PAXIL WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS MIMIC HEROIN WITHDRAWAL!

[Jaime]

I am suffering from Paxil withdrawals.  Below is more information that the doctors won't tell you!!!

Tell your Doctors, and perhaps they will make the connection! How hard has it been for you to wean yourself from Paxil? It's as agonizing as coming off of heroin..and shares most of the same symptoms and long term effects! While researching an answer to all of the awful symptoms I experienced during my Paxil withdrawal, I was unable to find any medical resources listing Paxil as a source of these particular symptoms we all experience. Guess where I kept finding my search results directing me to? Heroin withdrawal. The symptoms associated with heroin withdrawal that are similar to Paxil withdrawal are: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, restlessness, and leg movements, or jerking. While heroin produces muscle and bone pain, insomnia, and cold flashes with goose bumps ("cold turkey"), which are not identical to Paxil withdrawal, the Paxil symptoms of headache, "electric shocks", dizziness and hot flashes as well as psychotic mental state (violent anger/hopeless depression, unwanted suicidal/homicidal thinking) are similarly debilitating and certainly result in the return to the use of the drug (paxil) in the same way that heroin produces that result! Most experts agree that the major withdrawal symptoms peak between 24 and 48 hours after the last dose of heroin and subside after about a week. However, some people have shown persistent withdrawal signs for many months. I think that most of us (the "experts" on paxil withdrawal!) would agree that, even with careful and lengthy periods of weaning off the drug, at least some of these frightening effects occur and are problematic in our lives for longer than the average heroin withdrawal duration of about a week! Most of us have found that, by the time a week has passed,off Paxil, the terrible sickness we feel has become so great, we are desperate to return to taking the drug again to alleviate the symptoms. And many often do return this way, again and again...simply because we can't afford to lose three weeks or more of work, withdrawing from a medication that Doctors routinely dismiss as not being a cause of such sickness (we all have a really bad case of the flu), or because we are so frightened by the strange, indescribeable physical and mental feelings of disassociation and nervous system "zaps" that we go back to the drug to restore clear thinking, fearing that we are "crazy"...especially since our doctors seem to have no understanding of any of these symptoms as relating to anything they have seen before.   I hope everyone who is serious about finding the truth about the drug Paxil and it's horrible withdrawal symptoms will be sure to notify their health care providers of all of the symptoms experienced with this drug and insist that the details be documented and reported to the manufacturer, distributors, pharmacists and anyone in the medical field who can process this information officially and end the notion that these symptoms are "hearsay", simply because the drug company has not chosen to make them "fact"! And the next time you feel, or someone tells you that withdrawing from Paxil is "not that bad", remember that you are in the throes of a withdrawal so severe. that few others, except heroin addicts, have experienced, and YES, IT IS BAD! But it can be survived!

: Shawn Allen

[captivedream]

I have been on Paxil and Lamictal, low doses of both, for nearly 8 years due to being diagnose with mild BD. I have decided to finally come off these meds on my own. I have no insurance, but because i am a nurse making decent money i do not qualify for a discounted rate just to see the doctor to get another refill every three months. I have known for several years now the problems with coming off Paxil. When i had to change doctors away from the original prescribing doctor, the new one said i did not need my 20mg Paxil a day and that i needed to wean off of it and increase my low dose of 50mg Lamictal to 100mg. I think he did this over only a week or two. When i had no more Paxil i went for over a week with only a total of 15 hrs sleep, the zaps i always felt down my arms and hands when i missed a few days, my head was fuzzy and i could not concentrate, and i got annoyed and angry at the smallest thing. He finally relented and put me back on it. I was very depressed at the time since i had recently started what was a nasty divorce and know i could not have handled these withdrawals, especially since i was alone without family or friends. I am finally at a better place in my life and am ready to do this. After reading this, and other sites tonight i know it will not be easy. I have warned my kids, but know it won't be easy on them. I also did not know why i am always tired and with a lack of motivation to get up and do things. I just want to sleep whenever i am not working. Even after only being up for 5/6 hrs i am ready to go to sleep again. I know i am not being the mother for my kids that i know i can be and am determined to get off this poison! Tonight is my first night of taking only 3/4 of my 20mg Paxil. I won't work on the lamictal til i, hopefully, feel better after coming off the Paxil. I cannot afford to stay on it, yet am scared it could affect my job, as i am a pediatric homehealth RN for a young special needs boy. I don't have insurance, and don't qualify for medical leave or sick days at the agency i work for, but i have to do this for myself and my children. Please wish me luck.

