Hola, fellow quitters! :)

Prosqtor · 02-24-2007, 09:31 PM

I've been a lurker on this site for several years now, and finally feel prepared to participate and taper off of the demon drug Paxil.

I have been on 40mg for about 4 years, and need to get off this drug! I'm so glad there is a place where people can get support and read the truth about Paxil and those who suffer from its withdrawal. I'm trying to cut to 20mg, even though it's waaaaay lower than I should.

Andy

Katesmom · 02-24-2007, 09:35 PM

Welcome! I love it when lurkers come out of hiding! If you've been reading here for any amount of time, you should have the info to get you started and to help you understand what might lay ahead of you. Hopefully, it will be an easy road for you, but if not, you know that we'll be here to help.

Prosqtor · 02-24-2007, 09:40 PM

Thanks!

I'm terrified of this, but it's something I need to do. I hate the fact that I was blindly put onto a drug that people knew was being misrepresented as non-addictive.

Going to the store tomorrow to stock up on Magnesium, Valerian Root, and Fish Oil

Katesmom · 02-24-2007, 09:44 PM

Add one supplement at a time, titrating up the dose. That way you will know exactly how you react to each. Every supplement, or every brand of supplement, is not for everyone. Good luck with it all!

scotty · 02-24-2007, 09:47 PM

Welcome!! You're not going to go from 40 directly to 20 in one wean are you?

Prosqtor · 02-24-2007, 09:49 PM

I was going to try, but after re-reading some stuff on here I think that 40-30 is about as big as I'd like to go. So it'll be 30 for 90 days, then 20 for 90 days, then 10 for 90 days, then we'll see

babs · 02-24-2007, 09:49 PM

Welcome to the site, Andy. Are you saying you plan your first drop to be from 40 to 20? That is really big.

Katesmom · 02-24-2007, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty

Welcome!! You're not going to go from 40 directly to 20 in one wean are you?

How did I miss that???? Don't do a 50% taper. That's just too much! Think in 10% increments. You could manage going down 5mg. That's a more reasonable taper.

LCrawford67 · 02-24-2007, 09:56 PM

Welcome!! And I echo the posts above....40 to 20 is just asking for trouble. Please rethink that. Going slow is a pain and we all want this poison out of our bodies, but believe me, it's not worth the hell you'll go through by tapering too fast.

The goal is to be off of this and live a happy, healthy life. The only way to achieve that goal is to take it slow.

scotty · 02-24-2007, 09:58 PM

Whoa again!! 10mg weans are to much...it's going to bite you in the butt. 2.5mg every 3-4 weeks is the fastest that we recommend.

Prosqtor · 02-24-2007, 10:02 PM

But I want off!

Any suggestions on how to get 2.5mg reductions from 40mg pills?

scotty · 02-24-2007, 10:07 PM

You're going to need some cooperation from your prescribing doc. Get him to order your 40mg dose in 10mg tablets. This will give you the ability to cut a 10mg in quarters to achieve the small wean..or even better liquid paxil.

Faster is not better. It's actually worse, since our experience shows that it extends the post wean recovery.

Prosqtor · 02-24-2007, 10:13 PM

Ooh, good idea, thank you. Is Liquid Paxil available in the US? My doctor hadn't heard of it....

scotty · 02-24-2007, 10:22 PM

Yes it is available. It will probably need to be ordered from your pharmacy...it makes weaning MUCH easier. Have your doc break out the PDR for what to order. It's 2mg per 1 milliliter

From rxlist.com:
Suspension for Oral Administration: Each 5 mL of orange-colored, orange-flavored liquid contains paroxetine hydrochloride equivalent to paroxetine, 10 mg. Inactive ingredients consist of polacrilin potassium, microcrystalline cellulose, propylene glycol, glycerin, sorbitol, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, sodium citrate dihydrate, citric acid anhydrate, sodium saccharin, flavorings, FD&C Yellow No. 6, and simethicone emulsion, USP.

Kristin · 02-25-2007, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty

polacrilin potassium, microcrystalline cellulose, propylene glycol, glycerin, sorbitol, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, sodium citrate dihydrate, citric acid anhydrate, sodium saccharin, flavorings, FD&C Yellow No. 6, and simethicone emulsion, USP.

Mmmmmmmm...yum! But if it gets you free....

Iksfreundin · 02-25-2007, 02:28 AM

I love sorbitol and methyl paraben!

No, really. I started at 40, and dropped 10 right away. I think the hardest part of my wean was that first 20 mgs. I dropped 20 in the first month and 1/2 of the taper. I didn't know how to cut up the 40's better, and just didn't have the cash for the liquid paxil - and no insurance, and about 40 40 mg pills. The thing was, I don't think that first 10 mg drop REALLY hit me for about a month, and by then I was down by 15 or so. Would it have made it easier for me had I cut by the smaller doses? I'll never know. I survived it, but it wasn't always pretty.

