DixieChick: Paxil discontinuation - take 2

[DixieChick]

I had a great day yesterday.  A friend I hadn't seen in a while called and invited me out to dinner.  She picked me up and took me to a nearby restaurant.  We had a really good time.  Felt great all day (almost normal) until about 1:00 am when I woke up feeling anxious.  I was finally able to get back to sleep and woke up about 6 am still feeling bad.  I went ahead and took my 2.0 mg dose this morning along with my magnesium and fish oil.

 

Don't feel near as good as yesterday.  Lightheadedness has come back but at least I am not nauseous.  Don't really have much of an appetite but I am able to eat.  My head feels cloudy - don't know how else to describe it.

 

Since this is only my second day at the 2.0 mg I am going to hold steady here for a couple more days and pray that I see improvement.

[DixieChick]

Feel a little worse again today.  I know that most of you are suffering worse than me and for a longer period of time but I really need a pity party.  

 

I can't believe that I could feel so great 4 weeks ago and feel like this now.  I am ready to go back to my original dose and say the heck with it - I'll just keep taking Paxil for the rest of my life.

 

Really, I know that's not the answer but I am so frustrated, disappointed and ready to scream.

 

I thought the last up-dose to 2.0 mg was going to be the fix.  I felt so much better the first day I up-dosed but each day I have felt progressively worse.

 

I can't believe that 48 hours ago I was out to dinner with a friend and here I am - miserable.

 

Should I up-dose again?  I am so angry with my doctor for talking me into doing a c/t.

[Meimeiquest]

I'm sorry, Dixie! I'm just here for the party, don't know what you should do.

 

When those things happened to me, I reduced, but that was not the consensus here really. I don't know how it will sort out for me yet on the AD as my last dose was just July 8. I do know that if you go back to the full dose now that you're so sensitized, it will not act like it used to, not that you're thinking of that. But maybe an antipsychotic would be just the thing, jk.

[Skyler]

I thought the last up-dose to 2.0 mg was going to be the fix.  I felt so much better the first day I up-dosed but each day I have felt progressively worse.

 

Since you cold-turkeyed from 12.5mg, it may take more than 1.2mg to reinstate. You might try more, maybe 3mg, for 4 days. Go slow, you'll have to figure out what the right dosage is for you.

 

Hi Dixie.. what you are experiencing seems to be a normal part of RI or updosing.. your body first feels relieved at the increase, acclimates, finds it needs another bump up.. and so on.  I suspect you will need to increase to the dose Alto suggested, but go in very gradual steps.

 

Sorry to hear all this is being so difficult.

 

Skyler

[Altostrata]

I've never seen an antipsychotic work as an antidote to SSRI withdrawal syndrome. Doctors will throw any kind of prescription at the problem, hoping that something will stick.

[Meimeiquest]

That was a joke...I forget everyone doesn't live with teens peak. jk is just kidding.

[Meimeiquest]

Teen speak

[DixieChick]

I haven't checked in a while but wanted to give an update.  I have stabilized on 2.0 mg.  It took a little bit of time but each day got progressively better.  I have felt 100% myself for several days.  I haven't had any w/d symptoms since the first of the week and those were mild and short-lived.  

 

I plan to stay at this dose for several months just to make sure that my body has adjusted to it.  Once I feel confident that it has I will begin tapering at an extremely slow rate.  

 

I feel so much better right now than I have in years.  I am not lethargic and have reclaimed pieces of my life that have been missing for a very long time (much to my other half's delight).

 

Thank you all for the support and well wishes.  I hope everyone here continues to see improvement.  You all are awesome!

[Altostrata]

Thank you for the update, DC. Very good to hear you're doing well. Please let us know how it goes.

[DixieChick]

Haven't posted in awhile but found myself in need of support.  Since last I updated (over a year ago) a lot has happened.  First from the Paxil standpoint, I did stabilize on 2 mg and had been on that dose until recently.   My husband and I separated not long after my last post.  His choice, not mine.  It was a very difficult time for me but with the support of friends, family and a great counselor I made it through it without the aid of any additional drugs.  We reconciled in January - still working on the "marriage recovery" - but doing better.  I started working full-time again this past spring - not the best job but it keeps me occupied.  In the meantime, my father-in-law passed away and my mother-in-law is staying with us.  Needless to say things have been a little stressful.

