Vonnegutjunky: Paxil 10 mg for 8 years - partial wean with reinstatement

[Vonnegutjunky]

Feeling funky today

I had a migraine seizure at the store today- haven't had one in over 5 years - I get them from stress- and I think being in this Paxil and wanting to decrease it is adding to the other stressors in my life -

 

Still really forgetful- I will do something 2 days ago and it feels like it was weeks ago

 

Can anyone give advice on when I should do my next decrease? I'm ready to do it tonight! But I don't want to go to fast - but the med is making me feel horrible - this paradoxical reaction ugggh- I just want to be off of it!

 

Any suggestions on how long to hold this taper especially when I am in the midst of having a paradoxical reaction- basically I will not be able to get to a stable point before I taper again, so I can't use that as a guide

 

Thank you

[Altostrata]

You just had a migraine seizure. Don't stress your nervous system with a dosage reduction. Wait a week or two.

 

What is your paradoxical reaction?

[bubble]

Do you feel this pressure to rush off the drug because of what Oskcajga wrote to you here?

 

That was not a nice thing to do. I was also upset reading it. We are all taking harm reduction attitude here: trying to get off the drug too fast for our brains to cope will affect us worse than staying on the drug longer. Also with every decrease although we are not off completely its negative effects will decrease. So don't worry and don't feel the pressure to rush. We are all on a mission of regrowing a new brain. That's what I'm focusing on.

[Vonnegutjunky]

Alto - thanks-

 

My reaction is just feeling. So much worse after my increase in May - I got suicidal-

 

My symptoms are

Horrible tinnitus, which decreased the day after I went from 20mg to 17.5mg

 

Anxiety attacks

 

Ruminations

 

Visual disturbances - double vision- blurry vision - seeing floaters

 

Just feeling strange, out of it, can't explain it, just not normal

 

Increasingly bad migraines and migraine auras

 

Feelings of doom like something very bad is about to happen

 

Derealization

 

Depersonalization

 

Forgetfulness

 

Zombie like feelings at times

 

Feelings of emotional agitation then swings to emotional numbness

 

 

All of these have decreased in intensity when I decreased the meds by just a little

 

But most days I still just don't feel right -

 

I felt way worse after my increase than I ever did during my withdrawals and I gave myself 4 months to try to stabilize- so I know it's a bad reaction to the med- which I have been on for 8 years

 

I just don't want to go into wd while I'm feeling as bad as I do now -

 

Will give 3 more weeks before my next reduction

[Vonnegutjunky]

Bubble

 

At first yes I was very upset that he wrote that - however he was correct - I was/am having a bad reaction to my updose - now that I know this I really want to drop again because going from 20 to 17.5 made me feel so much better! Thank you for your reassurance to stay slow and steady! I know that's what I need to do!!

 

Xoxox

[Vonnegutjunky]

My sleep cycle continues to get worse and worse - does anyone else have this issue? Sleeping alllllllll day - until 7pm at night then up all night? Do you think this is creating more unstable emotions for me?

[servadei]

It could be. I'm terribly sleepy over the day but I make myself stay up for a better sleep at night. I couldn't fall asleep at first so but I continued not to fall asleep during the day and now I fall asleep pretty fast and I don't wake up during the night.

 

I don't even have to do anything physical during the day...my brain gets me tired from constant dp/dr, overthinking and ruminations xD

[AliG]

  It's a common "theme".  You're not on your own.  Yes, In my opinion, it creates " instability"  to the highest degree. 

[Vonnegutjunky]

Thanks everyone - trying to stay awake today so I can get on a normal schedule - I have always had delayed phase sleep syndrome but never to this degree I hope it passes soon -

[Altostrata]

You have symptoms from the drug changes. There is nothing unusual in anything that you're reporting.

 

Don't use terms like "paradoxical reaction" unless you know what that means.

 

Normally when you have a bad reaction to Paxil with increased suicidal thoughts the docs just pull you off the meds like immediately stop them- do you think I should be dropping quicker than what I am?

 

 

That is incorrect. Normally when people have a bad reaction to psychiatric drugs of any type, doctors will increase the dosage or add a benzo or an antipsychotic, then ignore the fallout. Doctors should immediately reduce dosage when an adverse reaction to a psychiatric drug occurs, but they generally do not recognize the problem as an adverse reaction. That is why many people are here.

 

It may make sense to further reduce the Paxil, however, you recently had a pretty serious symptom of autonomic instability. If I were you, I'd let my nervous system rest a bit before another increase.

