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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Paxil Withdrawel Issues
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Paxil Withdrawel Issues
by ckel2632, Oct 26, 2005 12:00AM
Thank GOD I found this site! It has been a blessing to see that I am not crazy and the withdrawel effects I am having are common! I am a 38 year old Male....The withdrawal effects I am having are "Shock type feelings", "Severe Dizzyness", "Episodes of disorientation", "Muscle aches"........
My question is, HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? and IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO to eliviate this?
Case:
I have been on Paxil for 10 years, doses ranging from 10-40mg per day.
Went to doctor due to side effects on Paxil (Sexual disfunction, weight gain, listlessness, etc)
My doctor switched me over to Wellbutrin (300mg) per day and told me to ween off the Paxil
I have been taking 10mg per day and will soon be down to 5mg per day, and then every other day...
Should I just quit the Paxil cold turkey? these withdrawel symptoms are not any better in the weening process... HELP!
My question is, HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? and IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO to eliviate this?
Case:
I have been on Paxil for 10 years, doses ranging from 10-40mg per day.
Went to doctor due to side effects on Paxil (Sexual disfunction, weight gain, listlessness, etc)
My doctor switched me over to Wellbutrin (300mg) per day and told me to ween off the Paxil
I have been taking 10mg per day and will soon be down to 5mg per day, and then every other day...
Should I just quit the Paxil cold turkey? these withdrawel symptoms are not any better in the weening process... HELP!
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Oct 26, 2005 12:00AM
, Oct 26, 2005 12:00AM
the final stage is 2.5 mg every third day for one week, then quit...you want to avoid the possibility of seizures.
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I have went back to the slow ween.. I am still having SOME vertigo an some of the surges I mentioned before. I am down to around 5mg per day. I am assuming my body will need to adjust to that dose of Paxil before I should take the next step of reducing it to 2.5mg? and then wait again for the body to adjust and so on.. Is this the correct way to do this?
Keeping in mind, I was on the Paxil for 10 years, I am assuming its going to take a while for my body to adjust to being without it..
I have been taking paxil for just under ten years and have tried to give them up many many times but to no affect.
The side affects are so strong and frightening for me that i just give in and start them again.
I have spoken to many doctors about this but i just get the same thing form them time and time again, "just take them, you can be on them forever, there fine". This i have a problem with because when i first started them i was having huge panic attacks and even stayed indoors for 2 years, thankfuly i met my husband and he helped me get through them to the point that i was able to go see phc, and began the paxil, which helped me so much i was able to return to my normal life. The problem now is that during the years i have been taking my paxil 20mg per day i also have been going to classes and self help groups and havent had a panic attack in over 3 years! i feel so strong now that i know i dont need to be on paxil anymore, but with these awelful affects i really think i will have to stay on them forever.
I dont know what the answer is - but I think doctors are far too keen to prescribe these drugs. I had a helluva time getting of Effexor and I want nothing more to do with these drugs ever again. Good luck
I stopped cold turkey over 6 days ago - doing everything humanly possible
QUESTION - WHEN CAN I EXPECT THIS TO START GOING AWAY - these side effects - no one is answering the question everyone is asking
I am taking happy camper, niacin, b12 and running 2 miles aday
these side effects are killing me
please somone please tell me how long
with no options in site, no insurance, and no dr. who actually listened; i decided to do a little experimenting. paxil, being an SSRI i decided to try MDMA's and psilocybin. the MDMA did nothing. suprising, since extacy is such a potent drug. the psilocybin worked and i think would have been a good way out via a controled dose through the weening process and continued for a shirt time after. well, we all know psilocybin is illegal and with its possession welcomes a felony. to be honest, a risk i am willing to take to get off this crippling paxil. but the availability of psilocybin is quite dry. finally, methadone. since the physical and psychological side effects of paxil withdrawal are similar to those of heroin, i gave it a shot. it works! but you cant get treated at a clinic unless you have an opiate dependency, which i dont. so to the street i go.
welcome to america.
Good luck, and happy new year!
