Made it through yesterday!

[Believer]

Hello all, just wanted to quickly drop a line and tell you all thanks again for all the support yesterday. I was feeling quite suicidal at one point. My doctor never did call me, he just called in a scrip for 30 mg of paxil. (I had been taking 25 mg of paxil cr) I am going to be looking for a new doctor today. Obviously my best interest is not his concern. The pharmacy majorly messed up my scrip refill. They gave me 17 pills of 20 mg and 13 pills of 30 mg. Obviously i called them and I told them i was trying to wean off of the paxil but my doctor was not really "listening" to my requests. They were supposed to call him and call me back but of course nothing so far. I decided to take the 20 mg, for a while and then I will cut back to the 15. How long do you think I should stay on the 20's? I'm feeling better today I had to go back to work (I'm a teacher), and I used my last sick day yesterday. I would like to plan this so I am in the worst part of the withdrawal this summer when I am home. After the past two days of hell, I know i can't do it while I am working. I read the post of the person who just started taking paxil, I'm obviously not an expert, but my opinion would be Don't Do It! For a brief moment this morning when I was feeling great I thought to myself " I should just stay on the paxil, who cares if I am gaining weight or can't experience an orgasm any more???" For a split second anything was better than thinking about going through more withdrawal symptoms. But I will do this, I am going to do it the right way - no more cold turkey for me!!! Thanks again guys, I better get back to work.

[siryellow1]

Good luck believer...

Try 20 for 15 days or so and then go down a notch. If you feel side effects at 15 then you should jump back to 20 for a few days and then go down a little less (to 17 for example). I was literally biting pills into strange fractions to get to the right dose.

But the truth is, even when i felt side effects they were pretty mild because I never dropped too much at one time. You'll learn pretty quickly what you can and cannot do.

Keep feeling good!

[Suze]

hey believer! your best interest IS our concern even tho' it's apparently not your doc's.....

I think you made a good choice there to take the 20s for awhile. No one can really say how long YOU will need to stay there but it certainly seems best to get really stable on one dosage before you let it even cross your mind to do another taper. (ok, i don't just think this 'seems best".....i think it's essential!) I'd like to suggest you have a goal as opposed to a plan and celebrate you're "getting there" rather than setting yourself up to notice "failure." As for the Big O, I can relate. I was so damn glad I was single when I went on paxil, and i was so damn glad i was on paxil when i was single! In reclaiming your life, I believe you will reclaim all the best parts of experiencing your life. You're doing good girl!

***********
suze

[colomom]

Hi Believer:

Welcome, I am glad you found us.

If I was in your shoes, I would stay at the 20mg for quite awhile. You will be having withdrawal symptoms for awhile. If they are not intolerable you might drop your dosage again in a few weeks but, be prepared for another round of yucky days right after. I would plan any dosage adjustment so that you don't have to take on much stress (read: work?) for at least a week. My experience has been that I am fine until day 3 after an adjustment then days 4-8 are pretty nasty. However, I was almost 3 weeks since my last adjustment (5mg to 2.5mg) when WHAM! I was completely blindsided by this sensory overload and emotional fragility that I have been suffering through the last couple of days. Everyone seems to react a bit differently. I would prepare myself for the possibility of needing "sick" days at any time during this withdrawal process.

I don't know how you guys can work a job and go through this. I am very lucky to be able to be home right now. If I can completly lose my temper with my kids, whom I love more than life, imagine what I might do to a customer/client on a bad day. I KNOW I would end up in jail.

Stay close and let us know how you are doing. Oh, and read EVERYTHING you can about paxhell and withdrawal. The more info you have the better you are able to hang on to your perspective.

Peace!

[nicole55]

don't give up! try small tapers! and if that doesn't work, try even smaller tapers!

Everyone is different and some people have no problems at all with cold turkey or lowering 10mg 5mg at a time. Others (like me) are more sensitive to the drug . You will just have to try and see what works for you. If you can't take the symptoms, then go back up and what until you settle back down and feel good again and then try it again with a smaller drop. 10 mg drops and 5 mg drops were too much for me.

currently tapering 2.5mg at a time, with manageable symptoms

[Caroline49]

Good Morning Believer, Ditto on everything the others have said. Definately taper until school is out. That is just about a month, right? I wish you could have it over by the time school starts next fall, probably not possible though.
I'm going cold turkey but I don't have a job. If I was a teacher, NO WAY could I do this!! And like Heather said, I'd probably end up in jail if I were working out in public.
Good Luck and stay close.

[Believer]

I am so frustrated at my doctor and his inability to listen to me. It was so easy to throw these drugs at me, give me enough free samples to last a lifetime and now that I really need help, he's nowhere to be found....... I am looking for someone today to help me monitor my weaning process. I guess I should try the mental health field instead of a gp. At a low point yesterday I had to call my exhusband and have him talk me out of the hole I was in, he kept reminding me that it is the drug, not me - that this isn't a relapse of my depression, but the toxic side effects of the paxil. I was for sure in the midst of withdrawal yesterday that my life was never to be good again. I can see the fear of suicide with teenagers (or anyone) and this drug. I am truly amazed at how low I felt. I took one 20mg dose of paxil yesterday afternoon and another this morning, and am feeling a little better. I am still experiencing some naseau and dizziness but no more chest pains or zaps so far today. After I stabilize on 20's and then move to 15's should I be prepared to experience the same thing as when I went cold turkey - or not so bad?

[scotty]

Believer nothing is as bad as cold turkey! Slow weaning may not eliminate the symptoms completely, but it does lessen the intensity. Good to hear you sounding better!