[Vonnegutjunky]

My doctor told me if I had a bad reaction- as after 4 months I was becoming increasingly more suicidal, depressed, anxious, obsessive, and panicky - she would take me off as that can be dangerous -

 

I know what the definition of a paradoxical reaction is- which is exactly why I used it - my medication increase was increasingly making me worse way worse than any of my withdrawal symptoms - it was doing the exact opposite of what it's meant to do- and my symptoms have reduced as I have reduced the medication-

 

I just want to come off of it quickly as I feel much more horrible taking it

[Altostrata]

The reason this site exists is because doctors are not sufficiently knowledgeable about withdrawal.

 

If you wish to follow your doctor's advice, you are welcome to do so. There's no point in your asking questions here.

[bluebalu86]

My sleep cycle continues to get worse and worse - does anyone else have this issue? Sleeping alllllllll day - until 7pm at night then up all night? Do you think this is creating more unstable emotions for me?

 

I also have a problem maintaining a normal sleep schedule. I fix it for a while, then I start going to bed later and later until I go to bed at like 9 in the morning and sleep all day. It takes a lot of effort to rebalance your sleep, but it's well worth it. I wish you success in fixing your sleep schedule. You will feel at least a tiny little bit better if you sleep during the night and are up during the day. 

[bubble]

If you read back through your thread (which I would warmly recommend) you will see multiple entries which directly contradict what you are now saying...

 

I'm quoting some...

 

Posted 26 July 2015 - 11:39 PM

Update - not had a wave of icky desperate/ hopeless/horror/sadness in almost 3 days- did have a small wave of tearfulness on Friday but it was quick and it did not ruin my day- I started on magnesium citrate today - supposed to take 2 tablets a day but I started with 1 - I am very very lethargic all the time but especially sleepy during the day- but I sleep at night too- I sleep a lot- it's not broken and I dream a lot - so I know I am getting restful sleep- I still get anxiety during the day but yes I also am r ally tried on top of that?! It's strange but at least I can sleep - better than insomnia- so I continue to show improvement after my reinstatement although it's been over 3 mos! Better late than never - don't know when I'm going to taper again, maybe in the spring- will not rush anything even though I want off the meds -

 

Thanks jlynn I am starting to feel better - I think preplanning is needed especially after what I just went through- even if I have to cut 1 mg every 6 mos and it takes me 5 years to get off I don't care - I will go as slow as needed - and live my life in the meantime

 

 

I am about 50-75% more stable that I was just a week ago- so I am starting to stabilize - I still have ear ringing, visual noise and sometimes just feel strange - but I am increasingly becoming before clear cognitively - I say that with trepidation, everytime I think I'm on the mend I end up back in that deep cognitive fog and lack of clear thinking - my worry has greatly reduced and I am relaxing more - I have been doing a lot of reading and trying to learn how to crush pills - I know that I have access to compounding pharmacies here and liquid but I have heard horror stories of people switching from pills to liquid and having adverse reactions

[JanCarol]

Hey VJ, I'm glad you've started your taper.  Slow and easy wins the race - you keep saying you want to live your life during this taper - and the only way to do that is to go slowly, listen to what your body and symptoms are telling you - and stabilise between adjustments.

 

I'm going to challenge you in a strange place:  the diagnosis front.  If you want to identify with your disorder, that is fine - but I'd like to show you another way of looking at it, and maybe you will gain a new perspective.  If I'm totally off base, please ignore me, this is not personal to you - instead it is a reflection of my own personal journey:

 

 

Vonnegutjunky:

 my dad and his sister and one of his brothers are all on celexa ( similar to lexapro) and they all tolerate it very well - there really is a major panic and anxiety disorder in my family- not really depression too much-..my anxiety started when I was a toddler - I remember my first anxiety attack and my first panic attack was in the 2nd grade - this is a genetic issue for me and I have short serotonin alleles -

 

 

I am going to ask you to challenge your perception.  

