo. It can happen to anyone. Good to hear you didn't get hooked. Please keep us posted about how the reinstatement is affecting you. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted September 11, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted September 11, 2013 One needn't have an addictive personality to become dependent on a benzo. It can happen to anyone. You've got THAT right!!!! I liken it to nicotine.... some of us just fell pray to a campaign of a wonder drug Hang in there. You're in a good place here!! Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
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