Willy: Currently in Paxil poop out withdrawal and thinking of cold turkey quitting all meds. I can’t take it anymore. Any help appreciated

[Willy]

Hi I’m kind of new here. Lurked around a few years before signing up today. I’m a 48yo male.  I want to tell you my story of how doctors failed me and pushed drugs into my life. Let me start by saying I was on no prescription drugs before this. Starting in October 2017 I had some difficulty sleeping because of a stressful few months at work. When I went to my Dr for annual physical I mentioned my sleep issue. Thats when it all started. He said take this 30mg diazepam at night and you’ll be good. At the time I didn’t know what it was and took it every night for a month. I no longer had stress at work and wanted to quit the diazepam so Dr said no problem just stop. I quit cold turkey and a week later was hit with suicidal depression, panic attacks, fear, extreme anxiety, insomnia and many more symptoms. I’ve never had any of that and it scared me so my Dr sent me to Psychiatrist. January 2018 I was put on 15mg mirtazapine, 100mg seroquel, 1mg lorazepam. I eventually weened off lorazepam in March 2018. My symptoms persisted over the years and in January 2019 Paxil 20mg was added with the 15mg mirtazapine and 100mg seroquel. In April 2021 Paxil was increased to 30mg along with 15mg mirtazapine and 100mg seroquel. In February 2024 Paxil increased to 40mg along with 15mg mirtazapine and 100mg seroquel. Fast forward to today July 2024 and I’m back in severe wd. I now realize they kept increasing my dose because it would poop out. I’m terrified now and don’t know what to do. I need to just quit all these meds and take the suffering wd that’s inevitable. I currently can take 3 years off from life to do this. Please give me your thoughts. Thanks for reading.

Edited July 25 by Emonda
Name to title

[Willy]

Can anyone give me any advice? I’m suffering badly and haven’t even reduced meds yet. I feel worse after taking the morning Paxil 40mg dose.

[getofflex]

Hello, and welcome to SA.  We are a volunteer-run community of people who have been or are getting off of psychiatric drugs.  It does sound like you are experiencing poop out, also called tachyphylaxis.  The only way out of this is to do a slow taper off of the Paxil. Since your brain is also dependent on Paxil after being on it for 5 years, It is important to taper off slowly and cautiously.  Please read the link that explains this further.  

 

You may also be having an adverse reaction, since you report feeling worse after your dose.  As we reduce the dose, it should help you feel better, although you may also have uptick in symptoms after you reduce since your brain is also dependent on the drug. 

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

Poop Out or Tachyphylaxis

 

 

Tapering is best done extremely slowly, and we generally taper by 10% of the current dose no more than once every 4 weeks, so that the reduction becomes exponentially smaller.  An even gentler method, which I suggest in your case, is micro tapering.  I will give information on tapering below.   I suggest you switch to liquid, which will make micro tapering much easier.  

 

Micro-Taper Instead of 10 or 5 Percent Decreases

 

 Why Taper by 10% of my Dosage  

 

Tips for Tapering Paxil

 

One of our senior staff here, @brassmonkey, was in the same situation you are in.  Hopefully he will come and chime in.  The only way out of poop out is to taper off the drug.  You will have to endure withdrawal symptoms while you are doing this.  Your body will be confused at first, but should eventually adapt to the reductions, and it should get easier, and things should start improving.    Getting the drug out of your system slowly will be a good thing, but you will need time, patience, and some strategies for coping with the withdrawal symptoms.  

 

Here are some techniques to cope with symptoms: 

 

Non Drug Ways to Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Stability is really important when we are tapering off psych meds.  Please read the link about stability:

 

Keep It Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

We don't suggest many supplements, but 2 that many of us find helpful are magnesium and omega-3 fish oil. Here are the links for info about those. It is suggested to add one at a time, and start with a low dose to see how it affects you. 

Magnesium

Omega 3 Fish Oil

 

My suggestion would be to go ahead and reduce now by 10%.  This would mean reducing your dose to 36 mg Paxil.  It will be easy to measure this non standard dose if you use the liquid.  Please hang in there, and let us know how you are doing.  

[getofflex]

Please continue to take your other medications as you have been.  Be careful to not skip or miss any doses.  Avoid alcohol and other mind altering things, like CBD, THC, cannabis, etc, completely.  It is important to only make one drug change at a time, and only taper/quit one drug at a time.  

