mattage Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Hello. My name is Matt (hence Mattage). I have moved here from PP. Here is my history: After 17 years of taking it, I had pretty severe withdrawal after CTign off 10mg Paxil. I went back on at 5mg, waited until I felt more stable (8 months), then started to taper at 10% every 4 wks. I am now down to 1.2 mg (1.25 to be exact),so I am hoping most of the heavy lifting has already been done (fingers and toes crossed). I have had (probably familiar) symptoms throughout my taper. There is a point upon which I could do with some advice if anybody has any. I am planning to ditch the meds at 1mg (at the end of Feb probs). Does this seem a good idea? WHen have other people ditched and how did they go on? THanks in advance for any advice Matt CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
mustangwoman Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Hi Matt! Good to see you!! zoloft 2004-08 tapered too fast(2 weeks) Luvox 5/08 100 mg 07/10 40mg via small reductions, 08/10 39mg, 09/10 38mg, 10/10 37mg, 11/10 36mg,2/11 35mg, 5/11 34mg, 8/11 33mg, 11/11 32mg, 01/12 31mg, 03/12 30mg, 4/12 29mg, 5/12 28 mg, 8/12 27 mg, 11/12 26 mg, 1/13 25 mg, 3/13 24 mg, 4/13 23 mg,6/13 22 mg, 7/13 21 mg, 8/13 20mg, 10/13 19 mg, 11/13 18 mg, 12/13 17 mg, 1/14 16 mg, 3/14 13 mg, 9/14 10.9 mg, 1/15 10 mg, 3/15 9 mg, 5/15 8 mg. 11/15 7.12 mg. 4/16 5 mg, 6/16 4.5 mg, 9/16 4.2 mg, 1/17 3.48 mg, 2/17 3.2 mg, 4/17 2.2 mg, 5/17 2.0 mg, 6/17 1.74 mg, 7/17 1.58 mg, 9/17 1.27 mg, 11/17 1.0 mg, 1/18 0.79 mg Link to comment
aberdeen Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Hi matt! Lets hold each others hands ok??? LOL Im planning to taper below 1mg myself. Wanting@Quit had some issues crop up after dropping from 1mg. I'm on 1.7mg now, and then soon 1.5, then 10%-ing my way to 1mg. I might actually make a cut to .5mg then drop....at this point it doesnt matter if I add a month, as long as i feel pretty decent. 2 Timothy 1-7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Effexor 75mg to 262.5mg 2005-2010 for post partum depression Started having poop out mid 2010, also switched generic brands, then crashed in Dec 2010 (anxiety/ "terror", intense DR, anhedonia, suicidal ideation, chills, insomnia, horrible intrusive thoughts, disorientation, ect)Rapid "tapered" from 262.5mg Effexor in 3 months Tried Celexa,Cipralex, then Paxil to deal with wd(this switching made things worse and added akathesia) Found online support and started tapering Paxil 7 months after quitting Effexor (at this point was having small windows). Paxil taper: dropped 10% every 4-8 weeks Year 1 October 2011 to Nov 2012 20mg to 10mg Year 2 March 2013 to Feb 2014 10mg to 4mg Year 3 April 2014 to May 2015 4mg to 1.1mg Year 4 June 2015 1.1mg , dropping by 10% until .5mg, after then dropped by 0.1mg every 5 weeks until 0.1mg. Finished! Official last dose of 0.1mg on June 15/16 Link to comment
Ever Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Hi Mattage. I'm also wondering what to do after I reach 1mg. I just recently quit after reaching 3mg, but crashed yet again. I know back at pp, they didn't like you staying on the low doses for very long (I can't remember why, but remember the explanation sounded logical), However, I really don't want to waste all the years of slow tapering just to crash by jumping off too soon. Hoping that there is someone here who has some experience in tapering lower than 1mg. Some of you guys are going to get there before me - I've got about a year to go to get to 1mg. Put on Prothiaden for severe depression in 1989. Recovered. Prescribed Paxil for another bout of depression around 2000. Have been trying to taper ever since but always crash about 2 months after getting to zero. Because of the crashes, for years I thought that there was something wrong with me. Then found that the crashes were simply withdrawal. Now following a maximum of a 10% reduction every month or so and ready to slow down any time I feel any symptoms whatsoever. Feeling good:). 7th Jan 15 - 3.6mg 28th Jan 15 - 3.2mg Link to comment
Rachelina Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Hi Matt, good to see you! I've been thinking about the same thing. I think I'm going to taper down from 1 mg. I might try doing .2 mg drops instead of .1 mg. Are you on liquid or pills? I'm still using pills but might switch to liquid for the last bit. Trying to get off Paxil since 2007. Was tapering by 0.1 mg every 4-5 weeks. Had awful crash in November 2015 at .5 mg; updosed gradually to 2 mg. Doing better and tapering again, much slower this time. 2016: Dropped from 2 mg to 1.62 mg. 2017: 1.62 mg to 1.2 mg. 2018: 1.2 mg to .76 mg. 2019: .76 mg to .56 mg. 2020: .56 mg to .33 mg. 2021: .33 mg to .13 mg. 2022: .13 mg to .03 mg. 6/12/23 .002 mg. OFF PAXIL 9/4/23 Started Klonopin in November 2015 to deal with crash. 1/10/16 started milk titration taper from .5 mg. Finished taper 12/6/17. Still take Klonopin for agoraphobia 2 - 3 times a week. Link to comment
