Ralft Is it too late?

[Ralft]

I would truly love to feel 'natural' again! I have been on 20mg Paroxetine daily for 29 years! There have been undoubted benefits; I am a nicer, kinder, less aggressive person than I was. I have less mood swings, am more empathic, show love more readily. But I have all of the negatives as well. Weight gain is a constant battle. Headaches. Dizziness. High cholesterol. Low libido. Worst of all is not knowing who I really am! What is my 'real' personality? Am I a chemical robot?

Well, I have tried, disastrously, to withdraw. I want to be free. But I am scared! I am 76 years old now and just don't know if it's worth the risk of messing about with whatever time I have!

[Fresh]

Hi  Ralft , welcome to the site.     You'll get loads of support , information and advice here , on everything antidepressant-related.

 

You might try reading some threads in the Tapering section to start with , including "Why Taper by 10%".  

Also  "What is Withdrawal"  in the Symptoms and Self care section.

 

It IS possible to withdraw safely even after this many years.   Arm yourself with information so that you can make good decisions.

 

Good to have you on board ,  Fresh

[Hudgens]

People have difficulty tapering from antidepressants after only a few days of beginning to take them. That means that whatever changes occur to the nervous system happens right away and stays that way for however long they're on the drug. So I don't think it really matters how long someone's been on an antidepressant as to how difficult it will be to get off of it. Still, it's a long process when done the right way, and requires going through some suffering pretty much all along the way, both during the tapering and after. When done the right way, however, the suffering is for the most part quite manageable. So you have to consider this.

That you've gone 29 years with no real problems (side effects) might mean you're not going to have any problems like poop out if you decide to just stay on your antidepressant.

If, however, you decide to taper from your antidepressant, and there have been changes to your personality-something very common with anti-depressants, by the way) you will begin to notice as your pre antidepressant personality reemerging during tapering. I started to see this when I'd reached about a half dose during my tapering. So to see  if your antidepressant has changed your personality you'll have to go through the tapering and post taper. The whole process so far has taken me through a 4 year taper and 5 months post taper My original personality is back for a while now and I look back on the horrible person I was during the almost 20 years I was on antidepressants, and so am very glad I got off of them. My old personality is very far from perfect, but it's really me, not someone the drugs created and controlled. It doesn't sound as though your personality was changed for the worse as much as mine was.

 

Now you're going to have to decide for yourself if you want to do this. It's a long haul and some suffering (noone, no matter how careful gets through this without some suffering) but it definitely can be done. I'd just want you to know some of the realities or at least real possibilities entailed in getting off of an antidepressant, so you can go into the whole process, if that's what you decide, with your eyes open as much as possible. Also, being older shouldn't matter if you're in good health, I'm 57 and seem to have had the same problems other much younger people have had on this site, in other words I faired no better or worse. Regardless of what you decide, best of luck!    

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Ralft.

 

It does sound like you are suffering from adverse drug effects.

 

It is true, at your age you may not want to risk rocking the neurological boat by changing your Paxil dosage. However, it could be a drug interaction is causing them.

 

Please put ALL the drugs you take in the Drug Interactions Checker http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html and post the results in this topic.

 

If it is the Paxil, you may wish to consider a very, very small reduction to at least reduce the adverse effects. See Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine)

[peggy]

Alto gives very good advice above - check any drug interactions!

 

Also, check that there is no other health issue causing your symptoms.

 

If you decide to go the 10% taper route, you will find very good support here - i would also recommend seeing if you can find a compounding chemist to make you medication up in the 10% decrements - i know many much younger members find it hard to deal with cutting and weighing pills...

[Ralft]

Thank you so much for your advice. The only other med I take regularly is Omeprazole, and the interaction checker did not highlight any reaction problems. I am thinking of trying the 10% taper route. I like the idea of a consistent percentage rather than a fixed amount, since this automatically slows up the withdrawal in the latter stages.

[Fresh]

Hey Ralft  ,     to be on the safe side you may want to decrease by just 5% and see how you go.  

 

There are instructions for how to get 18 or 19mg from a 20mg tablet in "Tips for Tapering off Paxil"  in the Tapering section (see Using Electronic Digital Scales ,

and   How to Make a Liquid for Tapering).

 

It's alot cheaper than having capsules compounded for you , if you have the patience.

[mammaP]

Hi Ralft, welcome from me too. 29 years is a very long time on a drug and you will feel amazing when it is gone! It will take time but take it slowly and you could feel better as the doses get lower, you don't have to wait until it is gone to feel the benefit of tapering. 

 

I was  on omeprazole, because of the side effects of effexor. When I got to lower doses of effexor I tapered the omeprazole and found that it had side effects too. One of those side effects is that vit B12 is not absorbed because it needs stomach acid for absorption. And lack of B12 can cause depression!

 

Here is a topic on the 3 KIS, Keep it Simple, Keep it Slow, Keep it Stable. 

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6632-the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable/

[Pugknows]

Just wanted to say Welcome, Ralft! Lots of support and love on this forum. We're all here for you. Hugs from Pug.

 

PS - It's NEVER TOO LATE.