MY experience w/Paxil withdrawal

[NikkiWld1]

My days as I felt from Paxil withdrawal


First off let me start by saying my doctor placed me on Paxil due to stress and anxiety I was feeling due to some personal issues I was having dealing with a new home I had built. I have NEVER been on any anti-anxiety drug before in my life.

Day 1= No change felt a bit tired at the end of the day but really nothing to complain about. That same night I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

Day 2= I started feeling very hyper-active, when I spoke it was very fast. I couldn’t sit still. In a strange way I felt happy, alive, I was turning back in to me, until I started feeling these intense brain shocks, it felt as if someone was zapping my brain with electricity and it would go right to the tip of my tongue. Not an unbearable feeling, but definitely not comfortable.

Day 3= I’m in hell, or at least I wish I were….at least in hell I know I would have more fun. OK, let’s see….I have vertigo, every time I turn my head it feels as if it takes a few seconds longer for my brain to catch up, it’s a feeling that’s hard to explain but I will do my best. When my head turns of course my eyes do and when that happens I am very dizzy to the point that I have to keep still and not move my eyes or head to stop the dizzy feeling, when I do this I feel great…but I have to stand like a statue in order to feel this way….I get confused, stare into space, have little or no attention span, slight headaches all the time, I cry, for no reason, the nightmares are unbelievable! So very real, so very scary, night sweats and hot and cold flashes started….shaking, feeling scared and wanting to take a pill to make it all stop…..BUT I WONT!!!!!!! Today I am telling myself that I am strong, I can do this and I will do this no matter what. The electrical zaps in my brain are worse than ever and I have developed stomach cramps, and have to RUN to go to the bathroom. (Although I have had problems with lactose intolerance, it could be a side affect of the meds also, I am not sure at this point) My mood swings are unbelievable I actually punched my husband in the face because I had lost my patience with him; normally I would just have walked away. I am not a violent person, never have been…..actually I’m just the opposite and would NEVER and have NEVER hit him and could not believe I did. I felt terrible. At this time I would also like to mention there was weight gain, it used to be a huge issue to lose weight for me, but right now all I want is to beet this terrible out of body feeling and later I can lose the weight. Cant sleep, had to take a Xanax, .5 mg. it worked….I had dreams, I usually don’t remember them but I do now. It seems that all my dreams are fears of mine, sexually related, and not too nice, although last nights dream seemed to be less violent.

Day 4= When I woke up I felt worse than ever…and still do. Driving my truck is a chore. I am a very good driver but my depth perception is off, I’m dizzy. I still have all the other issues too…Only the shaking and night sweats are worse, I am tired and I cant stand myself…I know that this feeling is not me and I have to keep remembering how I felt before the Paxil came into my life…..I was vibrant, alive, and happy….I know I will feel that way again….I will not let this get to me…..My moods are weird, but I can deal, I’m strong. I am tired, and hungry, I feel like I can eat a horse. I crave foods I wouldn’t normally eat fried foods. I have always been a sugar addict, and now I don’t want it, jelly beans my favorite, get sick if I think about them. Can’t sleep, always thirsty, have to take a Xanax, .5mg to fall asleep.

Day 5= Woke up, slept through the night only waking to get a drink of seltzer by my bed. I felt ok, remembered my dream, again, it had the same content as above but was a normal dream, not scary or violent but decent. One I would expect to have anytime….I am dizzy, not as bad, my eye movement still causes this but I actually feel as if I am more in control…I keep telling myself I am going to beat this…I actually feel as if I am having a tug of war with my brain…I’m positive this morning, although I still have the withdrawal symptoms, but not as bad. I don’t feel normal yet, but feel as if I am closer to getting there this morning, than I have for the last 4 days…lets see how the day progresses. Im fearless….I know I can do this….I felt dizzy today a bit edgy and moody. Im tired and have been very thirsty. I read that omega 3 fish oil helps withdrawal symptoms so I picked some up. My attitude has been and is very positive. I have had the feeling of crying for no apparent reason but had stopped myself each time and fighting the urge. I do not have the brain shocks as of yet today….and that makes me more positive. I feel that if I could lose this dizzy, vertigo feeling I would be ok…….But so far I feel better. I’m not focusing on the symptoms of withdrawal I have, but rather thinking of the ones I don’t have anymore. I’m going to get through this.

