My bf calls me "Miss Dizziness 2012"

[IsaMaus]

yeah he does

This is my first post on the site. I have been reading here in the past weeks and decided to sign up and just talk with all of u.

My English is not perfect because I live in germany and we dont have any good sites that help with Paxil withdrawl, so I assume it is my best bet to improve my English.

After my last dose of Paxil I was really fine. I even thought "Ok that is withdrawl? What are they talking about?"

Then 2 weeks later it hit me like a tornado. Extreme dizziness and vertigo. I have the feeling I am drugged up and wandering through twilight zone. Ppl actually asked me if I am taking drugs because my eyes look really weird.

The dizziness worries me a lot because I expected panic attacs or depression but not a single physical symptom.

I know nobody can say how long it takes to get better. But did anyone have this dizziness and can give me hope that it will indeed vanish.

I try to get my mind off things. I work 35 hours a week (still dont know how I manage to do it), do light exercise, try to read atleast 2 books a week and eat super healthy. I even quit smoking because I worsened my vertigo.

Oh and the weight. I gained 12 kg and since my last dose I gained 2 kgs again. Most of it went to my belly, my arms are still super teeny tiny. I look a bit like a female version of Obelix.

My dr told me to hang in there and rolled his eyes. So I went to a natural homeopath and he made an iris eye diagnostic and he saw some stuff I didnt even tell him. He prescribed me some natural stuff for detoxing. Did anyone of u try the natural way? With any supplements?

I did take omega fishoil, vitamin E and B but it didnt help my dizziness and vertigo at all.

Uaghhh it is such a strange feeling. I always think I faint but I never do. But I fall over things a lot and lose my balance. Sooner or later everyone at work will think I am a huge stoner.

Sorry for the long post. I hope I didnt bore u. Maybe someone has a similar story?

Thank u for creating this forum. For Europeans it is a good information source. I have found german sites that have the last blog entry from 2008 lol

[IsaMaus]

No one?

[Brassmonkey]

Isa--welcome to the group I'm very glad you found us, there area lot of helpful people here. Sometimes it just takes a while for them to show up.

Dizziness is one of the most common symptoms, I am having problems with it myself. It was really bad while I was on paxil at full dose and still shows up from time to time during my taper, it will get better. My wife can always tell when I am feeling WD symptoms by just looking at my eyes, I can even see it in the mirror at times.

Again welcome.

[IsaMaus]

Thank you Brassmonkey for the welcome.

I am sorry that u also have experienced dizziness but in a weird way it comfort me, that I am not online.

Are u dropping 10%?

[jr1985]

Hi IsaMaus, welcome to PP!

It probably isn't too late to reinstate Paxil at your last stable dose and taper off 10% every 3-6 weeks.

[IsaMaus]

hey jr1985

you know I have thought about that too. But somehow... even with this worse dizziness... I just dont wanna take Paxil again.

It is like someone would give u a knive and u dont wanna slit ur throat.

I am afraid if I go bakc on paxil, I will stay on it, because I know now how hard wd can get.

Is that stupid? Do I make sense in a way?

[Brassmonkey]

Isa-- in a way, yes, I am dropping by 10%, but not all at once. I do what I call a "slide" by dropping 2.5% a week for four weeks and then holding for two more weeks. So over a period of six weeks I have dropped 10%. I have ben doing it since September 2011 and have gone from 40mg to 19.5mg as of last Monday and will drop to 19mg this comming Monday and stay there for three weeks. It seems to keep the WD symptoms minimal for the most part.

[tchrldy]

Welcome!
Dizziness is one of my worst symptoms! It feels like the room is spinning and I'm the only one who feels off balance!

For me a 5% taper is helping. I understand your relunctance to go back on paxil and give yourself an out not to taper, but if your wd gets intense you may want to keep it open as apossibilty. Withdrawal symptoms can build over weeks and months, especially cold turkey.

Keep posting! Good luck!

aka Katie

[scotty]

Originally Posted by IsaMaus

No one?

LOL! Remember, there are time differences and your first post was at 3am here in the states.

How did you wean off the paxil, or did you just stop? How long were you on Paxil?

[scotty]

I've also moved your thread into general discussion where more will see it.

[Shiloh1]

Welcome ! I was SERIOUSLY dizzy for 6 months after my last dose and now it is much better so don't let it freak you out too much!! I almost passed out at work a few times!! It comes and goes now and again now but I am MUCH better in that regard! It's a common symptom.....just call it out for what it is so it does not scar you....

[nicole55]

Dizziness is really common and frustrating.

One thing that is good, is to challenge your self with balance. It is common to just want to lay down all the time, but I found using it, can help it improve faster. However test it out slowly, always be careful, because only you can tell how bad it is, and if you need to rest.


I found following an exercise tape, one where you have to follow the moves. In the beginning I could only do maybe 20 minutes and then increased. You have to turn your head a lot, switch directions, move your arms and legs, all of these things give balance signals. It will not improve right away, but it did help me when I did it regularly.

[Bruno2006]

i have found that yoga has improved my balance

[IsaMaus]

Originally Posted by scotty

LOL! Remember, there are time differences and your first post was at 3am here in the states.

How did you wean off the paxil, or did you just stop? How long were you on Paxil?

