Safe to stop Paxil 10mg after 3 days?

[ScaredyCatty]

Well... I've decided this is not for me...

I need a natural method to stop my general anxiety (Luckily, it only happens outdoors), so I want to end this garbage, anyways.

But I heard it really wrecks you over with dependancy, so I said "Nope, nope, nope"...

And my parents didn't know about that!

So I want to stop, once and for all...

So I want to ask if it's safe to stop this thing after swallowing 10mg for 3 days?

Thank you very much.

[Paxiled]

For some reason this poster put this last part in a PM to me, but I don't know why.  I will say, when you mention your parents, my question is, how old are you?  Since you mention the problem is "only outdoors," do you mean it's not seriously affecting your life, and did anyone suggest therapy with you before putting you on medication?  Is this the first med you've tried -- it's not common to start anyone off one Paxil as a first resort -- usually it's a last resort, as it's the most difficult of these meds to stop taking.  As for "dependency," antidepressants are not technically addictive drugs, but they are as hard or harder to stop for many people as addictive drugs are.  But it's not really dependency that is the problem -- that more refers to being habituated to something.  You take an antidepressant because you've found nothing else that lets you go on with life.  If you stop, you have to do it slowly to avoid withdrawals, but if it's only been 3 days you're very unlikely to have any.  But it's not a case of "building up in your system," it's more a case of the brain becoming used to operating unnaturally, and then when you stop trying to go back to operating naturally.  Side effects start right away, whereas beneficial effects usually take most people about 4-6 weeks to take effect, though results vary.  People metabolize drugs very differently, but the fact this person is having side effects means the drug is very much in the system -- it doesn't need time to build-up, the brain needs the time to stop working naturally and be replaced by the drug forcing the brain to work a different way.  My own opinion for this poster is, as it almost always is, if you haven't tried therapy yet, and you're functioning okay in life, just not as well as you'd like, it's not time for invasive medication yet.  If you're life is non-functional in a significant way and therapy hasn't worked, it's time to consider medication.  But meds should be taken easiest first, hardest last, and Paxil is one of the hardest.  As for natural ways, natural medicine has a host of remedies that might help but it requires determination and expertise.  Most of the drugs we use were based on what plant medicine already did but not quickly enough or strongly enough in many cases and because it is very hard to do and doesn't bring in the big bucks because you can't patent it.  If the poster is interested in natural medicine, a good overview of what's out there is in a book called Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, a psychiatrist at UCLA who uses natural medicine in her practice.

[AnxiousNoMore]

"But it's not a case of "building up in your system,""
Well, that is exactly what my pharmacist said in explaining it, so I will check it out and rephrase in future if she is incorrect.

[Paxiled]

Paxil, along with every ssri and snri other than Prozac, leaves the body in a matter of hours.  So it obviously isn't a case of building the drug up in the system -- the drug has to be constantly replaced by taking more or the drug is gone.  What's difficult is getting the very complicated brain to do what you want it to -- it's going to try and function naturally until repeatedly taking the drug overrides that system.  That's also why withdrawal is so often a part of stopping these meds -- they're gone from the body, but the brain has to reactivate dormant receptors and it has to decide to function normally again.  If it decides not to, you're in bad shape.  But anyone who has taken these meds knows that the side effects you don't want start right away, which wouldn't happen if the drug weren't well into the system.  That's the body fighting the foreign invader -- the drug -- which the drug also has to override or it can't work.  

[ScaredyCatty]

Hey, OP here.

I'm 24 years old, and out of Paxil for 2 days now.

Feeling better as of now, with an upset stomach, and loss of libido, which it really is worrying me, since I like to be horny and stuff.

When you say the brain decides not to activate receptors, does it mean the libido is gone forever if the brain decides not to activate it again?

I'm drinking lots of water to try and wash away the drug via urine/sweating (Not sure if it's a good idea), and my appetite might have came back (Haven't tried to eat as of now)

I heard the libido comes back after several weeks, so I have to be patient, but I miss not masturbating already...

Still, feeling better is a good goal for me (for now, I still have the constant fear of new symptoms arriving right off the bat, taking me off-guard)

Thank you for answering.

