Dangers of Cold Turkey?

[King Do]

I quit Paxil 6 months ago cold turkey. It seems my withdrawal symptoms are comparable to the people who have tapered. Is there a danger in going CT. healthwise or are the w/d symptoms just exaggerated? When I quit I was taking 10 mgs. 20mg was my max in 4 years. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

[zman]

I also went cold turkey. I think the danger is that the WD can be magnified. I know I had serious suicidal thoughts the first week. I don't know if that would have been true if I tapered. I feel o.k. now into the 3rd week.

[rdjanis]

The withdrawal symptoms tend to vary in terms of length and the actual symptoms. I believe that part of this is due to the length of time one was on medication.

The withdrawal symptoms are not exagerated in the least, I have seen it first hand. The episodes to which I refer to are mood swings, suicidal thoughts etc., they just keep popping up out of no where. Some people feel they have recovered and it is over, and then another episode is thrown at them, these episodes eventually disappear over time. For others the symptoms of withdrawal do not hit them until a few weeks in, others have very few symptoms at all.

So take the time to inform yourself, so if you are not one of the lucky ones you will know what you are dealing with. Good luck.

[MizzT]

How are you feeling now that you are off the drug 6 months??
I think that is the real question. IF you made it through the first 6 months with little trouble...chances are you are out of the danger zone now.

I quit CT and its taken me a while to settle things down....however at 6 months i was fine for a while....about 8 months things kicked in again....then settled....then about 10 months they kicked back in again....then around 16 months calmed down a bit etc.
Im now somewhere around 27 months and doing fairly well!! only minor things still going on altho i can not charge the nervous system up very much.

[siryellow1]

So you've been feeling these withdrawal symptoms for 6 months?

If that's the case, you might want to go back to a low dose to see if it stops. If it does, go SUPER SLOW (say from 5 mg to 0 - in 5 months time) and see where that leaves you.

[colomom]

I too, would like to know if the wd symptoms are tolerable? If so, keep going.

While it seems that the majority do not suffer any "damage" by quitting CT they do have a more difficult time stabilizing.

BUT, everyone is different. It is very difficult to predict how you will react going CT or on a slow taper.

Good luck.

[Caroline49]

King Do. I am in the middle of my cold turkey withdrawal. There is NO WAY I could have done this if I had to work. NO WAY!! I am so very sick. I feel like I have a horrible respiratory infection. My thoughts are not stable. I'm apt to go off on a crying jag at any moment. I have huge moments of FEAR!! Then ________ah, I'll have a little time where things are smooth. I don't know how long this is going to last.
I also know for sure that I could not have done this without the support of the people on this web-site. I have been here everyday since I began my withdrawal.
Just like this a.m. I was going to check in and tell my new friends that I was going back to bed and not to worry about me. Well, I'm still sitting here writing away. This is the most helpful thing I've found when it comes to Paxil withdrawal.
If you are stabalized that's great!! Do you still have significant problems stemming from Paxil withdrawal. I'm just curious as to how long this is going to kick my ***!

[King Do]

My withdrawal symptoms come and go like everybody else. I am actually in a good place mentally. Physically however is another thing. I am 33 yrs old. I feel like I am 100!!! When I tried to taper, I had the same symptoms I had when I went CT. So I forged on. Just curious if all of the warnings had to do with certain health dangers revolving around a quick disruption of the poison, or psychological dangers. My shrink told me not to CT, but told me it won't be dangerous just mentally draining. He told me I'd be back on Paxil in a month, MOFO. Since I stopped paxil, I have gotten a Herniated Cervical Disk, which ain't fun. As far as going back on, umm, I don't think so. Good luck Caroline on your CT. It's all quite an illusion.
P.S. I went to Dr. Bravermans clinic, had the whole workup, a thousand blood tests, brain scan etc. I meet with him tommorrow to go over my treatment. I've spoken to him several times. Seems extremely confident he can help. I will keep you all updated.