I am a 26 year old healthy female. I have been taking paxil 10 mg for almost 3 years now. I was put on the drug for panic attacks at first, then stopped taking it( which I must say was a challange) when me and my husband stared trying for our second child. I then was placed back on it for PPD; I have since been taking it. I talked to my OBGYN and asked him when he though that I should start coming off of the drug. He stated that he thought that with the current condition that I was in, it would be best to continue taking it until my latest child was a little older (like one year old). Which I agreed was probably a good idea. Well, it is coming up now that he is almost a year old, and I really want to stop the medication again. I know it's gonna be difficult and dread it, but I really don't see taking it forever.
I guess the real reason that I wrote was to ask a quick question. I have always had the stranges muscle spasms since I have been taking this drug. I usually take it at night because it does cause me to feel somewhat sleepy. So when I lay down at night; its almost like my body has a mind of its own. There is no other real problems that I have WHILE taking it. I have read only a few things about paxil's side affects, but this one doesn't seem to come up alot. Can some give me a little light on the subject.. Thanks
I have been on Paxil CR for 3 years. At the time I started, I had many obvious reasons for depression. Stressful career, Finances, I was a care taker for my ill father, later executor of his estate -- dealing with greedy family members, panic attacks, major depression, chronic back pain since 1989 from an auto accident. (pain & depression go together) My detoxing started when I was ill & forgot about taking my meds on a reg. basis about 3 + weeks ago. It made me consider stopping the meds for good to see if I "really" needed to be on them. After all, I have had a turn around in the last year and I feel that it is time for me to see if I still need to be on all of these meds... including wellbutrin, xanax, vicodin, IB Profen, etc. It has been over 3 wks (cold turkey) & I know I needed to wean off, but went with the flow since I had started. I thought I have been going CRAZY with the sea sickness, motion sickness, sensitive to smells -- visuals -- sounds -- touch -- taste, shock sensations, extreme muscle pains, flu symptoms & stomach nausea, etc. I have been thinking of going back on Paxil to stop these symptoms. However, after reading this site ... it doesn't sound like it would help. I am glad to see I am not going CRAZY! I got on line to see how long this will continue?? NO ONE ANSWERS THIS QUESTION?!
I do remember watching a documentary a few months back about getting off "PAXIL." The show indicated that the doctors lead us to believe that it takes weeks and the manufacture has known for a long time that it can take up to 4 months. I was hopeful to find something here that would prove otherwise. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANSWERS TO THIS? I know I can't last that long. These symptoms are controlling my quality of life, but I don't want to drag it out by restarting Paxil. Three plus weeks is too much time to turn back on.
I also had a close friend that had cancer removed in the brain & limited life expectancy. Shortly after he went to an Amish doctor & was told to change what he ate -- adding herbs and he would beat this. 90% of physical illnesses can be corrected with diet. I can't speak for depression. This is what made me want to change what I put into my body. I want ot rid myself of unnecessary poisonous medications and toxins.
LOOKING FOR TESTIMONIES ON HOW LONG THESE SYMPTOMS WILL CONTINUE?
I have gain 60 POUNDS!!!!!!! since starting to take the medication, and what is so amazing is, I was put on the medication to assist with an eating disorder!!!
I would recommed that someone consult with their physician before quitting. I am told it can result in seizures. I was so upset that I just quit. The main symptom I am having is aggression. I literally want to fight most people I see. Night sweats are another big problem. I usually change night clothes a few times a night (if I sleep at all). This is just a horrible horrible horrible drug and I would tell everyone to avoid it like the plague!!!!
that I printed from the computer and explained the discontinuation and withdrawal symptoms to him, he phoned me when he had a free moment.
