Withdrawl from Paxil is no fun.

[Pixie26]

I was on 30 mg daily, cut it to 15 for a week and now Im free as a bird. Mood swings- yes. But I am also pregnant so I can deal, I recognize whats up and I do my best.
Lack of patience- same thing.
Zings and Zaps in my hed- annoying but doable.
Itchy scratchy skin, especially at night-OMG. Im dying.

All together combined? Im a mean mama and wife. Any rememdies or suggestions?

Heres whats helped so far:

Showers at night...

Trying to get more exercise outside.

Sex if I can muster up to desire...and be nice enough to DP to get things rolling...

Avoiding my In-Laws whom I appreciate, but none the less, they are who they are and even better-I live with them. That's a whole other ball of stress that I'm trying to deal with and be proactive about.....

Any herbal remedies? Vitamins? Etc?
Yoga would be good but but I have 2 kids, a dog and no time or space to myself....

Any ideas are welcome...

[RiverTam]

I just wanted to agree with you and tell you to hang in there. It took several months for me to get through SSRI withdrawal. It was VERY unpleasant, but it will go away.

[mom0810]

OMG OP you went really really fast! If you are determined to stay off, just ride it out. But as a psa to others who might be reading this, going off of an ssri, especially Paxil which has a very short half life so the withdrawal is worse, should take you at least a month, preferrably two, so that you have less of the withdrawal.

If you were on 30, for example, I would have done 20 for 2 weeks, 15 for 2 weeks, 10 for 2 weeks, and 5 for two weeks. The slower you go, the less the discontinuation syndrome will be.

But, since you are off it now, I would ride it out. Fish oil could help you, as could B vitamins and perhaps C and D. sunlight, exercise, and just being kind to yourself will also help. Take things slowly and don't expect too much out of yourself for the next month. Eat lots of good protein and slow carbs, as the slow carbs produce serotonin, and the good protein will just help you feel better... especially turkey (tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin) and warm milk (also full of tryptophan).

Getting off of an ssri is easy for some, harder for others. But you can do this! Be kind to yourself and take it slow.

[bjorker]

How long have you been off of it already? I had the same thing with Paxil and it was pretty awful, but I rode it out and was fine after a few weeks or so.

I know, very unhelpful, but other than give yourself some time, I'm not sure what else you can do. I too weaned off it way too quickly and suffered the consequences. For everyone else out there--- GO SLOWLY and be patient. It will pay off in the end.

[Pixie26]

I have my moments now where I feel crappy, but all-in-all, I feel fine. MUCH better than I expected I would feel. Ive tried to de-paxil myself with no success in the past- I always wound up caving in to the symptoms which scared me away from stopping- namely, I would cry more than often and be a little moody and I'd think, "Oh God! I really can't do it. Maybe I really do need to be on this drug."
Well, Im pregnant and living away from my beloved family-

and I did it. I weaned off and I did it. I am proud! I still feel the electric twinges in my head now and then, but not very often in comparison to 3 weeks ago...Moody? Yes. But pregnant, so.... I'll deal!

It can be done, I am so proud.

If I ever find myslef in a similar situation, I will do it was slower. (My weaning method was suggested by my Aunt-IL who is a nurse and said "thats how all the Dr's do it..." Can you guess who I wont be calling for medical advice in the future?)

XO to the world!

[mom0810]

Yep, doctors and nurses that do not work in the psychiatry field are notoriously ignorant about ssri withdrawal and how long one should take to wean off. Even some pdocs are pretty ignorant about it.

The thing is, nothing "bad" (i.e., life threatening) can happen while withdrawing, even if you go as fast as you did. But it's a comfort thing, and you want to be as comfortable and kind to yourself as you can.

Sounds like you did great, and you should be very proud of yourself. Support yourself with fish oil now that you are totally off. Take some B vitamins. Benadryl can also help with the dizziness and brain zaps. If you are feeling really "off," try 25 mg of Benadryl and see how that helps.

Hope you are all better very soon. Remember be kind to yourself and take it easy.

[nolansmummy]

I never had itchy skin while withdrawing, or maybe if i did i just didn't contribute it to that . However, i slowly took about half a month to lower my dose and then when i ran out just didn't refill. It was about 3 days of the brain zaps, and about a week of mood swings ( which were similar to pms for me) then i was fine. Nothing, and i feel great now.
I had tons of people warning me about the withdrawal when i went on paxil, but it was not nearly as bad as expected- i guess i was one of the lucky ones.

[Pixie26]

Im not sure if the itchy skin was Paxil related, or if it was pregnancy related. Im not usually a dry skin kindof gal. Who knows?

[balancedmama]

How long have you been off of it? If only a few days, it could still get worse.

My dr advised me to just nibble (yes, bite into) a tiny bit of a pill if I was struggling. And this was even transitioning from paxil to zoloft. I think I was nibbling extra paxil for about 2 weeks, to keep from going crazy.

I would be up all night with the skin-crawling sensations. But for me the head-zaps and feeling removed from reality are the hardest bits.

[CCJWGM]

HUGS!!!!!!!

Yes, there are ways to help all of those symptoms.

- Take fish oil, fish oil, and more fish oil. Your brain is used to having the Paxil being used as a neurotransmitter so you have to replace the Paxil with something that it can use - fish oil. Take 3 times daily and max your daily intake to the upper limit (I personally took above the upper limit but couldn't suggest anyone to do that. Not because I had ill effects but because I suppose the upper limit is there for a reason).

Support your body with extra Magnesium and Vit. C taken twice daily. I totally forget the reason why so excuse me but I know this was important in helping suppressing the withdrawal symptoms.

