"Rebound" anxiety

rooster · 01-29-2005, 05:26 PM

Hey everyone,
It's often said here that when we stop paxil, people who suffer from anxiety often have it come back much worse than before taking paxil. ( This happens to be my situation.)

My question is..... Is this referring to withdrawal anxiety symptoms which will die down to the anxiety levels I had before paxil or is my heightened anxiety level here to stay?

I hope I made sense!

Thanks.

rdjanis · 01-29-2005, 05:58 PM

You make sense. In my daughter's case the anxiety was much worse during withdrawal. Instead of having periods of anxiety in certain situations, she had anxiety all the time, severe depression. She could not even go into a store a pick out a treat for herself, she was unable to make a decision of what candy bar she wanted, would start crying and head home. Extreme anger as well. These periods started to fade at about the 6 month mark, got further and further apart, and they are now gone altogether. She still has her original problem, however has been working on it and doing great in all areas other than entering a school classroom.

Scott · 01-29-2005, 06:43 PM

the reason it appears to come back stronger is due to the way the drug works on you. Until your brain adjusts to function without the drug you're left in an imbalance that can leave you anxious, depressed, obcessive.

This rebound effect happens in basically all drugs that are taken for even recreational purposes.. you have the high of the drug and when it wears off you feel lower than before due to the high.

Light · 01-29-2005, 06:44 PM

It's a great question and it's my belief that you will eventually return to your pre paxil level of anxiety and then you can use other methods to overcome/cope with your anxiety. I have always been a little socially anxious but wouldn't qualify as having a social phobia. In the depth of withdrawal the thought of being in a social situation was excruciating. It's mostly gone now. If I were to use numbers on a 1-10 scale to describe my pre SSRI, SSRI, withdrawal, and current level of anxiety they would be 6, 3, 10, and 7. The 10 was really more like a 12 though!!

One of the trickiest parts of the whole withdrawal thing is that people use the fact that they are hyperanxious during withdrawal to justify their need to go back on an SSRI. And there is a sea of doctors ready to tell that them they are having a recurrance of their original condition, that they need to be on meds for life, etc. The sad thing is that it's really easy to distinguish between withdrawal and the original condition but the vast majority of psychiatrists don't even have these skills.

rdjanis · 01-29-2005, 06:47 PM

Quote:

The sad thing is that it's really easy to distinguish between withdrawal and the original condition but the vast majority of psychiatrists don't even have these skills.

Yes, it truly is sad, because it can lead someone to numerous drugs and a life of hell. Makes me angry!

Scott · 01-29-2005, 07:00 PM

i've always been a bit shy also but i'd gladly take that any day over the hell i've gone through in my own body.. i used to have peace of mind.

rooster · 01-29-2005, 08:12 PM

I've never had a social anxiety problem but I had to leave a "bucks" party last night early due to anxiety (really bad chest aches and nausea), and I'm the best man!!

My life on a social level was never a problem, although a little shy, I've never had these feelings to this extent before coming off paxil. I was dreading the party for weeks. Now I have to get through the wedding, speech etc feeling this way. It should be such a great wedding but it is really bothering me that I won't get back to my pre paxil anxiety levels, which I could handle. Hopefully that's not far away.

silence4now · 01-30-2005, 02:51 PM

rooster, I experienced the same thing and wondered for a long time whether this would be a permanent problem. For a few months I just didn't want to be around people. I think it was part of the overall increase in anxiety and tension that made me uncomfortable in social situations. It has gotten better though and I'm actually feeling better today than I did before Paxil.

eidotink · 01-30-2005, 05:23 PM

they say eventually you'll just have the original problem that you started with, although it takes several months to get there.

question:

so, obsessive behavior is a part of the anxiety/withdrawal thing? i've been doing an awful lot of straightening lately. cleaning, dishes. way overly focused about my health and diet.

just a normal part of the w/d, huh?

sigh... and grrr.

Scott · 01-30-2005, 05:58 PM

straightening :-(

silence4now · 01-31-2005, 12:08 PM

eidotink, what do you mean by straightening?

