Paxil Withdrawl

[NaomisMom]

Help. I have been weaning myself off Paxil for several months now and have gone from 60mg to 2mg. I tried cold turkey at 10 mg but had the worst withdrawl imaginable so I went to the gradual route with liquid Paxil. I've had symptoms this way also but they've been manageable. My question is this - now that I'm down to a very small dose I've noticed an INTENSE depression begin. I'm emotional, often self abusive and lacking impulse control, angry and hopeless. I have a 15 month old daughter whom I care for and am able to (dispite this) and I love her to pieces. But I feel suicidal and emotional so much I feel like she'd be better off without me. Sometimes I want to drop her off with my parents and drive into a wall or something. Please tell me this is from the Paxil and that it will go away soon. I'm afriad this is the real "me" coming back although I don't think I was like this before - it's been 8 years on Paxil.(??) I currently do not have a psychologist as I was in a college-based training service and they felt I was well enough to discontinue (against my choice BTW).That's how I got on the Paxil in the first place. They told me to get my drugs from my gyno who knew nothing about Paxil or Paxil withdrawl. I chose to go off the Paxil bc I gained 80 lbs and my gyno worried I'd get pregnant again and it's now unsafe for pregnant mothers. I just need some reassurance that I'm not going crazy and it's an unbalance that causing all this. I'm scared. My husband is scared. Please help. Thank you.

[FLaddict]

Yes this is from the Paxil... please see a doc asap... I withdrew from Lexapro and was so miserable going cold turkey that I had to take even a sliver of a pill to wean myself.. How often are you making cuts in your taper?? Perhaps you are going to fast?? Using the liquid was a good idea.

[road2recovery]

just wondering why you wanted offf of lexapro...i take it and have been for about 3 yrs..of course doc never said it was addicting..but i do feel i need it, because i have severe depression..i don't plan on wanting to get off so just wondering why?
thanks

[FLaddict]

Well I thought it was the cause of my loss of libido. so my doc told me to  switch from it to Wellbutrin... bad idea... first of all you can't just stop lexapro.. and the Wellbutrin made me speedy and gave me an awful headache.. so i had to go back on Lexapro taper and then went on Trazodone.. which sucks.. so I am either gonna go back on it or try out the amino acid thing.. I am reading a book called Depression Free Naturally... I may give it a try.

[road2recovery]

i have a friend that was lexapro and had to suddenly get off cause she was pregnant and she was on 24 hour sucide alert...It ws terrible..
i got off mine just becasue i wanted to see if i could do without it..I had sweats , achs , just like opiates., or worst...so i hope it is safe to stay on this for a long time..

[FLaddict]

Its not that it is not safe, its just that anything that changes your brain like that is gonna be hard to come off of..just like opiates..  our neurotransmitters get changed by these drugs so when the brain no longer has the drugs it gets freaked out..  I have been doing research on how anti depressants don't actually fix the problem... thats where the amino acids come in.. so I am considering giving it a try..

[TVGAL22]

IVE BEEN ON PAXIL SINCE 2003 , PUT ON IT TO HELP WITH THE ANXIETY OF A NEW JOB. I WAS ON 10MG. A YEAR AGO I MOVED,MY DOCTOR'S PARTNER SUGGESTED I DOUBLE UP ON THE PAXIL TO COPE. FOR THE LAST YEAR I'VE BEEN ON 20 MG. I'VE OFTEN FORGOTTEN TO FILL MY PRESCRIPTION IN TIME AND SUFFERED 2 WEEKS WORTH OF WITHDRAWLS AND THEN GOT BACK ON. FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW I'VE BEEN WITHOUT THE PAXIL, DETERMINED TO NEVER GO BACK ON IT, BUT I FEEL LIKE I AM AN EMOTIONAL WRECK. I RECENTLTY LEARNED PAXIL CAN CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN ( MAYBE THAT'S WHY IVE BLOWN UP 85 POUNDS IN THE LAST 3 YRS) SO I AM DETERMINED TO GET OFF OF IT. RIGHT NOW I FEEL FINE, AN HOUR AGO I WAS YELLING , FRUSTRATED ,HATING LIFE AND EVERYONE IN IT.
HOW LONG WILL THESE WITHDRAWLS LAST? IT IS SO UPSETTING THAT IT TOOK A NURSE PRACTIONER AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD TO MENTION THAT PAXIL COULD CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN. MY FAMILY DOCTOR NEVER MENTIONED IT AND BECAUSE OF THAT I HAVE SPENT MUCH OF THE LAST 3 YEARS SEMI DEPRESSED BEATING MYSELF UP OVER HOW FAT I'VE BECOME. WHEN JENNY CRAIG, WEIGHTWATCHERS, HIRING A PERSONAL TRAINER AND DIET PILLS DON'T WORK , WHAT IS ONE TO THINK.? I THOUGHT ITS ALL MY FAULT, IM DISGUSTING AND HOPELESS.
NOW THAT I KNOW PAXIL WAS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR , ITS TAKEN A BIT OF THE PRESSURE OFF, BUT  IT MAY BE TOO LITTLE TO LATE.  
WHAT CAN I DO TO MINIMIZE MY OUTBURSTS, CLOUDINESS, ANGER AND SADNESS RIGHT NOW? I NEED ANSWERS ,... QUICK