Day 6= Good Morning to me…..I slept ok, waking up to get a drink…again had to take .5mg of Xanax to fall off to sleep. No big deal. I had dreams last night but I don’t remember one of them, just remember having them. I still have the dizziness but No night sweats, no shaking, no feeling like crying, no brain zaps….Gee that makes me almost back to normal. Like I said though, I do have vertigo, and am dizzy…but I know it will pass just as everything else seems to be passing, my mom always said all good things take time, she gave me my patience. My attitude is good, I’m in a good positive mood this morning and GUESS WHAT…I’m smiling as I write this…I don’t want to get to excited yet…… but this really does seem like a good sign. BAD DAY!!!!!! OH MY GOD, The Vertigo is worse than ever, my tongue and finger tips seem to be numb and I get cold and hot flashes…. my mood swings are unbelievable and I have the patience of a bull with a red flag being waved in front of him. I’m tired but probably from the vertigo. Not a good day, but better than it could have been. Thinking positive, but it’s a tough one today.

Day 7= Had to take .5mg of Xanax to sleep. My first day at work and all I can say is dizzy, dizzy, and dizzier. Spoke to a doctor and he stated to give it a couple of days to see if the dizziness goes away, if not he might think it has to do with swelling or excess fluid in the inner ear.….Today, I hate to say was just as bad as yesterday but add hype-activity. It also was a long day so I was very tired..I read a book on Natural healing at work and confirmed what the doctor stated about the inner ear and dizziness; it also gave me insight of drugs that may contribute to the problem, one of them being Xanax. Guess what, here I go, I will try to make it a point not to take my Xanax tonight and see how it goes. Will this EVER end?

Day 8= Well here is a change….Went to bed last night and took a couple of Tylenol sinus pills (hey at this point Im game for anything) and skipped the Xanax but instead had taken 5mg of Ambien to fall asleep. Waited around for the Ambien to work, no sign of drowsiness, so I took another 5mg….Out for the count!!!!!! Woke up this morning and have been up for about a half hour. The vertigo is still here but no where near as bad….this is definitely something I can deal with. I took my Tylenol sinus and will continue to take it for today to see if the vertigo goes away completely. Either way I am going to the Ear, nose, and throat doctor tomorrow to see if I might have sinus issues causing the dizziness. The doctor I spoke to said Paxil is a nasty drug and a lot of doctors who prescribe this drug don’t know what they are prescribing or the full extent of the side affects. He also said even though it could be the inner ear it still can be a withdrawal symptom from the Paxil….Can I see the end? One only can stay positive and hope…. J

[Moongal]

Hi Nikki, it's nice to meet you.

I imagine the dizziness is from the paxil withdrawal. I'm experiencing that too and vertigo. When I am not moving I feel kinda like I'm floating. This is not a fun drug to stop taking.

[ICanDoThis]

Hey Nikki, haha, that's my name too in the real world. I can totally feel your pain! I've done this a few times halfheartedly along with chronically forgetting pills for days at a time and I definitely know what your going through. I'm only four days into this attempt but I have to say that it's going well. This weekend I did a lot of research about how best to go about this and I stocked up on vitamins, magnesium, fish oil with Omega 3 and six, am drinking only water to help flush my system and am also trying the oil gargle. I'm usually a zombie by the 2 or 3 day what with all the zaps, dizziness, night sweats, nightmares, diarrea, nauseus (can't spell that word, sorry) but this attempt is really going well. Have you gotten any supplements or anything like that? Maybe theOmega 3 fish oil on it's own itsn't enough. I'm totally convinced that this is all helping me and just wanted to pass it along. Take care! Oh yeah, I get those fatty fried foods cravings too! I think your system maybe just wants to coat the stomach or something like that.