 

A panic attack and anxiety - even in a family, sometimes especially in a family - can be very much about interactions within the family, trauma, and coping mechanisms.  I'm not asking you to look back at the 2nd grade and what was happening around you - it can also be chemical - like toxins used in the school, unrecognized reactions to food and additives, the way your mother dealt with separation anxiety, peers ostracizing you (I had this),  the way your teacher called you out in front of the class  - myriad "problems of life."  (as Peter Breggin would say)

 

What I see, when I hear your family is all on the drugs, is not a familial problem (regardless of "short alleles" or any measurement of methylation or whatever) - it is a systemic problem.  Your family chose to go to the doctor, the doctor put them on the drugs.  It's not just your family - it's mine, it's 30-50% of families in America who have people on the drugs.   And after the opoids, benzos, major and minor tranquilizers have gotten a bad rap - they give every "disorder"  to the SSRI's and then, to the anticonvulsants and neuroleptics (called "antipsychotics").  It's what the doctors do.

 

In the olden days, your family might not have been diagnosed, but been known as "nervous" or "eccentric" and they may have found what works.  It might have been laudanum or alcohol, or perhaps "she didn't go out much," or "didn't care for people," or "was a hermit," or "preferred the company of animals or nature."  Now they have diagnoses for all of these "problems of living." 

 

Yes, mental illness is real.  But the answer hasn't always been the drugs.  (I could leap off here at the ways the drugs have made our society worse, but instead I will refer you to Robert Whitaker's excellent book,  "Anatomy of an Epidemic" which is readily available in your public library or booksellers. 

 

I am challenging you to look beyond the diagnosis.  Instead of saying "panic" or "anxiety," reach deeper into what is the source.  Is it fear?  (often) or frustration?  Or even exhaustion?  Sometimes we get spread so thin and the overwhelming tasks and aspects of life can lead to that diagnosis thing.

 

I may be way off base, but you won't know until you look.  Therapists and psychiatrists love to put you in a box so they know how to treat you.  It's up to you to break the walls of the box and find out:  what triggers you?  What are the conditions and patterns which make you worse?  What makes you better?

 

I read a few pages back that you were exercising.  Are you still doing that?  Is it helping?  What kind of exercise?  What time of day?  Also, is it helping to try and correct your delayed cycle sleep?  Gosh, I can relate to that struggle, and sometimes that struggle is more stressful than just sleeping when I'm sleepy, and waking when I"m done.  But, more than you, I live in a Daytime Country (Australia) where if I get up a 2pm, I cannot get anything done.  What is the effect of your delayed cycle sleep on your family?  Your work?

 

If there is a certain thing that induces fear, or "anxiety" (I don't even like using that word, because of the misuse of it in diagnosis), like, for example, driving the car in heavy traffic - how can you adjust?  Maybe you have to drive in heavy traffic because of work - but if you listen to soothing music while you drive - or upbeat pop music, not the chat and news (I find that chat and news makes driving more difficult) you will find that you are less anxious.  Or maybe, it is important that, when you are done driving, you take 10 minutes - even if it is in the bathroom - to unwind from the drive before starting the next challenging task. 

 

Your "anxiety" is telling you something.  It is asking you to make some adjustments.  Sometimes if you obey it like a taskmaster, you would never go out, never do anything.  But if you listen to it like a child - you can learn from it, let it show you how to comfort yourself, how to mind your body and your stress, how to manage your life, and learn and grow.  My hypnosis tape said to me last night:  Turmoil is a way of showing me the things I want to change.  

[Vonnegutjunky]

I ordered my scale today -

 

 

I decided on the smart weigh high precision milligram scale

 

I will go down to 16.5mg as soon as the scale gets here and I learn how to use it

 

I will let everyone know about the accuracy of the scale

 

 

I have read my posts and I know I had some good days after my increase - but not enough to ever consider it successful

 

I have felt horrible since my increase - I regret doing it -

Either way I can't worry about the past - just the future -

 

I also have had very bad tinnitus and migraines and blurry vision - horrible side effects that I have never had in the past -

 

So here's to the next cut - I hope it gets better because I feel horrible today

[Vonnegutjunky]

This is just an update - I am trepadatious about posting this as I often seem to eat my worlds weeks after a post -but I am fairly certain I now know why when I updosed things went down hill so quick -

 

Summary for people who don't want to read 6 pages -

Also I am writing some of this in hindsight

 

I switched pharmacies back in November of last year (during my taper which I was doing really well with) a month into my new manufacturers brand I was hit with intolerable side effect ( I assumed it was my all a result of my taper) I have as not doing well so I increased my dosage and could not stabilize ( I was still on my new manufacturers brand of Paxil)

 

I decided in May that I would double my dose because I just could not get stable and actually I was feeling worse

 

The next day **** got bad and I felt the worst most horrible feelings ever - I have always had bad experience with my moods but this was something different - it was weird - not right -

