Jump to content
SurvivingAntidepressants.org is temporarily closed to new registrations until 1 April ×

Jimbo71: Should I updose paroxetine?


Jimbo71

Recommended Posts

Three months ago I reduced my dose from 2.4mg to 2.2mg. Unfortunately this has caused the worst withdrawal symptoms so far. I feel really angry and wound up. I feel so wound up that for much of my working day I can't get any work done. It's absolutely bizarre. The symptoms started a few weeks after the drop and have got progressively worse since. I keep hoping that relief will be around the corner and it's so frustrating not knowing how much longer this will last. I am now considering going back up in dose to 2.4mg, because if I don't I'm fearful that I will lose my job. If I do go back up in dose it will cause me real frustration because it means that all the symptoms I've been suffering for the last three months has all been for nothing. I'm almost prepared to lose my job as I'm so desperate not to go back up in dose.

I could go back up to 2.4mg and then once stable reduce to 2.3mg which is only a 4% drop. But it's just so annoying because I'm three months into the current drop and I'd rather persevere.

What do you all think?

Had been on paroxetine for 10 years when I started to experience 'poop out' in 2008. Began a slow taper in early 2009.

Got down to 3.2 mg in Jan 2012 and held for 21 months.

Oct 2013 - reduced to 2.8 mg 

April 2014 - reduced to 2.4 mg

Oct 2014 - reduced to 2.2 mg

 

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Jimbo, welcome to SA. Before we can help we need to know a few more details. 

Which drug are you trying to taper, how long have you been taking it and how long have you been tapering? 

 

It will help if you can put those details in your signature strip, you can find how to do that here. Once we know 

the answers we will be in a better position to help.  :)

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

**I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge.

 

 

Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem)

1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat

2002  effexor. 

Tapered  March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads.

Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013

Restarted taper  Nov 2013  

OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015    :D 

Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014

 

Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg  

 July 2017 30mg.  May 15 2018 25mg

Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. 

 

My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33

 

Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible

 

 

Link to comment

Sorry completely forgot to say that it's paroxetine that I'm tapering. My signature has now been set up.

Had been on paroxetine for 10 years when I started to experience 'poop out' in 2008. Began a slow taper in early 2009.

Got down to 3.2 mg in Jan 2012 and held for 21 months.

Oct 2013 - reduced to 2.8 mg 

April 2014 - reduced to 2.4 mg

Oct 2014 - reduced to 2.2 mg

 

Link to comment

You have done a great taper and I can't see you possibly going much slower in the future so if it were me I would try and tough it out. I went through a month oh problems at 2.7 back in September and am glad I stuck it out. I just felt a drop from .9 to .7 but it cleared pretty fast, so these low doses are tough but you can do it.

Paxil start September 2003 due to Fluoroquinolone adverse reaction that I wish doc. knew what it was. 10mg. most of the time with a few short runs of 20mg. FAST tapered 3 times and finally hit poop out or a reaction to nsaid's in Nov.2013. Started a 10% taper Jan. 2014 and have been ok until Sept 14 and went through a short hell. Now plodding through and looking for the light with unrelenting insomnia and pain, fog, loss of interests....<p>12/20/14 - .8mg.

1/01/15 - .75 mg.

1/15/15 - .42 mg. better sleep now, hope it continues...

2/11-15 - .25 mg. doing really good!! 2 weeks feel 85% of old me!

3/17/15 .14 mg. Knee pain bad!

4/07/15 .05 mg. this is so small now that I am estimating and just licking it off palm small as a "." 

4/13/15 NOTHING !!!! Took my last little micro dose on 4/12/15. 

Link to comment

The lower doses are really tough aren't they? I read someone say that they found it easier below 2mg so I was hoping that it would start to get easier but no such luck. The worst symptom for me at the moment is anger. It's really bad for me. I'm surprised that more people don't complain about this symptom. When I eventually do drop again it's going to have to be no more than 5%.

Had been on paroxetine for 10 years when I started to experience 'poop out' in 2008. Began a slow taper in early 2009.

Got down to 3.2 mg in Jan 2012 and held for 21 months.

Oct 2013 - reduced to 2.8 mg 

April 2014 - reduced to 2.4 mg

Oct 2014 - reduced to 2.2 mg

 

Link to comment
  • Administrator

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment

It’s been nearly four months since I reduced the paroxetine from 2.4mg to 2.2mg, but I’m still dealing with bad symptoms of anger and feeling really ‘wound up’ to the point that it’s impacting on my work. How long does the anger tend to last? I read somewhere that the anger tends to fade after about six months but I suppose everyone’s different.

 

I’m thinking of increasing the dose to 2.3mg to see if that might help. I’d rather not go back up to my last dose of 2.4mg as this would mean the last four months have been for nothing.  

Would a partial reinstatement work after 4 months? 

