Paxil Withdrawl and St. Johns Wort Effects

[Corie]

I am currently weening myself off of paxil.  I am down from 20ml to 5ml a day.  In the mean time I am supplementing with St. Johns Wort.  Could you please tell me what to expect when I have finished the Paxil and is St. Johns Wort a reputible supplement?  Or should I take anything at all?  What recommendations do you have?

Thanks!

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

St John's has some of the same ingredients, in natural form, as some of the antidepressants but it is no a reliable dose and purity. Its okay to use like you are doing, but you would be better off with nothing in the long run.  To avoid withdrawal effects from Paxil you should not only lower the dose but also,for the last week, take the lowest dose every other day, then stop.  YOu may have no effects at all with that method, or a few days of gastrointestinal, mild symptoms, and some odd feelings,  and that should be it.

[Baby123]

Hey, just wondered how long you have been weaning and how you did it.  By week, month, etc?  Did you have any withdrawals?  I take effexor and have heard effexor and paxil are the two hardest to get off of with the worst withdrawals.  I haven't been on the effexor but 9 weeks but don't plan to take it long term so I was just curious.  I take it for anxiety and hope to be able to control the stress and anxiety through relaxation/behavorial techniques once I get stabilized.  Thanks.

[Corie]

Hi there,

You were wondering about my weaning process.  Well I have been on Paxil for just over a year.  Sometime in December I cut my dosage back from 20ml to 10ml.  The first couple of days I felt a little sluggish and slightly disoriented.  This only lasted for a couple of days though.  Just 4 days ago I decided to cut back once again from 10ml to 5ml.  So far this has been going quite well.  I am also experiencing some fatigue, very mild disorientation and some headaches.  I find it to be like I was when I first started on Paxil, just not quite as severe.  But remember I am also supplementing with St. Johns Wort (liquid form - 15 drops twice a day).  I will continue with the 5ml Paxil for week or so and then I will be finished my perscription and hope to not have to get a refill.  

I have read alot about different side effects and withdrawl symptoms, which kind of scared me when I decided to start the weaning process, but I think because I have done it so slowly and gradually that the effect in minimal and nothing that I can't handle.

Hope this answers your question.

Have a great day!

[down2mars]

I gracefully stumbled upon this site and for once don't feel so alone. In the past 3 years I've experienced extreme anxiety. It came about when I had my first committed long-term relationship and I noticed how nervous and fearful I was to screw things up. It grew so much that I didn't sleep for months. It wasn't until a year later that I went on 30mg of Paxil. It helped tremendously but after weaning off it this past year I realize I may just have to take it indefinitely. The withdrawals have been so subtle that not until 6 months passed I realized that I was paranoid. I hardly sleep and fear for my life every night that i rest my head. I prayed about it, talked to a therapist, and inevitably came up with the answer that I need to get back on something. I'm now on 12.5mg/per day of Paxil CR. I started 4 days ago and I feel totally drugged and sometimes queezy. I haven't felt any less anxiety-- more in fact. I didn't sleep the last 2 nights. I am hopeful that i will feel better soon, but I can't help but think that this medicine is a lifetime dependency i'll have. Does anyone have a story of triumph that they can share?

[sdc1213]

The weird thing about anxiety is ... that it can come on to you like a bad day and last for so long if untreated. It's odd how one day you'll be fine, the next you're having a panic attack and the following months you're worried about having another one. My definition of anxiety is when you take so many small things and compact into one huge blow to the head it seems like and that's when you start freaking out. Before when I was taking zoloft I was doing great although it took me about 18 months to be anxiety free and not worry but within a few weeks I thought I was doing so well that I stopped taking my medicine by myself (WRONG MOVE!) that's when I had a relapse and here I am back in stage 1. I guess what I'm getting at is whether you have mild side effects (sluggish feelings/ect) wouldnt you rather had the side effects then to have anxiety? To me anxiety is one of the worst mental illnesses a person can have I think worst then depression.

[calm_now]

I was taking 20 mg paxil for two weeks and had a every bad episode. I stopped taking it on Tuesday march 16 and on the 17 I took 10 mg because I could not function at all. I have not taken any more for two days and feel better now.

Does any one knows how long before the effect of this drug wears out completely?

[total_mess]

