paxil withdrawl

a reply to: horseplay

I hear you! Stay strong. It will take about 2-3 weeks, maybe even more. Be very careful if anyone tells you to take St. John's Wort right now. I would recommend you look into what mixing that herb with psychotropic medications can do. Don't EVER take St. John's Wort with any type of psychotropic medication.

As far as I said about going to a nutritionist, I just bought the best made American juicer that I could find. Research how the bromelain in pineapple juice can detox a person from a myriad of toxins. I got a juicer a few months ago.

I found that a lot of the fogginess and other mental issues that I had went away with a raw food diet (mostly fresh juices, both fruit and veg). I still eat cooked meat, but I try to have very little grain/potatoes and other starches.

Remember to look up what I said about the pineapple. There is a possibility that the pinapple, or something as simple as beet/cucumber/celery juice could help you with the focus problems you mentioned.

A lot of people say it is too expensive and whatever. I disagree. It does cost a little more if you juice for at least 2 meals a day. It doesn't cost much more though. Someone I know said that I looked 10 years younger after a month of cutting starches and grains mostly out of my diet. When I go back to the starches or grains occasionally, I notice immediately a feeling of indigestion when I eat them.

Hope that helps. Just research what other people who have done what I said have to say about it. It might help you.

a reply to: mblahnikluver
I tried so many. None worked except this Effexor I am on. Still not a good drug to be on, hence the weaning. I wish to find out who I really am.

You know the one drug that worked the best for me was atavan (lorazepam) . Because I do not take it daily. It's only 1 mg and I can get by on half maybe once a month. I use it for when I'm gonna be around situations that will set me off. Like Xmas day. I suffer from anxiety. Occasionally though. It also helps me sleep if I'm having trouble sleeping due to stress.

So I said to my dumb doctor, it makes no sense you put me on a SSRI every freaking day when I can take half a pill of this once or twice a month, if that. He cut me off those, so I went to another doctor who agreed to prescribe them for me. This one said your doctor should never have put you on Paxil.



So I just have the atavan on hand in case the need arises. They too are addictive.

originally posted by: horseplay
Never posted in this forum before but feel the need to vent.
For the third time, I'm going off paxil. Failed miserably the other 2 times.
Found a forum site called paxilprogress and it is sooo sad. most posters on there seem suicidal, and so many look like they have failed in their attempt to be free.
But the ones that have survived are inspiring.
I was on paxil for years for panic attacks ( i think 10mg).
Then my husband died.
so for 5 years I have been on 40 mg. Duh. doctor says take this you will feel better. Well, I have been in such a funk for 5 years because of it I want to come back. The side effects are killing me.
It's been almost 3 mos now I'm weaning myself off. again. my energy is through the roof. my house is clean. my barn is clean. and I am wigging out something awful.
I am determined this time, Big Pharma is not going to run my life. It is disgraceful that they can poison us with such evil chemicals. and we just sheeple like say, oh. OK.
Let me tell you, the withdrawl is something unbelievable. I've quit smoking many times and it was nothing like this.
Head zaps (shorting out like, very unpleasant) are the worst. driving along, all of a sudden I'm like.... where am I? scary.
Just venting ats. don't fall for what your doctor tells you. research first. don't be a dumbass like me.

i was on paxil for a while.
it was whacking me out, paranoia, sleeplessness, general anxiety, racing thoughts, just very uncomfortable.

fortunately i had no problem dropping it. it did take some time to get back to normal but just knowing i was off it helped to mellow me out again.
it was prescribed by our marriage therapist. my wife was given xanax.

i don't take anything unless i need it. ibuprophen is all i've had in 20yrs.

a reply to: RiskyDevil

Go with friends for coffee and a cinnamon roll. That can help. We need something to do without stress. We have created a stressful society, one where everyone needs pills.

Talk to the doctor you are seeing to find if he/she has any recommendations of dietary changes that could help. They know your situation better and may have figured out what is actually contributing to your cause for this condition. Tell them of your problems with the medicine, if you do not tell them they cannot do anything.

You will need to research and try to find a cause of this problem. Ask your doctor for possible reasons that match your symptoms. Some know how to help with natural ways, some only know how to help with drugs. Drugs that most doctors wouldn't take themselves.