 

At some point over the last month or two - not even sure when, I decreased my dose from 1 ml (2 mg) to .9, then to .8 and then to .75.   I just decided one day that it would be a good time to decrease.  Don't know why I was thinking that - stupid on my part.  I didn't keep any records at all, so I'm not sure what I did when.  I know now I was playing with fire.  The .75 dose didn't last but a day or two and I increased it back to .8 and then quickly back to .9 - where I've been for the last week.  

 

During this whole time I've had occasional "bad" days that I kept attributing to stress.  Went to the doctor several times.  Wanted to put me on Xanax - I declined.  What is so bad, is that for the last several weeks, whenever I felt lightheaded and nauseous I never once attributed it to Paxil withdrawal. How stupid!!!

 

Finally today, I had a full blown attack.  Very lightheaded and anxious.  I thought I was going to have to go to the ER.   Finally it dawned on me that this is how I felt last summer.  So here I am.

 

I took .9 for the last week or so - tomorrow I am going back to the 1 ml and hope I can restabilize at that.  Should I go higher than that to get stabilized?

 

I am so mad at myself right now!!!!

[DixieChick]

I've been reading through the topics again since I've been away from the website for awhile and I had an "Aha" moment.  My husband asked me yesterday why I keep feeling bad on the weekends.  After reading through some of the postings, I thought back over the last several weeks and realized that my "bad" days were always after a night of having a couple drinks.  Alcohol was making withdrawal a lot worse.  I was stabilized at 2 mg for over a year with no symptoms whatsoever.  I started tapering again and forgot all the dos and don't that lessen the effects of withdrawal.  For the most part I felt relatively normal at the 1.9 mg but after adding alcohol to the mix - things didn't go well at all.  Won't make that mistake again.  Going to get destabilized at 2 mg.  Stay there for a while and then reconsider tapering at a future date.  I'd really like to get off this stuff permanently but the withdrawal is pure hell.

[DixieChick]

Took 2 mg this morning.  Still feel pretty icky.  Not as bad as yesterday but just want to lay around the house.  Can't even motivate myself to hit the shower.  I had my last meal at lunch yesterday when I still felt "normal".   Only thing I've had since is a little yogurt and chamomile tea.   Really angry at myself for not recognizing the w/d symptoms sooner.  So discouraged!!

[Altostrata]

Yes, it might be best if you become a teetotaler for the duration.

[mammaP]

You need to eat, even if it is just nibbling. Try healthy snacks, fruit and veg. Appetite can be very low

in withdrawal and that makes it much worse because you aren't getting the nutrients you need. I forget

to eat at proper times but by snacking on nuts, fruit and stuff I am still getting something.  And drinking

is very important, it doesn't have to be water, although that is probably best. You need lots of fluid or 

you dehydrate which makes the dizziness and brain zaps worse for me.  

 

Alcohol...... lovely to drink but plays havoc with withdrawal   .

 

Oh, just remembered caffeine, it was quite a while before I twigged that caffeine was a culprit too!

[DixieChick]

I haven't posted anything in a while and thought I would provide an update.  After I stabilized on the 2mg, I started back tapering at the end of October - decreased from 2.0 mg to 1.8.   The withdrawal symptoms were negligible after the first drop but I waited a month before I decreased the dose again.  At the end of November I decreased my dose by 10%.  Between 1-2 weeks later I started having some w/d symptoms.  Nothing debilitating but I knew they were there.  But then the stress of the holidays started taking its toll and I started feeling worse.  A month had gone by since my last drop but because I was still experiencing some w/d symptoms I delayed the 3rd drop for a few weeks.  I wanted to have a couple of weeks of feeling "normal" before I decreased again.  I finally made my 3rd drop a couple weeks ago and am once again experiencing w/d symptoms.  They are getting worse with each decrease.  I am taking magnesium and ibuprofen as well as limiting caffeine and avoiding alcohol.  Depending on how long they last this round I might start decreasing by less than 10% to try and reduce the effects.  I am anxious to be off of this stuff but want to enjoy a quality of life while doing so.  Hope everyone is doing well.  Happy tapering.  

[Vasherr]

Hi, @DixieChick,

 

very long time has passed since You wrote here, if it isn't a problem, please reach out and let us know how are You doing, many people would be curious to find out how Your taper went

 

Wishing You a lifelong window!

V.