[Scott]

here's an old post.. i don't have time right now to edit it

it takes that long to get the full benefit of the drug.. but this happens by manipulating your brain into functioning with the drug so by that time you'll have trouble quitting. You may have some added anxiety in stopping after a short time but your recovery time will be nowhere near that of having given the drug 9 months in your body. Don't worry about how you'll feel so much, but you can expect to return to how you were before taking the pill. My doctor told me the same.. they seem to think you can just stop it after 6-9 months. I wasn't feeling good or I would have talked with him about this. This isn't a vitamin that builds up a body system, if you stop it you no longer have the effect.. actually it's worse than that because as said before, your brain compensates for the drug. If you don't know how the drug works it basically forces your brain not to reabsorb as much seratonin.. given enough time, your brain will compensate for this extra synapse seratonin by "downregulating" receptor sites.. (killing them).. so you can see what happens when you stop the drug after this occurs.. you now have a genuine deficiency and all that goes with it (until the brain reworks itself.. and that is what is happening with all of us having so much trouble).

your brain is a gallon pot filled to the top.. when you take the drug it is like dropping a baseball (or in some peoples' case a softball) into it. The excess water flows out and now your brain and the drug work together to make 100%. If you take the ball out instantly (cold turkey) you have that much empty space left. The healing process of the brain is like a very slow stream a water (in some peoples' case a drip at a time) the slower you take the ball out, the more you remain at 100%. Your brain has to reform the receptors it killed while on the medication. This is just a way of explaining it but it seems to paint a good picture.

[colomom]

Originally Posted by King Do

P.S. I went to Dr. Bravermans clinic, had the whole workup, a thousand blood tests, brain scan etc. I meet with him tommorrow to go over my treatment. I've spoken to him several times. Seems extremely confident he can help. I will keep you all updated.

OH! Please do. I, for one, would be very interested in hearing what he has to say and what he recommends.

Thanks.

[King Do]

Thanks Scott. Does seem to be a slow drip.
Defonz, You said in a previous post you developed Fibromyalgia like symptoms. Exactly how did you feel? I think I am suffering in the same manner.

[MizzT]

Hi King.
So you are seeing Braverman!!! How Exciting!!!!! Keep me posted please! i am incredibly interested to see what he says and does. best of luck!

I got fibromyaligia symptoms in November '03....so 10 months into my WD. I went to my shrink one day....she royally pissed me off....and that night after the treatment this strange pain set into my neck/back/shoulders. within the following 3 weeks it continued and got worse until my arms just ached and back etc just ached constantly. kind of throbbing pain with additional sharp shooting pains in my hands. I went to my doc (GP) she said she would inject saline and lidocaine into the knot in the muscle (trigger point injection). The first shot hurt but nothing more. The second shot...within 5 seconds....made my right thumb/index finger area go numb. She said....No it didnt. I said...YES...IT DID!!! she said...nah...its carpul tunnel syndrome. I said NOPE...its the freakin' injection. (my husband was in the room).
The pain and parathesia that set in in the next 24 hours was excruciating.
I have not been without pain since.
Magnesium has greatly helped. energy healing has greatly helped. I have way less pain now. It is primarily in my lung meridian, heart meridian and sometimes stomach meridian. So mainly in my arms/hands....and sometimes down my legs and in my feet. the pain can be classified as nagging throbbing and exhausting.....OR....sharp shooting pains like knives or razors in very specific locations.

i can not stress how much both magnesium and energy work has helped.

[King Do]

Fonz,

It's interesting how similar our w/d is. What dose did you CT off? The back and neck pains are just starting for me. They are odd, aches and stabbings I have never felt before. Numbness in the hands and feet. Muscles sore that haven't been strained. Sound familiar?

Aren't doctors special, telling you what you felt. I have lost all faith in the medical profession. My doc told me I have a herniated disc. Not sure about it, he looked at me for about 2 seconds. I have taken the Mag and it has helped mild out the anxiety. Anyway I will keep you updated on Braverman!

Peter

[MizzT]

Hi peter. Yup....sounds very similar. I went CT off 20 mgs. I was on it for about 16 months. Ive been off nearly 27 months and still have issues with hypersensitivity and the weird pains. Tonight i must have ate something that set me off. Ive had shooting pain all over my body and one massive muscle jerk in my thigh that made me scream out loud and jerked my whole body. Nice!!! No one briefed me on that prior to taking the pill.
Now at least im down to just some mild hives and mild pain. At least it doesnt last as long as it used to. But its a daily strict regimen for me now. If i mess it up i can suffer for it.