I had a big post that I erased, because I was all over the place with possible contributing factors. It's hard to steer someone in the right direction. Some times the body does not clear xenobiotics well and they build up which can cause problems also. These people cannot take long term medicines.

a reply to: InFriNiTee

St. John's wort should not be taken if you are in strong sunlight either.

Re the juicing, I have not tried this. Might get one.
Some nutritional deficiencies can cause mental issues.
I am eating healthy finally. I'm addicted to spinach salads. Been eating them every day for a few weeks now. My vision is improving. No wonder it couldn't see well, never ate healthy! I cut down on bread too, but I still love bread! I'm just adding in as many vegetables and fruits into my diet that I can. I love nuts and raisins for snacks.

Another thing I do when I get a lemon wedge on my plate. I squeeze the juice all over my food, for vitamin C.

a reply to: horseplay

Thank you! I have the same problem with my SSRI. It makes me think groggily and I don't have much energy. Thanks for reminding me how CLEAR HEADED I Will feel when I get off. I have been trying to get off for 10 years.

I see you had it zap your life away for 5. At least I am not the only one.

a reply to: darkbake

According to my last.fm statistics, I've listened to 70,000 songs since may 2010. I started taking prozac in december of 2012, and I have scrobbled ~200 songs since then.
Music went from something that spoke to my soul, to a bunch of noise. That's the major zombification effect that I noticed.

a reply to: TheToastmanCometh

I took prozac for about four years at low dosage and even then I became almost manic high on it and thought I was invincible. I just loved it until one day I realized loving it was an addiction. You're right about doctors just switching you to something else, my doctor switched me to paxil, I took it for two days and, for me, scariest drug on the planet. At that point I threw it all out and never touched any again.

originally posted by: horseplay
Never posted in this forum before but feel the need to vent.
For the third time, I'm going off paxil. Failed miserably the other 2 times.
Found a forum site called paxilprogress and it is sooo sad. most posters on there seem suicidal, and so many look like they have failed in their attempt to be free.
But the ones that have survived are inspiring.
I was on paxil for years for panic attacks ( i think 10mg).
Then my husband died.
so for 5 years I have been on 40 mg. Duh. doctor says take this you will feel better. Well, I have been in such a funk for 5 years because of it I want to come back. The side effects are killing me.
It's been almost 3 mos now I'm weaning myself off. again. my energy is through the roof. my house is clean. my barn is clean. and I am wigging out something awful.
I am determined this time, Big Pharma is not going to run my life. It is disgraceful that they can poison us with such evil chemicals. and we just sheeple like say, oh. OK.
Let me tell you, the withdrawl is something unbelievable. I've quit smoking many times and it was nothing like this.
Head zaps (shorting out like, very unpleasant) are the worst. driving along, all of a sudden I'm like.... where am I? scary.
Just venting ats. don't fall for what your doctor tells you. research first. don't be a dumbass like me.

Good luck to you. I have been on paxil about 10 years ago and WOW did it ever suck coming off of that. I have tried pretty much every type of anti-anxiety thing out there, luckily about 8 years ago found a good one. Effexer XR has helped me in immeasurable ways.

Just remember when you are going off to follow doc's orders, and you will gradually lighten the dose until it's low enough to just quit, but you will still have some withdrawl. You have to keep reminding yourself that the reason you are feeling so messed up is because you are having withdrawl symptoms and not let it get to you emotionally.

originally posted by: rickymouse
Sounds almost like you are having partial seizures from the withdrawal.

Try eating something like pickled herring or sour kraut with hot dogs. Kimchi is also a good mellower. Aged foods contain some of this chemistry, coffee with cream and sugar also does. There are four types of tyramines, you need to experiment to try to figure which one is the culprit. I was prescribed Paxil, but only took about ten pills. I actually liked the high, but did not trust taking anything like this on a permanent basis.I know the feeling, just about the feeling you get from eating a good cinnamon roll with a cup of coffee. Cinnamon toast would be another possibility.