Edited July 26 by getofflex

[Sebas]

Hi Willy,

 

Here for some help and guidance.

I really don't think you were in poop out.

More likely the sudden cold turkey from diazepam messed up your CNS big time (hence the sudden arise of all kinds of wd symptoms). Then introducing new drugs and updosing them, which was far from the right strategy for original diazepam withdrawal and also shocked your CNS even more. Beside that they interact with eachother.

 

Strategy like @getofflex mentioned above would be to slowly and gradually, one at a time, taper down the ssri's you were given (by the way for no mental problem at all). Starting with Paxil which is the most potent one. DO NOT 'just quit' all the meds.

 

In the meantime, follow advice ONLY in here where people are far more experienced in drug withdrawal.

 

You will need time to recover but you will be fine eventually.

 

Also recommend not to take any supplements - beside magnesium and fishoil- to cover up wd symptoms. They cause more trouble than relief.

 

Bye Sebas

 

 

 

 

[Willy]

1 hour ago, Sebas said:

Hi Willy,

 

Here for some help and guidance.

I really don't think you were in poop out.

More likely the sudden cold turkey from diazepam messed up your CNS big time (hence the sudden arise of all kinds of wd symptoms). Then introducing new drugs and updosing them, which was far from the right strategy for original diazepam withdrawal and also shocked your CNS even more. Beside that they interact with eachother.

 

Strategy like @getofflex mentioned above would be to slowly and gradually, one at a time, taper down the ssri's you were given (by the way for no mental problem at all). Starting with Paxil which is the most potent one. DO NOT 'just quit' all the meds.

 

In the meantime, follow advice ONLY in here where people are far more experienced in drug withdrawal.

 

You will need time to recover but you will be fine eventually.

 

Also recommend not to take any supplements - beside magnesium and fishoil- to cover up wd symptoms. They cause more trouble than relief.

 

Bye Sebas

 

 

 

 

I haven’t had diazepam since 2017

[Sebas]

On 7/25/2024 at 10:33 PM, Willy said:

I now realize they kept increasing my dose because it would poop out.

What did you notice then what makes you think you were in poop out?  What exactly made them increase dose?

 

Did you ever between 2017 and 2024 had the feeling you were some kind of stabile ssri wise?

 

9 hours ago, Willy said:

I haven’t had diazepam since 2017

 

I know, i'm just saying this was the start of 

CNS becoming more and more volatile due to cold turkey and introducing and successively increasing new cocktail of ssri.

 

Bye Sebas

[Willy]

6 hours ago, Sebas said:

What did you notice then what makes you think you were in poop out?  What exactly made them increase dose?

 

Did you ever between 2017 and 2024 had the feeling you were some kind of stabile ssri wise?

 

 

I know, i'm just saying this was the start of 

CNS becoming more and more volatile due to cold turkey and introducing and successively increasing new cocktail of ssri.

 

Bye Sebas

I would get severe depression, anxiety, tremors, fear, tinnitus, insomnia and more. Then psych would increase Paxil and I would get relief. Over time the periods of relief got shorter and now I’m back in a mess 5 months after increase. These drugs are killing me I can’t take it much longer

[Willy]

Will I feel better if I start reducing Paxil? I’m terrified because I currently can’t function. This is when I usually get an increase in Paxil but it’s not working anymore so I’m in trouble.

[LostInCanada]

2 hours ago, Willy said:

Will I feel better if I start reducing Paxil?

Welcome to SA. 

If you are in poop out, each time you decrease you will feel better for a few days  then the symptoms from reducing will appear as well as the symptoms from poop out. That is why the advice to do smaller more frequent drops like the brassmonkey slide method will help you  taper in a much gentler way. Trust me when I say going cold turkey will multiple the symptoms you are experiencing for longer than desired. I did a cold turkey from paxil and had to reinstate.

I too had doctors increase the drug for me for the same reasons as you and I think I am in poop out as well. 

The advice on here is spot on. It is the safe way to go. 👍

[Sebas]

3 hours ago, Willy said:

I would get severe depression, anxiety, tremors, fear, tinnitus, insomnia and more.