[scotty]

Nikki, did you stop cold turkey or did you wean? What you're describing is classic paxil withdrawal. Yes, go to the ENT, but I can almost guarentee that they will find nothing to account for the dizziness. The dizziness is one of the most common withdrawal symptoms. Nightmares are also very common and can be very vivid and scary.

[rdjanis]

For the first week of withdrawal my daughter was so dizzy she could not walk, the dizziness was short lived. The nightmares carried on.

The good news is it will disappear with time.

[Katesmom]

Originally Posted by rdjanis

For the first week of withdrawal my daughter was so dizzy she could not walk, the dizziness was short lived. The nightmares carried on.

The good news is it will disappear with time.

Ditto this experience.

[NikkiWld1]

Originally Posted by scotty

Nikki, did you stop cold turkey or did you wean? What you're describing is classic paxil withdrawal. Yes, go to the ENT, but I can almost guarentee that they will find nothing to account for the dizziness. The dizziness is one of the most common withdrawal symptoms. Nightmares are also very common and can be very vivid and scary.

Hi there....I did it cold turkey....and today seemed to be better but I can tell I am still not back to being me

[NikkiWld1]

Originally Posted by ICanDoThis

Hey Nikki, haha, that's my name too in the real world. I can totally feel your pain! I've done this a few times halfheartedly along with chronically forgetting pills for days at a time and I definitely know what your going through. I'm only four days into this attempt but I have to say that it's going well. This weekend I did a lot of research about how best to go about this and I stocked up on vitamins, magnesium, fish oil with Omega 3 and six, am drinking only water to help flush my system and am also trying the oil gargle. I'm usually a zombie by the 2 or 3 day what with all the zaps, dizziness, night sweats, nightmares, diarrea, nauseus (can't spell that word, sorry) but this attempt is really going well. Have you gotten any supplements or anything like that? Maybe theOmega 3 fish oil on it's own itsn't enough. I'm totally convinced that this is all helping me and just wanted to pass it along. Take care! Oh yeah, I get those fatty fried foods cravings too! I think your system maybe just wants to coat the stomach or something like that.

Hi, Keep up the good work i know we can get through this....I picked up Omega 3 and Omega 6, and it does seem to be working.....Hang in there

[Scott]

what dose and for how long?

[Scott]

Originally Posted by NikkiWld1

Spoke to a doctor and he stated to give it a couple of days to see if the dizziness goes away, if not he might think it has to do with swelling or excess fluid in the inner ear

he won't find anything wrong with your ears... it has to do with the way the brain is interpreting information... there is no way to test what you're feeling. They're jsut guessing.

If you were on the drug for any length of time and any significant dose, you really should go back to a small dose and wait awhile, then cut slower.. these feelings may get worse over time... and we've all been to the "i'm strong, i can handle anything" phase of withdrawal.. there is no easy way out.

[NikkiWld1]

Originally Posted by Scott

he won't find anything wrong with your ears... it has to do with the way the brain is interpreting information... there is no way to test what you're feeling. They're jsut guessing.

If you were on the drug for any length of time and any significant dose, you really should go back to a small dose and wait awhile, then cut slower.. these feelings may get worse over time... and we've all been to the "i'm strong, i can handle anything" phase of withdrawal.. there is no easy way out.

Im sorry Scott, I have to disagree with you on one suggestion, and that was to go back on a small dose of Paxil. NO WAY>>>>> I feel better today than I have. Coincidence or not my vertigo is gone after taking the tylonol sinus decongestant. I have no dreams sleep with no interuptions, and feel really positive and good about myself. When I read your response to go back on the paxil (small dose) I thought to myself...Not me, Not Now, Not EVER...One thing i have learned with this whole ordeal.....If I put my mind to it and stay POSITIVE...everything will be fine, and the proof of it is, ITS WORKING!!!!!! and I am so glad, I feel great today and will continue to stay positive even if i do have minor set backs. My body will heal its self....Good Luck......and thank you for making me realize not now, not ever.