Had been on paroxetine for 10 years when I started to experience 'poop out' in 2008. Began a slow taper in early 2009.

Got down to 3.2 mg in Jan 2012 and held for 21 months.

Oct 2013 - reduced to 2.8 mg 

April 2014 - reduced to 2.4 mg

Oct 2014 - reduced to 2.2 mg

 

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Jimbo,  when did you start to feel increased anger and being wound up?  Has it only been since your last cut?

 

Perhaps you might find some helpful ideas in this topic:

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

and this discussion might explain what's going on:

Neuro-emotion

 

I agree with you that slowing down your taper might be a good idea, here is another link which may be helpful:

 

Micro-taper instead of 10% or 5% decreases

I'm not a doctor.  My comments are not medical advise. These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I've learned. Please discuss your situation with a medical practitioner who has knowledge of tapering and withdrawal...if you are lucky enough to find one.

My Introduction Thread

Full Drug and Withdrawal History

Brief Summary

Several SSRIs for 13 years starting 1997 (for mild to moderate partly situational anxiety) Xanax PRN ~ Various other drugs over the years for side effects

2 month 'taper' off Lexapro 2010

Short acute withdrawal, followed by 2 -3 months of improvement then delayed protracted withdrawal

DX ADHD followed by several years of stimulants and other drugs trying to manage increasing symptoms

Failed reinstatement of Lexapro and trial of Prozac (became suicidal)

May 2013 Found SA, learned about withdrawal, stopped taking drugs...healing begins.

Protracted withdrawal, with a very sensitized nervous system, slowly recovering as time passes

Supplements which have helped: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Taurine

Bad reactions: Many supplements but mostly fish oil and Vitamin D

June 2016 - Started daily juicing, mostly vegetables and lots of greens.

Aug 2016 - Oct 2016 Best window ever, felt almost completely recovered

Oct 2016 -Symptoms returned - bad days and less bad days.

April 2018 - No windows, but significant improvement, it feels like permanent full recovery is close.

VIDEO: Where did the chemical imbalance theory come from?



VIDEO: How are psychiatric diagnoses made?



VIDEO: Why do psychiatric drugs have withdrawal syndromes?



VIDEO: Can psychiatric drugs cause long-lasting negative effects?

VIDEO: Dr. Claire Weekes

 

 

 

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Jimbo, how are you feeling now?

 

A tiny updose to 2.3mg might help, did you try that?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment
  • 7 months later...

Hi,

 

I'm going through protracted withdrawal from Paroxetine (Paxil). I've being doing a slow taper since 2009 (yes, 6 years ago!). My last reduction was a year ago and it was from 2.4 mg to 2.2mg. Quite a modest reduction but at the lower doses the withdrawal seems a lot worse. The main problem I'm having is from anger. I feel really wound up and it's had a huge impact on my ability to do my job. This is definitely withdrawal and not underlying conditions returning. I've just had six weeks off work (a mixture of annual leave and sick leave) and I'm due to go back tomorrow but I fear I'm still not going to be able to work. I'm worried that I'm going to lose my job. My employer has been really patient so far but that patience is only going to last so long.

My options appear to be the following:

 

1. Go back up in dose to 2.4mg and see if this helps (although there's no guarantee that it will). This will mean that I've gone through a years worth of withdrawal for nothing. This year has been really difficult and the withdrawal has definitely impacted on my health. I've gone through a lot to get this far so to go back up in dose would really hurt.

 

2. Try a new antidepressant. God, I really don't want to do this. An Antidepressant is the cause of my problems so I really don't want to start a new one. If I did try a new one, is there an antidepressant that is easier to come off?

 

3. Don't do anything. Just stick on the dose that I am currently on and ride it out, even if it means losing my job.

 

None of these options are ideal so I'm agonising over what to do next. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might make the withdrawal easier? If I wasn't vegetarian I would try fish oil. I do sometimes use magnesium but if I use it regularly it seems to lose it's effect.

 

Thanks

James

 

 

Had been on paroxetine for 10 years when I started to experience 'poop out' in 2008. Began a slow taper in early 2009.

Got down to 3.2 mg in Jan 2012 and held for 21 months.

Oct 2013 - reduced to 2.8 mg 

April 2014 - reduced to 2.4 mg

Oct 2014 - reduced to 2.2 mg

 

Link to comment

hi 'jimbo71'  Youve been on a nice long taper.Do you think it might still be poop out ?

Sertraline 100mg amytrip 60mg diazepam 4mg (and when needed) since late 90's.Reduced all meds over 6 wks (too short) last doses 13 wks ago.Still having withdrawals.I would have done it differently

5th august 2015 reinstated 5mg amytripiline.increased to 10mg amtrip 9th sept 2015.

Link to comment

Hi Jimbo! Were you at PP? Your name sounds familiar.