mattage Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 Hi Matt, good to see you! I've been thinking about the same thing. I think I'm going to taper down from 1 mg. I might try doing .2 mg drops instead of .1 mg. Are you on liquid or pills? I'm still using pills but might switch to liquid for the last bit. Hi Rachelina - I'm on the pills and it's getting harder to cut them accurately as the dose gets low. I might do 2/3 big drops below 1mg, as Aberdeen was suggesting. I'm so eager to get off them though! Ever - I'll let you know how it goes for me, in case it's of any use. Aberdeen - Mustangwoman - Hi! CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted December 17, 2014 Administrator Share Posted December 17, 2014 Welcome, Mattage -- and company! We strongly suggest making a liquid to taper very small amounts. Please see the Tapering forum for our Tips on Tapering Paxil topic. (There are similar topics in Tapering about many drugs.) As far as we're concerned, you can stay on a low dose as long as you want. 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
Ever Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Quote "As far as we're concerned, you can stay on a low dose as long as you want" Quote Omg this is such a relief Altostrata! Because of the advice from pp, I've been panicking about going below 1mg, because I don't really have much trouble dropping - it's only after I hit zero that I (so far) have the problems. Phew! Mattage - I know it sounds awful, but I'm really glad that you and Aberdeen and a couple of others are going to do this before I do. Put on Prothiaden for severe depression in 1989. Recovered. Prescribed Paxil for another bout of depression around 2000. Have been trying to taper ever since but always crash about 2 months after getting to zero. Because of the crashes, for years I thought that there was something wrong with me. Then found that the crashes were simply withdrawal. Now following a maximum of a 10% reduction every month or so and ready to slow down any time I feel any symptoms whatsoever. Feeling good:). 7th Jan 15 - 3.6mg 28th Jan 15 - 3.2mg Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted December 18, 2014 Administrator Share Posted December 18, 2014 What we've seen is that sometime when people get down to a very low dose, they need a nice long hold to consolidate for the last leg down. Don't worry, taper at the speed your nervous system tells you to! 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 Songbird Posted December 18, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 18, 2014 Hi Mattage, good to see you. I found at PP the general opinion seemed to be don't hold too long on a dose as it might begin to poop out, and if a drop wasn't going well for quite a while, people were advised to drop again. Some people seemed to find this helped them, but my experience has been that the longer I hold on a dose, the more I get stable. I have held at some doses for many months waiting to stabilise and eventually I did. It may be different for people who are really in poop-out, though I do think people are quick to jump to that conclusion when they don't stabilise quickly. I'm not sure whether things are different down at the really low doses like 1mg as I haven't got anywhere near there yet! 2001–2002 paroxetine 2003 citalopram 2004-2008 paroxetine (various failed tapers) 2008 paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine2016 citalopram May 20mg Oct 15mg … slow taper down2018 citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg 18 Nov 3.8mg 2019 15 Mar 3.6mg 21 May 3.4mg 26 Dec 3.2mg 2020 19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg 2021 29 Aug 2.4mg 15 Nov 2.3mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus bubble Posted December 18, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 18, 2014 Hello and welcome to all of you. I believe you will find a lot of friendly support and very useful information here. We have here found (long) holds very beneficial as Songbird says. I would even say that holds are one of the cornerstones of successful tapering: they make rewiring of our CNS more permanent, make us stable and stronger for subsequent reductions. We have also noticed that things get particularly tricky at low doses and going slower and smaller is even more important. There is even a bit of research which explains why this is so and confirms what we have seen happening in practice. It's quite technical but if you browse down in the thread to posts with graphs, I believe things will soon make sense: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6036-why-taper-paper-demonstrates-importance-of-gradual-change-in-plasma-concentration/ I hope you all strat feeling at home here soon Bubble Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2 2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013) Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg. 2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days afterreinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours 28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr 2015 1 mg, 25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64 Xanax 9 month hold 24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26 Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. Link to comment
