Welcome MeganK!!!

[Katesmom]

Originally Posted by jeanie

Katesmom, I used to get 10 mg for 4 dollars at Walmart.

Awesome to know that! Good news!

Megan, being busy and trying to live a full life is vital to getting through w/d, and I cannot stress how much that being active in any way that you can manage will improve your mental and physical health. Just remember, if your body wants rest, give it rest. Otherwise, LIVE!

[eileen]

Amen to that Kim!
Eileen

[MeganK]

I have been doing much better since going up to 62.5mg. I did some part time work on Thurs & Fri and it felt good. I was still having bad headaches. I have found that if I drink 1/2 cup of coffee in the morning the headaches are very manageable. I have my new appointment on Tues and I am looking forward to it. Well I'm gonna watch a movie. So thanks to everyone. This is a great site.

[Katesmom]

Great to hear. If you usually have caffiene, then it's not something that you just want to quit. You will get mega-headaches from that. Overall, caffiene is an ingredient in many 'migraine' formula headache remedies. Not surprising that it would help.

[scotty]

Quitting paxil is enough for one body to handle. Work on anything else well after Paxil. Sounds like you're doing great!

[MeganK]

Originally Posted by scotty

Quitting paxil is enough for one body to handle. Work on anything else well after Paxil.

Could you please be a bit more specific. I am also on Lamictal and Clonezepam. When I started to taper my Paxil Cr, I also cut my doses of Lamictal (100mg to 50mg) and Clonezepam (1mg to 0.5mg). I feel like I am doing OK. So I decided to cut the Lamictal out completely (as of today). Is that too fast? Should I stay on the Lamictal the whole time while I taper off Paxil? I am having such a difficult time sleeping (imagine that ) that I am not comfortable going off the Clonezepam.

Before I decided to taper off the Paxil, I was looking for full-time employment. Since starting the taper I have decided to wait. I have not been able to hold down a full-time job for more than 5 months, since I graduated in Dec. 2003. And after reading, I find out that the reasons I couldn't hold it together are side effects of Paxil. Thank you, Paxil! I have been employed with a temp agency for the last year. I am going to continue with them during this time, as most of it is part-time and only a couple days a week. I am currently taking two classes, I'm pursuing my MBA.

Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful, and for just listening to my tirades.

[tybr61]

Megan

Hopefully Scotty will jump in here soon, but I think you should only wean Paxil first. If you are weaning everything it will be hard to know what's causing what. Plus, Paxil is a tough drug to get off of and so is Clonopin. Many people here who have been on both, get off of the Paxil first and then wait several months before tapering the Clonopin or any other drug. You are going WAY too fast with all of them too. The key here is to go SLOWLY and take it one drug at a time! You will be so much better off in the long run.

Welcome to the board. There are many here to help you and many who are very knowledgeable regarding tapering, withdrawal and drug interactions.

[rdjanis]

Wean one med at a time Megan. The way to a successful withdrawal is to go very slowly, and do not cut out another med until all symptoms of paxil withdrawal are done with.

You were on meds for years, there is no need to rush coming off the medications, doing so could cause you horrific symptoms.

[MeganK]

From what I am reading and people are saying its best to do 1 med at a time. So does that mean I go back to the original doses of Lamictal and Clonopin or do I stay at what they have been for the last 2 weeks? (The originals: Lamictal - 100mg. Clonopin - 1 mg(.5mg in am, .5mg at bed) or Last 2 weeks: Lamictal - 50mg. Clonopin - .5mg at bed) I am doing this solo right now. However I do have an appointment w/a new therapist, who is also a nurse practioner, tomorrow. I am really hoping she will be of some help. Thanks for all your advice and for just being here.

[Katesmom]

If you can stabilize on the new doses of the other meds, then stick with those. If not, go back up. BUT, from hear on out, pick one to taper and stick with it. Do the Klonopin last, though.

[MeganK]

OK. I thought you could taper more than one at a time. Guess not. I'm learning. Why do Klonopin last? So it would be OK to stick at the 50mg Lamictal, .5mg of Klony?

[tybr61]

Megan

You do Klonopin last because it is very hard to wean. A member here, Amaya's Nana, is weaning that right now. There is a thread named Klonopin Withdrawal (or something like that) that would be good for you to read her posts. She is kind of the resident expert on Klonopin withdrawal and could really answer any questions you had about it. I can tell you without a doubt that she would tell you to wean the Paxil first.