 

These don't sound like the typical poop out symptoms but more like a combined adverse/poop out reaction. Combining paxil, seroquel and mirtazapine means your CNS has to process 3 different ssri sources. Either way, poop out or no poop out, increasing is not the right answer. Your CNS will benefit from reducing the amount of drugs, slowly that is.

 

3 hours ago, Willy said:

This is when I usually get an increase in Paxil but it’s not working anymore so I’m in trouble.

 

The paxil increase not working anymore is typical for tolerance/poop out and although very unpleasant it may be your turnaround to a healthier future. 

 

Next step would be to taper paxil from 40mg to 36mg by weekly drops and then (re)assess.  Each taper consists of a 4 week taper period with 2 weeks of stabilisation following.

Next steps would be ⬇️

40-36 (4+2 weeks)

36-32.5 (4+2 weeks)

32.5-29.2 (4+2 weeks).

 

This way you could be sub 30mg at end of 2024.

 

Hang in there,

Bye Sebas

[Willy]

Sorry for my ignorance but this slow tapering is new for me. I have read up on it here and plan to implement. I’m meeting psych this week to get her on board with taper.
What do I need psych to do for me?
Do I need to have any special skills in order to successfully taper?

How do I accurately lower doses by such small increments?

 

[Willy]

49 minutes ago, Sebas said:

 

These don't sound like the typical poop out symptoms but more like a combined adverse/poop out reaction. Combining paxil, seroquel and mirtazapine means your CNS has to process 3 different ssri sources. Either way, poop out or no poop out, increasing is not the right answer. Your CNS will benefit from reducing the amount of drugs, slowly that is.

 

 

The paxil increase not working anymore is typical for tolerance/poop out and although very unpleasant it may be your turnaround to a healthier future. 

 

Next step would be to taper paxil from 40mg to 36mg by weekly drops and then (re)assess.  Each taper consists of a 4 week taper period with 2 weeks of stabilisation following.

Next steps would be ⬇️

40-36 (4+2 weeks)

36-32.5 (4+2 weeks)

32.5-29.2 (4+2 weeks).

 

This way you could be sub 30mg at end of 2024.

 

Hang in there,

Bye Sebas

Thank you- Sebas 

That helps a lot! I currently take one 40mg tablet. So I need to get a different form of Paxil in order to micro taper?

I’m scared that the bottom will completely fall out when I start reduction since I’m currently experiencing intense wd symptoms.

[getofflex]

4 hours ago, Willy said:

I would get severe depression, anxiety, tremors, fear, tinnitus, insomnia and more. Then psych would increase Paxil and I would get relief.

This does sound like poop out, so I believe that this is at least part of the problem.  I'm betting you were in WD from the tapers off of the benzos, in addition to poop out of the Paxil.  I also believe your best way forward is a slow taper off the Paxil.  

 

4 hours ago, Willy said:

Will I feel better if I start reducing Paxil? I’m terrified because I currently can’t function. This is when I usually get an increase in Paxil but it’s not working anymore so I’m in trouble.

I believe your only way forward is what I said above.  Increasing the dose of Paxil will just kick the can further down the road, and the higher and higher doses of Paxil will just take longer to taper off in the future.  Eventually, you would get to the point where you wouldn't be able to go any higher on your Paxil dose.  As I said before, eventually down the road you will feel better if you taper off Paxil, but you will have to go through WD symptoms at first as you start to taper off.   

 

42 minutes ago, Willy said:

What do I need psych to do for me?
Do I need to have any special skills in order to successfully taper?

How do I accurately lower doses by such small increments?

The only think the psych needs to do is prescribe the liquid.  You do not need special skills to taper, other than patience, perseverance, and learning and using non drug coping techniques for your WD symptoms.  You can very accurately measure any non standard and small dose with a syringe.  Ask your psych to prescribe you the liquid instead of the pills.  All she has to do is prescribe for you, so you are able to taper.  I can give you a link to help you talk to her about this, and there are things you can print to give her to read that hopefully will help her get on board with your tapering.  

 

How to Talk to a Doctor About Tapering and Withdrawal

 

28 minutes ago, Willy said:

’m scared that the bottom will completely fall out when I start reduction since I’m currently experiencing intense wd symptoms.

