Newbie WorkingOnIt

[WorkingOnIt]

After weaning myself off anti-depressants, at first felt pretty good; but now, more than two months after my last dose, I'm in pretty bad shape. Along with depression and anxiety, I don't sleep more than 1-3 hours at night and have night sweats. I'm wondering if this is a kind of "delayed" withdrawal and I should persevere. At the moment, I'd pay big bucks for a jar of Paxil.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, WorkingOnIt.

 

That does sound like withdrawal syndrome.

 

What was your tapering schedule off Paxil?

 

Paxil comes in liquid form. At this point, you are not going to be one of those people whose withdrawal symptoms go away in a couple of weeks. Rather than risk prolonged withdrawal syndrome lasting months or years, I suggest you immediately take a little Paxil, stabilize, and taper very slowly off.

[enufodat]

Hello Working,

 

Sorry to hear this. For my part, I had timing very similar to yours, first with several tries at relatively fast tapers (a few weeks, maybe a month) then also with a slow, nearly year-long taper but during a time that ended up being quite stressful for other reasons, on top of the withdrawal. Each time, depression roared back after six to eight weeks, much worse than anything I'd ever experienced pre-SSRIs, and I had to go back on. With enough good support and the right timing I finally made it the last time out, more gradual and less intense onset of depression, which I have so far managed to deal with and expect I will continue. I expect if you take it seriously, get support, and follow advice on this site you will have an easier time of it--the multiple fast-tapers I do not recommend...

 

Get all the support you can, take care of yourself, pull out the stops in terms of doing things that will make daily life better, and also perhaps try to view this as something of a heroic struggle. It really is that, and I think realizing it can help a lot. You are not "weak" or "broken" or anything like that; harm has been done to you by the drugs and you need to recover from that, and, while the path we are all on is hardly a fun one or something any of us would recommend, you can find ways to get through it and make the small and large successes you find your own. Find love and meaning anywhere you can, they both help immensely.

 

Very best of luck, we are with you,

 

E

[Altostrata]

WorkingOnIt's insomnia is a significant withdrawal symptom, and justifies an attempt at partial reinstatement and slow tapering instead of "pushing through."

 

Withdrawal insomnia tends to make other symptoms worse and very difficult to recover from.

[Nikki]

Hi Workiing...

 

How much Paxil were you on? How did you taper from it? I took paxil for a long time years back. The WD from it is very difficult.

 

Getting off of an antidepressant is not like stopping an antibiotic. You don't stop and feel better.

 

The AD's, because it is a brain chemistry drug can cause wd symtoms to last quite awhile particularly if we go off of them quickly.

 

As Alto suggested, reinstating at a lower dose can help off-set the WD and stabilize.

 

Let us know what you drug history and taper were.....

 

Hang in there:)

[WorkingOnIt]

Thank all of you for your replies. I can't tell you how much it helped hearing from you. Made me feel a bit less crazy.

I was on 20 mg of Paxil. Then my new doc changed me gradually (off Paxil) onto Viibryd-- a new "wonder" drug-- which was truly awful

for me. When I finally managed to make contact with the doc (after 5 days of unanswered calls), she informed me I was experiencing serotonin syndrome and should cut the dosage in half. At that point, I was fed up, since I had wanted help getting off the antidepressants anyway and had been wheedled into changing to the new one. So... I cut the dosage and took about three weeks gradually getting totally off. At first I felt ok but was beginning to have some sleep problems (which I convinced myself would clear up). Here I am now-- out of the country for a few months with no physician available-- feeling a bit adrift-- and sometimes panicky. The sleeplessness is the worst thing because it intensifies the sadness and anxiety and has resulted in my withdrawal from just about everything and everybody. I needed to know that this is something that can possibly improve. I'm dragging myself around and am determined to keep trying. Thanks for the support.

[Jemima]

If you can wear a sleep mask and make your bedroom as dark as possible, that might help. It certainly did for me, and once I was able to sleep other symptoms began to lessen.

 

Be assured that not only improvement but full recovery is possible. It just takes a lot longer than anyone wants. I advise taking Alto's advice about reinstating, and reading and re-reading enufodat's post regarding the heroic struggle. It is all too easy to get bogged down and blame oneself for the withdrawal problems, when in fact, we've all been victimized by a medical-psychiatric system that is largely incompetent and monstrously greedy.