I was doing a lot of 'bracing' my torso. It's all anxiety related. Maybe you should think about trying some behavioral modification to help yourself think about other things. Have you read about brdgrl's rubber band therapy?

sheacarney · 01-31-2005, 02:56 PM

Hi everyone,

REBOUND ANXIETY!!! The bane of my existence! I feel like I've just got to jump right out of my skin today. January 28th marked the day, wherein I was six months off Paxil. Sadly, during the withdrawal, medical professionals saw fit to place me on Xanax, to eliviate my withdrawal symptoms. I never took more than 1mg/day, but now that I'm down to .25/day, I'm experiencing rather high levels of anxiety. It's not like the first two months of Paxil withdrawal, which was just full body trauma, but my quality of life is poop. Six months is too long to be on a tranquilizer, now matter how small the dose. Doctors are saying that the dose I took was never large enough to cause any type of withdrawal, so I should just quit altogether, but I'm convinced that the fastest way to die is to listen to doctors. Case in point: I have had problems with my heart racing and palpitations, since quitting Paxil. My resting heart rate was just too high, so a cardiologist put me on a beta-blocker. WELL, even though the doctor knew my medical history, including the fact that, prior to Paxil, my heart was FINE and the fact that I have asthma, the doctor still insisted that I NEEDED atenolol. The first two weeks on the drug were nauseating and I felt very depressed. As the drug began to take full effect, I noticed my anxiety had decreased, substantially, however, I began to feel short of breath. I was very close, last night, to making a trip to the emergency room, but my emergency inhaler opened my brochial tubes, hence I was able to breath, but, as anyone who uses an inhaler can tell you, inhalers can make you extremely anxious. I basically had to counter the beta-blocker with an beta-agonist. Obviously, the beta-blocker will not work for me.

When will this end??? I'm almost off Xanax and will not take any more atenelol, but this anxiety is all consuming. I CANNOT relax. My adenaline sack seems to burst over and over and over and over. By the by, I bought Natural Calm, magnesium powder. I pray to God it makes a dent in this.

-Shea

eidotink · 01-31-2005, 05:20 PM

silence: by straightening, i mean ... organizing. tidying. that kind of thing. and i would love to learn about behavior modification stuff. am going to look for the rubber band theory now. thanks!

Scott · 01-31-2005, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheacarney

as anyone who uses an inhaler can tell you, inhalers can make you extremely anxious.
When will this end??? I'm almost off Xanax and will not take any more atenelol, but this anxiety is all consuming. I CANNOT relax. My adenaline sack seems to burst over and over and over and over. By the by, I bought Natural Calm, magnesium powder. I pray to God it makes a dent in this.

-Shea

i know exactly how you're feeling because it happened to me when i ran out of magnesium.. i could actually feel the adrenaline rushes in addition to the fast heart rate. A week or 2 after I restarted magnesium it was better. Being on paxil does something to the adrenal system and it needs to heal now. I'm not sure if you've read this article or not on ssri's.
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/reaction.htm

sheacarney · 01-31-2005, 10:04 PM

Thanks for the web info., Scott. I read about the effect SSRIs have on the adrenal system, and it hit home. My adrenal system is VERY sick. That would explain all the cardiovascular disturbances (rapid heart rate and LOW blood pressure). I ordered Natural Calm, so I'm hoping the sleeping habits improve. 3-18 months of recovery. My poor family. I feel so sorry for them, more than for myself.

I hope you are well. I exist. My focus is on surviving and not letting go of hope. Six months down, and hoping for a full recovery soon. A roller coaster. Most definitely the most appropriate metaphor for this healing process. One minute, I'm crying, the next frightened, interspersed with the occasional day of normalcy. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a CNS injury and not a mental illness I developed while on Paxil. I was on the stuff for four and a half years and I can hardly picture myself being as I was, prior to the drug. It's difficult to remember that person.

-Shea

02-01-2005, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheacarney

Hi everyone,

REBOUND ANXIETY!!! The bane of my existence! I feel like I've just got to jump right out of my skin today. January 28th marked the day, wherein I was six months off Paxil. Sadly, during the withdrawal, medical professionals saw fit to place me on Xanax, to eliviate my withdrawal symptoms. I never took more than 1mg/day, but now that I'm down to .25/day, I'm experiencing rather high levels of anxiety. It's not like the first two months of Paxil withdrawal, which was just full body trauma, but my quality of life is poop. Six months is too long to be on a tranquilizer, now matter how small the dose. Doctors are saying that the dose I took was never large enough to cause any type of withdrawal, so I should just quit altogether, but I'm convinced that the fastest way to die is to listen to doctors. Case in point: I have had problems with my heart racing and palpitations, since quitting Paxil. My resting heart rate was just too high, so a cardiologist put me on a beta-blocker. WELL, even though the doctor knew my medical history, including the fact that, prior to Paxil, my heart was FINE and the fact that I have asthma, the doctor still insisted that I NEEDED atenolol. The first two weeks on the drug were nauseating and I felt very depressed. As the drug began to take full effect, I noticed my anxiety had decreased, substantially, however, I began to feel short of breath. I was very close, last night, to making a trip to the emergency room, but my emergency inhaler opened my brochial tubes, hence I was able to breath, but, as anyone who uses an inhaler can tell you, inhalers can make you extremely anxious. I basically had to counter the beta-blocker with an beta-agonist. Obviously, the beta-blocker will not work for me.