Now these would be a replacement for the paxil, not actually a cure for what is causing it. That is a little harder to figure out, problems with enzyme creation or a multitude of other possible problems could cause that. We do need certain foods to keep us settled, all of us.

thanks for the advice Ricky, I do at night get these horrible charlie horse cramps mainly in my calf muscles. several every night. been taking vitamins but not really helping so I need to look into the diet aspect. living alone I will be the first to admit I don't eat very healthy. hard to cook for 1, but I will be looking into your advice for sure. thanks.

originally posted by: RiskyDevil
He assured me that Paxil has never made anyone want to hurt themselves.

welcome to ats !
Im afraid your doctor has most likely lied to you. the post directly under yours verifies that.
and I've read a lot of stories very similar.
it's a very potent and mind altering drug, both while on it and from what I have read sometimes even months after being off of it. I don't understand why doctors love it so much.

a reply to: violet

thank you violet, good information there. I think I did mess up on my last dosage drop but I'm 2 weeks into it now and don't want to go back up. I'm hoping if I just stay here for maybe a month or 2 or 3 then I can drop down slowly again.

originally posted by: derfreebie
a reply to: horseplay
...
Flagged for everybody to come and see the "boots on
the ground" fighting the possibly unintended consequences.
...

I just worry how many well meaning specialists don't even get the information
they need to prescribe this stuff... especially in light of there being no
correlation shown in any formal study ANYWHERE linking a promulgated
"mental disorder" to a chemical imbalance in the brain.
...

... it's better to be around for the bad news than
shrug off the world with a pill or two. ...

I love the way you write, derfreebie! very funny.
and down to earth.

a reply to: horseplay

A teaspoon of mustard can help the cramps. Gout comes from a buildup of uric acid in the blood. Eating foods that make us excrete this uric acid will help with that. Try eating some salads with one dandelion leaf or maybe get some more taurine in the diet. Taurine will help to make you pee out these toxins, silimaron helps also.

Silimaran is found in milk thistle, one tablet a week is enough. It is also in dandelion leaves, a little goes a long way. Taurine if found in meats that aren't overcooked. Try eating over easy eggs. Too many prepared foods is hard on the body, the toxins are not excreted well if overconsumed. Foods themselves form toxins that the body has to be able to metabolize properly and excrete them or slip them into the fat cells till it can get rid of them.

Too much calcium in the blood can also cause anxiety, but you should feel cold if this is the case. Taking D3 for ten days can help to balance the calcium and possibly reduce the anxiety in some cases, but you still need sunlight for this to work. About fifteen minutes twice a day on ten percent of the body is what I have read in one place.

There are a lot of possible solutions but most important, there are a lot of symptoms that are shared by different conditions that cause stuff like this. If you pay attention to what foods cause this problem, it can help. Just think of it as an interesting experiment to find out what is causing your problem. I had a lot of setbacks when I tried to evaluate how overconsumption of foods caused problems. But I researched why and was able to alter things a little to make up for the problems. Overconsumption of a certain type of food chemistry can cause a lot of problems, especially eating processed foods. They contain attractant chemistry which can lead to imballancing of the neural chemicals in the brain and body. These are from long term use sometimes and the cure is sometimes harder than consuming more of the neutral chemistry as a treatment of symptoms.

a reply to: Mountainmeg

yes, I feel like I have been a zombie for years.
I reached a point earlier this summer where I knew i wasn't depressed from losing my hubby anymore, I was depressed from being on this medicine. it was all I could do to get off the couch and mow the grass. or go feed the horses.

I'm not totally off it yet, but very pleased with the way my energy is returning. and I feel like my mind is clearing from a fog.
and getting angrier by the day at big pharma and doctors.

Wow, what an awesome post by rickymouse up there! Amazing advice. Nutrition is so key! I've been saying for awhile now that processed foods not only affect your body, but your mind too!

I was able to become pharma free through healthy eating, daily exercise, positive thinking, and tapering off, even though they say not to break the pills, I did anyway, nothing bad happened and that is how I succeeded.

It's beautiful feeling your mind come back, like being reborn, and it keeps getting better! We should all go on a health and wellness journey.

Good luck again horseplay!

Have a good day ATS,

Have you started having the intense, tecnnicolor dreams yet??

