Paxil Withdrawal

[Cathy]

How long is withdrawal from Paxil supposed to take?  I have been off it for 5 days now and still feel the ocean-like, electrical shock-like, cymbal-crashing feeling in my head.  Can I expect this to end anytime soon?

[nancy]

I am curious and need to ask you a question.  How high a dose of Paxil were you taking prior to your stop taking it?  How did you stop taking it?  Did it take a long time?  

I am currently taking it and have had this fear that when I stop taking it I will really feel sick.  I read another message by Jaime of 9/27/99 and she says that her withdrawal is like a "heroine" withdrawal.  That has me scared.  In fact last week I had some "ocean-like, dizzy spell, and like a buzzing in my head that is not real pleasant and I was taking my regular dose of 20mg a day.  What will happen when I stop taking them at all?  I think I might have taken them a few hours later than usual - I was traveling and sorta forgot, but only a few hours and I'm dizzy and almost feeling "high" or something.  That's not so good to me.

I'm not sure I will try to go off it anytime soon, but I'm not one for staying on meds very long and believe that some is okay to get you through a hard time, but I don't intend to be on it for a long time.  I've only been on it for 5 months. I am also taking Wellbutrin (150mg/day) to help with the lack of sexual drive.  It's not that I'm not interested, but it's not the same as before I was taking any of these meds.  

Anyhow, I was just wondering about those two questions at the beginning and would love to get a response.  You can email me at ***@****.

Thanks and I wish you well in your efforts to get through this "withdrawal" that they seem to not want to believe is a reality for us.

[Cathy]

Thanks Tracey.  Yeah, there is no doubt in my mind that horrible symptoms can accompany a withdrawal from Paxil. Mine lasted about a week and a half but I am feeling normal now.  One thing I found that helped was snacking a lot.  The symptoms were much worse on an empty stomach!

[tracey]

I disagree with the doctors-Sorry!!!!  No offense but to say that paxilhadno withdrawal symptoms is way off!!   I havebeen off and on paxil for about 1 year- my highest dosage was 10 mgs- each time I came off slowly(over aperiod of a month or more)  I have terrible feeling, wooziness, nausea, fatigue, anziety like symptoms, etc.  I have currently been off for about 1 month and I feel terrible-upset stomach-dizziness, side effects and return of anxiety symptoms are hard to separate but I know that I feel awful.

[Cathy]

Thanks doc for your quick response.  I am actually feeling much better today.  One thing that has seemed to help me is eating -- snacking virtually all day long.  Having an empty stomach seems to make the symptoms much worse.  

I do believe I quit way too suddenly; should have tapered off more.  But I think I have made it through the worst part.

[HFHS MD - RG]

Dear Cathy,

Paxil does not have a "withdrawal" syndrome per se, but some patients will develop physical symptoms when discontinuing it, especially if the medication is abruptly stopped or tapered too rapidly.  In thoroughly assessing your condition, it is important to consider other factors such as your age, other preexisting illness, and other medications that you are currently taking.
However, if you have do not have any of the conditions mentioned, you may be suffering a withdrawal like syndrome. It is helpful to slowly taper all antidepressants to prevent recurrence of depression as well as to prevent any "rebound" physical symptoms.  How slow the taper should be depends on the dose of the antidepressant, as well as other medications and illnesses you may have. If the dose has been tapered too quickly, it is sometimes helpful to reintroduce a lower dose, and then taper off more slowly.  For most people the physical discomfort stops within a week or two.  I advise you to see your physician to be reassessed.

The information provided in this forum is presented for general educational purposes only. Specific questions you have pertaining to your health should always be directed to your personal physician or you may call Henry Ford Behavioral Health at [phone].

I wish you the best,

HFHS MD - RG

*Keyword: Paxil