I have 95% of the withdrawal symptoms. (Minus suicidal thoughts) First statement from him was to return to the Paxil CR 25mg for a wk and 2 pills the 2nd wk. I advised him that after research, I don't know that I truly want to continue taking Paxil CR. He advised me to continue taking all of my medications except the Paxil CR until I see him next month. My purpose for using Paxil CR is that I suffer from Panic attacks and depression. I have noticed that I do have more panic attacks since I discontinued the Paxil CR, but I have xanax to temporarily help with that. I know that xanax is an addictive medication as well. But I take it extremely sparingly. I am fortunate that I have no addiction to it and I am very careful about taking it. I look at it as the better of the two evils. Xanax goes out of my system within hours and Paxil CR is extremely addictive and difficult to discontinue -- (I can only speak for myself about Xanax) My main goal is to treat my problem of panic attacks and depression and not mask the problem with medications. Sleeping my life away on the medication is not a quality of life. (among other side effects)
Gosh, I can't wait to be free of Paxil in my system. I have no regrets of stopping this medication. I just need to get through the hell it's putting me through. I will keep you updated, when I finally feel free of the withdrawal symptoms. Even though each person is different, we all need some type of hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Many blessings!
Mine was six years ago. No one tells you about side effects or how getting off the meds is pure hell. You actually feel crazier than you did when you first got on them. At least that's what it was like for me. One thing I've learned through experiance is DO NOT get off cold turkey. I ran out of meds the week of Christmas two years ago and I literally felt out of my mind. I did things I wouldn't normally do, ruined my family's Christmas and might have killed myself had it not been for my best friend(the coworker mentioned above).
I am struggling right now. I have sensitivity to light and sound. My entire head is in a vice and my brain wants to crawl out of my skull. It's torture and it's one day at a time. My only suggestion is to find an outlet. I write in my journal and it helps put things into perspective. This will not last forever. I want to be myself again, not this borderline crazy shadow of myself.
I'm glad I found this place. Maybe it would help if we talk about how each day goes and be a support to eachother, because NO ONE trully understands what it's like in our heads. Let's help eachother.
http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8666
I was on Paxil for little over a year. I had lost some weight ( about 35lbs) on a diet prior to my paxil expereince. I started to gain my weight back, with in three months time i was 20lbs heavier. I was very upset. I made an appointment to talk with my doctor about getting offof it. He suggested a weening plan that consited of three more months. I said "ok" and went on my way. I got home and threw it away. I thought what could happen. I would start to maintain my weight , things would be great. for the next three or four months i experienced all of these symptoms. I felt like a heroine addict detoxing.
nausea
body "Zaps"
disorientaion
Clumbsiness
Dizzeness
migraines
flu-like symptoms
balance problems
body/leg aches
sweats
chills
vivid dreams
night mares
exhuastion
severe depression
suicide thoughts ( i never wanted to hurt my self but i would have thoughts of if my life ended i would be better.)
could barley walk/talk/work for four months
uncontrolable sobbing fits (I wore sun glasses for months)
I will tell you that, even though it seemed it would never end. It did. for me at least. I drank LOTS of Water. and took over the counter antihystamines ( spelling)This helped with the flu-like symptoms and nausea. I slept a lot and when i worked i drank tea and kept a journal. Writing down each and everything you are going through and reading others experiences, helps you to know you are not alone! Try the water and take the antihystamines, you will feel an improvement.For now, i say hang in there, and try NOT to go cold TURKEY.It was the hardest thing i have experienced in my life to date.
Best Wishes,
Ossa
I can share my story. I was not on paxil (luckily) but was on on 25mg of zoloft (the second worst SSRI behind Paxil for withdrawl syptoms (symptoms)) for about a year and half for post traumatic stress from a really bad accident. It helped a little but I gained about 15 lbs. in 6-8 months. I’m only 5’3 so that’s a lot of weight!! I tried to stop taking it a couple months ago but I became really dizzy after missing 3 doses. So I decided to go back on it. I stayed on the drug for another 6 months to prevent the withdrawal instead of to cure my post traumatic stress!!
Recently I switched jobs and lost my insurance. I knew this was coming so I started cutting my pills to wean myself off of the drug. After about 4 months I was successfully down to 6 mg. without many severe withdrawal symptoms. I thought 6mg was low enough so I decided to stop taking zoloft altogether. I saved a few extra pills just in case.