mattage Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Thanks for all the advice guys. I think it might be best to taper to 1mg and then try 0.2mg drops from there and see how it goes (my drops are currently 0.1mg every 4 wks). I'm still amazed at how difficult I'm finding it at this level (1.25mg): I'm dropping at less than 10% (per 4 weeks) and still feeling the drops. CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
geminigirl Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Hi Mattage, i'm also from PP. Nice to see you!! 2010 started 10 mg celexa, 2011 went up to 20 mg 06/2014 started tapering (20 mg,10 mg alternate days) 19/09/2014 crashed at 10 mg 20/09/2014 updosed to 20 mg to try and stabilize- Never stabilized and CNS basically plummeted August 31 2015- Started my 5% taper anyways May 3 2016- At 14 mg the tapering caught up with me- Withdrawal included severe anxiety, feeling like im on speed, suicidal and homicidal ideation, akathesia, feeling like I was on heroin, memory loss, PGAD, feeling like I was on an acid May 4 2016- Updosed to 15.5 mg to try and stabilize June 4- Started taking 2 mg 5 times a day which adds up to 10 mg because of akathesia when taking my full dose. Akathesia symtpoms smaller July 27th- Dropped from 15.5 mg to 10 mg because could no longer tolerate taking drug- bad side effects mainly akathesia and emotional deadness. Oct 11- Improved a lot since May 4th after my crash. Withdrawal symptoms still left- DR/DP, emotional anasthesia, akathesia, tingling in head, feeling like my body and face disappears, messed up sound interpretation, perception and difficulty reading social and emotional cues during DR/DP, apathy, inability to tell if I am in dream or reality, disturbed sleep. Started having few windows Link to comment
ladybug Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Hi Matt! Good to see you. Wow, you are almost there huh? And after over 17 years, that's amazing! I've been on almost 17 years myself and it's always nice to see a long-termer do a successful taper. Gives me hope. a.k.a JMarie Paxil since Mar.1998 2006-2007:40-20mg 2009: 20mg to 14mg 2010: 14mg to 10.5mg 2011: 10.5 to 7.6mg 2012: 7.5 to 6.8mg 2013: 6.7-6.3mg 2014: 6.2mg-5.8mg 2015: 5.7 to 5.15mg 2016: 5.1-4.6mg 1/19/17: 4.5mg 3/17/17: 4.4mg 6/15/17: 4.35mg 8/10/17: 4.3mg 1/29/18: 4.1mg 5/07/18: 4.0mg 7/31/18: 3.9mg Link to comment
mattage Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Hi Matt! Good to see you. Wow, you are almost there huh? And after over 17 years, that's amazing! I've been on almost 17 years myself and it's always nice to see a long-termer do a successful taper. Gives me hope. Hi Ladybug! - yeh, nearly done but it feels like it's going really sslllllooooowwwwwlllllllyyyyy . I have to keep reminding myself that this should me my last year on drugs. Hi Geminigirl! CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Junior Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Helllooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Great to see you here Personal history of GAD and 4 melancholic depressive episodes - two treated with Amityptline Family history of Bipolar Disorder - goes back at least 3 generations Adult son with autism, ADHD, intellectual disability and Bipolar II Put on Aropax / Paxil in July 1997 for anther episode. Decision to stay on it - worst decision of my life. Began to poop out in late 2008. Switched to Lexapro March 2009. Made me suicidal. Tried Cymbalta for 19 days. Horrible w/d. Found PP and RI'd Aropax at about the same time - August 2009. Began slow taper in 2010. Crashed in 13-11mg range in mid 2013. Switched to Citalopram 21 Oct 2013 in an attempt to stabilise. There are things that are known, and things that are unknown; in between are doors - Anonymous https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/longing-for-life/id958423649 My book about my unsuccessful journey through IVF Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted December 19, 2014 Administrator Share Posted December 19, 2014 See Micro-taper instead of 10% or 5% decreases 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