I've been taking Paxil since I was taken off Zoloft due to the side effects.  That was 8 1/2 years ago, right after I had my son.  I have extreme anxiety, I've been anxious since I can remember I just didn't seek help till I started having panic attacks after having my son.  Looking back, I'd had them before I just didn't know what was happening to me. I hate to go to work and hate being put in social situations.  I've had some therapy in the past and it did help somewhat, but not really with the anxiety.  I am in the process of trying to find a new therapist in my area....but anyway, I wanted to explain some of my history with the anxiety and depression (I've been depressed since I was a child) and my history with Paxil.  I'm taking 45 mgs right now, I was just raised from 30.  I tried to come off paxil many, many times in the past 8 years and the side effects are so miserable for me.  They last forever.  Imagine hearing a door slam and you turn your head to look and nothing's there of course, but when you turned your head to look, you heard it again over the other shoulder...I guess you'd call them auditory hallucinations, but it was awful and walking was awkward, my whole balance seemed off...And along with the depression and anxiety I've been Hyper my whole freaking life.  The paxil and the valium coctail I'm on bring me down and there's no hyperness, heck there's barely any energy at all, point being When I stopped the paxil within 1 to 2 days I'm a ball of energy again, but it's all NERVOUS energy, I love that I can run around again like a little kid but I constantly have a pain in my stomach (nerves!), I sweat even more than I do with the paxil, and I'm immediately angry and depressed and so high strung, I cannot even begin to explain it...I'm afraid for right now I feel like I'm tied to the paxil, it rules my life, don't forget a dose, as soon as I feel so irritated with the world that I'm gonna explode I think 'oh yeah, it's time for the paxil'.  Honestly I'm hoping that I can find a  good therapist that can help me and a GOOD Psychiatrist, (that's the important part, I was just thrown onto paxil without my psychiatrist telling me a thing about the side effects or withdrawls) so I can come off of this evil thing I can't live without...I'm 28 years old and of course I'm single because of this damn anxiety, I feel it with or without the paxil, it seems that the only thing the paxil does is kill that feeling in your stomach, you know the one I'm talking about...but I can't date or meet new people and I feel like I'll be alone the rest of my because of this...but like I said I'm hoping to overcome some of this with a new therapist and psychiatrist...wish me luck!!!

[sparkygirl]

St Johns Wort reduces the effectiveness of birth control pills! (
Many years ago I went to my Dr and asked for St Johns Wort and thats what he told me.  He gave me Paxil instead which I was able to wean myself off gradually over a short period as I was only taking 20mg.  My experience was this:  I knew to expect dizziness so I made sure to have food etc in the house so I would not have to drive. I did this on a weekend and cancelled any obligations, told family I wouldn't be going out.  As expected I was dizzy for the weekend and was able to return to work on Monday. Since you are now down to 5mg, it shouldn't be too bad.  Continue therapy so that someone objective can tell if your original symptoms come back.  Hope this helps.
Good luck!  :)

[dreamy morgahns mommy]

I have been on paxil cr for about 6 months due to a cardiomyopathy and extreme depression after I had my daughter.  When I started the paxil 25 mg I noticed I had bad headaches and tiredness.  I decided I wanted to come off the paxil so my doc put me down to 12,5 mg for a week.  I have been off this pill for a fuew days and have noticed dizziness and headache.  I was wondering if this happened to anyone else, or if it was normal, I cant seem to find anything on my senerio on the net.  I would appreciate help, or yoy can email me at mommy_name***@****

[RRL]

I have gone thru the process of weening off of Paxil CR, 12.5 every other day for 4 days after 12.5 for 1 week prior to that. I am extremely dizzy and feel like my head is disconnected. I thought that something else was going on, could it just be withdrawal related after 1 full week of not taking anything?

[pamdamudda]

I have been taking Paxil for years.  I decided I wanted to get off but it is not so easy.  The first time I tried-I was taking 20 mg a day - I went to 10 mg and was fine but after two weeks I just stopped it and I had an extreme reaction - anxiety, vomiting etc., and I couldnt rest - I had to keep moving. It was awful.  This time I went from 20 to 15 to 10 and now 5. I was on 2.5 but when I went of the 2.5 I got sick again. So now I am on 5mg. My chiroprator gave me something called Nevaton to take to help withdrawal.  I am afraid to take it because it has St. Johm's Wort in it and I am afraid to combine Paxil with St. Johns Wort.  I read on the Quit Paxil site that you should wait 2-3 weeks until Paxil is out of system.  Can you tell me if I can take this with 5 mg of Paxil? Thanks

[andie42]

shouldnt there be a wait time between paxil and SJW? im weaning off paxil and trazadone but was told to wait before going on SJW

[AJC]

Look up "Gwen Olsen" on youtube or google video.

[andie42]

Paxil withdrawl can be brutal! I'm one of the lucky ones in that my w/d symtoms are not to extreme. I was lucky enough to find a site called paxilprogress that really helped me and still does. I quit in about 3.5 mos. but i have only been with zero paxil for a few days - so i know from past drops in dosage that the affects of that can still occur ... even weeks later or months later.

[Lexus28]

I have been on paxil for3 years and have gained 35 lbs. I went on jenny craig and have been able to loose 30 lbs in a year.I finaly decided to get off paxil so today i stoped and gave it to God ,but the crazy eye feeling i get that when i move my eyes i was begining to think i had a brain tumor.Thank God i found this site and read all the side effects i also want to get off because my cholesterol is high and i know that's another drug in me and that is just to much. If things get to tough i think i'll cut it in half like some of you and try that way .Thanks for all the info.
                        Lisimae

[maggi may]

has anybody tried st johns wort im trying it 4 panic attacks i would jst like to know did any1 suffer with side effects??