 

Well I do believe I have you beat with taper length as I've been tapering since 2006 and I'm still only at 5.2mg! I'm a bit disheartened to hear that you are having problems at such a low dose, I was hoping there was a point where it FINALLY got easier but I guess not. I am obviously tapering verrry slowly ( .1mg every 6-8 weeks) and I still have a lot of issues. What other symptoms are you having besides anger? I was in poop out when I began my taper and I noticed that even though long holds seemed to help everyone else, that wasn't the case with me. I found that while some symptoms (like poor sleep) improved, other symptoms (like derealization) would get worse. When I would begin tapering again, things would actually start to improve. It's very odd. Do you find you will initially feel better after a drop and then start to feel bad again?

 

It is my personal opinion that you should not updose. Since you have been at your current dose for so long, if it were me I would either try another small drop or just continue to hold. Your last drop was 10% and that's actually the highest recommended percentage to drop so if you look at it that way it's not very small. If you did decide to drop I would try something very small like .1mg or even less if it's possible. If anger is the symptom that is most affecting your job performance have you ever considered some sort of anger management therapy that would help you to identify your triggers and deal with it in more healthy ways?

 

Oh, and I would definitely not try another antidepressant. I know the temptation to try this when you are at your lowest, but I have always managed to not to do in fear of making things much worse and when I started to improve I was always glad that I never went through with it. I have seen some people have success with a switch, but I've seen far more people have trouble with it.

a.k.a JMarie

Paxil since Mar.1998

2006-2007:40-20mg
2009: 20mg to 14mg 2010: 14mg to 10.5mg 2011: 10.5 to 7.6mg  2012: 7.5 to 6.8mg

2013: 6.7-6.3mg 2014: 6.2mg-5.8mg 2015: 5.7 to 5.15mg 2016: 5.1-4.6mg

1/19/17: 4.5mg 3/17/17: 4.4mg

6/15/17: 4.35mg 8/10/17: 4.3mg

1/29/18: 4.1mg 5/07/18: 4.0mg

7/31/18: 3.9mg

 

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Hi, Jimbo. I merged your topics. Please put those "what should I do"? questions in your Intro topic, it keeps your history all in one place.

 

This is a tough one. Irritability is a common withdrawal symptom.

 

What else are you doing to help your nervous system? Are you taking magnesium supplements, see
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1300-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

Could you see your way to taking fish oil, even though you are a vegetarian? It might help.

 

Vegetarians often have low vitamin B12, because that's a vitamin that comes only from animal sources. B12 is important for nervous system functioning. Are you taking sublingual vitamin B12? If not, you might start at a low dose and see how you do with it. A methylcobalamin B12 is the best kind.

 

Recently, I found sublingual vitamin D3 improved my mood. Vitamin D3 is also important for all kinds of body functions.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment

I think I tried B vitamins some years ago but found them too stimulating, although I can’t be sure. I’ve ordered some vitamin B12 and will give it a try. As I’m a vegetarian it sounds as though I could do with this vitamin irrespective of whether it helps with withdrawal.

With regards to the idea that what I might be going through is ‘poop out’, I don’t think that it is (although I could be wrong). When I reduced the dosage a year ago it was because I thought I might be going through poop out, however in all the time since I haven’t had any relief from my symptoms. If the problem was poop out then I should have got some relief when I reduced the dose. That’s right isn’t it?

Had been on paroxetine for 10 years when I started to experience 'poop out' in 2008. Began a slow taper in early 2009.

Got down to 3.2 mg in Jan 2012 and held for 21 months.

Oct 2013 - reduced to 2.8 mg 

April 2014 - reduced to 2.4 mg

Oct 2014 - reduced to 2.2 mg

 

Link to comment

jimbo71 I dont know about poop-out.I've never had it .I just saw in your signature about it.

Sertraline 100mg amytrip 60mg diazepam 4mg (and when needed) since late 90's.Reduced all meds over 6 wks (too short) last doses 13 wks ago.Still having withdrawals.I would have done it differently

5th august 2015 reinstated 5mg amytripiline.increased to 10mg amtrip 9th sept 2015.

Link to comment
  • Administrator

No, poop out can be like withdrawal while you're taking the drug.

 

When you get the B12, try it in a very, very small dose first.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

It's been 13 months since I last reduced the dosage (10% reduction, from 2.4 to 2.2mg) but I'm still suffering from feeling really wound up and irritable, to the point where I can't do my job properly. I've decided that I need to updose (back to 2.4mg). I realise it might not work considering it's been so long since I reduced. But if it does work, how long should it take to start working?

Had been on paroxetine for 10 years when I started to experience 'poop out' in 2008. Began a slow taper in early 2009.

Got down to 3.2 mg in Jan 2012 and held for 21 months.

Oct 2013 - reduced to 2.8 mg 

April 2014 - reduced to 2.4 mg

Oct 2014 - reduced to 2.2 mg

 

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy