Info on getting off of Paxil - Help

Hello, there,
I have been trying deperately to get off of Paxil SR 25 mg. I am now down to 12.5 mg. but have the side effects that others have of buzzing in my ears, crying, , depression etc, etc. Feel like I am going out of my mind but have to act sane in my job. Don't like taking things out on my husband but I am so short tempered.... How do you taper when you are on the SR tabs as they cannot be cut in half? Would appreciate any help. I am sorry that everyone is going through this hell but feel comfort that I am not alone. :P
I anxiously look forward to your responses and when I have time will look back through the archives.
Thanking you in advance for any help you can give.

Hey Scotter,

Hang in there. Why do you think you can't cut the tablets? I weaned myself off 40 mg of paxil over several months. My husband would use a knife to cut the tablets smaller and smaller and then tape them to a piece of paper so I could take one that was just a sliver smaller than the day before each day. At the end, I used to just nibble a small shaving off the paxil tablets. It tasted nasty, but I don't see why you can't cut them into smaller pieces. I did it very slowly and avoided serious withdrawal problems. The only real withdrawal symptoms I have are occasional nausea, dizziness and a constant tremor, but I think the tremor is from my body releasing paxil toxin from my cells. How slowly are you lowering your dosage?

Breeberoo

Dear breeberoo,
I was told that I could not cut the extended release pills in half because they have a special coating as they slowly release in your system over the course of the day.

[scotty]

Scooter, cut away!!! My son weaned off using only Paxil cr. The coating only delays the release over a 24 hour period, so cutting it just makes it more like regular paxil, especially at the lower doses. We went as low as 6.25 mg(cutting the 12.5 in half) and he had no problem. A pharmacist told me at that low a dose its not a problem, and it wasn't. If your not comfortable stopping after 6.25 you could probably get it in half again with a pill splitter. It may not be exact, but close enough.

Dear Scotty,
Thank you for the info. I was under the misconception that I would get too much of the medication if I cut it. I will try this approach.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Scooter

I was told that I could not cut the extended release pills in half because they have a special coating as they slowly release in your system over the course of the day.

trust me, cutting them down is far better than not.. that's what i had to do. it won't be time-released but it will still be paxil so what does it matter? if possible you can request the regular version from your doctor or pharmacist. They even have a liquid paxil. Don't let them tell you it isn't necessary to cut slowly. You need to balance at 12.5 before you cut anymore, and don't cut anymore than 2.5mg at a time from now on giving yourself a few weeks to adjust with each cut.