After about 4 days of being off, I started to become dizzy, I had really bad headaches, and was severely depressed. I also had several mild panic attacks. Not good! I’d never had a panic attack before (luckily). They are not fun!!! My symptoms only worsened for the next 7 days. Everyday I would say to myself “At least tomorrow can’t be any worse than today!” and I would be wrong. I was so dizzy! I couldn’t turn my head at all or the entire world would start spinning. I actually went to an acupuncturist to help with the anxiety and depression. It helped a lot. I strongly recommend trying it!!
Everyday I wanted to take a zoloft and make it all stop but I kept on fighting. I knew I could do it. I knew I could beat the drug. I told myself that the pain was only temporary, it will eventually go away and I will be able to move on with my life, drug free. And I did!!!
After 7 days of withdrawal my symptoms started to improve. I could turn my head without getting dizzy, my constant headache was going away and I wasn’t having panic attacks. It has been 2weeks since the withdrawal symptoms started and I actually feel normal!!!! i still have an occassional mild dizzy spells but nothing compared to what they used to be. I actually feel better and happier now than I ever did while on Zoloft!! i can actually feel my emotions and sex is enjoyable again!!!
I did it and you can too!!! Everybody's withdrawal experience is different. For example, some people get the "evil zap" feelings. thank god i never had those. What ever you do, do not quit cold turkey! wean yourself slowly and hopefully the withdrawl syptoms (symptoms) won't be too severe.
I hope my experience helps you.
good luck!!
I let my meds run out because I was tired of the sexual side effects.I went from to 20mg (for 3 years) to 10mg for the past 2 weeks.
A lot of effort is needed to feel better; most often too much, I'd say, but as long as we start dealing with our problem as something that can be verbalized, our lives could be a bit happier.
This is our daily extremely difficult challenge!
Take care. :)
I used to be on Paxil, but went of it for so many reasons, it was so long ago, but I know the withdrawel was terrible
The Dr changed it to Luvox, I have been on Luvox for 2 years, but because my medical aid do not pay for lovox anymore, the Dr have put me on Wellbutrin, I have been a month of Luvox and it feel like I am dying, This weekend I thought I was going to have a stroke, or that I have a brain tumor.
Everytime I move my eyes it feels like my brain have shortwired. Lots of weird sensation in my head.
After reading all the comments I feel much better, specialy because I do not feel alone anymore.
I have been w/drawling from Paxil for 6 wks now. My main symptoms and so similar to the reason I went on the evil drug that I thought "this must be my baseline". THe "brain shocks", I've had the mood swings, major depression and uncontrollable crying. I, also, have called into work 3 times and need to be very careful of that.
I am so relieved and encouraged to read your blogs. I really thought I would have to kill myself. The suicide ideations are so severe I didn't even want to tell my Dr about it for fear she would put me back on it. Don't worry- reading these has me much more encouraged. I just want this all to stop soon.
I was taking 20mg for 2 yrs. Went to 10 for a week then 5. Realizing this was too fast a titration I have been taking 5 for 10 days. The symptoms have not gotten any better but now I know to hang in there.
Thank you, thank you.
Like most of you have said, it helps to read the experiences of others. I quit cold turkey on March 8th/06, and I'm HOPING that the symptoms I'm experiencing right now don't get any worse. This isn't the first time I've quit Paxil. The first time I did the tapering method, it took me about 4 months, gradually cutting the pills into smaller and smaller pieces to get off completely. All it did was lessen the withdrawal symptoms by spreading them out over 4 months. I don't even want to get into why after the first time I would go back on Paxil, but I'm sure many of you that suffer from depression would understand; it SEEMED like it was the only thing that worked and I wanted to do anything to feel better.
I am dedicated to getting off this **** sooner than later. I will beat the hold this drug has on me once and for all I'm not giving it another 4 months of my life to ween off it.
I'm not going to bore you by listing all my symptoms but I'm experiencing almost every single one. What I started doing as soon as the symptoms started getting bad was I created a spreadsheet with all the symptoms on one side and the severity of each one per day in columns next to it. I think this helps because you can look back and see whether the symptoms are going away (your progress).