[Paxiled]

You don't have to flush this drug out of your system -- as I said, it's long gone.  It doesn't stay in the body that long.  As for loss of libido, that's a side effect for many of taking antidepressants, but again, it's odd to happen so quickly, but these drugs are very odd.  The trauma you're going through might be the cause of this as well.  As for what I meant by activating receptors, I mean the receptors that serotonin, the neurotransmitter that ssris work on, works through.  The way these drugs work is, they shut off the normal way the body gets rid of used serotonin and they usher serotonin to certain targeted receptors where it can work longer because the body is blocked from breaking it down.  Left to itself, the body likes fresh serotonin.  Because the brain has all this used serotonin flooding the targeted receptors, other receptors shut down.  When the drug is stopped, these receptors try to wake up again, which is thought to be a big part of why there's such a withdrawal problem, and sometimes they just don't wake up.  But that has nothing to do with you libido, and since you've been on the drug for such a short amount of time it's highly unlikely you have any part of this problem.  

[Paxiled]

And let me add, a big problem with many people is that, well, if we didn't have an anxiety problem or depression, we wouldn't be taking these drugs, and one part of being depressed or anxious is that once you feel something that feels bad you expect to feel it again, so it isn't necessarily the drug doing anything to you now, but you expecting bad feelings to repeat themselves.  

[ScaredyCatty]

The good news is, I've been off the drug for 5 days now.

Bad news is, I suffer a bit from a slight shortness of breath and (maybe) erectile dysfunction.

I can masturbate, but I can't keep myself hard like before, which is troubling...

I guess my receptors will eventually "wake up" again to recover those abilities back, right?

Thank you for all your answers.

[saphirrain]

First let me say I'm not any kind of health care professional. I am, however, a lifelong pro when it comes to experience with many medications. I have taken Paxil, it made me too sleepy.
Anyway, it's safe to stop taking ANY drug after only 3 days. It takes much, much longer than that to develop any kind of dependency so there won't be any type of withdrawal symptoms.
Hope this helps, have a good night.

[ScaredyCatty]

Thank you very much!

I really hope no withdrawals are in effect after leaving it...

I just don't feel myself... I can't laugh, I can't cry (I just cried, forcing myself to do so, to feel myself better, maybe). I guess crying means I'm still safe?

I've felt crappy the entire time I've been on this drug, so I just want it to stop...

[AnxiousNoMore]

This med can't have any effect for weeks because it has to build up in your system slowly a bit more each day, so any mental issues that you have experienced are actually what you would have without it. These issues are the reason your doc put you on the med.

You should talk it over with the person who prescribed it before self-medicating, so they can continue to try to help.

[AnxiousNoMore]

You should talk it over with the person who prescribed it instead of going off it on your own, which is self-medicating. It is best if you involve them so they can continue to try to help.

Since you only took 3 doses it will not be a big deal to go back on it if your doc thinks that is best.

You said you want to try natural method. The best one is therapy. Have you tried therapy to see if the issues can be resolved in a one on one discussion?

[ScaredyCatty]

Well... I've gotten quite the good effects...

Nausea, Flu-like Fever, Some dizziness, Heavy Feet (Due to the Flu), electric currents around my hands (Moving my hand up makes it more obvious)

If that's what I have to deal with to get ahead, then so be it... I've never felt so bad before...

[ScaredyCatty]

Also, I've cried a bit today... Felt like emotionless too... I hate not to show any emotions, not even laughter...

It's the worst... I want to laugh, smile, cry... Not this...

[AnxiousNoMore]

Some of those are serious physical effects so that changes the issue, but you also mention the flu, so if you mean you have flu then it is impossible to tell if anything is coming from the med.  

Most side effects disappear with time, but no guarantee, HOWEVER if you have a flu and feel this bad I would not take any more Paxil until feeling well again, so you can figure if the med has effects.

[ScaredyCatty]

Friend... I just don't want to take them anymore!

And it's 3 a.m here... I have to wait several hours until I can talk to my shrink about it...

For now, I'll stop taking them, so I can feel better...