 

I have also experienced wd in the past and again this was something strange not normal is the only way I can explain

 

 

The reason I switched pharmacies to begin with was because my work insurance was only valid at cvs - I normally go to Walgreens as its around the block from my house

 

Anyway after that increase, I quit my job and from May to September I never got better, actually I got worse and more suicidal-

 

At the end of September I d fired since I no longer had work insurance and I got my state insurance back I would just go back to Walgreens (my old Paxil manufacturer )

 

I didn't think anything of the switch -

 

I got my Walgreens brand Paxil on September 28th

 

I was teaching class on September 30th - it was a normal day - I felt like **** going to class - wanted to be home - but during that class I felt like a light switch go on and this encephalitis of clarity and calmness came over me -

 

I was shocked -

 

It went away and came back about 20min later

 

I was like what the hell is going on?! Is this for real?!

 

I felt for the first time in 8 months like myself

 

Not great - like my normal depressed self -

Still have anxiety like my normal anxious self

 

But I feel like myself

 

I have cried for 2 days

 

And worried for 2 days that this is a fluke of some sort

Or a placebo effect - or a temporary fix due to a manufacturer change - I am genuinely fearful of this

 

I worry it won't last

 

But I also feel in my gut that the cvs brand Paxil gave me what others refer to as akathisia

 

I may be wrong about that; the only way I can describe it is this constant inner restlessness - it was as if I wanted to twitch my muscles but didn't have the energy to do so-

And it was constant anxiety all day everyday - but not anxiety attacks - and feelings of unexplained fear - but it was different because it just did not feel normal- not my normal- and I have 40 years experience with anxiety, panic and migraine seizures - lol

 

 

So maybe people should be cautioned not to switch Paxil manufacturers during a taper - it could really throw you off!

 

 

Also I am still at 17.5 and holding to see if I stay stable

[JanCarol]

Hey VJ - if I understand you correctly - welcome to the Window!

 

Sometimes they are very short - a minute, or 5 minutes, or what you had - but it shows you that there is a possibility for balance in your brain, and has given you a glimpse of what you could feel like when your brain lattice is working for you instead of against you!

 

Waves and Windows

 

The key thing is to remember the Windows, even when you are under the depths of a heavy wave.  The pattern will repeat itself many times as your different neuro-receptors and transmitters start to heal.  

 

That you have had a window may mean hope that you can taper sometime in the next month or two.  Aren't you glad you didn't switch to Prozac?

 

Which leads me to wonder - why did you begin to taper in the first place?  Was it because of the off-brand from CVS?  And you thought you had poop out?  Or was it another reason?

[Vonnegutjunky]

Thanks Jan

 

Wanted to taper because I felt good and I was on 10 mg which I thought at the time was a low dose- I did not realize how addicted my brain had gotten to it, I thought my breakthrough anxiety during stressful situations meant it was no longer doing anything-

 

Anyway- I'm back to say I had a nice 9 day window - I'm on the downhill again- horrible anxiety attacks all day -

 

Nothing good to say

 

Don't know how I'm going to weather this storm to come

[Vonnegutjunky]

Still in the crappy wave; I am hopeful that I even had a window, don't know when to do another taper, should I wait if I am in the midst of a wave? Or continue?

 

I have been feeling awful, sooooo tired, just unmotivated and feeling horrible; all I want to do is sleep

 

I go to my general practitioner on Thursday to get hormones and thyroid checked;

 

This maybe tmi, but I suddenly, after not having one for 18mos had Aunt Flo come visit- last time I was at the docs they said my fsh was high and I was in beginning stages of menopause; so I go on Thursday to get that looked at;

 

Will update with results of that

[dreamspirit]

Hi, my friend... sorry to hear your still not well :-(.. I personally wouldn't do another drop in a wave.. need to let the wave pass first before another drop but you feel crappy all the time so I don't know..

 

Someone more knowledgeable should come around and help you more...

 

Hugs!

[Altostrata]

Do not taper in the midst of a wave.

 

Many women find their symptoms get a lot worse at times in their menstrual cycle.

[Vonnegutjunky]

Thanks alto- I will wait-

 

One of the most perplexing and bothersome issues I have had though this whole experience is the fact that when I updosed, I felt so much worse -

 

So I'm on dr. Google and I realize a lot of people on benzo boards talk about feeling much worse updosing, while trying to taper; they refer to it as a paradoxical reaction due to withdrawal.

