Lifelong damage?

[jenny76]

Ok, so I just read a previous post and I have a question. Can the stress that your body goes through in w/d cause or create other diseases such as autoimmune diseases or do the symptoms just mimic these diseases? I am wondering if there is irreversable damage that has been done to our nervous/immune systems. Is this true?

[txguy]

Jenny - I do not believe there is a test which will reveal such damage. I believe we are the only people who will be able to confirm if there is long term permanent damage. I have the same beliefs as you but I try not to think this is permanent b/c I know it will only create anticipatory anxiety and therefore, keep me in heighten alert mode about my health. Keep trying to convince yourself that you are one step closer to freeing yourself from w/d.

[Charlie]

I don't believe the damage is irreversable but I do think complete healing can take a long time. Just as AD's can mimic Bipolar disorder I believe they can also mimic a host of other things. I think the key is to not over medicate the symptoms to avoid a never ending revolving door at the pharmacy.

BTW you have a beautiful smile.

[blankets]

I really don't know, but I have noticed before and during Paxil use I was very healthy, and during/after WD some really strange things started happening health-wise. During withdrawals lots of people experience physical trauma, some recover completely some don't. I find that over time whatever the health problem is starts easing up, but for me not completely gone.

[jenny76]

This is what scares me. I am so afraid that I will never recover. The docs are now talking Autoimmune disease, never had that before and during Paxil use, but now in w/d all of these symptoms are rearing their ugly heads. I don't want to sign on for a lifetime of illnesses!

[scotty]

Originally Posted by jenny76

This is what scares me. I am so afraid that I will never recover. The docs are now talking Autoimmune disease, never had that before and during Paxil use, but now in w/d all of these symptoms are rearing their ugly heads. I don't want to sign on for a lifetime of illnesses!

No I don't believe these are permanent. But the reality is there is not much you can do about any of this now. If there is an autoimmune disease Paxil isn't going to change that, but it may have contributed to it. Stay positive, stay focused and move forward.

[jenny76]

Thanks Scotty...I'm really trying! I guess it's my fault for going to the dr in the first place for some of these symptoms. Can some of these w/d symptoms really mimic these types of diseases?

[LinLou]

Even people with autoimmune diseases can heal.

[LCrawford67]

Jenny, first of all...breathe! There's absolutely NO PROOF WHATSOEVER any of this is permanent.

Second, w/d absolutely mimics other ailments, you'll find threads regarding this all over this board. We've all been through it.

Third, you'll hear from others who have been through exactly what you're going through now, and are just fine today.

Don't give in to the irrantional fears, and yes, irrational fears are also a w/d symptom.

Just take one day at a time, don't fret over these rough patches. You said yourself, you've been doing ok, up until this point, so focus on that.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by LCrawford67

Second, w/d absolutely mimics other ailments, you'll find threads regarding this all over this board. We've all been through it.

Exactly!! Withdrawal will play games with your head AND your body!

A wholesome whole foods diet can cure the most nasty of ills. Focus on whole foods- fruits, veg, whole grains, no crap. It REALLY makes an enormous difference in the way we feel.

[Sher66]

Originally Posted by scotty

Exactly!! Withdrawal will play games with your head AND your body!

SO true I see. I have been wondering about the same thing that Jenny asked so I'm glad she started this thread.

[babs]

For what it's worth, I feel better physically now than I did before or during Paxil. None of my physical symptoms remain. Mentally, it depends on what day you ask me.

[mapleleafgirl25]

there was a post on this a little while ago..alot of people get diagnosed with CFS and epstein barr ect...especially with the fatigue ect...trust me..i thought i had many things already..it plays games with you!!..

[TryingtoGetWell]

Originally Posted by jenny76

Can some of these w/d symptoms really mimic these types of diseases?

w/d symptoms DEFINITELY can and do mimic autoimmune disease symptoms, and symptoms of other disorders as well. I've been through it and it's virtually impossible to sort out, even for doctors. But it almost always turns out to be w/d, unless you were developing or already had the disorder before w/d, which was the case with me with some things and probably accounts for some problems other members of this group have.

So many of us have found that symptoms that exactly mimic other disorders turn out to have been w/d symptoms. Even some new conditions that show up on lab tests during w/d turn out to be w/d when they resolve by themselves when doctors thought that was impossible - this happened to me so it must have been w/d, and as the w/d got better, so did the disorder.

[safarigal]

I've been off Paxil for 5 years and have no lingering problems.

During withdrawal the best thing I did for myself was keep a positive attitude and read the posts here. I compared my symptoms to what others were experiencing during withdrawal and if they were the same then I had nothing to worry about.

Going to the doctor during withdrawal IMHO is a waste of time and only worries us more. The doctors have no idea what we are experiencing and there is nothing they can do for us except to run tests and scare us.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by Mango

A wholesome whole foods diet can cure the most nasty of ills. Focus on whole foods- fruits, veg, whole grains, no crap. It REALLY makes an enormous difference in the way we feel.

I agree.

