mood swings

[anjillian]

Dropped to 6mg a week ago. Was in a very good mood, energetic, lots of energy at work, cheerful, optimistic.. etc. Then boom.. low energy, exhausted, negative.. This is aggravating because i'm sure it confused those around me (as well as myself). Also affects work bigtime. Would love to have that feeling all the time..

Just wonder why my state/moods aren't stable.. can be a week then suddenly change to soemthing else. I can't deal with this. I thought things were going well and i hate the unpredictability of this whole process.

I loved the way i felt after that drop.. was so awesome. Also work performance was great and i was complimented too. Now i can barely drag myself around! Confusing.

Question is if mood changes, is it time to drop a little further?

What to do..

[LCrawford67]

Keep this in mind. Not everything is w/d. Our moods and energy levels don't remain the same, ever. We all go through several days of being in a great mood, taking on the world! Then BLAM! We wake up one morning and want to choke the snot out of someone and don't feel like doing a thing.

My best advice to you is this, you know you're feeling better, the lower you go in dose. Sadly though, this is where things get confusing. What's regular old emotions and what's w/d. I know, I've been going through this myself.

But, what I'm finding is this. It's mostly just regular emotions and normal ups an downs coming back. We have good days and days where we feel like crap and it's nothing to do with w/d.

Your mood and energy level will change and if it's been long enough, and your body is saying it's ok. Then keep moving forward. It gets better and better.

[anjillian]

I think what has been confusing me for some time now is knowing the difference in whether more paxil makes me feel better or less. I guess why i've always yoyo'ed all the time, trying to find the best state of mind. On one hand a person could think that more of an antidepressant is going to make you feel happier/but for someone who is not metabolizing it well, or sensitive.. could mean to have less is to have less of the toxic affects.. totally confusing and been fighting with this for some time.

This time i feel like i was doing so well and really feeling good and there's no reason i can imagine why i suddenly am so low energy and down. I just don't get it.. i was really happy and excited about work and other things in my life and was sort of taking on a new attitude and then i can barely function.. so i am really confused. I really feel it is connected to the paxil.. just because there's no reason why i'm feeling this way and it is totally opposite of what i'm trying do/feel. Was feeling so normal and me and i would do anything to figure out how to get back that mood lol..

I did feel good after this drop......perhaps initially things are good and then after a week things set in. I am having slight w/d symptoms, blurry vision and stuff, low energy..a lil nauseous suddenly after that great week of feeling so high/active.. happy finally..

I am kinda scared to drop further right now.. so will wait a few more days/week or so and hope for the best be4 trying to further drop.

thanxs for ur reply..
Jill

[Katesmom]

Remember that hypomania (mild mania where you are just really happy and energetic) is a common withdrawal symptom, too. Most people find hypomania very welcome (I certainly did), because it is what most of us think we should be all the time, but it is not normal to be so, so energetic all the time, at least for most of us.

[Light]

I had intense mood swings in withdrawal sometimes hour to hour for a year or more. It had nothing to do with life circumstances and everything to do with withdrawal in my case. There was a time when I was literally elated one hour and curled up in a ball with intense driven depression the next. Mood swings are a fairly common feature of withdrawal. Mine went away eventually although I do still have some situational depression.

[Chuck]

Personally, my mood swings are dictated by my diet (enough protein? too much sugar?) If I have not eaten in about 3-4 hours, I get very edgy. If I eat too much carbs/sugar, I get sluggish. So I always check the diet first.

Regarding whether to taper again. I taper .5mg every 3 weeks. I am at 4.5mg right now. I never taper on the day I don't feel real good. I might wait a day or two..that way you are not dealing with potentially two issues at once. Just my 2 cents.

[Casey1231]

Originally Posted by anjillian

I think what has been confusing me for some time now is knowing the difference in whether more paxil makes me feel better or less. I guess why i've always yoyo'ed all the time, trying to find the best state of mind. On one hand a person could think that more of an antidepressant is going to make you feel happier/but for someone who is not metabolizing it well, or sensitive.. could mean to have less is to have less of the toxic affects.. totally confusing and been fighting with this for some time.

This time i feel like i was doing so well and really feeling good and there's no reason i can imagine why i suddenly am so low energy and down. I just don't get it.. i was really happy and excited about work and other things in my life and was sort of taking on a new attitude and then i can barely function.. so i am really confused. I really feel it is connected to the paxil.. just because there's no reason why i'm feeling this way and it is totally opposite of what i'm trying do/feel. Was feeling so normal and me and i would do anything to figure out how to get back that mood lol..

I did feel good after this drop......perhaps initially things are good and then after a week things set in. I am having slight w/d symptoms, blurry vision and stuff, low energy..a lil nauseous suddenly after that great week of feeling so high/active.. happy finally..

I am kinda scared to drop further right now.. so will wait a few more days/week or so and hope for the best be4 trying to further drop.

thanxs for ur reply..
Jill

I really, really feel your pain on this one. I am in exactly the same boat, not sure where I stabilize, I've been up and down a bit, not really feeling good anywhere, etc. The only thing I can offer is that even those who are clearly in poop out and feel better with lower dose don't drop after only one week. Maybe give it another couple of weeks, keeping in mind what Laurie said about the normal fluctuations in mood, energy, etc. Try to stay in optimal health in regards to rest, nutrition, meditation, etc., and hopefully this cloud will pass over soon.