When will this end??? I'm almost off Xanax and will not take any more atenelol, but this anxiety is all consuming. I CANNOT relax. My adenaline sack seems to burst over and over and over and over. By the by, I bought Natural Calm, magnesium powder. I pray to God it makes a dent in this.

-Shea

The Natural Calm has helped me quite alot. Since the recommended dosage is 3 teaspoons, I have been using a half a teaspoon a few times throughout the day and it takes the edge off.

tcl18 · 02-02-2005, 11:37 AM

Sooooo.....how do you tell the difference between withdrawal anxiety and your oringal anxiety condition? I ma seeing a psychologist and learninf skilss to cope with anxiety with out drugs. I wonder if these skills will work against paxil withdrawal induced anxiety.?.?

01-29-2005, 05:26 PM	#1
rooster Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 50	"Rebound" anxiety Hey everyone, It's often said here that when we stop paxil, people who suffer from anxiety often have it come back much worse than before taking paxil. ( This happens to be my situation.) My question is..... Is this referring to withdrawal anxiety symptoms which will die down to the anxiety levels I had before paxil or is my heightened anxiety level here to stay? I hope I made sense! Thanks. __________________ Paxil free since September 24, 2004.

01-29-2005, 05:58 PM	#2
rdjanis "has a lavender scented keyboard" Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Ontario Posts: 22,214	Re: "Rebound" anxiety You make sense. In my daughter's case the anxiety was much worse during withdrawal. Instead of having periods of anxiety in certain situations, she had anxiety all the time, severe depression. She could not even go into a store a pick out a treat for herself, she was unable to make a decision of what candy bar she wanted, would start crying and head home. Extreme anger as well. These periods started to fade at about the 6 month mark, got further and further apart, and they are now gone altogether. She still has her original problem, however has been working on it and doing great in all areas other than entering a school classroom. __________________ Rita

01-29-2005, 06:43 PM	#3
Scott Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: somewhere in between Posts: 11,591	Re: "Rebound" anxiety the reason it appears to come back stronger is due to the way the drug works on you. Until your brain adjusts to function without the drug you're left in an imbalance that can leave you anxious, depressed, obcessive. This rebound effect happens in basically all drugs that are taken for even recreational purposes.. you have the high of the drug and when it wears off you feel lower than before due to the high. __________________ 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

01-29-2005, 06:44 PM	#4
Light Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 2,299	Re: "Rebound" anxiety It's a great question and it's my belief that you will eventually return to your pre paxil level of anxiety and then you can use other methods to overcome/cope with your anxiety. I have always been a little socially anxious but wouldn't qualify as having a social phobia. In the depth of withdrawal the thought of being in a social situation was excruciating. It's mostly gone now. If I were to use numbers on a 1-10 scale to describe my pre SSRI, SSRI, withdrawal, and current level of anxiety they would be 6, 3, 10, and 7. The 10 was really more like a 12 though!! One of the trickiest parts of the whole withdrawal thing is that people use the fact that they are hyperanxious during withdrawal to justify their need to go back on an SSRI. And there is a sea of doctors ready to tell that them they are having a recurrance of their original condition, that they need to be on meds for life, etc. The sad thing is that it's really easy to distinguish between withdrawal and the original condition but the vast majority of psychiatrists don't even have these skills.

01-29-2005, 07:00 PM	#6
Scott Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: somewhere in between Posts: 11,591	Re: "Rebound" anxiety i've always been a bit shy also but i'd gladly take that any day over the hell i've gone through in my own body.. i used to have peace of mind. __________________ 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

01-29-2005, 08:12 PM	#7
rooster Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 50	Re: "Rebound" anxiety I've never had a social anxiety problem but I had to leave a "bucks" party last night early due to anxiety (really bad chest aches and nausea), and I'm the best man!! My life on a social level was never a problem, although a little shy, I've never had these feelings to this extent before coming off paxil. I was dreading the party for weeks. Now I have to get through the wedding, speech etc feeling this way. It should be such a great wedding but it is really bothering me that I won't get back to my pre paxil anxiety levels, which I could handle. Hopefully that's not far away. __________________ Paxil free since September 24, 2004.

01-30-2005, 02:51 PM	#8
silence4now Join Date: May 2004 Location: SE U.S. Posts: 3,455	Re: "Rebound" anxiety rooster, I experienced the same thing and wondered for a long time whether this would be a permanent problem. For a few months I just didn't want to be around people. I think it was part of the overall increase in anxiety and tension that made me uncomfortable in social situations. It has gotten better though and I'm actually feeling better today than I did before Paxil. __________________ Lisa - Paxil free since May 2004 _________________________________ God's economy is always positive.

