Coming off Paxil???????

[kane3]

Hi all, Ive been taking a mixture of medications for the past 6 months that has included Xanax, Ativan, Paxil and Clonazepam for Anxiety. I had to stop taking the Xanax and Ativan because I felt myself becoming dependent on these medications to sleep at night. So the Doctor had prescribed me Paxil (10mg for 2 months and now 20mg since) and Clonazepam (just 1mg before bed)  instead which I have been taking for about 5 months now. The doctor wanted to do a years worth or Paxil and Clonazepam and then stop and see how things went.

I just got back from my training with the police and decided not to bring my meds because I wanted to see if I felt better, and just to be off medication period. About the 2nd night in, I found myself having some extreme nightmares and waking up in a total sweat...I experienced them every night untill I got my hands on some meds where I was at. Now Im wondering if this is normal? Is it the Clonazepam or the Paxil....or is this Anxiety itself? I don't seem to have these issues when I take my meds...Any advice????

Thank-you

[dannyjjang]

what the...cold turkey is really dangerous...alot of people suffer trauma from it i wouldn't recommend it unless you are a superhuman

[Paxiled]

It's both.  Benzos are very dangerous to quit cold turkey; they could trigger seizures.  Paxil is one of the most difficult of the antidepressants to quit, along with Effexor.  Withdrawal can be intense.  If you truly believe you don't need them, you need to taper off them.  I would also look for a different psychiatrist to do this with.  No way should you have been on three benzos at one time, and Paxil isn't used to help a person sleep.  In fact, neither are benzos.  Now, if you suffer from debilitating anxiety and therapy didn't work, Paxil and a benzo might be called for, but not for sleep.  And I would personally try anything but Paxil or Effexor unless everything else didn't work, since they have the most side effects and worst withdrawals.  Learn about what you're taking; don't expect psychiatrists to know.  They're dolts, most often.  

[Ldydrgn]

I can feel safe in telling you that the those problems were most definitely parially the Paxil.  Nightmares is among the long list of withdrawl symptoms for Paxil.  You cannot quit Paxil "cold turkey".  This is not only very uncomfortable but could prove dangerous to your own well-being.
Paxil has the shortest half-life of all the SSRI's.  It will last full effect for a mere half-day (hence the reason for the CR version).  Other medications have much longer half lives such as Prozac with nearly a week.  Tapering very, VERY slowly off of the Paxil is the only safe way to get off of Paxil if you can at all.  I've been on Paxil for over 12 years and have tried to taper twice with debilitating withdrawls both times.

[kane3]

Thanks for the reply's...the way my life is going right now I feel like I should increase my dose. I want to get off the Paxil so bad, but just can't. Im lost for words.

[Jaroeh]

I feel like I have to chime in here. I was on Paxil for over a year and a half and I just recently decided to take myself off of it and I did it cold turkey. I'm on my 5th or 6th week and while yes there were side effects they were not life threatening. I'm not saying they were pleasant. Far from it. and granted the side effects vary from person to person so everyone will have a different experience.
I had some nausea and headaches but for the most part it was irritability and what felt like a shock going through my body. Those were the worst but it's nothing you can't get through. I'm not saying I recommend it. It was nasty, but it is doable. (Though I wasn't on any other medications which i'm sure to have an effect) Personally I'd recommend talking to your doctor. He's the one that will have the best idea of what to expect, how it will react with the other meds and what your best options will be.
I agree with Paxiled and Ldydrgn that Paxil is nasty though... I've talked to my doctor about the withdrawal symptoms and was told that Paxil is pretty much the worst for withdrawal symptoms but it's very effective which is the reason they still use it. Ultimately talk to your doctor. Psychology is still a very young area of medicine and as such the docs can't always tell you what is going on. (The brain is very complex and nowhere close to being fully understood yet) They can however, still help you by at the very least giving you a taper schedule if you decide that's the best route for you.

(I do want to say that you should never quit any med without first learning about the possible side effects. I did my homework before I stopped taking the Paxil so I knew what to expect)

[Mark75]

I just got off paxil about a month ago. But started noticing pressure phosphene symptoms. Like flashes at night when I close my eyes. Does anyone had anything similar to that. Never really experience it while I was on paxil just started noticing it more when I started getting off the medication.

[Paxiled]

It's probably the serotonin receptors waking up, something like the brain zaps people report.  They say fish oil can help with brain zaps, maybe it will help with what you're experiencing.