turned upside down

[Adina]

A couple of months ago my dream was to wean off Paxil so that I could get pregnant and not have the baby at risk. Since then, I've been sliding downhill fast. Two weeks ago, I was hospitalized because the depression got so bad. They finished weaning me off of Paxil and put me up to 40 mg of Prozac. Now my doctor says that I might need to stay on meds and she certainly doesn't want to try to wean me from the Prozac and Klonopin until at least 6 months to a year. I'm home now and still battling depression. Does anyone have advice? Especially about pregnancy and breastfeeding? Thanks so much. This is a great website. No one else really understands.

[scotty]

First question is how much paxil were you on and for how long? Second, how fast did you wean? Third question is what the heck made them put you on a dose of prozac that is twice what the average dose is?? All this seemed to happen in a very short period of time. What was the timeline, so we can figure out what happened.

Yes, depression in withdrawal gets worse, anxiety gets worse.. this is a known. You have to give the brain time to adjust to the new environment.

[Adina]

I was on 40mg of Paxil at one point. Then went 30, 20, 10 and I was fine. When I hit 2.5 and stayed there, that's where the problems started. My doctor initially put me on a small amount of prozac to help cushion the paxil withdrawal. WHen I went in the hospital, that's where they finished taking me off of that and put me up to 40 of prozac. I'm on medical leave from work now and battling anxiety and depression daily.

[genevieve]

the "switch" method (taking prozac to help the paxil withdrawal) does not seem to be really efficient from what I hear on this board. The only way to avoid serious withdrawal seems to be the SLOW method but even with that I think some people go "crazy"... I think there is just no way predicting who is going to have problems with paxil withdrawal. My questions would be
1-for what reason did you take paxil at first?
2-how do you feel now versus when you were depressed/anxious before paxil?

this could help us see if you are having a withdrawal or a relapse. People who withdraw from paxil often have anxiety (even if they only had depression in their life) or depression (even if they only had panic attacks in their life) and the depression/anxiety is usual a very "physical" one. There seems to be no reason for it.

for the moment there is 2 thinks you could do : stay were you are in terms of meds and hang on OR get back to the paxil. I really dont know what would be the best. Some "experts" here will have to give their opinion. One thing is sure DONT TAKE PROZAC AND PAXIL at the same time it can cause serotonin syndrom which is dangerous.

My opinion is that you are in full blown paxil withdrawal and if it is the case it will take weeks to stabilise -at least. The danger here is that your doctor gives you new diagnosis and put you on antipsychotics or mood stabilizers. Dont accept that. My advice is : take it easy, take ZERO responsability for the moment, prepare yourself for some tough times, have people who can help you (family, friends) near you and dont trust doctors if they tell you you are not having withdrawal.

[scotty]

Adina, over what period of time did you wean the paxil? Drops of 10mg are really high.

[Delynbetter]

I'm thinking they did you no favors by switching you from Paxil 40 to Prozac 40.

[Adina]

THank you all for your replies and advice. It's so easy to feel alone during this time. Here are the answers to your questions, Scotty and genevieve. I remember staying on 30mg for a while, then spending a month at 20mg, then a month at 10mg. I had absolutely no withdrawal effects. Then my doctor told me to switch to 5mg for 5 days and then stop. As soon as I switched to the 5 I started feeling physical symptoms and then emotional symptoms but I followed the instructions and went off the Paxil completely. I called my doctor in tears in about a week to ask her how long it would last and she put me back up to 2.5 mg but it didn't really help. I know that I went from 10 to 5 to 0 too fast. I also read that in The Antidepressant Solution by Glenmullen. I'm now waiting until the Prozac kicks in to take away this immediate crisis but my goal is still not to be on anything. I don't think I was medication free for enough time to see if it was just withdrawal or a relapse.

[rdjanis]

During the withdrawal period many people are then diagnosed with other mental health labels, they then end up on a cocktail of drugs. The paxil never took away your original symptoms but covered them. In withdrawal the original symptoms plus additional are magnified.

Have you downloaded a copy of the Paxil Withdrawal Guide?? If not, it is a great book and suggest that you read it.

[scotty]

Adina, you know now that the wean from 10-0 was to fast. Water under the bridge!!! Stabilize on the Prozac and when you're ready you can start a slow wean. Leaving a month in between weans is good, but your doc neglected to recognize that the lower doses are the hardest. Realize that weaning is on the first step in withdrawal. There is a period of time after weaning(which can be long) where your brain has to heal from the alterations made by paxil. In my son it was an additional 10 months. Yes, it's a long time, BUT he is now SO GOOD!! So many expect that weaning slow is the end of the process. It is not and that's when so many go back on thinking that they truly need these drugs. Plan for your withdrawal. Enlist family and friends to help, when you can't do it yourself. Plan on making your environment as calm as you can make it. You can do this... giving the brain the time it needs to heal. As a neurologist in California said "I treat paxil withdrawal patients as traumatic brain injuries!"

[Katesmom]

Adina-

I am so sorry you are having such a rough time. I know how it is, when you decide you're ready to have a baby, you're READY. It's a hurry up and wait mentality that can induce anxiety. I am sure you know that has to be shelved for the time being. I also think that your depression and anxiety was Paxil withdrawal catching up with you. You're getting some really great advice here. Just get yourself a toehold on the Prozac and use the lessons you have learned to taper. Rumor has it that Prozac is somewhat easier to get off of than Paxil.

Down the line, if you need to know anything about pregnancy and breastfeeding, I'll be around. Just ask.

[Adina]

Thank you all so much. The advice and experience you are sharing are so valuable and appreciated. My plan for now is to deal with this daily anxiety and depression until the Prozac kicks in and then when the time is right to wean of the Prozac Super Slow and hope for the best. Any recommendations for what to do when you just want to lie in bed all day? Thanks again!!!

[rdjanis]

Originally Posted by Adina

Any recommendations for what to do when you just want to lie in bed all day? Thanks again!!!

Lie in bed all day!! Your body is healing

[scotty]

I believe Darcy's advice to the same question regarding Ryan in withdrawal was "withdrawing from Paxil is brutally exhausting. I say...let the boy sleep."
Lie in bed and let your body get the rest it needs.. it's been in high gear dealing with withdrawal and needs downtime!!

[Adina]

If I've learned one thing from this experience, it's that it is the scariest thing ever. While starting to feel better from this crisis (still ups and downs) I am again waiting for the full effects of Prozac to take hold. I would like to wean off that when the time is right but I can't take a medical leave from work every year or I actually will get fired. It takes time though to wait it out till the withdrawal effects go away. Laurie, was your son able to go to school and function during the additional 10 months it took for him to feel better?

[hope]

I had a similar reaction to coming off Paxil, so have several of us. To name a few; Scott, Kizzie, Tara... I guess I'm talking about the going onto another drug part. My bad withdrawal hit about a week and a half off the drug and I went on lexapro and benzos and tried to wean off those but since it's been a roller coaster ride.

I hope you feel better soon. I wanted to let you know that the prozac can be stimulating and in some cases make the anxiety worse. You'll know if this is the case. You might want to send a private message to Kizzie as she was put on Prozac and had a hard time stabilizing on it. You may stabilize and I hope you do.