Junior Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I heard from Steeley this morning. She asked me to give you her best. She was not aware of this site. I'm hoping she will join us soon Personal history of GAD and 4 melancholic depressive episodes - two treated with Amityptline Family history of Bipolar Disorder - goes back at least 3 generations Adult son with autism, ADHD, intellectual disability and Bipolar II Put on Aropax / Paxil in July 1997 for anther episode. Decision to stay on it - worst decision of my life. Began to poop out in late 2008. Switched to Lexapro March 2009. Made me suicidal. Tried Cymbalta for 19 days. Horrible w/d. Found PP and RI'd Aropax at about the same time - August 2009. Began slow taper in 2010. Crashed in 13-11mg range in mid 2013. Switched to Citalopram 21 Oct 2013 in an attempt to stabilise. There are things that are known, and things that are unknown; in between are doors - Anonymous https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/longing-for-life/id958423649 My book about my unsuccessful journey through IVF Link to comment
mattage Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 I heard from Steeley this morning. She asked me to give you her best. She was not aware of this site. I'm hoping she will join us soon Hi Junior!That's good news about Steeley. Hope she comes along. CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Petunia Posted December 23, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 23, 2014 Hi Mattage, Welcome to SA, I'm glad you joined us. There is a new topic just started in tapering you may be interested in: Tapering down to zero: Achilles and the tortoise 10% rule I'm not a doctor. My comments are not medical advise. These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I've learned. Please discuss your situation with a medical practitioner who has knowledge of tapering and withdrawal...if you are lucky enough to find one. My Introduction Thread Full Drug and Withdrawal History Brief Summary Several SSRIs for 13 years starting 1997 (for mild to moderate partly situational anxiety) Xanax PRN ~ Various other drugs over the years for side effects 2 month 'taper' off Lexapro 2010 Short acute withdrawal, followed by 2 -3 months of improvement then delayed protracted withdrawal DX ADHD followed by several years of stimulants and other drugs trying to manage increasing symptoms Failed reinstatement of Lexapro and trial of Prozac (became suicidal) May 2013 Found SA, learned about withdrawal, stopped taking drugs...healing begins. Protracted withdrawal, with a very sensitized nervous system, slowly recovering as time passes Supplements which have helped: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Taurine Bad reactions: Many supplements but mostly fish oil and Vitamin D June 2016 - Started daily juicing, mostly vegetables and lots of greens. Aug 2016 - Oct 2016 Best window ever, felt almost completely recovered Oct 2016 -Symptoms returned - bad days and less bad days. April 2018 - No windows, but significant improvement, it feels like permanent full recovery is close. VIDEO: Where did the chemical imbalance theory come from? VIDEO: How are psychiatric diagnoses made? VIDEO: Why do psychiatric drugs have withdrawal syndromes? VIDEO: Can psychiatric drugs cause long-lasting negative effects? VIDEO: Dr. Claire Weekes Link to comment
mattage Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Thought I should post an update, so that people don't think that I have recovered, am now living the life of Riley on some sun-kissed Utopian shore, and can't be arsed to let anybody know! errr...where was I????? Ahh, yes, the tapering dilemma.... I decided in the end (or rather my body pointed out in strict, non-negotiable terms - by shaking, aching and basically being a complete lemon ) that I needed to continue tapering at the same rate (10% or 0.1mg), despite my low dose. My 'progress' (snigger) has been so: Christmas hols: miserable symptom-wise, really struggled to get out at all and had a very low mood (that's also probs why I haven't been on here much). Feb: have made it below 1mg (now at 0.9mg) and it appears that my mood is starting to slowly (almost imperceptibly) brighten. I am still really struggling after each drop ( mad muscle pain, twitching, insomnia ect.) but there is definitely some room for cautious optimism (the worse symptoms go after 2-3 weeks). I am still incredibly peed off about how long this is all taking but no-one listens to that, so I keep it under my hat (what if the hat blows off??? - not worth considering!). One final note: I have started doing CBT for the OCD type intrusive thoughts that I have been experiencing and it does seems to be doing me some good ( it allows me to look at things through a different lense). Best of luck to all x Ps - some of the above words will appear in Italics because I have been messing about with the Italics font-jobby-thing-button-icon CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