Khrisia

[Joybird1979]

This is the worst experience of my life. I have been on paxil for 11 months and now have quit cold turkey because I found out I am pregnant. Long story short I was in the er yesterday because I could no longer function at work. I have severe dizziness and feelings of being on an elevator that drops quickly. These feelings are almost happening at a constant rate. Diarrhea, anger, crying and nausea are all occurring as well. I cannot explain how horrible I feel and to describe the vertigo feeling of falling is almost impossible. I cannot work or get behind the wheel of my car. I am having severe nightmares and night sweats. I am exhausted yet cannot fall asleep. I feel as though I will fall over everytime I try to get up and walk. I want in on the lawsuit against glaxo-smith- Kline. I would not wish this experience on anyone but the doctors who prescribe it then maybe it would stop being prescribed.

[charlene58]

I am currently off paxil for about 2.5 weeks now.  I was only on 5mg.  Started at 20 went down to 10 and have been on 5mg for a year.  My head zaps are no fun as all I can do is lie down.

Dr.  I agree with Jamie.  Why don't you try it and then tell us your professional opinion

[MeganK]

How much were you on to begin with? Sounds like you tapered too fast. You may need to go back up a bit. I do hope you check out paxilprogress. They are very helpful there and they do have some nurses who check the posts and get back to you. Good luck.

[Wishccr]

Me too, I am there with you.  I started tapering off two weeks ago and took my last 1/4 pill 4 days ago.  I guess it's really true that if you want to taper off, you will have to shave micrograms off over years to avoid what happens after you stop.  The nausea, ZAPS, and uncontrollable crying or urge to cry come and go, but when they come it seems like it will never end.  I even had to discuss with our HR director if I should take a medical leave of absence from work.  I may have no choice, I cannot see how I can run two departments in this condition.  If you will hang in there, so will I.  Maybe I'll see you over at paxilprogress

[MeganK]

Did you come off Pacil cold-turkey? I'm sorry you don't have any real support. You can always talk on here. I will try to stop by and check the forum every once in awhile. Try going to paxilprogress . org. They have great information and a lot of people to talk to.

[alabasterblue]

i want to go back someone help me  i am over whelmed  i cannot stop crying my head hurts zaps dizzy. just when u think you might be getting better YOU NOT!!!!! by the way  anybody know that paxil and asprin can cause bleeding?gee ive been taking 81 mg a day for two years and having periods that were so bad clots the size of regulation baseballs were coming out and sometimes i would sit on the toilet and it would sound like i was pissing but it was blood!! i talked to a doctor about it more than once and was told to go on iron pills, WELL WELL   its my first period since i went off paxil and isnt it funny(not really) that i am having my first normal period in about two years!!!oh and by the way since starting paxil i gained 70 pounds...and gee isnt it funny(not really again)that i have already lost 9 pounds since going off it and believe me i have not done anything to warrent it because i am still too sick!!!!! theres so much more but i am just so sick of writing now i just want to crawl in bed and fade away.   i went on paxil for panic attacks,i would have rather found another way to deal than paxil if i was givin all the facts. i feel worse right now than i did when i went on it
scr_w the drug companies...its all about money!!!!

[alabasterblue]

this withdrawal really shows u who ur friends and family r. they have to go through this with u too. its not easy for them because u can become very cruel. i warned everyone and my kids said they would be there for me. one of them lasted 11 days and the other has never even bothered to show up at all,and i asked her to please help but i guess she is too selfish to care about anyone but herself. another person decided i was too much of a hassel so i guess until a person experiences the fallout from paxil or any other major personal catastrophe u never really know who cares enough to stick it out with u. remember the real friends and family may want to kill u sometimes but they will be there.

[MeganK]

I may have found a good site. So I have been on Paxil Cr 6 yrs, I've been on 75mg of the **** for 3 yrs! Yes I said 75mg! I have read many sites and am finding no one has been on it this long or on such a high dose. HELP!!! The doctors know ****. I have been told by numerous docs that they don't know of anyone on this high a dose, yet do they help me get off it NO!!! So I have decided to go off it on my own, thank goodness I have my boyfriend! I decided to cut back by 1/2, so I am currently at 37.5 mg of this ****! I am on Week 2 of tapering. I don't know if I should go up 25mg and taper at the recommended (from the sites I've been to) of 12.5 mg every 2 weeks to a month or just ride this out. I can tell you that the 1st week wasn't too bad. But oh my, My head feels like it's gonna explode! I feel nauseaus and dizzy. And am starting to get the zaps! I am not working right now, thank goodness. but I am trying to take 2 classes. Speaking of which. If I don't leave now. I'm gonna be late to one. I will be back later to chat.

