GiantsWSC Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 22 hours ago, ChessieCat said: Congratulations and thank you for coming back to update your situation. I would advise caution about not overdoing things for quite a while. BrassMonkey has been off for 9 months now I think and he has found that things haven't returned to completely normal yet but there have been improvements during that time. Hi Chessie, Thank you and yes I totally agree! I will be taking things in stride and will be prepared for whatever comes my way. Since I've gone through the ups and downs of all the waves I hope it prepares me in case things get a bit unstable. Again, thank you!! Taken paxil for over 15 years probably closer to 20. Tapering since Oct 2013 from 10mg Gemini 20 scale thanks to BrassMonkey! Oct 6, 2013 9.2 mg Nov 27 8.6mg Feb 2 2014 7.8mg March 16 7.4mg March 30 7.0mg May 18 6.2mg July 6 5.8mg Sept 7 5.4 Oct 19 4.8 Dec 14 4.6 Feb 8th 2015 4.2mg Mar 22 3.8mg May 10 3.4mg July 19 3.2mg Sept 6 2.8mg Nov 8 2.5 mg Dec 27 2.3 Feb 14 2016 2.0 Mar 19 updosed to 2.5mg May 4 2.4 June 12 2.2mg July 31 2.0 Sept 11 1.7mg Nov 13 1.5mg Jan 22 2017 1.3mg Mar 19 1.0mg April 20 0.8 June 0.7 Aug 0.6 Sept 0.5 Oct 0.4 Nov 0.3 Dec too low to weigh so I'm eyeballing it the rest of the way!! 2018 Feb 10 finally stopped !!!!! Keeping fingers crossed!!!!!! Its' 2022 now and feeling good after 4 years of being off Paxil. Continue to stay active with a positive attitude and getting plenty of sun. Current Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, D with occasional K2, C, Super B Complex, Magnesium, Zinc, Fish OIl, Lecithin, E, and probiotics. Link to comment
GiantsWSC Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 9 hours ago, brassmonkey said: Hi GiantsWSC-- congratulations of making the jump to "0". It's been a while since we first meant back at Prior Place. I'm so glad that your slow taper has paid off by giving you such a feeling of freedom. I think making that final jump to "0" is almost as scary as making the first reduction to start a taper. But both are so worth it. The post "0" world is a whole new and less charted area. I which I could say that it's all over now, but there is still a lot of healing to do. Because of the slow taper you are in a good position for things to go quite smoothly. In the nine months since I jumped there have been several waves I have had to contend with, but each was successively milder and the feeling on the other side was always better. I'm not saying that it will happen to you, but don't be surprised if it does. I'm so excited for you and your new lease on life. Brass Hello Brass, Yes thanks to your "Brass Slide" method it has helped me tremendously and I avoided any serious waves during the taper process. I was very uneasy about gong to zero since I was on an extremely low dose the last 2 months, I didn't know when to take the plunge until one day I just said, it's now or never. You are right, it is truly worth it and something money can never buy. Yeah I haven't read to much about post experiences but I'm hoping we can give people hope if things go well for us. I'm prepared for whatever comes my way since I've dealt with the waves during this whole process. I have to say the past 4-5 months I've felt good with nothing that I would call a wave, nothing lasting more than even a day if that so I consider myself very lucky at that. But like you said, I'll hope for the best but won't rule out any surprises along the way. I have to admit I haven't been too active on here because I guess my taper went ok and I had nothing to serious to require some searching on here. I'm going to make it a point to help others out in the same boat since first hand experience can be invaluable. I see you and others on here helping a lot of people so I commend all of you for the work you do. Appreciate the kind words and hope to you around on the forum!!! 1 Taken paxil for over 15 years probably closer to 20. Tapering since Oct 2013 from 10mg Gemini 20 scale thanks to BrassMonkey! Oct 6, 2013 9.2 mg Nov 27 8.6mg Feb 2 2014 7.8mg March 16 7.4mg March 30 7.0mg May 18 6.2mg July 6 5.8mg Sept 7 5.4 Oct 19 4.8 Dec 14 4.6 Feb 8th 2015 4.2mg Mar 22 3.8mg May 10 3.4mg July 19 3.2mg Sept 6 2.8mg Nov 8 2.5 mg Dec 27 2.3 Feb 14 2016 2.0 Mar 19 updosed to 2.5mg May 4 2.4 June 12 2.2mg July 31 2.0 Sept 11 1.7mg Nov 13 1.5mg Jan 22 2017 1.3mg Mar 19 1.0mg April 20 0.8 June 0.7 Aug 0.6 Sept 0.5 Oct 0.4 Nov 0.3 Dec too low to weigh so I'm eyeballing it the rest of the way!! 2018 Feb 10 finally stopped !!!!! Keeping fingers crossed!!!!!! Its' 2022 now and feeling good after 4 years of being off Paxil. Continue to stay active with a positive attitude and getting plenty of sun. Current Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, D with occasional K2, C, Super B Complex, Magnesium, Zinc, Fish OIl, Lecithin, E, and probiotics. