Cheeky: on Paxil for 23 years needing advice

[Cheeky]

Hey everyone,

I need a little advice at the moment. Four weeks ago I went to get my prescription put in and the pharmacist didn't have the generic Paxil brand I've been talking for years , she offered me another

Generic brand but I refused and asked for the original brand. I know not to change things around but I had no chose.

Before my failed attempts of comeing off this , I use to use any brand and not have a problem, now I can't seem to make any change.

Is this common ?

[ChessieCat]

Here are the links to 2 topics:

 

generic-vs-brand-versions-of-antidepressants

 

change-of-the-manufacturer

 

Any changes we make has a cumulative effect (increasing/decreasing dose, change from tablet to liquid, change of brand) on our CNS and something that we were able to do previously may cause an issue now.

 

When making a change it is better, if possible, to do a switch over by gradually changing the ratio of the old with the new.

[snostorm]

I have been very sensitive to changes in generics. Especially at low doses. I'm a strong believer in the case of Paxil this is an issue. Told by doctors and pharmacists it isn't an issue of course.

[Cheeky]

Hi everyone,

I have recently changed doctor to a intergrative doctor , who supports me coming off these drugs.

He has adised me to get my Pyrroles , Copper toxicity and Methylatian tested. I'm wondering if this is a good thing to to to get my body in optimun health before I start tappering again.

Has anybody had this done or know a little more about it, Thanks.

 

( sorry for the spelling mistakes )

[ChessieCat]

Here are a couple of SA topics:

 

the-importance-of-mthfr-methylation-and-b-vitamins

 

anyone-taking-copper   (post #9 has some information on copper toxicity)

 

To search the site I use google and type in survivingantidepressants.org + topic. In this instance I typed in survivingantidepressants.org methylation (and copper for the second search).

[Cheeky]

Thanks ChessieCat for all you help , I really appreciate your knowledge

[scallywag]

Here is SA's topic about pyrroles and pyroluria: The pyroluria fallacy.

[Cheeky]

reading through all this post [Taking multiple psych drugs? Which to taper first?] has been useful but in a situation like myself , 20 years on  Paxil and 2 years on Seraquel ,that was give to me when a doctor CT me off Paxil, which one do I tapper first.
I know the Paxil isn't working anymore so should I tapper that first at least i'm getting support from he Seraquel. so confused

Edited March 6, 2017 by scallywag
moved from topic: Taking multiple psych drugs

[scallywag]

Cheeky,

 

What are your current doses of Paxil and Seroquel? How long have you been holding at those doses?

 

What are your symptoms? Please keep notes on paper of your symptoms and the times of your dose(s). This post has a useful format for a daily log:

Take notes of doses and symptoms.

[Cheeky]

Hey scallywag, I'm on 40mg Paxil and 43.75mg Seraquel and I just won't to do this properly and start tapering again. I take the Paxil in the morning and Seraquel at night . I just feel tired all the time and I still get occasionally anixious. I think I should try to tapper the Paxil first as that will be harder and when I get down lower do a small cut to Seraquel

[scallywag]

How long have you been taking 43.75 mg Seroquel? Since November 2016?

 

How are you making the Seroquel doses -- weighing with a scale, making a liquid?

[Cheeky]

yes I have been on the Seroquel 43.75mg since November and have been  cutting the pills into quaters.

[scallywag]

What is the dose of the tablet you use to get a 43.75 mg dose?

 

The reason I'm asking is that you may want to get your seroquel dose to an amount that's easy to measure because you could be taking it for a long time while you taper Paxil.

[Cheeky]

The dose of the Seroquel tablet is 25mg, so I have 1 tablet

and a 3/4 of one.

[scallywag]

It might make sense to reduce Seroquel to 1 and 1/2 tablets, 37.5 mg, before starting your Paxil taper. It's easier to get a consistent dose with half-tablets than with quarter tablets.

[Cheeky]

Okay thanks scallywag, so get to 1 and 1/2 tablets and then start my Paxil tapper.

I just ordered the scale from amazon because when i try to dilute the Paxil in water it leaves particles floating and I want to try and get it as  accurate as I can. The seroquel dissolves easily in water.