Having been in your situation, it's hard for me to say. I'm personally glad I started with the 10 mg drop, because it got me down 10 mgs much faster than I've done the rest of the taper. But it was particularly painful, and you CAN NOT do those big drops later on. I don't know = if you think you need to experiment (which some do), then do what you think you can handle. But if you make big drops, don't expect to keep your life in perfect order! It made it difficult, but I wouldn't go back and undo it - I think I'd have done it the same, and just cursed at myself more!

gracemynote · 02-25-2007, 03:25 AM

I was only on Paxil for 6 months and I went from 40 to 30. It was TERRIBLE! I don't advise that at all.

scotty · 02-25-2007, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kristin

Mmmmmmmm...yum! But if it gets you free....

Heck, they're less toxic than Paxil !!!! LOL! Whatever gets you free...exactly right!

02-24-2007, 09:31 PM	#1
Prosqtor Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 6	Hola, fellow quitters! :) I've been a lurker on this site for several years now, and finally feel prepared to participate and taper off of the demon drug Paxil. I have been on 40mg for about 4 years, and need to get off this drug! I'm so glad there is a place where people can get support and read the truth about Paxil and those who suffer from its withdrawal. I'm trying to cut to 20mg, even though it's waaaaay lower than I should. Andy

02-24-2007, 09:35 PM	#2
Katesmom Moderator Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 13,706	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Welcome! I love it when lurkers come out of hiding! If you've been reading here for any amount of time, you should have the info to get you started and to help you understand what might lay ahead of you. Hopefully, it will be an easy road for you, but if not, you know that we'll be here to help. __________________ Katesmom aka Kim started Paxil Oct. 2003 for PIH Paxil free since 19 Jul 2005 ". . .the cruelest lies are often told without a word. . .the kindest truths are often spoken, never heard." -- Ben Folds

02-24-2007, 09:40 PM	#3
Prosqtor Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 6	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Thanks! I'm terrified of this, but it's something I need to do. I hate the fact that I was blindly put onto a drug that people knew was being misrepresented as non-addictive. Going to the store tomorrow to stock up on Magnesium, Valerian Root, and Fish Oil __________________ Milwaukee, WI USA 40mg Paxil on insistence from ex-wife, 2002-5/23/07 5/23/07 30mg 8/23/07 20mg 10/23/07 10mg 12/27/07 0mg ZERO WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS ZERO REGRETS NEVER LOOKING BACK Visit Prosqtor's Progress

02-24-2007, 09:44 PM	#4
Katesmom Moderator Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 13,706	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Add one supplement at a time, titrating up the dose. That way you will know exactly how you react to each. Every supplement, or every brand of supplement, is not for everyone. Good luck with it all! __________________ Katesmom aka Kim started Paxil Oct. 2003 for PIH Paxil free since 19 Jul 2005 ". . .the cruelest lies are often told without a word. . .the kindest truths are often spoken, never heard." -- Ben Folds

02-24-2007, 09:47 PM	#5
scotty Administrator & Advocate Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: new jersey Posts: 38,590	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Welcome!! You're not going to go from 40 directly to 20 in one wean are you? __________________ AKA Laurie "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." ~Frank A. Clark

02-24-2007, 09:49 PM	#6
Prosqtor Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 6	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) I was going to try, but after re-reading some stuff on here I think that 40-30 is about as big as I'd like to go. So it'll be 30 for 90 days, then 20 for 90 days, then 10 for 90 days, then we'll see __________________ Milwaukee, WI USA 40mg Paxil on insistence from ex-wife, 2002-5/23/07 5/23/07 30mg 8/23/07 20mg 10/23/07 10mg 12/27/07 0mg ZERO WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS ZERO REGRETS NEVER LOOKING BACK Visit Prosqtor's Progress

02-24-2007, 09:49 PM	#7
babs Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 4,942	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Welcome to the site, Andy. Are you saying you plan your first drop to be from 40 to 20? That is really big. __________________ Babs Paxil 20mg 1994-2005 2 failed attempts to quit Tapered Jan-April 2005 Paxil-free since May 1, 2005 "Glinda the Good Witch informed her that she had the power to go home all along; all she had to do was click her heels together. Why hadn't she told Dorothy that in the first place? Because, explains Glinda, she wouldn't have believed it, she had to learn it for herself."

