Paxel Withdrawals and Thoughts of Suicide

[FlyingCook]

My husband has just been diagnosed with anxiety and mild depression.  He's also experience constant diarrhea (last 6 months), nausea, vomiting, chest pains that move up into his jaw, tingling fingers, a lots of fun other things.  Nothing has been found to be wrong with his heart and he has an appointment with a gastoendonologist in two weeks to have a flexsig done.  Last week his GP put him on Paxel.  Since starting it, we have heard from two friends about the awful things this drug can do to you when you go off from it.  One of the friends has been on Paxel before and she said that each time you go off the depression is worse than the time before and that she gets thoughts of suicide.  The other friend said that he has two friends who have both been on it and both tried to committ suicide after being taken off the drug.  This has gotten my husband even more anxious and he wants to quit taking the drug without even consulting his doc.  What has anyone else experienced with this?  We're more concerned with how he's dealing with the stress in his life (or should I say NOT dealing with it) than we are the depression.  We don't need this to become a downward cyclone.  Also, the one friend said that Paxel is a lifelong thing not a 6-9 month stint as the doctor has said.  Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc. will be GREATLY appreciated!!  THANKS!!!

[Peagee]

Have a happy Mothers Day :)  Over here Mother's Day is in March in the cold weather :)

The research re seretonin levels on autopsy re schizophrenia, I'll search it out another time and post the link for you.  Its scientific research, the levels are much higher than they should be and its definitely seretonin that they measured.  Don't know about dopamine levels - maybe that too, but this particular reasearch was on seretonin.  I'm not a scientist - its scientists that did the research :)

Anyway, whatever - we'll simply have to agree to disagree.  Not here to fight, just here to give people who want to get information the links and the starters to the evidence :)

Hope the weather is good for you.  I know its difficult living with people who suffer from schizophrenia.  I fostered a couple of adult schizophrenics for 6 years before then going on to fostering adults with traumatic brain damage.  Its hard.  I sympathise.  But it doesn't mean that in the absence of a harmless and effective cure being found, that anything that isn't harless is thus OK :)  It has caused the death of many people including young children.  But glad at least it appears to be working for your son.

Love
Paula

[Peagee]

You assume I don't know?  No, of course I have no alternative answer to the question of schizophrenia.  But Paxil carries a torture of its own.  And very many people who are on it are going to suffer long-term neurological damage - many of whom have not been prescribed it for little more than PMS and other similar stuff.  They DESERVE to know what serious problems they might experience before they get locked into the system.  Did YOU know, for instance, that autopsies on the brains of schizophrenics, show a much higher level of serotonin than normal?  So I doubt purely from logical thinking that raising that level even further by SSRIs is actually a sensible answer to the problem.  It is that very serontonin level increase that causes the neurological problems associated with SSRIs.  

There IS no answer as yet.  I have never said there IS an answer.  I just know that all the evidence appearing and the research results of independent tests show that there are a lot of negative, destructive and sometimes deadly sides to SSRIs. Schizophrenia is undoubtedly a bad state.  But SO are the side effects and withdrawals of Paxil.  Do you think its easy for people to feel as if they are plugged into an electrical socket, or prodded with a cattle prod every second or so?  That is one of the many side effects.  And stroke, symptoms of things like MS, brain tumour and so on.  That is no alternative.  

The information has been put on this board so that people can learn ALL the facts available, not just the facts the drug companies want out.   If you disagree with them, fine - that is your choice.  But please don't try to discourage others from making their own choices, they have a right to know and a right to make as INFORMED a choice that they can under the circumstances :)

Hope you have a good weekend.
Paula

[peacetrain]

In commenting back to paula, schizophrenia has nothing to do with the serotonin but all to do with the dophamine in the brain. Yes some ppl can have depression and schizophrenia, which this special boy that i love dearly does have both.  I don't agree with ppl just running out and getting meds when mild depression or anxiety hits them, i am all for no meds and counciling when at all possible, but now i have walked in a place where i never thought i would. And yes i am very thankful for these antiphocotics that allow schizophrenics to beable to leave the hospital and live normal lives. Again i say there has to be a balance of thinking here and not all one way or to look at this close minded. I truely believe doctors care about people. They are not cold hearted people just wanting to make a buck off of drugs. Maybe if you had a child or someone you love with a brain disease then you wouldn't be so quick to judge.Now you have a good weekend too.And i intend to have a happy mothers day, because my son is happy and well. Thanks be to Zyprexa and Zoloft.And his doctors and God.

[peacetrain]

would like to know any comment u could give on schizophrenia and how u could control it's symptoms without meds.But then if u ain't been there then u don't know, do u????? I have. Anyone would be thankful to have the meds after goin thru that kind of torture.

[Peagee]

So sorry to hear about your cousin.  Yes, suicide ideation comes as part and parcel for many people on and withdrawing from SSRIs, particularly paxil.

Having had over 4 months of withdrawal (cold turkey) it seems to me that its the 'crawling out of the skin' (I feel its like being attached by the spinal cord to an electrical socket but guess its similar) that tends to bring on these suicide ideas the most.  Personally, this symptom started as the Zaps began to subside.  Almost like there was not enough electrical current to give the seizure/zap any more, but plenty to sit there down your back for hours on end without any breaks as there were in the zaps.  This 'wired-up' feeling is almost unbearable.  I think its termed a form of akethesia (?sp) and the 'current' can go into feet too, and 'marching on the spot' at that point is the only way to relieve that bit of it.  As anyone can imagine, having an electric shock is highly unpleasant.  The zaps are horrible but come every second, between them there is the break.  When 'wired up' you have this for hours on end without a break and eventually it affects normal thinking.  After several hours of this you no longer are capable of thinking in the usual logical manner and this is where suddenly strange black moods come in and you're living in a weird 'electrical' sort of world where suicide seems like a great idea.  And anything at that point is better than the wired-up feeling.

Something like that.  Maybe thats also the point where a few people have murdered their families then committed suicide.  Its out of control no matter how logical a person you normally are.  Its a frightening nightmarish state to get into and this happens to plenty of people who never were suicidal - some people are given ssris as help to slim, pmt, post op depression, all sorts of iffy reasons.

I'm an adult and have experienced quite a few bad times, this withdrawal is on a few occasions something I can hardly handle and have been lucky enough to have someone very observant and caring around who has literally stopped me from trying suicide at the moment it happens.  Teenagers and children (the younger the more so) would have NO chance of being able to cope with wired-up and suicide ideation stuff.  

I'm so sorry your cousin didn't make it.  But your posting here in itself means that you are already helping to save someone else and I'm sure that's what your cousin would have wanted from you.  Thoughts are with you.

Lots of love
Paula

[kisschris]

I myself have never taken paxel or any other type of drug for mental depression.  The main reason I'm here is to say that my cousin was on paxel and his doctor switched him to zolaf.  He was suffering from some sort of withdrawel.  My cousin committed suicide this past Saturday.  Please, if you are having problems and are contemplating suicide, ask someone for help.  Don't put any one through the pain that my family has gone through this past week.  After researching paxel and zolaf a little, I have found that thoughts of suicide are very common to people on these medications.  Also, people often feel like they are crawling out of their skin.  My cousin would suddenly get very angry.  You are not alone if you do feel this.  I just don't want anyone else to have to go through this.  Please, please do not let these thoughts of suicide take over.  There is always some one or something to help you.