 

There's a lot of good information under "Symptoms and what helps" for sleeping problems and lots of others. Welcome.

[xDebbiejo]

Hi workingonit

 

Just like to welcome you to the forum your defo in the right place. Alto and others have helped me stabilise and feel normal after basically doing the same as you!!

 

I have been on seroxat for 16 years and came off way too quick' I too, was fine at first then BAM!!!! weird irrational thoughts, extreme anxiety, shaking , crying , lost nearly 30lb in weight .

 

I was advised to go back on a small dose, ended up back on 10mg in order to stabilise. It was very scary as I thought I would never feel right again. With the knowledgeable support on this site I slowly stabilised!!

 

Please take Altos advice and you will feel better soon

 

I am gong to a very slow taper when I'm ready

 

Welcome to the site and sure you will find relief soon

 

Debbie xx

[WorkingOnIt]

Again, thanks for the support and encouraging words. I've done (and continue to do) all the things to help sleep-- including a very quiet, dark room and mindful/meditative thinking. Knowing a lot about what to do helps, but even better is knowing I'm not having problems that other people haven't had and I'm not alone. Helps keep me from giving up, and this forum is great. My situation now-- being in Canada away from my healthcare providers and insurance-- is pretty much forcing me to stay the course as I cannot get an Rx here without a doctor here, and doing that is both complicated and expensive. So... I'm biting the bullet. I will say that one of the best things that is keeping me going is daily yoga, which I've done for years. Only 20 minutes or so most days, but it is a life-saver. I will be checking in and whining during the coming weeks, and appreciate the advice and sympathetic ears.

[Nikki]

Do you have any paxil or viibryd with you? If so, reinstate some of the paxil like Alto suggested. It should help.

 

Nikki

[WorkingOnIt]

I don't have anything. Any reinstatement will have to wait 3 months. By that time, I will either be better or not.

It's why I logged on here. I will slog on...

[Altostrata]

WOI, it sounds like you might have had withdrawal from Paxil when you switched to Viibryd, not serotonin syndrome. Serotonin syndrome most often occurs when you take more than one serotonergic at a time.

 

If reinstatement is going to help, it's best to do it sooner rather than later.

 

I suggest you phone your doctor, ask her to prescribe Paxil liquid for you, and buy it over the Internet if you can't get it from a Canadian pharmacy.

 

Reinstatement of only a milligram or two might help, but nothing is guaranteed. Otherwise, it might take months for your nervous system to recover.

 

You're doing the right things, though. Also cut out caffeine, sugar, etc. This will help you heal.

[Karma]

So you can't have your doctor wherever you are from call a prescription into a pharmacy either in Canada or where you are from and ship it to you??? You only have one central nervous system and you cannot buy a replacement. Even if it is more expensive to buy the medication in Canada, it beats the heck out of potential protracted withdrawals. I know that Canadian pharmacies will fill prescriptions for US doctors and will ship back to the States. I don't know where you are from, but it is worth a try to look into getting the med now.

 

Your choice, but don't be fooled into thinking that these withdrawal symptoms will resolve in 3 months - no one knows for sure, how long you will experience withdrawals. We have members on this site who have suffered for years. The best advice is to reinstate.

 

Love and light

Karma

[fefesmom]

Hi Working on it. I just saw your message from June. I don't know how to use this site except to send general posts like this. Anyhow, you were wondering how I am doing now. You said you could have written what I wrote in December. Well, I am doing much better. I didn't read my Dec. posts again but recall it was a very hard time. My physical symptoms have all disappeared by now. I am left with the life issues I had when I went on ads after my mother died. Fortunately, I have a wonderful therapist and have allowed myself to feel feelings that the ad suppressed for over 15 years. It has not been, is not, easy to say the least but I do believe I am going to come out of this stronger and more able to allow feelings which I have run from most of my life. Just having feelings has been difficult for me. Anyhow, the main thing is to keep on this site, listen to the wisdom of the other people and be gentle and kind to yourself. FM