withdrawal hell!!!!!!!!!!!!

hi everyone im paul from liverpool, uk! im 30 and in may last year i stopped seroxat. ive been in a flat for over a year in a place i dont know with no job, going through withdrawal, absolute nightmare! heres what i have had and still experiencing...ready? here we go!

feeling that when u touch the floor ure not connecting, zaps, feeling sick, nausea, abdominal pain and burning sensation in stomach, pain in kidney area,tingling in lips,numbness in fingers and feet, shooting feeling through legs, extreme fatigue, feeling that ure in the wrong body! anxiety, pain in scrotum,dizziness, tightness in face,diarrhoea, passing gas,passsing urine a lot, generally feel like death! i took them over two years and i should have tapered off over a period of time, but i think i was in no fit psychological state to do it! so i just stopped! even so, u would have thought after a few weeks at most the w/drawal would have stopped! but nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! so what i do now, go back on them, try something else? after all were messing with neurology here folks and were entering a twilight zone! doctors dont know that much unless theyve been on it themselves! i would love some feedback off you guys! take care ..paul xxxxxxxxx pst73uk@yahoo.co.uk

Hi Paul, Im sorry you are having such a bad time. I dont really know how to help, but you really need to go back to your dr and talk about it. I am slowly coming off soraxat (paxil). I am only down to 10mg as I have had to move into a flat, and now into another one as the first was only temporary, so I decided to take it very very slow. (bit of a coward really). I know when I came off it cold turkey it was very bad so I went back on and decided to drop very slowly. Let us know how you are doing sorry Im not much help but to be honest Im only just starting out. hugsx

I have only started recently coming off Paxcil. I know it sux. I have read in several messages that reducing your dosage slowly is an effective way to come off Paxcil. I am calling my Dr today to suggest this and I hope you think about this as an option as well. Good luck and keep us posted.
--Sam--

Your brain really does need adjustment time when coming off these SSRIs, as well as any other psychotropic drugs you may have been prescribed. The doctors typically suggest coming off the drugs too quickly and then blame your withdrawal symptoms on "relapse." Not necessarily so.

Having tapered off 60 mg Paxil myself, over a span of 17 months, I'll tell you it is no easy deal. The only way to do it, in my opinion (others may disagree) is to taper in very small increments, allowing yourself a minimum of 2 weeks at each new low dose. You may even have to stay at a new dose for a month or more. It really depends on how your body is reacting to the change.

Buy yourself a pill cutter. Cut pills so that you decrease by about 10% of the current dose each time. It gets more difficult to do the lower you go because 10% winds up being 1 mg or less. Do not drop the dose if you are experiencing problems of any type. Stay put!!!

A couple of good reference books by Dr. Peter Breggin are YOUR DRUG MAY BE YOUR PROBLEM and also THE ANTIDEPRESSANT FACT BOOK. See if you can get info from your local library.

There are also things you can do and supplements you might take to minimize the withdrawal symptoms. Check out the old posts for this info or request it here. This is doable if you have a flexible plan. (You may wind up going to plans B, C, D... etc. etc.! )

My suggestion If you are not doing well after going off cold turkey, restart the Paxil/Seroxat and lower the dose gradually. Your brain will be better off for it. Good luck.

Have you taken a blood test to gauge where your testosterone levels are at?

I found mine to be quite low (180 vs. today 1120).

You might find ease in withdrawal and improved sense of well being with a sex hormone therapy replacement regimen...

It worked for me - just a thought for you.

Best,
Bill