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted March 2, 2018 Moderator Share Posted March 2, 2018 " I was very uneasy about gong to zero since I was on an extremely low dose the last 2 months, I didn't know when to take the plunge until one day I just said, it's now or never. " I think that's the way it should happen. The final jump makes the decision for you. Your going along and going along and then one day it just happens. That's how mine ended. I was on a very low dose (0.016mgai) and just one morning said "that's it, no more". Between traveling and the tiny dose the last several months it had been quite a hassle to make up and take the doses on a regular basis, so I knew it was finally over. I think it allows the anxiety some time to stabilize and quiet itself and the mind to accept that it is the end of the journey. After so many years of tapering it has become a part of our lives and the end of an era is always slightly traumatic no matter how painful the trip has been. I'm so glad that the Brassmonkey Slide Method was of such a help. There are a good many members who have adopted it or a variation and are having very good success with it. 1 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
GiantsWSC Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 Hello All, Just to update my situation since my finishing my taper back in February. Maybe had a few days where I was feeling a little "off." Some mild anxiety here and there but nothing like the waves I was going through during the taper. The insomnia has gotten much better and I can sleep ok on most days without the need of ambien or melatonin. I enjoy doing my favorite activities of the past and even got married during the taper! I feel a big weight lifted off my shoulders and great relief! I hope this brings motivation and salvation for those who are still in the tapering process. The thought of never getting off the drug was on my mind throughout the process but perseverance paid off. There is truly light at the end of the tunnel. 1 Taken paxil for over 15 years probably closer to 20. Tapering since Oct 2013 from 10mg Gemini 20 scale thanks to BrassMonkey! Oct 6, 2013 9.2 mg Nov 27 8.6mg Feb 2 2014 7.8mg March 16 7.4mg March 30 7.0mg May 18 6.2mg July 6 5.8mg Sept 7 5.4 Oct 19 4.8 Dec 14 4.6 Feb 8th 2015 4.2mg Mar 22 3.8mg May 10 3.4mg July 19 3.2mg Sept 6 2.8mg Nov 8 2.5 mg Dec 27 2.3 Feb 14 2016 2.0 Mar 19 updosed to 2.5mg May 4 2.4 June 12 2.2mg July 31 2.0 Sept 11 1.7mg Nov 13 1.5mg Jan 22 2017 1.3mg Mar 19 1.0mg April 20 0.8 June 0.7 Aug 0.6 Sept 0.5 Oct 0.4 Nov 0.3 Dec too low to weigh so I'm eyeballing it the rest of the way!! 2018 Feb 10 finally stopped !!!!! Keeping fingers crossed!!!!!! Its' 2022 now and feeling good after 4 years of being off Paxil. Continue to stay active with a positive attitude and getting plenty of sun. Current Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, D with occasional K2, C, Super B Complex, Magnesium, Zinc, Fish OIl, Lecithin, E, and probiotics. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted June 19, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 19, 2018 That's great news to hear. Thank you for coming back to let us know how you are doing. * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted June 19, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 19, 2018 BrassMonkey has written a great topic Are We There Yet? I suggest you read this particular post: * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted April 12, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 12, 2021 Because you're feeling better, I added our cheerful "here comes the sun" symbol ☼ to the title of your Intro topic, to show you're recovering. Please continue to let us know how you're doing. I hope you will add your story to our Recovery Success Stories eventually! 1 * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
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