[TryingtoGetWell]

I don't have experience with poop out and didn't do a slow taper (unfortunately), so I can't speak from personal experience, but I've read a great deal on this board, and as far as I can see poop out and withdrawal are not the same. Apparently people in poop out don't get the benefit of the drug, but still experience withdrawal, so the slow taper is still needed.

And Kim (katesmom) made a very important point. People often get hypomanic and feel better soon after a drop or going off the med, with withdrawal symptoms hitting them later. Also, some people just have delayed reactions, as I did. I didn't seem to be hypomanic (if I did, it was very slight, and most likely was increased energy and well-being from lack of side effects from the paxil), but I had a delayed reaction afterward that hit me very hard and which I'm still recovering from.

Some people feel the effects of a drop in dose or going off the med immediately, others of us seem to metabolize it differently and only feel the effects later, often weeks later, which is why this group recommends waiting at least 3 and preferably 4-6 weeks between drops.

[anjillian]

Oh.. but it was so great.. Work performance was amazing.. really functioning well.. why can't it stay like that! Prepaxil it did.. if i was in that mind set it stuck for a while until something got me down. Good to know .. thanks for the info..

[anjillian]

Yes.. totally makes sense. In the beginning i felt so great.. and now a little odd.. functioning worse. Could be it sets in later for me.. so i will wait a few weeks be4 tapering further. Thanks

[anjillian]

Thanks.. the food thing is true....and i ususally do connect the two.. but for me if it's paxil related seems to come in spurts of a few days with a particular mood regardless of what i've eaten. With that on a good spurt comes lots of energy and feeling "normal" happy and sane.. whereas a bad one contains lightheadedness, blurred vision, "not normal feeling".. spacey.. slowed thinking, tiredness.. no patience, worried.. insecure.. so i can tell it's directly linked to the paxil and how it's affecting me/not affecting me .. but food is a really important factor for mood.

[anjillian]

Yes, i will give it more time and hoping/praying this passes! Need my job more than ever now!

[Kristin]

My pattern with each drop was to feel better and energetic for 3 days and then in slow motion from there. You'll start to see your pattern as you continue to taper, though there is certainly the factor of unpredictability in the W/D process!

[anjillian]

ok.. that totally stinks!..........that things will be so unpredictable that people won't recognize me!........i had taken on this good worker attitude/ real energetic and helpful to ..........oh boy i'm so tired.. sluggish.. doing things in slow motion.. people are getting confused!

Guess my pattern is one week good........then ikk.. o boy!

[Kat]

It sounds like basic paxil w/d to me. Sorry to say that everyone is right. It's a necessary evil of w/d to have your ups & downs both physically & mentally.
We usually only drop my hubby's dose if he is mentally stable. Usually 3weeks or so between drops. We also take his workload into acct when we are going to do a drop.
As far as work goes the ppl that truly know you will notice you are having good days & bad. If you can tell the powers that be that you are doing your best to make a smooth transition off of your meds, & you might not always be yourself, but that things will get better.

If your moods start changing rapidly - minute by minute or faster - then you are rapid cycling. And that is definitely due to the paxil w/d. That's the time you want to go back up a bit & stabilize.

Best of Luck!
:0)
Kat

[anjillian]

That sounds horrible (rapid cycling). I hope i don't get that!

Sounds reasonable how your husband is doing his drop. The prob with working while doing this is i wouldn't want to harm my job at all. Coming in looking like "something's up".. isn't so great for any job position. But guess they are used to me and my many moods. They've seen me in every possible way and am still there so guess it's alright. Thanks for the advice

[Buxy`s Back]

Originally Posted by LCrawford67

But, what I'm finding is this. It's mostly just regular emotions and normal ups an downs coming back. We have good days and days where we feel like crap and it's nothing to do with w/d.

I agree totally before drugs moods come and moods go,sometimes its life situations sometimes its being a woman with hormones ie don`t piss me off a week before my cycle as i am liable to tell you to go take your face for a sh£t ect ect,but i dont agree with not blaming fast swinging mood swings on withdrawal,
For me i could be manic laughing at stoooopid things the next my brain would freeze and it would freak me out that i was laughing at such triviality, if things went wrong, rather than use logic i would kick,swear ,curse ect ect, i feel and blow everything out of proportion, im sorry before drugs my moods never swung so fast so randomly.
Also days of feeling like crap and good days?.....someone please tell me then why i just have crap and have done for almost 3 years, is that just coincidense that these continuous crap days started 5 days after stopping the poison?,mmmmm sorry you just know what is real life and life challenges and whats happening when its happening due to body and brain chemistry being altered.
If i argue with Brian i can accept the anxiety that comes, it is warrented and with reason, when i am in an ok mood and nothing is wrong that day my moods and symptoms still come thick and fast, as do the changes i moods

[anjillian]

Yes, i don't remember myself swinging so drastically in moods either be4 paxil. I think it's even more than moods.....more like mental state of wellbeing or something to that affect.

It's like i was doing so well.. so happy and felt like i was on the right track and suddenly it just blew up for no reason at all... Kind of like my overall feeling and attitude changed for no reason..

Best i can do is try to get back to that state of mind somehow.. thanks for ur reply.

[Songbird]

I've been up and down a lot lately too. I'm sure it's withdrawal. But also my PMS has got a lot worse, I think withdrawal and PMS interact somehow and make eachother worse! I always stay on a dose at least 4 weeks before dropping again, and this time I'm staying on my current dose a little longer as I don't feel stable yet. Also I think it is a good idea to listen to what your body is telling you, rest when you feel tired, and so on. You may have to get used to living in the moment more rather than having an expectation that you will feel a certain way at any time...