 

I have to say, I am pretty surprised by how much I relate to the benzo people; I feel like my symptoms have always been more similar to theirs; could this be because I was put on Paxil for anxiety only?

 

Just thinking out loud

[Vonnegutjunky]

Ok- so my cns had been destabilize by wd/ creating this crap feeling; so I am still at 17.5mg of Paxil-

 

Any ideas on the possibility of me eventually getting stable staying at this dose? Because the cns is so overwhelmed, should I continue to decrease to see if a lower dose will work better?

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thank god for this site

[Vonnegutjunky]

Abstract. Paroxetine, a selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, increased extracellular 5-HT and dopamine levels, as determined by microdialysis, in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of freely moving rats. There was a difference in the time course of the maximum response between the 5-HT and dopamine levels after paroxetine administration. The extracellular dopamine concentration reached its maximum 20 min after the peak effect of 5-HT had appeared. The paroxetine-induced increase in extracellular dopamine concentration, but not 5-HT concentration, was inhibited by the 5-HT(3)-receptor antagonist granisetron. These results suggest that the increase in extracellular dopamine concentration in the mPFC elicited by paroxetine is the result of stimulation of 5-HT(3) receptors by the extracellular accumulation of 5-HT in the mPFC.

 

 

Omg ok- could some one tell me what that means?

 

Does it mean that Paxil increases dopamine too?

 

I always thought if serotonin increased, the other neurotransmitters would decrease;

 

Anyway, my withdrawal symptoms feel most like low dopamine; I sleep all day and night; I have literally been in my bed for months- I don't do anything, and I have no desire to do anything- if I won the lottery tomorrow I could care less- nothing at all makes me even kind of happy anymore -

 

So if it's low dopamine, how do I increase it naturally?

[MollyN]

Hi VGJ I've just read through your journal and wanted to come and say hi and give you a big hug. It's so hard isn't it. 

 

I also wanted to give you a great  big cheer for continuing putting one foot in front of the other each and every day even though it's so tough xxxx

 

One journal I've found incredibly helpful is JanCarol's - she is a star at self love and care. She's also very informed about the chemical stuff (my brain just holds up a little sign saying 'hey too much - outta here' when I try and understand (and I think that's actually me generally - not just in WD ) But I think you may gain a lot from reading her opinions and translation of the material out there since you seem an intelligent person.

 

The other thing I wondered if you saw her post above about your family dynamics? xxx I'm sure you did - sometimes that sort of thing is hard to read and we need to slowly digest - even when it's written so well and gently. Anyway I suppose I wanted to encourage you as well to perhaps consider different thoughts about yourself and how you got there (in a very loving kind way - cause life is haaard! ) 

 

Hang tight honey, I'm right here with you on this drug (I'm on it too and have been for years, see signature - horrible horrible drug - God how I hate it!) (although my wd normally likes to present itself with intense anger and irititablity ( arrrrggghhhh :( ) and I know we can do it and get well far far far away from this drug - at the same time as learning a ton about loving ourselves in the process xxxxxxxxxx

 

xxmolly

 

PS.One thing I really wanted to thank you for was describing your reaction to the change of brands of paxil  My most recent uncontrolled drop and subsequent reinstatement was caused by reacting to a different brand (or whatever it was) of Paxil. I didn't have a clue it could do this - even though after all these years and years of being hammered by it and trying to withdraw I felt I was a bit of an expert on the particular yuckness of paxil - HA! NO!  I rang the drug company, of course they deny everything. In fact I was asked so many questions about myself that I felt a little violated actually and wish I'd just told them - "no you've taken enough from me thanks all the same!)

 

Anyway a very long winded paragraph to say thanks for posting about it, since it helped a great deal to know others struggled too (otherwise there is always the lingering fear that it's just me!)

[Vonnegutjunky]

For the past year there was something that I forgot to mention, and by chance I ended up reading something that made me remember.....

 

During my taper, that was actually going really well, I ended up with a UTI

 

I was given septra for the UTI..... Mind you I was in 5mg of Paxil at the time and doing quite well

 

3days after I started the septra is when the most insane panic, anxiety, brain fog started - that's when I went back on/up my Paxil

 

Now I saw on this thread.

 

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Anxiety/Anxiety-Antibiotics/show/355869

 

where people have been given benzos and ssris with little impact on their anxiety that started after a course of antibiotics

 

And for some of these people these effects lasted for months and months

 

I am now convinced that my antibiotics did something to me and have subsequently caused my updose/increase to take longer to help

 

I had read my journal here at home and I have had a lot of Windows; so I don't think the Paxil is completely ineffective....I just think the antibiotic did more damage than I realized......