mattage Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Someone has removed my brains and replaced them with scrambled eggs! I don't even like scrambled eggs. Even on toast!!!! ........grrr...... CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Petunia Posted March 4, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thanks for updating Matt, I'm sorry to hear that nasty symptoms took the fun out of your Christmas but you seem to be feeling a bit better now, so that's good. Congratulations on dropping below 1mg, you have jumped the point and are now in the home stretch, I wish we had the clapping hands smiley here. I'm happy the CBT is helping, I did some of that a few years ago and found it life changing in some ways. Have you seen our symptoms and self care section, you may find some useful ideas to help manage symptoms as you recover. Especially read the topics pinned at the top. When you get a chance, please would you update your signature. It would also help if you added what drug you are tapering off I'm not a doctor. My comments are not medical advise. These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I've learned. Please discuss your situation with a medical practitioner who has knowledge of tapering and withdrawal...if you are lucky enough to find one. My Introduction Thread Full Drug and Withdrawal History Brief Summary Several SSRIs for 13 years starting 1997 (for mild to moderate partly situational anxiety) Xanax PRN ~ Various other drugs over the years for side effects 2 month 'taper' off Lexapro 2010 Short acute withdrawal, followed by 2 -3 months of improvement then delayed protracted withdrawal DX ADHD followed by several years of stimulants and other drugs trying to manage increasing symptoms Failed reinstatement of Lexapro and trial of Prozac (became suicidal) May 2013 Found SA, learned about withdrawal, stopped taking drugs...healing begins. Protracted withdrawal, with a very sensitized nervous system, slowly recovering as time passes Supplements which have helped: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Taurine Bad reactions: Many supplements but mostly fish oil and Vitamin D June 2016 - Started daily juicing, mostly vegetables and lots of greens. Aug 2016 - Oct 2016 Best window ever, felt almost completely recovered Oct 2016 -Symptoms returned - bad days and less bad days. April 2018 - No windows, but significant improvement, it feels like permanent full recovery is close. VIDEO: Where did the chemical imbalance theory come from? VIDEO: How are psychiatric diagnoses made? VIDEO: Why do psychiatric drugs have withdrawal syndromes? VIDEO: Can psychiatric drugs cause long-lasting negative effects? VIDEO: Dr. Claire Weekes Link to comment
mattage Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thanks Petunia! I have updated my signature. Yeh, I have identified some unhealthy thinking patterns via CBT (intrusive, pure-o ocd type stuff) and have some techniques to negate them. Putting them into practice is easier said than done but I'm giving it my best shot. CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
DLB Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Hey Matt good job on being below 1 mg. I am scrambled eggs now too! My body feels like jelly and getting no sleep again. Paxil start September 2003 due to Fluoroquinolone adverse reaction that I wish doc. knew what it was. 10mg. most of the time with a few short runs of 20mg. FAST tapered 3 times and finally hit poop out or a reaction to nsaid's in Nov.2013. Started a 10% taper Jan. 2014 and have been ok until Sept 14 and went through a short hell. Now plodding through and looking for the light with unrelenting insomnia and pain, fog, loss of interests....<p>12/20/14 - .8mg. 1/01/15 - .75 mg. 1/15/15 - .42 mg. better sleep now, hope it continues... 2/11-15 - .25 mg. doing really good!! 2 weeks feel 85% of old me! 3/17/15 .14 mg. Knee pain bad! 4/07/15 .05 mg. this is so small now that I am estimating and just licking it off palm small as a "." 4/13/15 NOTHING !!!! Took my last little micro dose on 4/12/15. Link to comment
mattage Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Hi all. I've not posted here for a while. I guess it's time for an update. Well, I finally made it to zero on 26th July. I tapered a bit faster than recommended over the last milligram (tapering every 2 1/2 weeks, rather than every 3-4, and tapering by 0.1 mgs each time, rather than by 10%). I have struggled all the way down to zero with the following symptoms: severe brain fog, depression, chronic insomnia, muscle shakes (the jellies), head noise, some sexual dysfunction, horrible intrusive thoughts, fatigue and extreme dizziness. They still don't seem to have been as bad as those for CTers though. Things are worst in the morning and tend to alleviate as the day progresses. I would say my worst symptoms are the DP, DR and intrusive thoughts. When my mood is so flat for so long it becomes difficult to imagine having a 'normal' life. I have had windows of better feelings and try to remember them when feeling crappy. Anyway, I will try to post every month or so to show how things are going post-taper. I'm hoping that now there are no longer any drops left, my body can start to stabilize. My worst fear is that, after all this effort, I will deteriorate to the point where I will need to reinstate. Good luck to all those trying to get off the poison! Matt CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted August 2, 2015 Moderator Share Posted August 2, 2015 Hey Matt-- congratulations on hitting the big "0". I hope it's smooth sailing from here on. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