The only way out of this is to taper off of the Paxil, and eventually, if you choose, the other psych drugs.  The best way to go is to do micro tapering.  I gave you a link above about that.  Here it is again.  It will tell you exactly how to do it.  Let us know if you have questions. 

 

Micro-Taper Instead of 10 or 5 Percent Decreases

 

Hang in there, I know it is very tough right now.  However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and there is a way out of this.  (And no, that light is not just an oncoming train).   Others on here have been in your situation and have recovered.  Here is Brass Monkey's success story.  He had a very similar situation with Paxil that you are having.

 

 Tao of the Brass Monkey

 

 

 

Edited July 27 by getofflex

[brassmonkey]

Hi Willy-- looks like you are in good hands, but I'm going to add my two cents anyway.

 

The interaction of the three different drugs is causing a very complex situation. It is quite possible you are in paxil poopout, due to having to increase your dosage in order to maintain the proper effect of the drug. However, the paxil is interacting with the other two drugs which could cause a similar effect as the poopout. There really is no way of telling exactly what is happening. But we can tell you that getting off of the drugs will improve things greatly. I would treat it as poopout and proceed on that basis.

 

Tapering out of poopout can be a long frustrating process, but it does eventually work. Poopout is caused by the body craving more drug than it is getting. By tapering we are depriving the body of what it wants until it gets use to the fact that that is all it is going to get and starts to cooperate. During that time the body will throw all sorts of symptoms at you because of the confusion. Typically, they don't increase once the taper has started, but they don't go away very quickly either. In this case there are two other drugs involved that will tend to "cover up" the symptoms and make the road easier.

 

 I would highly recommend doing a Brassmonkey Slide micro taper. (The Brassmonkey Slide Method of Micro-tapering - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants). It is four weekly reductions of 2.5% followed by a two week hold. Many of our members have found it quite effective for reducing the shock of each reduction. Reducing they symptoms is very important in any taper. Accepting and learning to work around them is quite important too.

 

If it is available, using a liquid is the way to go, if not then tapering by crushing and weighing the powder is very effective and only causes some problems at the very end of the taper. But they can be worked around.

 

[LostInCanada]

3 minutes ago, getofflex said:

As I said, I would get the liquid.

If you get the liquid it is important to slowly transition over to it. I do not know if your medical insurance covers it. It is quite expensive. 

To transition, you would do week one at 1/4 if your dose in liquid (10 mg- not sure the ratio of liquid to drug in ml) and 3/4 dose(30 mg) in pill form.

Week 2 would be 1/2 your dose in liquid and 1/2 dose(20 mg) in pill form.

Week 3 would be 3/4 your dose in liquid and 1/4 dose(10 mg) in pill form.

Week 4 would be the full dose in liquid. 

Once you transition,it is good to wait a month before starting to taper. 

Not everyone does well with a manufactured liquid and you can make your own liquid. If you do, please keep with the same manufacturer you are using now. Changing manufacturer can also cause issues.

 

You can also stick to the pill form and use a scale (gem 20 jewelry scale on Amazon) and a one sided razor to shave the pill to the desired weight. This is the method I use as no liquid is available in Canada.

[Willy]

37 minutes ago, getofflex said:

This does sound like poop out, so I believe that this is at least part of the problem.  I'm betting you were in WD from the tapers off of the benzos, in addition to poop out of the Paxil.  I also believe your best way forward is a slow taper off the Paxil.  

 

I believe your only way forward is what I said above.  Increasing the dose of Paxil will just kick the can further down the road, and the higher and higher doses of Paxil will just take longer to taper off in the future.  Eventually, you would get to the point where you wouldn't be able to go any higher on your Paxil dose.  As I said before, eventually down the road you will feel better if you taper off Paxil, but you will have to go through WD symptoms at first as you start to taper off.   

 

The only think the psych needs to do is prescribe the liquid.  You do not need special skills to taper, other than patience, perseverance, and learning and using non drug coping techniques for your WD symptoms.  You can very accurately measure any non standard and small dose with a syringe.  Ask your psych to prescribe you the liquid instead of the pills.  All she has to do is prescribe for you, so you are able to taper.  I can give you a link to help you talk to her about this, and there are things you can print to give her to read that hopefully will help her get on board with your tapering.  

