PLEASE READ -questions

10-13-2004, 06:45 AM

I had tried to stop paxil a few weeks ago and I had terrible withdrawl symptoms so my DR. suggested I taper down. I went from 10 to 5 to 2.5. I have now been at 2.5 mg for the past 3 days and feel like I am going to go crazy. I can barely function. I am dizzy, my head is killing me, I am jumpy and feel like I am in a dream. I don't know what to do. This is how I felt a few weeks ago sO I know it is withdrawl- but if I take more I will just feel this again- please help i need suggestions.
Thanks

Ariella · 10-13-2004, 09:17 AM

Stay at your current dose for a month, and you'll find things will calm down and you can then be better poised to entertain waiting another month or not before you go off completely. It's best to leave a month of time between each dose reduction, unless you can endure the symptoms of doing it quicker.

Read as many posts as you can too. This question has been discussed in length for several years.

tcl18 · 10-14-2004, 05:18 AM

Ditto the other posts, pixie. Slow and steady wins the race. I tried too fast and paid. Now I am going very slow, 15mg for almost 4 weeks, now on 12.5 for almost 2wks. The withdrawal has been minimal, I've been lucky. I have been very tempted to go faster because my sympotms are not so bad, but I just come hear and read everyone elses experiences and know that slower is definitely better. Stick with it!! I'm going to give 12.5 another week or so before going to 10. That will be 3 wks on 12.5. At this rate I'll be off by the end of January.

Rhonda · 10-14-2004, 06:55 AM

Pixie,
Glad to see you here. I'm in the exact same boat as you are. I was at 20 mg for 10 years, tried twice to go off cold turkey and freaked out. Now have been weaning. Went to 10 mg for 2 weeks, then 5 for 2 weeks and felt really well! Now at 2.5 mg and feel absolutely horrible--physically and emotionally!

I'm going to take the advice Darcy gave you and stay on 2.5 mg for 1 month and take it from there. Hope you're up and at 'em soon.
Rhonda

10-15-2004, 05:11 AM

well after I wrote that I spoke with my doc. She now tells me to take 2.5 of paxil adn 5 of prozac and that should work. Has anyone ever heard of this? All I know is I have been feeling terrible for 2 days and at least can somewhat concentrate today. Thanks for all the responses

Ariella · 10-15-2004, 09:31 AM

I don't see the advantage of 5mg Prozac which just pushes your 2.5 SSRI exposure up to 7.5mg SSRI, beyond withdrawal technique selection. You may as well just have 7.5mg of Paxil.

There is one advantage of doing that though. When you're ready to reduce again, you could keep the 5mg Prozac (leaves the body slower), and just drop the Paxil. That way, when you're going down from the 5mg Prozac, you can have a smoother withdrawal. Prozac has a longer half life, which means its presence in your body diminishes slower than Paxil. It's believed and often experienced that a slower exit of an SSRI, leads to gentler withdrawal symptoms.

So maybe this will be a good move. It's up to you to decide. Prozac has its own unique risks and is a different substance for your system to get used to. People do react differently to different SSRIs, even if what they do to you, is similar.

Scott · 10-15-2004, 09:59 AM

depending on how long you were on the drug you may do well to go back to 5mg and adjust. Going right down that much may be too much on you.

10-13-2004, 06:45 AM	#1
pixie10 Posts: n/a	PLEASE READ -questions I had tried to stop paxil a few weeks ago and I had terrible withdrawl symptoms so my DR. suggested I taper down. I went from 10 to 5 to 2.5. I have now been at 2.5 mg for the past 3 days and feel like I am going to go crazy. I can barely function. I am dizzy, my head is killing me, I am jumpy and feel like I am in a dream. I don't know what to do. This is how I felt a few weeks ago sO I know it is withdrawl- but if I take more I will just feel this again- please help i need suggestions. Thanks

10-13-2004, 09:17 AM	#2
Ariella Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 7,100	Stay at your current dose for a month, and you'll find things will calm down and you can then be better poised to entertain waiting another month or not before you go off completely. It's best to leave a month of time between each dose reduction, unless you can endure the symptoms of doing it quicker. Read as many posts as you can too. This question has been discussed in length for several years. __________________ Panic attacks started Dec/1996 Zoloft summer 1998 (quit CT after a few days - bad reaction) 10mg Paxil fall 1998 / 20mg Paxil winter 1999 10mg September 2000 / 5mg October 2000 / FREE November 2000 Healed by Anxiety eBook

10-15-2004, 09:31 AM	#7
Ariella Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 7,100	I don't see the advantage of 5mg Prozac which just pushes your 2.5 SSRI exposure up to 7.5mg SSRI, beyond withdrawal technique selection. You may as well just have 7.5mg of Paxil. There is one advantage of doing that though. When you're ready to reduce again, you could keep the 5mg Prozac (leaves the body slower), and just drop the Paxil. That way, when you're going down from the 5mg Prozac, you can have a smoother withdrawal. Prozac has a longer half life, which means its presence in your body diminishes slower than Paxil. It's believed and often experienced that a slower exit of an SSRI, leads to gentler withdrawal symptoms. So maybe this will be a good move. It's up to you to decide. Prozac has its own unique risks and is a different substance for your system to get used to. People do react differently to different SSRIs, even if what they do to you, is similar. __________________ Panic attacks started Dec/1996 Zoloft summer 1998 (quit CT after a few days - bad reaction) 10mg Paxil fall 1998 / 20mg Paxil winter 1999 10mg September 2000 / 5mg October 2000 / FREE November 2000 Healed by Anxiety eBook

10-15-2004, 09:59 AM	#8
Scott Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: somewhere in between Posts: 11,591	depending on how long you were on the drug you may do well to go back to 5mg and adjust. Going right down that much may be too much on you. __________________ Scott aka Scott What has happened to it all? Crazy, some are saying Where is the life that I recognize? Gone away But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world Somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way To the ordinary world I will learn to survive surviving an ssri reaction alternative anxiety treatments

10-14-2004, 05:18 AM	#4
tcl18 Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 656	Ditto the other posts, pixie. Slow and steady wins the race. I tried too fast and paid. Now I am going very slow, 15mg for almost 4 weeks, now on 12.5 for almost 2wks. The withdrawal has been minimal, I've been lucky. I have been very tempted to go faster because my sympotms are not so bad, but I just come hear and read everyone elses experiences and know that slower is definitely better. Stick with it!! I'm going to give 12.5 another week or so before going to 10. That will be 3 wks on 12.5. At this rate I'll be off by the end of January.

10-14-2004, 06:55 AM	#5
Rhonda Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 171	Pixie, Glad to see you here. I'm in the exact same boat as you are. I was at 20 mg for 10 years, tried twice to go off cold turkey and freaked out. Now have been weaning. Went to 10 mg for 2 weeks, then 5 for 2 weeks and felt really well! Now at 2.5 mg and feel absolutely horrible--physically and emotionally! I'm going to take the advice Darcy gave you and stay on 2.5 mg for 1 month and take it from there. Hope you're up and at 'em soon. Rhonda

10-15-2004, 05:11 AM	#6
pixie10 Posts: n/a	well after I wrote that I spoke with my doc. She now tells me to take 2.5 of paxil adn 5 of prozac and that should work. Has anyone ever heard of this? All I know is I have been feeling terrible for 2 days and at least can somewhat concentrate today. Thanks for all the responses

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