Sorry I guess I was too impatient I didnt think about the time difference and that u were all asleep

I took it for one year and then did a taper like this: Every 2 weeks a drop in 1 mg. I know...after reading all the posts that is was too fast.

It is hilarious because my dr recommended a drop by 10mg the first week and then 5 mg the next week. I am glad I didnt listen to him but still... 1mg was too fast.

[IsaMaus]

Originally Posted by tchrldy

Welcome!
Dizziness is one of my worst symptoms! It feels like the room is spinning and I'm the only one who feels off balance!

For me a 5% taper is helping. I understand your relunctance to go back on paxil and give yourself an out not to taper, but if your wd gets intense you may want to keep it open as apossibilty. Withdrawal symptoms can build over weeks and months, especially cold turkey.

I will def. keep that possibility in mind. Thank u Katie

[IsaMaus]

Nicole and Bruno: What do u think is better?

Yoga, walking, Cardio?

I did some Aerobic but I think my heartbeat goe sup too fast, which might trigger anxiety. Maybe it is better if I stick to slower exercises?

I am just glad I am not the only one.

I will also keep u posted about my natural supplements that I take if u are interested. My homeopath told me it will take about 2 weeks to see a difference. If there is something I can recommend to you, I will.

If it was all esoteric humbug I will also tell u

[nicole55]

in re:to exercise aerobics.

It doesnt' have to be intense,but something where you are having to move a lot. Change directions a lot, which usually happens on the aerobic or dance like tapes. In other words you are going through the motions, but don't do the intensity. I do use an aerobics type tape, they have the regular lady and the less intense lady. So when I am exercising for balance, I don't put the extra steps/extra bouncing in etc. I just follow the slow lady and not for intensity. You can leave out the arms etc./different things.

[julieannboo]

Welcome to the board. Yes i never experienced dizziness until paxil.
When i was younger i could go on fast rides and those flight simulators. Now they make me feel really dizzy.
I put it down to the migraines i would have. now i know the migraines were caused by paxil.
Hope you feel better soon x

[IsaMaus]

Sometimes I think I will never get better and then I try to tell me that I am just a whiney b****.

I just wish it would be easier...

not only for me... but for all of u on this board.

[IsaMaus]

Wooowww today is a horrible day.

I am at work and an half hour ago an extreme wave of dizziness hit me like Shooosssshhhh- I need to lay down.

I dont think it is linked to anxiety this time. I am calm, my heart is not racing... it came out of nowhere.

i AM JUST GLAD I can go gome in 3 hours. I can barerly keep my eyes open and work.

[Catnip]

Hang in there, IsaMaus! I'm extremely dizzy, too (I have been for three weeks after reinstating Prozac). You and I must be especially prone to it. I've been reading your posts and thinking about us both being dizzy at the same time in different parts of the world.

[IsaMaus]

Catnip ( love ur name btw- do u also have cats?), thank you so much.

It calms me a bit that we both are extremly dizzy.

It is just... mmhhh... hard to explain. Maybe u will understand it: everyone says it is a common sideeffect in wd, but I just wonder, why others suffer from it 2 weeks and I have been suffering from it for about 2-3 months.

It just seems like a long period of time for a physical symptom.

Please tell me when u have found smth that makes it a bit better.

[Brassmonkey]

Isa--Sorry to hear that your having such trouble. I would guess that it is your too fast tper catching up with you. I was very dizzy for six or seven months before I started my taper and even now I get periods of a week or so that I really have to pay attention to keep standing up. It will get better.

(((((((((((supportive HUGS)))))))))

[Catnip]

Originally Posted by IsaMaus

Catnip ( love ur name btw- do u also have cats?), thank you so much.

It calms me a bit that we both are extremly dizzy.

It is just... mmhhh... hard to explain. Maybe u will understand it: everyone says it is a common sideeffect in wd, but I just wonder, why others suffer from it 2 weeks and I have been suffering from it for about 2-3 months.

It just seems like a long period of time for a physical symptom.

Please tell me when u have found smth that makes it a bit better.

I do have two cats, but also dogs. But for some reason that name just popped into my head when I signed up!

I'm also confused why the dizziness is lasting so long. It's been 3 weeks for me, but that's also three weeks since I reinstated Prozac, so you'd think it would have built back up in my system by now. All I can imagine is that there is something that makes us more prone to it as a symptom after we stop an SSRI.

It's encouraging that everyone here believes that it will go away. But I have to admit that it's hard to keep the negative thoughts away -- like, is there permanent damage?

By the way, I've tried Dramamine, Benadryl, and Meclizine, and none of them seem to affect my dizziness at all. What I'm going to try now is a series of exercises called Vestibular Rehabilitation, where you try to force your brain to adapt to the dizziness so that you overcome it. There are some videos on YouTube showing how to do it.

I remember someone here has said that yoga seemed to help them, and I think that would work in a similar way.

We'll see what happens...

[wanting2quit]

Add me to the dizzy list? My husband has even asked me if there is a time when I'm not dizzy! I have been experiencing this on and off for too long... won't even tell you how long. I've seen a cardiologist, and an ENT and have had an MRI and bloodwork. Nada! I chalk it up to the meds, mostly.