[notfeelingwell_2000]

Will someone please email or call me.  I'm haven't taken my paxil for about 4 days and I feel so terrible, like the world is going to end.  I feel hopeless.  Please help.  619-504-8215. ***@****

[alabasterblue]

gee!!!!!!!!! more withdrawl fallout!!!!! i am sooooo sick of this. there is so much anger inside me and i am taking it out on everyone.i feel so lost and helpless. when is this gonna go away. ive tried to be reasonable but i am so ****** up. im going through this why me self pity stage i think. all my life i have heard people tell me to let things go and i will feel better. thats a load of ****!!!!! the things that were done to me because i was either too niave or too sick,or too drugged up on paxil were not right and i want justice.   believe me i going to take these people to court..... probably wont do ****, but i have to try.  its the only way i can let people know what has been done to me and the only way to close this chapter.  i know i probably sound off the wall today, but life hasnt been easy for me and i cant forget the awful things i had to indure. someone needs to be accountable for this,and not just me!!!!!! i was too young to fight back and was taught to  that what i felt or believed was not important and that only athourity figures were right.  do u know how many untruths i believed because i knew that i couldnt possibly say anything that would be taken seriously. they actually made me believe that!!!!! im taking them to court and you better believe that the media will be involved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Iwant toget better]

Hi I was on paxil for only 2 months for a couple of panic attacks from extreme stress . After 30 days of being on Paxil I felt like I wasnt myself anymore couldnt get moving to do anything  would take me 3 hours of telling myself to get up to take a shower  extreme muscle cramping nausea constantly  and this was while i was on the paxil so,,, finally i said enough ! Now im 3 weeks and 3 days off the drug im still not feeling 100% very emotional ,crying alot , weird feelings like up my spinal cord and the goes shooting off towards my arms and legs   Are these what you guys call "brain zap"? my lower back muscles constantly stiff and painfull, my legs are shaky when i walk .I have tried the omega 3 (fishoil) tablets that does seem to help because i ran out 3 days ago and i have the weird zappy feelings back . I feel like im fighting with everything ive got just to try to get back to being myself with no ailments but my one question is Will I feel better ?Will these feelings go away or will i be stick like this forever from this drug?

[alabasterblue]

sorry... missed a few days of writing.  i am still very dizzy and feel very sluggish    but i am 90% percent better than i was. i am very sensitive to things that were only a slight bother before, like spitting. when i see it i begin to gag. i have thrown up twice now....... once was because my dog threw up and it grossed me out and once because somebody said they had a seed from a grape stuck in the back of thier throat and i gagged and puked when they coughed to get it out,         i never had a sensitive stomach like that even before the paxil  so i figure the stomach sensitivity and the easy gross out factor is another withdrawl symptom.  even if i cough i feel like gagging. well, lets hope there are no more withdrawl suprises around the next corner!              cheers

[alabasterblue]

well that comment i made about the calm before the storm was exactly that. last night i cried on and off for about 6 or 7 hrs!!!! i never realized how little i grieved over losses in my life and last night i mourned my mother(dead for almost 10 years now fromALS) and believe me. i sat out side with my daughter and cried and screamed and and threw fits about my mom, my cat that i loved and dissapeared may 24th weekend/07 and about 15 other things that i delt with on a very minor level when i was on paxil.last nights mini breakdown lets call it, was so bizzare that when it was finally over(4 oclock in the morning) i could not believe that i behaved like like such a head case. it scared me so much that i kept asking my hubby if i should sign myself into the hospital. instead he talked me through it told me to recite out loud the general and most commonly mentioned side effects from paxil withdrawl. i did this and went back to quite a few sites reading the symptoms over and over until i was thinking straight enough to realize,YES this is part of withdrawl and as long as i am not feeling like hurting myself or others i will get through it.  today i feel very tired from all the crying and freaking out. i also feel a heavy sadness.  it is not depression sadness its normal sadness.i have not felt normal emotion in a long time so it would be easy for me fall into a trap of believing it is depression. i was once told in a group for anxiety and deppresion run by a hospital where i live, that many people with deppresion have a hard time distingushing or even understanding the difference between depression and normal sadness.i suggest(only cause it worked for me last night) is lookup sites that give u examples of normal and abnormal sadness and make a checklist...mental or on paper,and go through it and try to evaluate your emotional feeling into the right catagory.GO to a doctor if it is depression because the longer you leave the depression to fester the harder it will be to pull out. when the brain has a patern of depression and anxiety your nueral pathways become used and established to that routine and strengthening new healthy pathways become harder to form. i am not a doctor nor do i claim to be but this was explained to me by one. i may not be wording it correctly so i suggest finding a respected fully licenced practitioner who specializes in this field to explain it properly. i am still dizzy and zappy. my stomach is also a bit sensitive i have been taking rolaids, it seems to help.
                                              talk tomorrow

[psychiatricsurvivor]

I can assume from the replies by Doctors that they either work for the drug companies; are brainwashed by the drug companies; are really bad scientists; are crooks and liars; are living in a fantasy world of constant denial or just plain morons. Of course, all of the above probably apply to many more doctors than I care to know.

