Paxil Withdrawal

[Dana1981]

I've tried to get off Paxil recently and had the WORST problems. After researching and talking to people who have gotten off (or tried to get off) of the drug I am horrified that Paxil is still being prescribed. I am also AMAZED that a DOCTOR would actually say that this isn't dangerous, or that it isn't the PAXIL!?!? Are you kidding? How much were you paid to say that? Paxil DID help with my panic attacks. Did not cure or stop them, but helped. Then getting off of it, or trying to was ABSOLUTE HELL! I can't walk because I'm so dizzy I can't keep my balance. My head feels foggy and cloudy. My head also hurts and it feels like someone keeps hammering a nail into my eyes. I cannot read a book or focus on the computer screen. I get confused and do not understand even the simplest of things. I am 27, smart, in shape and fast- paced. When trying to slowly wean off of this drug - I become slow and confused. Also, I become nauseous, the lights around become extremely bright. I cannot stand the lights even in my house. I have to squint and then even cover my eyes. I become emotional -- overly ovely emotional. I become paranoid and scared and start to panic because I see shadows out of the corners of my eyes. Then I try to go to work and I can't correctly hear or understand what people are saying to me. I feel like I'm watching a movie or it is a dream. I start to wonder if I'm losing my mind. I start sweating in my own house (that I always keep at 60 degrees) and have to go outside in the 30 degree weather with a tank top on. That is if I don't fall down the steps from the dizziness or the shocks in my head. I became extremely angry and irratated. So angry that family members suggested that I go to anger management classes. That was before they knew that it was the Paxil. These are just some of the MAIN things I am feeling while slowly slowly weaning off of this drug that was supposed to help me. My doctor that put me on Paxil told me to only stay on it for 1 year. So one year later, this is what's going on. It is happening to everyone trying to wean off of Paxil. If you don't have one symptom, you have the other. And lucky me, I have most of them. I have NO time to take off of work and I worked like this every day until I couldn't take it anymore and went back on Paxil. I read one doctor say that this was a safe drug and there are no withdrawal symptoms and I had to laugh out loud. Please "doctor" try out Paxil for yourself for a year or 2 and then stop taking it. My husband was on Paxil in the army and stopped taking it and got what they call the "Paxil Flu". This is a dangerous drug that has many side effects and many MANY more withdrawal symptoms. You might as well be on heroin and try to get off. If I could go back, I would have never gotten on Paxil. It helped with panic attacks but gave me about 30 other problems. So to sum up.... when on Paxil you get to look forward to gaining weight, making bad decisions and choices that will affect the rest of your life and coming close to death while trying to get off of this drug from HELL!!
P.S. There are documents stating that GSK (the makers of Paxil) knew that there were horrible withdrawal symptoms and hid this fact. So either the doctor's don't know about it or they're lying to us. Either way, this is happening.. it's real and extremely dangerous.

[Paxilbegone]

Coming off of Paxil now...way too quickly, but it seems that with me, this is the only way that it is ever going to happen.

It can be described as an "other worldly" experience, to say the least. The ringing in my ears never ceases. What it does do however, is range from low and steady to punctuated moments of heightened intensity.

Today, driving a very familiar route, I find myself disorientated and turned around heading away from the location I am trying to get to.

The vertigo ranges from somewhat unpleasant to absolutely disorienting.

What feels better than anything is laying in a bathtub full of cold water.

This is day 3 of the excitement...not looking forward to the nausea of day 4.

[Paxiled]

Gee, you should see the actual horror story sites!  This forum is a piece of cake!  But don't be so quick to ban a medication.  If you've tried everything else and you're life is unliveable, Paxil might be the only thing that helps.  But I think most thinking people today would use it as a last resort drug.  Unfortunately, the doctor we see may not be one of the thinking people.  There are methods that don't use medication, so you're not left with nothing -- PMS is a hormonal problem, and my own opinion is that the use of antidepressants to treat it are just ways to sell more drugs given that none of the drugs for mental illness can do anything for hormonal imbalances.  Natural medicine has proved very helpful on this issue for many people.  As to the other stuff, therapy and lifestyle changes do help some people, so don't just assume there's nothing you can do short of taking Paxil!

[Jen52679]

I was just prescribed Paxil to treat my Anxiety, PMS and social problems..needless to say I haven't taken any yet and THANK GOD I did my research before hand!!! WHY ON EARTH is this medicine still being prescribed?? Ive been sitting here reading everyones horrible withdrawl stories OMG!! Id much rather just have feelings of shortness of breath (anxiety) be a total ***** to everyone around me (pms) and just stay home when everyone wants to go out (social) I am sooooo sorry that all of you are experiencing these horrible side effects due to this EVIL DRUG!! Guess what im going to do tomorrow..im going to print this entire forum..and bring it to the DR and watch him read it..then afterwards ask him WTF he was thinking!!! Good Luck to all of you who are still fighting this thing!!

[Paxiled]

As to the above, switching before tapering off to a very low dose isn't probably a good idea, as you don't know which problems are withdrawal and which are from the new med, and since no two meds are the same they really don't substitute for one another.  The only drug listed in protocols to switch to at the end of a taper is Prozac, because it leaves the body much more slowly than other ssrs, while Zoloft also leaves the body quickly and can have pretty bad withdrawals as well, so I don't think this would work well generally.  Glad it worked for the poster, however.

[brandy681]

I came off of the highest dose of Paxil easily but my dr just switched me from Paxil to the highest dose of Zoloft. Zoloft is not near as addicting as Paxil but slightly addicting but they have the same properties.  I experienced bad headaches slight anxiety, slightly jittery but not bad.. The symptoms were not too bad but I know it would have been aweful going cold turkey. So I had mild symptoms but a few times it got moderately bad. The headache was the worse. Plus feeling a little more anxious then usual. I would recommend if you are going cold turkey then switch to 200 mg Zoloft or wean off Paxil at a very slow rate and then switch to Zoloft to counter any small withdrawals and then from there, wean off of Zoloft.

[bubbyoffpaxil]

Thank you for your posts that helped me understand my paxil withdrawal is real.  I've been on the generic paroxotene for appr. 10 yrs.  I started weaning off in Jun 2012 from 20mg to 10mg thru doctors advice.  I stayed at that dose for 4 mos.  without any stress.   In Oct. i went to 5mg/day and started having the odd bout of dizziness and nausea, but nothing too extreme.  In January all hell broke loose when i went to 5mg every second day.  I had extreme dizziness, nausea and ended up in bed for almost 8 weeks.  I couldn't function; no cooking, no cleaning.  My family helped to look after me...i just basically got up to go to the washroom and shower.  I also had a severe case of diahrea for almost 4 days.  I was eating crackers and apple sauce for a week because i couldn't stomach any other food.  I was still bedridden when i continued with the reduction Feb 1, /13 i reduced again to 5mg every 3 days (still not doing well) but i was determined.  For 5-6 weeks more i felt like crap and was noticing that by the second day not taking a pill i felt better and felt worse taking one on the third day; so i completely stopped Mar 11/13 and gradually started to feel better and got outta bed.  I still am not 100 percent and the one thing that really bothers me thru this is my sense of smell and taste are very sensitive.  I don't like alot of toothpastes and soaps and foods that appeal one day gross me out the next...the one good thing to come of this is i quit smoking 3 months ago because i couldn't stand the smell or taste.   In my experience the only way to get off paxil is gradually and be patient and talk to your doctor consistently.