01-30-2005, 05:23 PM	#9
eidotink Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The City Posts: 48	Re: "Rebound" anxiety they say eventually you'll just have the original problem that you started with, although it takes several months to get there. question: so, obsessive behavior is a part of the anxiety/withdrawal thing? i've been doing an awful lot of straightening lately. cleaning, dishes. way overly focused about my health and diet. just a normal part of the w/d, huh? sigh... and grrr.

01-30-2005, 05:58 PM	#10
Scott Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: somewhere in between Posts: 11,591	Re: "Rebound" anxiety straightening :-( __________________ 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

01-31-2005, 12:08 PM	#11
silence4now Join Date: May 2004 Location: SE U.S. Posts: 3,455	Re: "Rebound" anxiety eidotink, what do you mean by straightening? I was doing a lot of 'bracing' my torso. It's all anxiety related. Maybe you should think about trying some behavioral modification to help yourself think about other things. Have you read about brdgrl's rubber band therapy? __________________ Lisa - Paxil free since May 2004 _________________________________ God's economy is always positive.

01-31-2005, 02:56 PM	#12
sheacarney Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,748	Re: "Rebound" anxiety Hi everyone, REBOUND ANXIETY!!! The bane of my existence! I feel like I've just got to jump right out of my skin today. January 28th marked the day, wherein I was six months off Paxil. Sadly, during the withdrawal, medical professionals saw fit to place me on Xanax, to eliviate my withdrawal symptoms. I never took more than 1mg/day, but now that I'm down to .25/day, I'm experiencing rather high levels of anxiety. It's not like the first two months of Paxil withdrawal, which was just full body trauma, but my quality of life is poop. Six months is too long to be on a tranquilizer, now matter how small the dose. Doctors are saying that the dose I took was never large enough to cause any type of withdrawal, so I should just quit altogether, but I'm convinced that the fastest way to die is to listen to doctors. Case in point: I have had problems with my heart racing and palpitations, since quitting Paxil. My resting heart rate was just too high, so a cardiologist put me on a beta-blocker. WELL, even though the doctor knew my medical history, including the fact that, prior to Paxil, my heart was FINE and the fact that I have asthma, the doctor still insisted that I NEEDED atenolol. The first two weeks on the drug were nauseating and I felt very depressed. As the drug began to take full effect, I noticed my anxiety had decreased, substantially, however, I began to feel short of breath. I was very close, last night, to making a trip to the emergency room, but my emergency inhaler opened my brochial tubes, hence I was able to breath, but, as anyone who uses an inhaler can tell you, inhalers can make you extremely anxious. I basically had to counter the beta-blocker with an beta-agonist. Obviously, the beta-blocker will not work for me. When will this end??? I'm almost off Xanax and will not take any more atenelol, but this anxiety is all consuming. I CANNOT relax. My adenaline sack seems to burst over and over and over and over. By the by, I bought Natural Calm, magnesium powder. I pray to God it makes a dent in this. -Shea

01-31-2005, 05:20 PM	#13
eidotink Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The City Posts: 48	Re: "Rebound" anxiety silence: by straightening, i mean ... organizing. tidying. that kind of thing. and i would love to learn about behavior modification stuff. am going to look for the rubber band theory now. thanks! __________________ .callie -Paxil free since 01.21.05

01-31-2005, 10:04 PM	#15
sheacarney Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,748	Re: "Rebound" anxiety Thanks for the web info., Scott. I read about the effect SSRIs have on the adrenal system, and it hit home. My adrenal system is VERY sick. That would explain all the cardiovascular disturbances (rapid heart rate and LOW blood pressure). I ordered Natural Calm, so I'm hoping the sleeping habits improve. 3-18 months of recovery. My poor family. I feel so sorry for them, more than for myself. I hope you are well. I exist. My focus is on surviving and not letting go of hope. Six months down, and hoping for a full recovery soon. A roller coaster. Most definitely the most appropriate metaphor for this healing process. One minute, I'm crying, the next frightened, interspersed with the occasional day of normalcy. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a CNS injury and not a mental illness I developed while on Paxil. I was on the stuff for four and a half years and I can hardly picture myself being as I was, prior to the drug. It's difficult to remember that person. -Shea

02-02-2005, 11:37 AM	#17
tcl18 Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 656	Re: "Rebound" anxiety Sooooo.....how do you tell the difference between withdrawal anxiety and your oringal anxiety condition? I ma seeing a psychologist and learninf skilss to cope with anxiety with out drugs. I wonder if these skills will work against paxil withdrawal induced anxiety.?.?

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