The other answer and this was really shocking to me when I found it out but most doctors get all their information about drugs from the drug companies. So the same drug company who is selling Paxil or any drug is the only source of information most doctors rely on. Gee, let me think about this. If I owned a company and I could sell the drugs for billions of dollars every year, would I have an incentive to lie about the drugs intended effects and side-effects and dosage.  Of course!!! But doctors are too naive at best or too corrupt to admit that to anyone. They are not scientists because science relies on an independent third party to replicate the results of the drug companies. This never happens in the approval process. The FDA is far from independent and relies on the drug companies paying for the studies. This is a scam and from all the problems people have reported it’s obvious that drugs kill and harm as many people as they help. Just think about all the people who tried to get off Paxil or any psychiatric medication that kill themselves because of the horrible withdrawals. They obviously can't post here and there must be thousands of them. BTW, do you notice all the ads for drugs on here? This is far from an objective board with objective scientists. Doctors are not objective nor are they scientists. They don't even know how the scientific process works. I don't know how to classify them but they are more like drug salesman than scientists.

[alabasterblue]

day 5. i only slept 4 and a half hrs last night and woke up tense with a tightness in my chest and felt like i did on day 4 when i first woke up. again, this feeling went away within fifteen...maybe twenty minutes. i feel less dizzy today. and i also woke up hungry and i was suprisingly awake!  it is only five thirty in the morning now, and i woke up at four forty five a.m.. i am pretty sure that i am going to go back to bed for a while,because i am starting to get sleepy again. i feel pretty good i have to say

[alabasterblue]

day 4 i could barely walk because of the dizziness. it was so bad i could barely stand up straight without feeling like i was gonna fall over. the headache is gone and so are the aches in my body......is this the calm before the storm or am i just one of the lucky ones.  i slept seven hrs and woke up very tense but that feeling went away after fifteen minutes of being awake. i spent most of the day listening to music, and my youngest daughter took me for a walk(very slowly so i didnt lose my balance) my older girl brought me a cut up platter of veggies and dip and i ate almost all of it. it  made me feel better. i am not craving carbs and sugar the way i did only 4 days ago

[alabasterblue]

well, it is day three. I awoke in a panic and ran outside looking for my husband. i was crying because i woke up feeling so crappy that i couldnt bare the thought of being alone. i felt like a pathetic little child, and i am 44 years old!!!!! once i was completely awake i started feeling a little better.  the dizziness, zaps(as i have now learned they are called) are still about the same. the headaches have begun,but they are not too bad, my neck and shoulders are very tense and are also contributing to the headache. my head feels like it is stuffed with cotton and its an effort if i have to concenrate on anything that requires calculated thinking. i became very tired and had to go nap!!!! seriosly....i have had three naps today and that is not a usual event in our household. so to sum up my day...I FEEL LIKE ****!!!!!!!!!! talk tomorrow.     vivian

[alabasterblue]

today is my second day cold turkey.I started taking paxil 10 years ago and was on 40 mg a day until yesteday. i tried the tapering off method several times and it is not for me. right now i am very dizzy and starting to get those zaps in my head if i turn too quickly. i cried at a u tube video of a dog dancing with her owner.....not really a video to cry over,but with the beginning of the emotional rollercoaster i found the video so cute that i started crying as if i just gave birth or was exchanging vows with the love of my life.LOL   This overemotion is really wierd and this is usually the point where i run back to the doctor. I am NOT running back this time. i am very nervous about what is coming next and i have decided to use this forum every day until the symptoms subside.
   thankyou for inspiring me(and scaring the heck out of me at the same time).I now know what i will be up against and that in itself is a comfort.....at least for now. we will see how i feel in a couple of days.

[Slemon]

Your situation sounds almost exactly like mine. I just switched from 40 mg of Paxil to Lexapro. Its been 7 days now and I want to crawl in a hole. My Doc didn't taper me either he just told me to switch. The worst of my symptoms are the dizziness, headache, nausea, bad/weird dreams, insomnia and the fact that I don't want to be around anyone but I don't want to be alone. I do feel like I need to ride it out though. In all the research I've been doing and my past experiences with missing a dose of Paxil here and there, I'm pretty sure its Paxil withdrawal. Good luck.

