RayMoney50: Ray's Paxil Taper

[RayMoney50]

Hello all,

 

I came across this site after discovering paxilprogress shut down, and decided to introduce myself.  I was prescribed 40 mg of Paxil in August of 2009 for a very severe panic attack I experienced, which consequently led to general anxiety, and some agoraphobia.  The meds helped quite a bit for a few years, but I noticed about a year and a half ago that they were no longer as effective.  Rather than increasing my dose, I made the decision to begin tapering off the Paxil.  I got my prescription changed to the liquid form, and began 5-10% drops every 6 weeks beginning Feb. 2014.  The road has had its bumps along the way, but I feel much better about the process because of sites like this.

[RayMoney50]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to this site, and not sure if this is the right forum, but here it goes.  I've been doing a fairly slow taper off Paxil (5-10% drops every 6 weeks), and have always been able to stabilize and find some sustained relief.  However, I'm 6 weeks into my current drop, and don't feel much better off than when I first dropped...random bouts of anxiety, and brief panic attacks.  So, I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has had dosage drops where they felt kind of crappy the whole time, with the anxiety/panic creeping back up.  And if so, would you recommend I continue on with my next drop, or wait it out to see if I get some relief?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Lookingforhope55]

Hi Ray. You found a great site. Lots of support and information. I come here every just to check on people I don't even know. Good luck

[bruno2016]

dont worry, you will level out. If you arent already doing so, really focus on living a healthy lifestyle and resting when need be. 

[Addax]

Hi Ray. Welcome to SA. It sounds like you know what you're doing and that overall things are going well. I saw your other post. Generally you want to use your introduction thread as your ongoing journal where you will post updates and all things relevant to you and your withdrawal. My guess is a moderator will move your other post to this thread. It will also make it easier for you to keep track of your progress and responses.

 

I'll respond to your other post here.

 

Some people, myself included, become more sensitive to drop the lower in dose you go s what your experiencing doesn't sound unusual at all. A moderator will be along shortly to give you more guidance, but from what I've learned by being on this site and my experience I would recommend you hold at your current dose longer until you've stabilized more.

 

Again, welcome!

[dalsaan]

 My guess is a moderator will move your other post to this thread. It will also make it easier for you to keep track of your progress and responses.

 

 

 

You must be psychic Addax.

 

Welcome Ray,

 

Many of us struggle as we get lower down or further along in our taper.  This thread provides a scientific explanation as to why - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6036-why-taper-paper-demonstrates-importance-of-gradual-change-in-plasma-concentration/

 

I agree with Addax, a longer hold might be in order.  Your body might be saying I'm a bit over this (aren't we all!)

 

Out of curiousity was your last drop a 5% or a 10%?   and how much do you move between these two?   Our nervous systems like stability

 

Dalsaan

[RayMoney50]

Thanks for the welcome and advice everyone. I did 10% drops down to 22 mg, and since then they've been 5% drops.

[Rhiannon]

I find that periodically I need longer holds, and this seems to be a fairly common phenomenon. I suspect that some kinds of healing happen faster and other kinds take a bit longer, and sometimes our tapering can get ahead of our ability to do some of the healing that takes longer.

 

I also find that when I do a longer hold like that, even if it means holding for a few months, so far I always come out of them feeling really good, at a new higher baseline.

 

Of course I'm not you, but from my experience it sounds like a longer hold might be what your body is asking you for, and it will probably do no harm and might be quite beneficial.

[RayMoney50]

I haven't posted in a couple weeks, so I thought I'd give a brief update. I ended up dropping my dose by 5% yesterday, putting me down to 18.4mg (was at my last dose for 2 months). I really debated staying put for another month or two, but felt I was about as stable as I was going to get. I believe I was beginning poopout before I started my taper, and have found it hard to tell if a longer hold will help, or just make things worse. It's only been 2 days, but so far just some mild anxiety and irritability to report on.

 

In other news, work has been much more stressful the last couple of weeks. I was recently promoted, and have to be in an hour earlier every day, but I don't adjust well to change. On top of that, my shift just got a new supervisor and he's fairly clueless...which adds to my stress, and further messes with my routine. The stress of work made me really hesitant to drop, but I felt it would be ok being on my last dose for so long.

 

Well, I believe that's all. Now it's just praying that this drop in dose comes with more windows than the last!

[Petunia]

Thanks for updating RayMoney, it sounds like you are doing ok, taking a conservative approach as the dose gets lower is always a good idea, I believe that when it comes to safely getting off these drugs, one can never go too slowly.  Unless you are getting bad side effects or adverse reactions from the drug, then a longer hold isn't going to make things worse, it will help to reduce withdrawal symptoms by giving your nervous system a longer time in which to 'catch up' with the cut.

 

I hope work stress eases up soon.

[RayMoney50]

Hi all,

 

My latest drop has been going much better than the last.  The reason for this post however, is to get some feedback from the community.  Yesterday I had a dentist appointment to put in a filling.  A local anaesthetic was used, and I handled the procedure better than expected.  However, when I got home I began to experience an increase in anxiety/panic, and was restless to the point of not being able to focus or concentrate on one task for very long.  I started to mellow out once the anaesthesia wore off, and felt fairly decent by night's end.  Now this morning I find myself more hypersensitive to things.  I've been a chewing tobacco user for quite a while, and always follow up breakfast with a dip and glass of pop (with no ill effects).  But this morning after partaking in my normal routine, my heart began racing even at rest (96+ bpm), and I still feel just a bit off.  I was wondering if this could have anything to do with the anaesthesia that was used yesterday?  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Pugknows]

My BPM stays over 120 most of the time. 96bpm would be calm for me. Hang in there, Ray.

[Altostrata]

People whose nervous systems have been sensitized by withdrawal may have odd reactions to any neuroactive drug.

 

Please be patient, your nervous system will settle down again. You may wish to postpone further tapering until it does.

 

Please see our discussions about anesthesia in the Symptoms and Self-Care forum.