 

How to Talk to a Doctor About Tapering and Withdrawal

 

The only way out of this is to taper off of the Paxil, and eventually, if you choose, the other psych drugs.  The best way to go is to do micro tapering.  I gave you a link above about that.  Here it is again.  It will tell you exactly how to do it.  Let us know if you have questions. 

 

Micro-Taper Instead of 10 or 5 Percent Decreases

 

Hang in there, I know it is very tough right now.  However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and there is a way out of this.  (And no, that light is not just an oncoming train).   Others on here have been in your situation and have recovered.  Here is Brass Monkey's success story.  He had a very similar situation with Paxil that you are having.

 

 Tao of the Brass Monkey

 

 

 

I desperately want off Paxil first and will tackle the other drugs later. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to help me get started the correct way. I’ve felt so alone during the past few years because nobody, incl doctors, understands what’s happening.

[Sebas]

Glad we all can help. From this point on take control into your own hands, do not take any new suggestions for granted without consulting experienced members on this website.

 

I feel sorry to read that the subsequent choices of your doctors ultimately brought you here. Therefore be cautious with new well-intentioned advice.

 

Bye Sebas

 

 

 

[Willy]

35 minutes ago, brassmonkey said:

Hi Willy-- looks like you are in good hands, but I'm going to add my two cents anyway.

 

The interaction of the three different drugs is causing a very complex situation. It is quite possible you are in paxil poopout, due to having to increase your dosage in order to maintain the proper effect of the drug. However, the paxil is interacting with the other two drugs which could cause a similar effect as the poopout. There really is no way of telling exactly what is happening. But we can tell you that getting off of the drugs will improve things greatly. I would treat it as poopout and proceed on that basis.

 

Tapering out of poopout can be a long frustrating process, but it does eventually work. Poopout is caused by the body craving more drug than it is getting. By tapering we are depriving the body of what it wants until it gets use to the fact that that is all it is going to get and starts to cooperate. During that time the body will throw all sorts of symptoms at you because of the confusion. Typically, they don't increase once the taper has started, but they don't go away very quickly either. In this case there are two other drugs involved that will tend to "cover up" the symptoms and make the road easier.

 

 I would highly recommend doing a Brassmonkey Slide micro taper. (The Brassmonkey Slide Method of Micro-tapering - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants). It is four weekly reductions of 2.5% followed by a two week hold. Many of our members have found it quite effective for reducing the shock of each reduction. Reducing they symptoms is very important in any taper. Accepting and learning to work around them is quite important too.

 

If it is available, using a liquid is the way to go, if not then tapering by crushing and weighing the powder is very effective and only causes some problems at the very end of the taper. But they can be worked around.

 

Thank you so much brassmonkey! Does the liquid paroxetine come with the necessary dosing tools(dropper,syringe) for micro taper? I have zero experience with liquid meds

 

44 minutes ago, LostInCanada said:

If you get the liquid it is important to slowly transition over to it. I do not know if your medical insurance covers it. It is quite expensive. 

To transition, you would do week one at 1/4 if your dose in liquid (10 mg- not sure the ratio of liquid to drug in ml) and 3/4 dose(30 mg) in pill form.

Week 2 would be 1/2 your dose in liquid and 1/2 dose(20 mg) in pill form.

Week 3 would be 3/4 your dose in liquid and 1/4 dose(10 mg) in pill form.

Week 4 would be the full dose in liquid. 

Once you transition,it is good to wait a month before starting to taper. 

Not everyone does well with a manufactured liquid and you can make your own liquid. If you do, please keep with the same manufacturer you are using now. Changing manufacturer can also cause issues.

 

You can also stick to the pill form and use a scale (gem 20 jewelry scale on Amazon) and a one sided razor to shave the pill to the desired weight. This is the method I use as no liquid is available in Canada.

Thanks so much! I don’t care how expensive it is if it’s the best method. I would give my life savings for this to end.

[LostInCanada]

16 minutes ago, Willy said:

I would give my life savings for this to end

It is a hard journey but we are all in it together. We are here for you. 

Try to find blessings in every day no matter how small. Be kind to yourself and accept your limitations. Just one day at a time. 👍♥️🙏

[LostInCanada]

19 minutes ago, Willy said:

Does the liquid paroxetine come with the necessary dosing tools(dropper,syringe) for micro taper?