- going cold turkey is not recommended but you are already there so you might as well stay unless you try the one day on a small dose, one day off a small dose, one day on a small dose, and then off while you get in that fish oil.

On I was on 75 mg of Effexor and this is what I did

75 mg for 3 days
50 mg for 1 day
75 mg for 1 day
50 mg for 3 day
25 mg for 1 day
50 mg for 1 day
25 mg for 3 days
0 mg for 1 day
25 mg for 1 day
0 mg forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was done with very little irritability and no brain zaps. I had tried to w/d from antidepressants before. Those brain zaps get you. I really attribute not getting them last time to the fish oil.

[Pixie26]

I have been off Paxil for 3 or 4 weeks now. Maybe. I am going to try the fish oil... I have some vit c I will start going with... I havent been out for a walk in the last 4 or 5 days and I really feel cruddy without it. Work in progress, I guess. My 2nd to last post was so giddy! Today was like- OMG Im going to bed.

[mom0810]

And it will be like that. So always remember to be kind to yourself and know that it's okay that you have a bad day and that tomorrow will be better.

[Learning_Mum]

Originally Posted by mom0810

The thing is, nothing "bad" (i.e., life threatening) can happen while withdrawing, even if you go as fast as you did. But it's a comfort thing, and you want to be as comfortable and kind to yourself as you can.

I don't know that this is entirely accurate. I believe I've heard that weaning too quickly can cause seizures as well as other things that I can't remember right now.

[Pixie26]

Ok. The last 2-3 weeks have been TERRIBLE. I cry daily, and feel hopeless. Trapped in NJ. Trapped in my inlaws house.
MISERABLE and angry and frustrated.

Im taking prenatals, fish oil, Bach Flower rememdies.... Vitamin C when I can remember....

What else can I try? Im a mess.

[emaye_to_2]

I was on Paxil about 12 years ago and had the hardest time ever getting off of it. It took me about three tries to successfully get off it for 10 years. Then, I had to start taking an SSRI for anxiety and depression. I've been on Lexapro for two years and I just quit from a low dose on Thursday. Since then, I've had the worst, bizarre nightmares and I was convinced my husband doesn't *really* love me Anyone else have nightmares or weird, vivid dreams?

Thanks for all the good advice on this thread. I hope things get better for you quickly. If not, you probably know what you need to do.

We'll see if I can get off this too! They don't disclose how hard it is to do.

[mom0810]

The return of depression symptoms once you go off of meds is NOT a return of depression, if it happens less than a few months after the time you go off. It's actually a "rebound" effect that is a result of going off the meds, sometimes too quickly. I'm sorry you are having this. Honestly, my recommendation (and I'm NOT a doctor, so please make an appt. with your pdoc before following any of my advice) would be to go back on a small dose of meds again, and this time SLOOOOOOWLY wean off. Like over a period of months.

The alternative is to keep doing what you are doing and eventually you should feel better. Therapy would be extremely helpful, as would just generally taking good care of yourself which is really hard when you are depressed. I hope you feel better soon...

[Leatherette]

I am on day four of no Paxil, and my doctor helpfully told me, "Day 5 is the worst!". Luckily, I see my therapist tomorrow.

Day 1, no symptoms
Day 2, mild throbbing headache all day
Day 3, Itchy all over! Thought I would lose it.
Day 4, Slightly itchy, spacey, tired, but okay.

Have not experienced anything I'd describe as a brain zap, but that seems to be common.

I was on 20mg, then did 10 for a week, then 5 for a week, then none.

I am on Wellbutrin and Concerta as well, and was worried that I was allergic to Wellbutrin because I didn't know why I was so itchy. I went to a bunch of Paxil forums, and itchiness is a common side effect.

Hope everyone is doing well. I hope to be myself after the long weekend. I am interviewing for a job next Friday! I went off Paxil because I have gained weight, leading to other health issues, my blood pressure got high (side effect of the Paxil, I think), and I was feeling like I really didn't care too much about anything and sleeping too much.

L.

[lulu123]

withdrawal

Originally Posted by Leatherette

I am on day four of no Paxil, and my doctor helpfully told me, "Day 5 is the worst!". Luckily, I see my therapist tomorrow.

Day 1, no symptoms
Day 2, mild throbbing headache all day
Day 3, Itchy all over! Thought I would lose it.
Day 4, Slightly itchy, spacey, tired, but okay.

Have not experienced anything I'd describe as a brain zap, but that seems to be common.

I was on 20mg, then did 10 for a week, then 5 for a week, then none.

I am on Wellbutrin and Concerta as well, and was worried that I was allergic to Wellbutrin because I didn't know why I was so itchy. I went to a bunch of Paxil forums, and itchiness is a common side effect.

Hope everyone is doing well. I hope to be myself after the long weekend. I am interviewing for a job next Friday! I went off Paxil because I have gained weight, leading to other health issues, my blood pressure got high (side effect of the Paxil, I think), and I was feeling like I really didn't care too much about anything and sleeping too much.

L.

paxilprogress.org , good site to help you go off the paxil

[Leatherette]

Thanks, Lulu,

I did go to all of the websites, and they were helpful. I think I have had it pretty easy compared to some. My day five I was a little dizzy, tired, grumpy, and today was pretty good, but I am itchy again - not as bad as before. I had a lot of energy - did a lot of gardening, did my daughter's hair, kept busy, ate healthy.

I am glad to be off the Paxil, but my skin was much clearer when I was on it - starting to break out a little.

L.