Jenny, before I was on Paxhell (over 10 years ago), I had some bizarre symptoms and things going on in my body--a very long list! I was convinced I had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) or MS, or Sjogren's, and I can't even remember what all I thought. I did tons of research, and was sure it was something serious.

However (in hindsight), I was still postpartum, weaning my son (with accompanying hormone shifts), etc. I had also undergone radical changes in my life, with leaving work to stay home with children, moving to a new town, etc. The doctor gave me Paxhell, which seemed like the miracle drug, as all my symptoms "went away" for the 9+ years I was on it. (Of course, over time, many side effects showed up, which I didn't recognize as being due to Paxhell.)

Now, 3+ months off Paxhell, I don't know if any of those symptoms are going to come back--they could--but the point is, 10 years ago I was 100% positive I had some dreaded disease. EVERYTHING pointed to it. Yet here I am, ten years later, and it is doubtful that I have any of those diseases, or surely they would have progressed or had some effects during that time.

I'm just saying, don't become so focused on the symptoms that you lose sight of the big picture, which is that you are in WD, and it affects all body systems.

Barring any urgent, life-threatening conditions, I would go slow and easy down the testing-medication road, until you get farther away from WD. Given the opportunity, sooner or later the doctors will find something they can medicate, and very possibly unnecessarily. Better to avoid any new meds if possible at this point, IMO.

Margaret

[Johnnny off Paxil]

Jenny ..you do not have "auto -immune" disease..nether did you have MS and neither will you have asthma or Hashimotos or Pheochromacytoma or Diabetes Type 1 or 11 or Lupus or Epsteins Bar or Narcolepsy..you have NONE of these things OK.

I enjoy your doctors vivid imagination but once again I REPROACH him/her for their unwillingness to look at and ADMIT that the very drugs THEY prescribed to you is the root and cause of this nonsense. BUT NO..... they go on and on doing "tests"..which at this point I can only conclude is to make money.

Somehow, somewhere, someone has to put a stop to this, there need to be a full Congressional inquiry or in our case Royal Commission to fully investigate the harmful effects of SSRI's and the epidemic of health problems related to them, and that all of this cost is unnecessary waste of public funds.

Withdrawal IS a serious health issue, Paxil is a very bad and powerful drug that needs to come off the market and doctors need to pull their heads out of the sand and stop ignoring their patients needs and educate themselves about this, there is no excuse.
Now as far as long term damage..lest put it into perspective, this is trauma ok.. trauma to the brain ,nervous, endocrine and possibly many other systems including the lymphatic/spleen......trauma to the brain.. and this is well documented takes "years" ok....years to heal.

So this is what the doctor needs to tell you BEFORE you take Paxil..." Paxil will give you a 6 month possible 5 year honeymoon , after that you will need to wean off these drugs which will cause a serious "trauma" to your brain and body systems, this trauma will take a huge toll on your health and will take anywhere from 2 to 5 years to heal.. in between there is no understanding yet if the enormous stress of this experience will cause further longterm damage or other serous pathological illnesses . Also I cannot predict the price you will pay psychologically as withdrawal is well known to be at the root of many psychological disturbances. Lastly you may be one of the rare 6% that will experience an "Adverse Reaction".. which may happen immediately or months later, in that case the trauma will be immediate and then as I said above , expect 3 to 5 years to recover. I hope Jenny you fully understand the risks involved and hope that maybe you would consider something less dangerous and invasive."

Then you have the facts before you, no illusions, no doctor in denial( I am having these buttons made) so that when you decide to stop Paxil..you know full well the Hell that waits you, I am not saying this to get you upset or discouraged...just to be truthful.
So yes DOCTOR..withdrawal IS A MAJOR HEALTH ISSUE.

Regards, Johnny

[Zant808]

Originally Posted by jenny76

Ok, so I just read a previous post and I have a question. Can the stress that your body goes through in w/d cause or create other diseases such as autoimmune diseases or do the symptoms just mimic these diseases? I am wondering if there is irreversable damage that has been done to our nervous/immune systems. Is this true?

I have many permanent side effects from the drugs. However, my immune system is the best it has ever been in my entire life. I have actually not been sick since stopping Depakote in the summer of 2006. That drug causes the most "flu-like symptoms" and things like that. I think a lot of my immune system recovery has to do with eating healthy too.

[jenny76]

Wow, Johnny, you put it well...as always. Here is the list of what my doc is now checking for: TB, actually I ended up having a "false positive" because my skin reacted but the chest x-ray confirmed that I didn't have it..Sjogren's syndrome, Lupus, Diabetes, Scleroderma...who knows what the heck else. Unbelievable. This drug is absolutely unbelievable.

[Fritz96]

Originally Posted by Zant808

I have many permanent side effects from the drugs. However, my immune system is the best it has ever been in my entire life. I have actually not been sick since stopping Depakote in the summer of 2006. That drug causes the most "flu-like symptoms" and things like that. I think a lot of my immune system recovery has to do with eating healthy too.

If you've only been off the drugs since this June, how would you know if the side effects are permanent?