Man oh man this shit is no joke.

I always vowed I would NEVER go on prescription meds for mental issues. God how I wish I had stuck to that. Middle of last year I had someone close to me die, major major problems at work, just some bad personal issues/conflicts and ended up agreeing to therapy and Paxil.

The past 3 days I started weaning myself off Paxil and man, it's an ugly, ugly, monster...i didn't know this tiny pill could be such a beast...

hang in there...it will get better!

badujunkie said:

Are you following your doctor's orders for this withdrawal process? Doing so otherwise can lead to a whole host of undesirable issues.

Oh fuck yes. I wanted to off myself coming off that stuff.

I've been on four different anti-depressants and I am determined not to go on any more of them. They all made me feel worse, especially coming off of them.


I hope you feel better soon.

Because of me having OCD, I thought of using it but decided against it

The rent-a-psychiatrist at Kaiser who prescribed them to me didn't say a WORD about withdrawl symptoms. All she said was if you are deciding to go off your 20mg/day dose, taper off by cutting down to 10mg/day for 2 weeks. Period. That simple. After only TWO days of 10mg today I have been dizzy, disoriented, irritable, ANGRY, resentful, on the verge of tears, I have vomited, and sweat profusely. And the worst are 'the zaps' - those jolts of electric energy that feel like they shoot through the top of your head. Lovely.

BabyGirl said:

Muah

Thank you baby

Vendetta1 said:

Was paxil the worst withdrawl symptoms of the four?

thank you too boo.

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through all of this I havent been through it myself so the only thing that I would recommend is to go and see a health professional as soon as possible. They may be able to advise a different plan for withdrawal or can give you something (non-adictive) to deal with the side effects

I hope it doesn't last long and that you're back on your feet soon

My Aunt has been on it for many years. She has tried to taper down many times. The only suggestions she was given to get rid of the horrible withdrawal side effects was to start another antidepressant at a very low dose as she tapers down off of the Paxil.
It worked for her. She is finally off of the Paxil.
I was only it for 5 weeks. I was unable to sleep or eat while on it so I was taken off.
I felt much better as soon as I stopped it.

I hope you feel better soon.

in the long term, paxil can cause suicidal thoughts, I was on it before and then got off it and switched to celexa

Vendetta1 said:

That's funny, that stuff made me want to kill everyone else. It turned me into a heartless robot bitch.

After being on Paxil for four years, my doctor took 3 months to ween me off of it. Those three months were the worst, emotionally, that I have ever been in my life. Not to mention the "electric shocks" that constantly run through your body. If it's really that bad, I would suggest alternating your dosage between what you currently take and minus 5 mg of that for 3-4 weeks. Once you get past that point minus 5 more mg and alternate between those for a few more weeks. It does take a while, but once I was done, I felt better than I did before I was on it.

Good luck to you, I know exactly how you feel.

Wow, I had no negative experiences when I took Paxil about 10 years ago. It was really helpful for what I needed it for at the time, and I had no problems coming off of it.

Just wanted to offer a different story, since everyone on this thread had such awful experiences with it.

Hope it gets better for you, badujunkie.

FunkMistress said:

I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms either, I just told the doctor that I wasn't going to take that shit anymore and went into cognitive therapy instead. I personally think that medication is not necessary, we all have problems, and we all need to think them through.

Those shocks ALONE would make me ornery.

badujunkie said:

Yes.

I didn't read the responses, so sorry if this stuff was already said. But are you weaning yourself off while under your doctors care?

I've personally never taken it, but my husband decided to try to wean himself off, last summer, so I started researching it online, and I sw what he went through.

A doctor will typically give you other meds, while your weaning off the pax, but then you have to wean yourself off them and its a big nightnmare.

I'd be VERY careful. My husband almost IMMEDIATLEY got suicidal, and he got so sick and had the electric shocks and all that shit.

I know there is herbal rememdies, you can look into to ease the depression in the meantime, but you'll still be really sick. I'm so sorry.

Have you tried getting high?

I would highly reccomend getting stoned while your coming off of it, if you really wanna try to get off the meds.

badujunkie said:

Yes, Paxil was the worst for me.

GetAwayFromMe said:

I think everyone should do what's best for them but I do believe this part is true for me. I just kept working on my problems until I solved them. Therapy was better than the pills for me, too.

Vendetta1 said:

Me too

I have never had to be on any Anti-depressants and NEVER WOULD TAKE THEM anyway because of SIDE EFFECTS. I COPE by EXERCISE and MUSIC and EATING RIGHT and doing things I LOVE like going to the Movies or CONCERTS or Shopping. I don't believe in these kinds of DRUGS AT ALL and YES, They have the NEGATIVE EFFECT as does CELEXA and I have heard about people feeling SUICIDAL and I tell you you should TRY MEDITATION,CHIROPRACTIC,ACCUPUNCTURE and NATURAL HERBS like VALERIAN to Calm You and MASSAGES and SWIMMING. Also READ BOOKS and MAGAZINES. RENT COMEDYS and STAY AWAY from DEPRESSING THINGS or NEGATIVE PEOPLE. Did you know that this PIll can build up in the BODY and CAUSES SEIZURES also?
[Edited 3/15/09 12:21pm]

I tried it for a couple of weeks back in '98 for depression, (mild to moderate), but I quit because I decided meds were not the path I wanted to take. Then I got into yoga and meditation and never looked back. I didn't take the meds long enough to have withdrawal.

I don't know if your case is more severe? If not, it might be be worth a try to look into an alternative method such as Chinese or Ayurveda...best of luck.

Certain antidepressants that are otherwise dependable are particularly dangerous during changes in dosage. Paxil is definitely one of them. If you are weening off of it, I'd strongly advise you to do so under the discretion of a psychiatrist.

Particularly if you are experiencing those jolts of energy, it could be that the shifting drug levels in your system are erratically rocketing your brain into a state bipolar patients experience during their manic cycles. A psychiatrist might prescribe you an anticonvulsant/mood stabilizer like Depakote to address this. You'd eventually have to ween off of the Depakote, but the side effects are far less precarious, if I understand correctly.

I wish you the best. Let us know how you're doing.
[Edited 3/15/09 16:49pm]

I had withdrawal symptoms coming off a prescription antihistamine. (Tried three times before I made it.) I can't even imagine what it would be like trying to kick antidepressants.

thanks all so much
xx

badujunkie said:

damn, boo, take curr

A relative of mine weaned herself off it. She didn't seem to have a problem coming off it but honestly I wasn't close enough to her to truly know how she responded to that.