The fact that no one answers the "How long does it take question" - even in their own experience - tells me that the symptoms must not go on for that long. All I can say is if you ween you may be going through it for 4+ months. When my symptoms go away from quitting cold turkey I will let you all know exactly how long it took for me. I urge others to do the same.
I also wanted to suggest to everyone who doesn't know about it already to research treatment resistant depression caused by Magnesium deficiency (way more common than you think). I have been taking 300mg of Magnesium Citrate every day for about a month before quitting Paxil and I REALLY believe it helped. Before I started the Magnesium I didn't feel I could handle quitting, and going through the withdrawal etc, but it made me feel like I was ready to kick the Paxil addiction.
Anyways, I hope someone finds this helpful... I'm not normally this long winded, it is yet another manifestation of withdrawal.
I'm not a doctor, but I spend 3-5 hours a day at work researching stuff like this, and have a success story. Using 5-HTP makes withdrawing from Paroxetine and other SSRIs much easier... just be careful not to over-do it because 5-HTP will increase serotonin levels making SSRIs more potent (and possibly leading to Serotonin Syndrome). As you start taking less Paxil, take more 5-HTP. You shouldn't take several hundred mgs of 5-HTP like some sources suggest.
My girlfriend and her mother were on Zoloft (sertraline, an SSRI like Paxil). I talked my g/f into getting off the drug with the help of 5-HTP (mother is too stubborn though)... Girlfriend took 50mg/day of 5-HTP the first week then 100mg the next few weeks... for the past 4 months she has been taking one 50mg pill a day with dinner. She still had some withdrawal symptoms (like dizziness, aches, etc), but she said it was nowhere near the withdrawel symptoms she had when she tried to wean off of zoloft last summer without the 5-HTP. She's a new girl now!
Ask your doctor about 5-HTP... just keep in mind that doctors are not trained to sell natural remedies. Most online sites describing 5-HTP say the same thing... "more studies are needed"... but I'm convinced it works. A month supply of 5-HTP can be found in a health store for $10-$25... worth a shot, yeah?
Do your RESEARCH:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroxetine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-htp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome
and there are many other success stories on the net... I have also heard that 5-HTP is actually prescribed in Europe by doctors, but have not verified this (do a web search of: "5-HTP is prescribed in Europe"). 5-HTP could also help you lose those extra pounds the Paxil put on.
Remember to be careful when using 5-HTP with SSRIs! And if you know anyone considering anti-depressants, refer them to 5-HTP first. Some people have reported to be allergic to 5-HTP, and they say serotonin(5-htp) decreases libido, but I can't imagine the g/f being any more interested in sex than she already is! Of course she never took more than 100mg/day :)
I'm glad the drug companies are starting to be exposed like they should.
I am 43 y/o female who has lived in New Orleans all my life. I survived Katrina with minimal damage but did lose my job and have not returned to work yet. I went to the doctor for lack of motivation and possibly depression all though I rarely cried. He prescribed Paxil 20 mgs daily and told me that we sometimes "run out of Serotonin" and this was happening to so many people affected by the storm. I took the Paxil as prescribed for almost two weeks. The first 6 days were the worst. My eyes were terribly dry. I kept "zoning" out. My appetite decreased. I tried to sleep around the clock because in my mind I was trying to get back to a normal schedule. On the 7th day I felt fine. Like the old me. I was energetic and wanted to get out of the house. I would get these moments of "thrill" you know, like squealing with joy for no apparent reason. But I could NOT have an orgasm and this is one of the reasons I stopped taking the Paxil. I would rather be "depressed" and I just had a gut feeling that this medicine was not good for me. Now the question...
Is it possible to have withdrawals after only 2 weeks of Paxil? I have nausea, abdominal pains, and a weird "pause" in my brain. I don't know how to explain that last one it's not a zap like electricity, just a pause. I have been having crazy dreams every night. Not good ones, not really nightmares, but tiresome dreams that keep me from sleeping soundly. Anyone else have withdrawals after such a short time? Thanks.