My understanding is they do but they aren't necessarily that great. You can always buy some needleless syringes on Amazon and then be able to dose more accurately. 

[Willy]

1 hour ago, LostInCanada said:

If you get the liquid it is important to slowly transition over to it. I do not know if your medical insurance covers it. It is quite expensive. 

To transition, you would do week one at 1/4 if your dose in liquid (10 mg- not sure the ratio of liquid to drug in ml) and 3/4 dose(30 mg) in pill form.

Week 2 would be 1/2 your dose in liquid and 1/2 dose(20 mg) in pill form.

Week 3 would be 3/4 your dose in liquid and 1/4 dose(10 mg) in pill form.

Week 4 would be the full dose in liquid. 

Once you transition,it is good to wait a month before starting to taper. 

Not everyone does well with a manufactured liquid and you can make your own liquid. If you do, please keep with the same manufacturer you are using now. Changing manufacturer can also cause issues.

 

You can also stick to the pill form and use a scale (gem 20 jewelry scale on Amazon) and a one sided razor to shave the pill to the desired weight. This is the method I use as no liquid is available in Canada.

From what I’ve been reading here, there seems to be people having difficulty with the liquid after being on the pills. Maybe I should stay on the pills for now and begin tapering with the pill shave weigh method. So much to consider. I don’t want to disrupt my CNS anymore than it already is. I also need to start the process asap. 

[LostInCanada]

25 minutes ago, Willy said:

I also need to start the process asap. 

Shaving is an easy process and when you feel more comfortable or get to the lower doses you can always transition.

28 minutes ago, Willy said:

there seems to be people having difficulty with the liquid after being on the pills.

I personally think there is an advantage in making your own liquid in the lower doses. Sometimes it is the manufactured formulation that can cause an issue. Making your own liquid from the same pills your body is used too seems to be less destabilizing. I probably will do it myself when I get lower.

 

[Willy]

2 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

Shaving is an easy process and when you feel more comfortable or get to the lower doses you can always transition.

I personally think there is an advantage in making your own liquid in the lower doses. Sometimes it is the manufactured formulation that can cause an issue. Making your own liquid from the same pills your body is used too seems to be less destabilizing. I probably will do it myself when I get lower.

 

I ordered the scales today. Decided to get 2 so I can double check accuracy. Looks Iike I should receive them tomorrow and I’ll start the taper Monday. I’m very grateful for your help.

[getofflex]

It's a good thing you will weight the shavings with a scale.  Precision and consistency in dosing are important.  When you switch to the liquid, you can get syringes from the local pharmacy.  If they have needles, you can remove them and safely dispose of them.  That is what I did.  Using the liquid is very easy - all you need is syringes (do not use droppers).  Be sure and find out from the pharmacist how many mg of the drug is in one ml of the liquid. We may have to do a simple calculation to figure out the correct amount of liquid to take, but we can help you with that.  

 

I also wanted to mention that there is a drug interaction between Paxil and mirtazapine.  That will make it even more important to taper off of the Paxil.  If you want to know more, go to https://www.drugs.com and look up the drug interactions for your drugs.  

 

Please hang in there, and take care.  We are here for you.  You can do this!  Thousands on here have managed to get off of their psych drugs, and are now living happy and normal lives.  

Edited July 27 by getofflex

[LostInCanada]

15 minutes ago, Willy said:

I’ll start the taper Monday.

Good news. Do you know the name of the manufacturer of paxil you are using? You will want to make sure to stick with this company and have that written on your file at the pharmacy.

The pill is made with filler so though you are using a 40 mg pill it will weigh more. It is impossible for the pills to all be an identical weight - the variation is minor. It is still beneficial to weigh 10 pills together and divide the weight by 10 to get an average weight to use as a standard moving forward. 

For example, my manufacturer is Apotex. I use a 20 mg pill which weighs 236.4 mg. So on the Gem 20 scale that would look like 0.236 g. If I take for example 10% off that, I would slowly shave the pill till it weighed 0.213 g. 

The percentage of taper always comes off the current dose 's weight.

Hope that makes sense. 

Also always calibrate the scale before using and use the same solid surface for the scale.

16 minutes ago, getofflex said:

We are here for you.  You can do this!  Thousands on here have managed to get off of their psych drugs, and are now living happy and normal lives.  