For me, that was the only "good" part of quitting paxil cold turkey. I would have these really intense, über real dreams at night. That is when I could actually sleep after all the night sweats and cramps and brain zaps and feelings of impending doom.

I've been dealing with depression for most of my adult life and being an empath does not help one bit. The first time I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, I was prescribed with 20 mg of Paxil a day. I was almost 27 years old at the time and I can tell you without a hint of a doubt that this drug saved my life.

It was quite a discovery for me to wake up one day without experiencing the feelings of gloom and doom that I grew up with. However, feeling "well" came at a cost, as suddenly I was having fits of rage and my sense of entitlement blew off the roof.

After one year on Paxil, there was a shortage of the drug in the town I live in, so I went one week without it and felt surprisingly well, so I just figured I would keep on going without it, as I was tired of depending on a jagged little pill.

Boy, was I wrong. Once the residual traces of the substance were eliminated from my system, the next 5 weeks were hell on earth for me. Getting off Paxil was the hardest thing that I ever had to do. The brain zaps, the disorientation, the terrible night sweats, cramps and convulsions. In hindsight, I am amazed I managed to keep on and succeed.

Life after Paxil was ok, I guess, until depression came back with a vengeance. That's when my doctor told me that I had a chronic version of the illness and that I would have to be on some kind of medication at one time or the other.

I tried everything to stay off them, yoga, exercise, healthy eating, even smoking that which we can not speak of, until I realized that it was to no avail.

To make a long story short, I've been on and off Fluoxetine (Prozac) for the last 6 years (in the course of which I was also a year on Lexapro), and in my experience Prozac has the least side effects both going into and out of it, while still doing the trick.

Anyways, just keep going, getting off Paxil is possible, albeit very hard. Once you leave it behind, never EVER look back, even if you relapse into a depression (hopefully not, as resilient depression is a genetic trait) ask your physician to prescribe you something else. Paroxetine is a nasty, harmful substance. Even if -at least in my case- it did what it was supposed to, it was tantamaount to killing a fly with a bazooka.

Take lots of care! Good luck and feel free to PM if you feel like it. You're not alone!!

originally posted by: horseplay
a reply to: violet

thank you violet, good information there. I think I did mess up on my last dosage drop but I'm 2 weeks into it now and don't want to go back up. I'm hoping if I just stay here for maybe a month or 2 or 3 then I can drop down slowly again.

Right. No point going back up.
Just keep it a slow tapering off.
It's not worth risking the suicidal thoughts. I almost killed myself coming off Paxil.i did it too fast. After I was warned not to. Next thing you know your locked up in a psych ward.

Everyone reacts differently.

Good luck with it.
You will get through it.

These drugs are so bad. Once I am off I don't want anymore.

a reply to: GoShredAK

I'm curious to see how I will be once I'm completely off the Effexor. My daughter says I'm getting better. Not fighting with everyone like I was. I didn't dare tell my son because he insists I need them. It will mess me up if he says get back on them. I will start upping my dosage. I've come too far to go backwards. No to use excuses for my bad behaviour, but I am brain damaged and paralyzed and it's a given I have emotional issues. I wish he would understand this. My whole life changed and now I've just gone through a divorce. I filed for divorce because it was definitely causing more depression to stay married. I just want to find out who I really am. Learn how to walk since I lacked motivation with this depression. I was doing so well until I was hit with another setback. My Physio went backwards.

I would not say I feel happier. I'm just not in a depressed mood everyday now and can even smile. I never smiled much before.

It's a tough journey but we can do it!

originally posted by: RadioKnecht
Have you started having the intense, tecnnicolor dreams yet??

I wish. I love dreaming. or at least I used to.
The last few months I'm tormented nightly with gawd awful nightmares. the kind you jump out of. even my dog has woke me up several times I guess because I'm wimpering in my sleep or something.

just last night I got chased by a large grizzly bear while riding my horse and my mom died.
it's rare to sleep more than 2-3 hrs at a time now. although it does seem to help when I wear myself out, like gardening or cleaning the barn or something. good thing it's summer here now...

thanks for sharing, and I bet being an empath really complicates things for you.