mattage Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Thanks Brass! It's been a real struggle. Glad I tapered all the way down. Hope things are good for you and that you have a smooth run to '0'! CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted August 2, 2015 Administrator Share Posted August 2, 2015 Good to hear from you, Matt. Please do keep in touch. 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
mattage Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Thanks Alto. I'll try my best to keep posting every now and then! CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
mattage Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 It feels as if someone has dropped a bag of spanners on my head from a second storey window. CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted August 5, 2015 Administrator Share Posted August 5, 2015 You may wish to go back to 0.2mg paroxetine and stabilize. It sounds to me like you pushed your taper too fast. 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
caperjackie Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hi Mattage and congratulations on getting off!! This is a huge accomplishment! You are finally free from this foul poison! Well done ...... Link to comment
aberdeen Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Matt!! Congratulations!! I hope things settle soon for you. What a long haul. 2 Timothy 1-7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Effexor 75mg to 262.5mg 2005-2010 for post partum depression Started having poop out mid 2010, also switched generic brands, then crashed in Dec 2010 (anxiety/ "terror", intense DR, anhedonia, suicidal ideation, chills, insomnia, horrible intrusive thoughts, disorientation, ect)Rapid "tapered" from 262.5mg Effexor in 3 months Tried Celexa,Cipralex, then Paxil to deal with wd(this switching made things worse and added akathesia) Found online support and started tapering Paxil 7 months after quitting Effexor (at this point was having small windows). Paxil taper: dropped 10% every 4-8 weeks Year 1 October 2011 to Nov 2012 20mg to 10mg Year 2 March 2013 to Feb 2014 10mg to 4mg Year 3 April 2014 to May 2015 4mg to 1.1mg Year 4 June 2015 1.1mg , dropping by 10% until .5mg, after then dropped by 0.1mg every 5 weeks until 0.1mg. Finished! Official last dose of 0.1mg on June 15/16 Link to comment
mattage Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hello everyone! Alto - thanks for your advice, I did consider following it but decided to stay where I am. My taper info is a bit wrong. It looks like I did a double drop from 0.2mg to zero but that wasn't the case. I lost that extra 0.1 over the course of tapering the last 1mg - I just accounted for it in my signature in the last drop (I had to register it at some point). Also, I have been feeling rubbish for 5/6 months (my taper has never been smooth but it's been much rougher below 1mg) - I don't feel that much worse now, it's just that I've started to document it more (hence the bag of spanners comment above). Caper and Aberdeen, thanks for the congrats! It's been a loonnggg two years but hopefully my brain can now start to get back into some sort of balance. Update - I am now two weeks free of the drug and things are slightly worse but pretty much as they were (which isn't pleasant but at least I have been through it before). I am expecting a storm over the next few days as the 2-3 week post-drop period has always been the worst for me (awful jitters, DR, depression, head noise, aches ect). After that point I will be into new territory. CT at 10mg. After 3 months RI at 5mg. Taper at 10% per month down to 1mg. Taper the last milligram a little too quickly. After ceasing meds, hit WD. Currently 2 months 3 weeks drug free. Hit protracted withdrawal 3.5 months after coming off Paxil (after 17 years use). I tried to reinstate just 0.5mg of Paxil but my body would no longer accept it. Tried a number of different drugs during a hospital spell. I eventually found one that eased my symptoms a bit. Currently, 10 months (15/05/16) off Paxil in the middle of a bad wave. I'm taking 150mg Clomipramine. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted August 10, 2015 Administrator Share Posted August 10, 2015 Many people do better with fish oil and magnesium supplements, seehttp://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1300-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/ 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
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