Shelly

[cmtayloe]

I have tried many times to quit taking Paxil because of the weight gain it causes...Now I am trying Lexapro.  I have been taking the Lexapro for a week now and I feel very dizzy, when I turn my head, I feel like my eyes aren't moving a few seconds later,  I can't seem to think straight, and i am having trouble sleeping...My Dr said that the 2 meds were similar enough to each other that I did not need to taper off of the Paxil, but yesterday I finally had to stop the Lexapro and take the Paxil again to feel normal....is it ok to take these meds together until the Paxil gets out of my body?
could these side effects be from Paxil withdrawls or from starting Lexapro?
thanks

[patulous]

Don't be afraid to stop Paxil, just do so very gradually, slow down tapering,  get help if problems are bad.  I tried half dose for a week, quarter next week, eighth next but that was too fast. Chopped pills, now down to a fragment, or nothing if I'm really tired and expect to sleep thru the nite. Reply if you want to discuss that in more detail  Every medicine, and withdrawal, is a single subject experiment..

You'll probably experience withdrawal.  My symptoms sound bad but nothing compared with why we take Paxil in the first place, so I can even joke about some Sx, I know they're not permanent. Woken by nightmares? people pay for horror movies.  Dizzy, head buzz, zaps when looking to far right or left, feels like brain sloshing in a tub, so what? more fun than some recreational drugs.  Insomnia?  get more done at night. If I wake at 3 and work all day, I'll sleep better next nite (If I don't nap, hard to avoid, so I am losing sleep but can work OK, other Sx are diminishing, few zaps now..)

I slept  better on Paxil and didn't wake with claustrophobia, anxiety, have to get up. Mainly quitting after a couple years because I want to be independent.  Hard to evaluate depression but less anxiety on Paxil then before or now but hope it will diminish.  

Anxiety is fear with no real source, as if you have all the feelings of being in a falling elevator while you're lying in bed.  Those who say just relax, you're safe, not really falling are stupid, of course you know that.  I've had the racing heart, realize it's anxiety, would never consider it a heart attack that requires rushing to ER. But that doesn't make it go away, hard to sleep with a racing heart.
I mention that only because I don't know the cure for anxiety, let me know what any of  you think on treatment.
It's like migraine.  If you get one, nice to take a pill to make it disappear.  Lots of meds for that, fine for the half it works for but what about the others?  Tell them it's all in their head?
However, it's  definitely better to take drugs, even if they have side effects or later withdrawal if you're suicidal.  Feeling hopeless about that is a symptom that means you have to find a good psychiatrist, a specialist who knows the  drugs and can counsel you thru a hard time.

[AJC]

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

[AJC]

Dear HFHS MD-JM,

After reading the previous posts I must agree with kurtislee. Although I wouldn't suggest anyone take paxil for any reason.  I believe you are the one who has been misinformed. Actually, intentionally lied to by the pharmaceutical representatives would probably be closer to the truth. SSRI anti-depressants are a last resort option being pushed to the front of the line by big pharma.  Please do more research! Information is out there and you are a Doctor. Correct?
Personally, I took one 10mg pill of Lexapro (yes, only one) and have been experiencing a severe adverse reaction similar to withdrawal symptoms since then. They are lessening over time but I have lost my life in the process. I am a rare case but I wonder how rare? In the beginning it was a horrific nightmare!!! I couldn't work for the first 4 months. I lost everything. My house, credit rating, job and my savings. I have met many people with similar experiences online. Very similar.  Very many others with withdrawal horror stories, so I wouldn't be so eager to support the notion that these questionable medications are mild and safe. It is my opinion that a "very" low percentage of the population could benefit from the use of these psychiatric drugs and possibly more harm than good is really being done here. The combination of a highly addictive drug that passes the blood-brain barrier with such a nonchalant message to the general public is very dangerous.

To: anyone wanting to taper off,

As far as advice to taper off. I think "taper" is the most important word here. Take as long as you need, even if it be years. I am on a small dose of alprazolam to combat the damage and side effects, which is incredibly helpful to me but I would encourage the use of caution with taking any medication due to differences in physiology. Incorporate things in your life to help you to be healthier and happier. Sounds very basic, yet it can be extremely difficult to alter our lifestyle. Realize that you will get better and your brain somehow knows how to heal itself if given time and that you take care of yourself. One day, you won't feel the addiction anymore.  4 things to be healthy:, sleep, exercise,diet and low stress level.  Be very skeptical of any doctor that tries to "push" drugs, especially the psychiatrist. Don't take them if they are psychiatric medications.
Good luck!

T