[Cheeky]

Hey everyone,

I'm needing some advice on what to do in my situation. Since my last failed attempt in October , I feel that I"m slowly declining in my mental health . i have since then changed my  fish oil  and magnesium supplement brand I've been taking, so I'm not sure if that plays a role in how i've been feeling, this was 3 weeks ago I changed. I'm just wondering if  I have  hit tolerance after all these years on Paxil. I have been under a lot of stress in the last 6 months, working and being a mum is very hard on me and we are losing our business so that brings financial problems. 

what am I suppose to do if this is happening ?  I really feel this drug is causing more harm then good. I have to function as a parent and just not sure what to do next .........

Help Please

[brassmonkey]

Back in 2014, do you remember why you increased from 20 to 50mg of paxil and how fast did you taper up?

 

With you're having been on it for so long I would be pretty sure that you're slipping into tolerance.  This leaves three options 1) do nothing and slip further into tolerance, 2) take a bigger dose which will slow down the process for a few months and then slip further into tolerance or 3) start to carefully taper which will convince your body it doesn't need as much of the drug and you will slowly start to function better with the lower doses.

 

" I really feel this drug is causing more harm then good."  This is the tell tale statement that indicates that it's time to take the plunge and start to taper.

[Cheeky]

I slowly increased my dose from  20mg to the current  40mg over the whole time I've  been on it. 

I did at the end of January change brand and the brand of my supplements, would that  make a difference ?

I did drop 0,5ml this morning and will stay on that for the next month. What would you suggest I'm just so scared and don't know what to do, what should I tell my husband

I have two boys to look after this is so unfair.

The last week  i've been feeling like an emotional rollar coaster and it feels more like withdrwal symptoms, tingling on the arms ears have popped crying spells , dizzy , finding it hard to get my sentences out and hot flushes.

[Cheeky]

I'm really upset now, I just spoke to my sister and told her how i was feeling and she said up the dose. I don't want to do that. I keep telling her that there is nothing to fix this but taper off the drug and she still believes that if I see a doctor they will be able to help. I just need support from them and that's it. I really don't know what to do.............

[Cheeky]

Can someone please give me some advice

[brassmonkey]

Hi Cheeky-- In your heart you know what needs to be done.  Now you need to call up the strength to do it.  When it comes down to it, you probably know more about getting off of these drugs than most doctors. From your reading here you know what sort of advise you're going to get from them. Your sister more than likely knows even less than the doctors, all she wants is to have you back an healthy.

 

Is there a chance that you could get sis to read through this site?  If she becomes more informed maybe she will understand better. What we go through really is beyond comprehension for most people.  Which is one reason many of us end up going through it with very little outside support.  For many the support they get here at SA is all they've got.  It's a sad situation, but happens all too often.

 

Trust in yourself, your knowledge and your inner strength and you'll be fine.

 

(((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))

 

Brass

[Cheeky]

Thanks Brassmonkey, I'm just really worried as you can imagine being a mum to two kids that needs to work full time. I have just done my first drop from 40mg to 39.5mg and will stay there for 4 weeks and see how I go. Do you think this is a good idea ?

[ChessieCat]

Hi Cheeky,

 

You've been sensible and only made a very small drop of 1.25%.  Listen to your body, not the calendar.  If you get any symptoms notice them, say to yourself I know what it is, it's a withdrawal symptom because my brain is adapting to getting less of the drug, and then try to distract yourself, instead of worrying about it and causing yourself stress and anxiety.

[Cheeky]

Thanks everyone, Im just going to go really slow. I have been under alot of stress and have gotten my monthlies , som I think that has made me emotional. I just pray I can do this and function at the same time

[Cheeky]

Today I've noticed that I'm okay for some time then I get anxious, I feel as if my ears are blocked and they need to pop, I have no appetite, tingling in my arms , little pains in my head and tired. It feels like I'm in withdrawal but I haven't done anything different except Chang the brand of my Paxil and supplements . Is this normal

[ChessieCat]

There are a couple of discussions on SA:

 

Generic vs Brand

 

Change of Manufacturer

[ladybug]

Sorry for the delay in response, Cheeky. I agree with the others, especially with Brassmonkey who says you know in your heart what you need to do. My only reservation is that you've gone all they way up again in dose when WD has gotten bad. I can tell you that I've been trying to get off Paxil for almost as long as I've been on and for several years I went up and down in dose as I would try to taper and then WD would hit and I'd panic and go all the way back up. But at a certain point I got sick of it and told myself that unless things got unbearable I would hold instead of updose and would keep on track. I knew that if I kept panicking when things got bad I would never get off and so far it has worked as I've only had to updose once and it was a very small one.

