Have been paxil free for 6 days

[Juliemarla]

I have been on 40 mg Paxil for 13 years and am 58 years old. It has worked wonderfully for me except for a huge weight gain, loss of libido and occassional small ineffectiveness toward short term anxiety and/or depression. I decided a little over 6 weeks ago to try to be Paxil free. I slowly decreased my dosage by 10 mg every 2 weeks. I had my last Paxil on February 2, 2009. I did experience the flu like symptoms, the ringing in the ears, the dissiness, the feeling like I was hypersensitve to outside noises. I drove to dinner and felt as if I had to be extremely diligent in my driving, almost as if you are drunk and a police officer is following you. Today, I feel much better. Not my old self, but better. I am having very vivid dreams every night. I will think I haven't slept, but start thinking back over the night and remember this very vivid dreams. Not scarey, just vivid. I also have absolutely no desire for alcohol. Unfortunately, I liked my wine and vodka and sprite a little too much. My husband is on board with this decision to stop Paxil. THis is very helpful. I phoned by 3 adult children and all of them were fearful for me and were not pleased I had decided to do this without my physician's knowledge. I must note I did not do this with my family physicians knowledge. I did phone him on Thursday and his return call was supportive but he wished he would have been advised ahead of time. He agreed my way of tapering off the drug was responsible. He also agreed that there would be withdrawal symtoms. He also said that I would have some days that would be good and may occasionally have a few bad ones after having a few good ones. He did emphasize that I would be better!!! Which I have been better each day, but not my old self.

I am concerned as to the length of time it will be until I have no withdrawal symptoms. When do you know your anxious mood, or sad mood, is not a withdrawal symptom, but a signal that possibly this was not the right move for you? Will I know if I am going into a depressive and/or anxiety episode that requires medication?

I took a .25 mg tablet of Xanax today and it helped tremendously. After the second day of no Paxil, I did not sleep well for 3 days and finally took 1 mg of Xanax. It did not work!!! Two hours later I took .5 mg more and finally fell asleep. I had a very vivid dream, but I finally slept. Is this what other people have experienced and has Xanax helped anyone else.

I do not want to switch dependency from Paxil to Xanax!! Has this happened to anyone else?

Hope my experience has helped some and hope I can get some answers to my questions.

Thanks.

[staceyw]

Just wanted to say welcome!!

There will be others to respond to your post in a bit, people who can tell you how to handle your taper and your withdrawal effects. good luck!

[scotty]

Originally Posted by Juliemarla

I do not want to switch dependency from Paxil to Xanax!! Has this happened to anyone else?

OK, I'll be very honest...yes, you have switched one addiction to another. Xanax has a very short half life, causes rebound anxiety and as you've found out already, will require ever increasing dosage to get the effect. It is rapidly addictive. 1.5mg of xanax is a large dose.

Bottom line is your weaning schedule is biting you in the butt. After 13 years at such a high dose, weaning by 10mg every 2 weeks is not the way to go. You are basically seeing the effects of that first drop....I hate to sound like a downer, but it's going to get much worse before it gets better.

NOW, the good news...you are not off paxil that long that you can't restart, stabilize and wean off much, much slower. A slow wean is going to allow you to have a life while weaning.
We can help you through the process.

[Jean56]

Hi Juliemarie. I'm 56 and have been on 30 mgs of paxil for about a decade. I think you may have tapered too fast. We recommend a slow taper of not more than 10 percent at a time no faster than 3 to 6 weeks. I've tried the 10 mgs every 2 weeks and was thrown into chaos with brain zaps, anxiety attacks and severe depression. Paxil can definitely mess up your sleep. I find that zinc at bedtime gives me a more restful sleep. I've also used the herb valerian.

There is no set time for the the withdrawal symptoms to stop. Some people months and even years after they have stopped. Others get over it pretty quickly. If you were depressed or anxious before you started taking the paxil, chances are you'll be depressed or anxious after stopping. Most of the people on the site are trying to find other ways of dealing with our mood disorders through diet, exercise, supplements and cognitive behaviorial therapy.

If you use the search engine you'll find all kinds of information. Hang in there.

[anjopom]

Juliemarla,

Welcome to pp, i too have been on paxil for 13yrs, i learned the hard way the first time, i will not taper in that way again.

You may find that your withdrawal symptoms are going to get a lot worse, due to the way you have tapered.
The best way to taper to minimalise these sort of symptoms is 10% every 3-6 weeks, to wean any other way is asking for trouble.

As you have been told already, you can reinstate and wean slower, this will take longer, but minimalise symptoms, you will feel more comfortable doing this, but if you decide to carry on and see how you go, thats fine too.