02-24-2007, 09:56 PM	#9
LCrawford67 Moderator "Everybody poops" Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 26,493	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Welcome!! And I echo the posts above....40 to 20 is just asking for trouble. Please rethink that. Going slow is a pain and we all want this poison out of our bodies, but believe me, it's not worth the hell you'll go through by tapering too fast. The goal is to be off of this and live a happy, healthy life. The only way to achieve that goal is to take it slow. __________________ aka LC aka Laurie C. Paxil, 20 mg since 1997, for IBS Two unsuccessful attempts to quit. Started tapering 11/27/06 PAXIL FREE 12/29/07 If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants. ~Kevin James

02-24-2007, 09:58 PM	#10
scotty Administrator & Advocate Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: new jersey Posts: 38,590	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Whoa again!! 10mg weans are to much...it's going to bite you in the butt. 2.5mg every 3-4 weeks is the fastest that we recommend. __________________ AKA Laurie "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." ~Frank A. Clark

02-24-2007, 10:02 PM	#11
Prosqtor Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 6	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) But I want off! Any suggestions on how to get 2.5mg reductions from 40mg pills? __________________ Milwaukee, WI USA 40mg Paxil on insistence from ex-wife, 2002-5/23/07 5/23/07 30mg 8/23/07 20mg 10/23/07 10mg 12/27/07 0mg ZERO WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS ZERO REGRETS NEVER LOOKING BACK Visit Prosqtor's Progress

02-24-2007, 10:07 PM	#12
scotty Administrator & Advocate Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: new jersey Posts: 38,590	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) You're going to need some cooperation from your prescribing doc. Get him to order your 40mg dose in 10mg tablets. This will give you the ability to cut a 10mg in quarters to achieve the small wean..or even better liquid paxil. Faster is not better. It's actually worse, since our experience shows that it extends the post wean recovery. __________________ AKA Laurie "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." ~Frank A. Clark

02-24-2007, 10:13 PM	#13
Prosqtor Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 6	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Ooh, good idea, thank you. Is Liquid Paxil available in the US? My doctor hadn't heard of it.... __________________ Milwaukee, WI USA 40mg Paxil on insistence from ex-wife, 2002-5/23/07 5/23/07 30mg 8/23/07 20mg 10/23/07 10mg 12/27/07 0mg ZERO WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS ZERO REGRETS NEVER LOOKING BACK Visit Prosqtor's Progress

02-24-2007, 10:22 PM	#14
scotty Administrator & Advocate Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: new jersey Posts: 38,590	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) Yes it is available. It will probably need to be ordered from your pharmacy...it makes weaning MUCH easier. Have your doc break out the PDR for what to order. It's 2mg per 1 milliliter From rxlist.com: Suspension for Oral Administration: Each 5 mL of orange-colored, orange-flavored liquid contains paroxetine hydrochloride equivalent to paroxetine, 10 mg. Inactive ingredients consist of polacrilin potassium, microcrystalline cellulose, propylene glycol, glycerin, sorbitol, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, sodium citrate dihydrate, citric acid anhydrate, sodium saccharin, flavorings, FD&C Yellow No. 6, and simethicone emulsion, USP. __________________ AKA Laurie "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." ~Frank A. Clark

02-25-2007, 02:28 AM	#16
Iksfreundin "Dancing Queen" Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA Posts: 3,572	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) I love sorbitol and methyl paraben! No, really. I started at 40, and dropped 10 right away. I think the hardest part of my wean was that first 20 mgs. I dropped 20 in the first month and 1/2 of the taper. I didn't know how to cut up the 40's better, and just didn't have the cash for the liquid paxil - and no insurance, and about 40 40 mg pills. The thing was, I don't think that first 10 mg drop REALLY hit me for about a month, and by then I was down by 15 or so. Would it have made it easier for me had I cut by the smaller doses? I'll never know. I survived it, but it wasn't always pretty. Having been in your situation, it's hard for me to say. I'm personally glad I started with the 10 mg drop, because it got me down 10 mgs much faster than I've done the rest of the taper. But it was particularly painful, and you CAN NOT do those big drops later on. I don't know = if you think you need to experiment (which some do), then do what you think you can handle. But if you make big drops, don't expect to keep your life in perfect order! It made it difficult, but I wouldn't go back and undo it - I think I'd have done it the same, and just cursed at myself more! __________________ 95' - started paxil, 20 mgs; up to 30. two ct's, then 60 mgs for years. 40 mgs in '02, poop-out in '05 start taper= 5/8/06 at 20 = 6/17/06 at 15 = 8/8/06 at 10 = 10/15/06 at 5 = 12/14/06 Paxil free as of 3/8/08 (drops were done gradually - not from 20 to 15 and so on) Smoke-free as of 2/27/08 Still doing well, no smoking yet and I haven't been hospitalized - 10/2/09 "You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you!" Job 13:4, KJV Bible

02-25-2007, 03:25 AM	#17
gracemynote Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 202	Re: Hola, fellow quitters! :) I was only on Paxil for 6 months and I went from 40 to 30. It was TERRIBLE! I don't advise that at all. __________________ 2/9/07 – PAXIL FREE!!

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