 

Anyway, just thinking out loud

[Vonnegutjunky]

Update- after almost a year, I can say without a doubt I feel 100 percent myself today;

 

This past Wednesday I noticed I started feeling better and each day since I have started little by little feeling better-

 

In the past I have felt better but never did I get to feeling 100% my old self until today - so this window is remarkably better than any other one that I have ever had -

 

This is truly giving me hope!!!!

[dreamspirit]

Yay! So happy to hear that!! :-) glad you are doing better.. sometimes it takes a long time for our brains to stabilize..

 

Hugs!

[Vonnegutjunky]

Thank you dream:)

 

I am still having a lot of unease- I will have strange/bizarre thoughts that scare me - I have ear ringing and visual issues -

 

I get myself worked up and each time I feel something less than perfection, I get into a mental funk and cannot seem to get myself back to working order for days

 

I also am severely sensitive to the slightest amount of stress

 

I have been doing things to improve my emotional state- like coloring, trying to redecorate my bedroom-

 

I am only working 2 days a week but those 2 days wipe me out, emotionally;

 

All I enjoy doing is laying in my bed and sleeping all day

 

I am I a severely depressive state from all of this, but my depression is different than the wd - it's almost as if I have 2 different issues going on at the same time, trying to stabilize on the meds, and going through a much justified depression

 

 

I have always been a sensitive person - sensitive to change and stress

 

If I didn't need a med before, I surely probably do now- lol - just kidding

 

I know that with or without the meds I can get through a depression; but this time it's pretty bad

 

And the things my brain is doing, I think is because of anxiety, constant strange bizarre thoughts, and they are becoming paranoid, but I'm completely aware of them - I hope this stops soon I hope I don't have psychotic break and end up Ina mental hospital

 

Much love to all of you struggling through this

Xoxo

[Vonnegutjunky]

I am back into my dark hole-

Weird thoughts

Weird feelings

No appetite

Just want to spend the days and nights in my bed doing nothing

Feeling and fearing that I am going to become psychotic

Obsessively looking online for answers

I am thinking of making a 1mg cut tomorrow

I feel like I will never truly stabilize anyway

 

 

Also when I get like this I fear that the medication is creating a paradoxical depression- someone tell me this isn't true how would I know if the medication was causing a paradoxical depression?

 

I feel so strange and odd, this only happened after my dose increase-

 

Maybe I am In tolerance withdrawal?

 

All I know is that I am swinging and when it get bad, I get obsessive and scared and my anxiety increases, when I feel ok, I do feel ok, but when I'm bad I feel that I never actually felt ok, like I was faking it?

 

I hope this doesn't last as long as it did last time - this last window was the best one I've had yet but it was also really really short any ideas why that might be?

[Martina23]

Hello, I had also deppression through the whole tapering, it dissappeared when I was two weeks off. It can be surely from the meds.

[dreamspirit]

I know you said something about switching to a different med. . Did you decide against it?

 

I'm so sorry you are struggling.. that we are all struggling :-(

 

How many mg's are you on now?

[Vonnegutjunky]

Thank you dream

I have decided against it- I need to get to baseline and see how I am and give my brain time to heal-

 

Am I completely against all meds? No not right now-

Do I think antidepressants cause more harm? Yes to those of us who had mild anxiety or a mild depression, it was definitely not worth it- it was like using a firehose to put out a camp fire - over kill -

 

I can't say I will never use meds again, especially if I feel the damage done to me can only be temporary alleviated by medication-

 

I went down again tonight

I'm at

 

16.5 now - I will hold here for 6-8 weeks and see how it goes -

 

If anyone thinks I am tapering too fast please let me know

 

Thanks everyone

[Vonnegutjunky]

*topic and responses moved from symptoms forum

 

So I have been having heavy duty dp/dr and every other symptoms of extremely low dopamine- I assume it's decreased in response to the increase in my serotonin- so this has been making me feel absolutely horrible

Just wondering what I can do to bring those levels back up naturally?

Clinical studies show that tyrosine does not work, plus I am not trying to take supplements, I don't want to have to worry if I'm going to have bad side effects from it

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated

Edited November 12, 2015 by Petunia
added note

[scot]

Hi,I would suggest rhodiola tea,it increaseas dopamine naturally.