Just know if and when things get bad, you can come here, we understand what its like, and always someone to help you out.

Anjopom

[scotia21]

You might even be able to go back on a lower dose (maybe 20 or 30 mg) and then wait to stabilize before you start tapering again. I personally know of somebody who has a Xanax addiction and she is going through living h*ll. As soon as the Xanax wears off then she has to take another one because the rebound anxiety is unbearable. How long have you been taking the Xanax?

[scotslass]

juliemarla,welcome!

I highly recomend that you get back on Paxil and once you feel better then start weaning very slowly.13yrs at 40mgs is a high dose and a long time,your mind and body have to get used to adjusting to life without this drug slowly.If you read some of the posts here you will realise that withdrawal can be extremely miserable if you wean too fast.

Best of luck honey and let us know how you do

fiona

[scotty]

Let me explain more. Paxil makes physical changes in the brain. Those physical change result in changes in alot of the chemistry in the body. Neurotransmitters, adrenalin, cortisol, hormones. While the paxil commercials talk all about serotonin, it's not that simple. These physical changes need time to adjust back to the prepaxil level.
If you wean to fast, you don't allow all the affected parts of the body time to start functioning.
It's like putting the brakes in the car on slowly from a high speed, or pulling the emergency brake. One brings things to a gentle stop..the other creates chaos. Same situation here.

[Juliemarla]

I had no idea how to do a forum format. All of your responses have been extremely helpful. I, of course, did not go into FAQ or really acquaint myself with your site as much as I feel I should have. I am going to take advice from the people who have responded and start back on the Paxil and try to taper myself off much, much slower. I dont have to say it but I hate the way I am feeling now and words of encouragement and experience are envaluable. Thanks to all. I will post again tomorrow.

[scotty]

Julie, you're doing fine with the format! Good choice to restart and we're here to help you through safely getting paxil free!

[Juliemarla]

Thanks for your help. Is there a way my children can get the information I have received today? Is the ebook something I can download or forward to them so they better understand ?

[scotslass]

This is a great site Julie,the people here are wonderful and will support you all the way! Glad to hear you are going back on Paxil sweetie,quality of life is the most important thing while you taper.

[kapulica]

Hello there - in the past when I did quit 20 mg/day cold turkey (which I would NOT recommend), I suffered with terrible withdrawal for about 8 days - very very similar to what you are describing (the driving,dreams etc). Then I was OK. I was only the on the drug a couple of years at that point, but that may give you an idea to help you decide if you want to go back up and taper (which is likely healthier), or continue the withdrawal.
Cheers.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by Juliemarla

Thanks for your help. Is there a way my children can get the information I have received today? Is the ebook something I can download or forward to them so they better understand ?

The ebook can be downloaded by anyone...just realize that it was written a few years ago and needs serious updating, but alot of the information is very useful.

You're children are more than welcome to register here, or without registering they can read the General Discussion area.

The key thing to remember is that even GSK doesn't recommend cold turkey..you are doing a much smarter thing stabilizing and weaning.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by kapulica

Hello there - in the past when I did quit 20 mg/day cold turkey (which I would NOT recommend), I suffered with terrible withdrawal for about 8 days - very very similar to what you are describing (the driving,dreams etc). Then I was OK. I was only the on the drug a couple of years at that point, but that may give you an idea to help you decide if you want to go back up and taper (which is likely healthier), or continue the withdrawal.
Cheers.

I'm curious, what year did you cold turkey?

[Songbird]

There are a few people who can cold turkey or get off quickly with few problems, but if you are already having sleeping problems, that is not a good sign. After only 6 days, it is quite possible this could get a lot worse over time. After 13 years of 40mg, your body does not know how to function without it. If you decide to restart, it may be possible for you to restart at a lower dose, say 30mg instead of 40mg, then wait until you stabilise.

[Juliemarla]

Well, it is a new day and again I cannot thank everyone who responded enough. My husband and I agreed with all that was said. Unfortunatel, I tend to step into things with both feet and see what happens. I realize that is not the best thing in this case. I did take 30 mg last night. I did sleep through the night without a dream. I have also been drinking alot of water and walking on the treadmill every day. If the weather ever gets better here, the dog and I are in for some nice walks.

Do you have any recommendation as to when to take the Paxil? I use to take it in the morning when I woke, but does anyone have any experience in taking it at night and it helping with getting to sleep?

[scotty]

The dosing timing is very individual. Ryan used to take it during the day, but others do nightime. No one is better, just what works best for you.

[AussieGirl]

Just wanted to say Welcome Julie

If you read my signature you will see like all the ohters SLOW AND STEADY is the way to go.

Take your time to re-stabilise at 30mgs.

I take my paxil in the morning.

Again a warm welcome.