 

I understand you have responsibilities you have to attend to and be functional for and that why you have to ask yourself what you are willing to endure to attain your goal of being drug free. It's likely the hardest thing any of us will have to go through but the reward is so worth it. Read the success stories and believe that you can be one too.

 

As for the change in brand it absolutely can wreak havoc and I speak from experience. That's why I have been on the brand name for several years now as that way I don't have to worry about pharmacies switching manufacturers. It's crazy expensive at 6 dollars a pill but my stability is worth it. This is why I would recommend always staying with the same manufacturer if possible. If your pharmacy has switched you can call to other pharmacies and ask what manufacturer they use or you might even be able to get your pharmacy to special order for you. Hope this helps!

[Cheeky]

Thankyou ladybug , I appreciate your advice. I'm doing great today only once slight ringing in ears and that has stopped. I knew in my heart that the change of brands of my paxil and supplements was the wrong thing to do. I know from previous tappers that I feel it around 6 weeks after. I had some really bad few days and I went into complete panic mode and thought the worst. This is going to be a long journey. I have just recently went down 0.5ml, I hope that is okay,

[SkyBlue]

Back in 2014, do you remember why you increased from 20 to 50mg of paxil and how fast did you taper up?

 

With you're having been on it for so long I would be pretty sure that you're slipping into tolerance.  This leaves three options 1) do nothing and slip further into tolerance, 2) take a bigger dose which will slow down the process for a few months and then slip further into tolerance or 3) start to carefully taper which will convince your body it doesn't need as much of the drug and you will slowly start to function better with the lower doses.

 

" I really feel this drug is causing more harm then good."  This is the tell tale statement that indicates that it's time to take the plunge and start to taper.

 

 

Hi Cheeky, I'm subscribing to your thread so we can keep in touch with our similar stories. : ) 

 

I was hoping Brassmonkey would chime in on tolerance, and I see that he did, so I just wanted to basically ditto everything he said! I could have written that exact statement myself, "I really feel this drug is causing more harm than good." I was in that exact place and am so glad I decided to come off of it. Although withdrawal has been up and down, I am so much better off making this journey. 

 

I wanted to chime in that definitely it seems that changing manufacturers can really alter people's experiences. Try to be as gentle on yourself as you can. < 3 

[Cheeky]

Hey everyone, I thought I would give an update to how I am. After having a bad week I am now feeling normal and well. I believe that ever since I changed Brand name of my Paxil and supplements , I have slowly felt the effects build up and that made me feel not the best . 

 

Its been two weeks that I went down 0.5mg from 40mg to 39.5mg, every okay at the moment and will stay there for another two weeks.

[snostorm]

Wonderful Cheeky.  Brand name change for Paxil certainly has effected me in the past.  Hoping for Healing for you.

 

best regards

[SkyBlue]

Glad to know you are doing okay, Cheeky! That's good news. <3 

[Cheeky]

Thankyou guy xx

[Cheeky]

Hey Everyone,

I only really ever come on here when I'm not feeling the best as I try to ignore reading things that distress me, as it can make me worried and feel afraid of these terrible drugs that has the harmed so many people.

Its been 7 weeks since I did my last drop of Paxil 0.5mg, it doesn't seem alot to people but to me I really feel it ,as My CNS is very sensitized from CT 3 years ago.

Recently I've had a very stressful life changing time, I have been brought to court by an employer I sponsored and basically have lost my all my money and have to see the house that I love, on top off that my bussiness has to move and I have to be out of my house at the same time. Im really struggling and finding hard to stay strong for my kids. I would just appreciate any words of wisdom to help me get through this.

I don't think I should drop another 0.5mg  until I have settled this . Advice please xx

[ChessieCat]

I'm sorry to hear that things are so tough for you at this time.  It is really hard when life throws a lot at you in one go.

 

I would agree that you should continuing holding.  It might even be worth holding for a least 1 month or even 2-3 after things are finalised because when we have major life changes we do grieve.

 

I have found that understanding the grief process has helped me to give myself permission to feel the feelings and accept that they are normal.  If we bottle them up they only return later on down the track and sometimes at the most unexpected, and sometimes inconvenient, time.  If this happens you may not realise that the past event/s caused it and it can get very confusing and distressing.

 

Something that my daughter suggested when my dog died 1 year ago was to check in with myself throughout the day to see how I was feeling.  I set a beeper for 1 hour and this reminded me to check in and not let things build up without noticing it.  Since then I have used this technique (without the beeper) on quite a few occasions and it works for me.