Now that you have gone back up to the higher dose of Paxil and are doing better, if you start to feel other symptoms, it is probably due to the decrease in Klonopin and Lamictel and you will want to go back up in dosage on those to avoid any nasty withdrawal effects from them.

Just remember, one drug at a time and go slowly!

[MeganK]

Thanks tybr61. I will try to find that thread. Where is a good place to find out about withdrawal effects from Lamictal? This is all so overwhelming! I just want off these nasty drugs. But I do understand the reasons for going slow. It's just frustrating. If I had know more about these medications before I started taking them I never would have allowed myself to go on them. I will never just take the word of another doctor as fact when they want to put me on something before I do some major research myself! OK, I'll stop w/the tirade for now!

[MeganK]

OK I am going to go off on a small tirade again! You've all been warned

Before finding this site I was at medhelp.org forum. They have a doctor there who is telling people that there are no such things as w/d from Paxil and that it is safe to do the every other day dosing! After all the reading I have done that scares me a lot, that he is telling people this. I'm afraid most people will do as he says b/c he is a doctor. I only go there now to see if anyone has updated posts I was on and to tell them to come here.

You guys are the best! And I will keep sending people here.

Is there anything to do about that site, where they are giving out dangerous information? I just don't want anyone to get hurt.

[Katesmom]

Those kinds of sites abound. If you go over soliciting for this site publicly, you will likely be banned. If you can respond to individuals, you might point out the 21 hour half life of paxil and how that skipping doses leads to interdose withdrawal. That's just common sense.

I wish I knew more about lamactil. Hopefully, someone else will be able to let you know whether you would be better off tapering that or the paxil first. You need to taper the benzo last because you will need it to counter some of the pseudo anxiety that comes with tapering paxil. It just makes sense to do the paxil before the benzo for that reason.

[MeganK]

Ok I'll talk to individuals instead. I wont be banned from here will I? I guess I just worry about people. I don't want them to be led astray and have bad effects from it.

[tybr61]

Megan

The Weaning Klonopin thread is in The Lounge area of the board. I highly recommend you read through it.

G

[scotty]

Originally Posted by MeganK

OK. I thought you could taper more than one at a time. Guess not. I'm learning. Why do Klonopin last? So it would be OK to stick at the 50mg Lamictal, .5mg of Klony?

Stick with what you are taking now. Lamictal is a strange one. Some can just stop it with no problems, others have a harder time. It does lower the seizure threshold, so weaning is always safer.

[Katesmom]

Originally Posted by MeganK

Ok I'll talk to individuals instead. I wont be banned from here will I? I guess I just worry about people. I don't want them to be led astray and have bad effects from it.

Some sites are funny about people who seem to be recruiting away from a site, esp. if the site does the same thing or if it seems to be undercutting the site's mission. We don't like that here, but we would ask you to stop before we just banned you. I've been a member of other boards and I usually put the PP address in my signature but never post about it. It's less confrontational that way.

[MeganK]

OK thanks. I guess I didn't know it was a problem. Sorry.

[Katesmom]

Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about! It is one thing to post another site (and not link it) and tell us how much better we are! It's something else entirely to say, "This site stinks! Come to stayonmedsforlife.com!" LOL You have done nothing wrong.

[MeganK]

I didn't do a link. I just said to check out paxilprogress.org. Where people are more caring and understanding!

[Katesmom]

LOL!!! And where we will tell the truth based on personal experience!

[MeganK]

Exactly. I just explained that there are a lot of people who have been through the same thing here, and that everyone is supportive. And there is a nurse who knows what she is talking about! I also told them I had the same login here as there. Is that OK?

[Charlie]

MeganK,

I ws once an assistant manager (much like the mods here) at a Bipolar site. I posted a little bit drug info from time to time and was told more than once I was wrong. Finally one of the members was obviously experiencing an adverse reaction to Paxil so I posted a LOT of info and was give the boot.

There were actually a lot of members that were on a host of drugs to counter the side effects of their SSRI's.

I wonder what happened to thode people from time to tme but they deserved to hear the truth and it was worth getting booted.