Absolutely. One day we will write our success stories. 😊

[Willy]

Thanks getofflex!! I notice that the most extreme symptoms occur for the 5-7 hr period after taking paroxetine dose which I take in morning. After that symptoms are more manageable. It’s crazy how this drug turned on me and is making me incredibly ill. My hope is that I get relief when tapering starts but it doesn’t sound like it works that way

[LostInCanada]

11 minutes ago, Willy said:

most extreme symptoms occur for the 5-7 hr period

That is when your blood plasma peaks with the drug. I hope you get some relief as soon as you start tapering. 

[Sebas]

17 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

Sometimes it is the manufactured formulation that can cause an issue. Making your own liquid from the same pills your body is used too seems to be less destabilizing.

Thats right, i had both, manufacturer liquid has several additives (chemical sours and colourings). I think given the situation it's a good strategy yo stay at current pil either shaving or making your own liquid (at a certain point).

 

I have been making my own liquid for a long period now and it's very doable.

 

Bye Sebas

[Sebas]

14 hours ago, Willy said:

It’s crazy how this drug turned on me and is making me incredibly ill.

 

14 hours ago, getofflex said:

I also wanted to mention that there is a drug interaction between Paxil and mirtazapine.  That will make it even more important to taper off of the Paxil

 

It's both the poop out and the interaction that are making you ill. We will evaluate how you feel after tapering paxil for a while.

 

Paxil is very potent and therefore hard to taper for most people and it may take a long time. I have no experience regarding mirtazapine, but it may be easier to taper. 

 

If this interaction causes difficulties tapering paxil we can adjust strategy along the ride, of course only if necessary. Just saying this as a plan B.

 

Bye Sebas

[Willy]

So when I start to shave the pill how do you all do it with the razor?

Do you precut several weeks worth of doses?

If too much is shaved off it would seem difficult to save the powder/shavings. I bought weekly pill containers and was going to precut the pills for the 4 weeks but not sure how well that will work with tiny particles. 

 

Any suggestions/tips on how you manage the entire process is greatly appreciated. 

[LostInCanada]

@Willy I sent you in private messaging a link for a book you can download. Just click on the envelope icon.

[LostInCanada]

2 minutes ago, Willy said:

when I start to shave the pill how do you all do it with the razor?

I first weigh the pill. Then I hold the pill with tweezers or my finger. Just take the one sided razor and right at the tip of the pill , shave the slightest bit off. Then reweigh. Then repeat the previous steps to desired weight. I practiced on a pill just to get the feel for it.

6 minutes ago, Willy said:

Do you precut several weeks worth of doses?

I have but I found just cutting what I immediately need is more effective for me. This allows me more freedom to hold a dose longer, etc.

7 minutes ago, Willy said:

too much is shaved off it would seem difficult to save the powder/shavings

It is very easy to take off too much or lose a chunk. Go slow and take very little. I did save chunks to put with other chunks to make up doses as well. I found the powder to fussy to work with. I bought empty capsule thinking I would grind but I preferred shaving. 

I also use a pill cutter. 

For you, using the same manufacturer, you possibly could get 30 mg pills and 10 mg pills. Then you could take the 30 mg and cut 4 mg off the 10 mg. 

Whatever works for you.

[LostInCanada]

 

This can give you a visual. I always shave my pill holding it firm on a flat surface.

[AAOffZ]

@Willy Just popping by to say I also use a scale and razor to cut and weigh. It’s worked very well for me using this method @LostInCanada posted in the video above.
 

I got my scale on Amazon.  It’s just a simple jewel scale. I can’t believe how inaccurate my dosing was before this. It’s no wonder I never felt consistent prior to WD. My dosing was all over the map. 
 

I weigh out 7 days at a time and I also check the weight each night before bed just to make sure (probably my OCD talking 🤣). 
 

I also save the bigger chunks in a pill bottle should I need them later. 

[brassmonkey]

There is a fair percentage pf people who find that they cannot tolerate using the liquid. That is one reason we recommend doing a cross taper, to find out if there are going to be any problems.

 

Dry cutting the tablets will be easiest if you grind them into a powder and weigh out your dose from there. Order some "0" gelcaps to put the powder in.

 

LostInCanada did a great job in describing the process of getting started with dry cutting.