Terrible Paxil Withdrawal

[wintensity]

hi everyone, my name is Nick

about 4 months back i began to have anxiety.. i was put on lexapro 10mg, and let me tell you the first 3 days on it were the worst days of my life. I understand that it increases anxiety at first, but this was much MUCH worse than i expected. I stayed with it though and the anxiety calmed down over the next few weeks.. but the anxiety was still WORSE on the lexapro. I was then switched to Paxil 20mg. after a few weeks on the Paxil i noticed no difference at all so i was bumped up to 37.5mg.. BAD IDEA. those next few weeks i was completely out of it, suicidal, constant worrying, it was hell. Right now im off Paxil (reduced dose by half for a week, then took a quarter dose for a few days, then i would skip a day and take a quarter dose etc till i came off.. I've been off Paxil for maybe 12 days) Last monday i went back to my doc and he wants me on Prozac 20mg.. Lexapro and Paxil made me 20x more anxious than i was before i started taking antidepressants. I told him how i currently felt and he said the withdrawals were over by now. THE WITHDRAWALS ARE OVER?? THEN WHY DO I FEEL 100x WORSE THAN I DID BEFORE I STARTED ALL THESE MEDS YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. How long exactly can Paxil withdrawals last? and not just withdrawal itself.. also adjusting to reality again. Like i said its been 12 days since my last dose and i kind of tapered fast. someone PLEASE tell me things are going to return to normal over the next couple weeks.

[Giz]

Hey Nick
Congratulations on ditching the meds!
Things will get better, but they will take some time Im afraid.. The drugs will take some time to clear out of your system completely, but they will clear out after time (although dont ask me when, I firmly believe some of the side effects of effexor are with me 11months on.. Having said that-I was on effexor for a few years..)

Anxiety is a very pronounced symptom of B vitamin depletion and blood sugar imbalances.

Youve heard of neurotransmitters Im sure, seeing as youve been on SSRIs, but did you know that in order for the body to manufacture & replenish these neurotransmitters it needs B vitamins? (Along with complex carbohydrates and protein). So if you were taking SSRIs, but not getting enough B vitamins-then you would only be inhibiting the uptake of seratonin-as opposed to giving your body the ingredients to make the stuff!! Attacking the symptom, but not the cause..A glaring problem with much of todays healthcare paradigm.

Another factor is the blood sugar imbalance.. This is the thing that in the long run leads to type II diabetes-so if you can realise its happening before it gets too serious, you could be saving yourself a lot of health problems in later life..
And how do you spot it happening? Do you get dizzy or irritable after 6 hours without food? Do you get lightheaded or dizzy feelings upon standing? Do you get drowsy after a heavy meal?
Other than the physical symptoms-do you have excessively turbulent emotions-like mood swings or agressive outbursts or crying spells?

If any of this sounds like you and your diet contains lots of refined foods (eg, "white" bread, pasta & rice, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, fizzy drinks, fruit juices) then it would be wise to rethink your diet..

Go for whole grain every time, limit your sugar intake, get lots of fruit and vegetables, seeds and nuts, and a good naturally sourced multivitamin with at least 50mg of niacin and pyridoxine, as well as magnesium and chromium. Also, get yourself some vitamin C(2x1000mg) and take it between meals.
Try to cut down on stimulants too, as these will also be playing havoc with your body.. If after a month you are feeling better-you can have the odd cup of weak tea or coffee, but if you can avoid it altogether you would be better off-time to try out the herbal alternatives-there are lots, Pukka make my favorites!

If you dont wanna take prozac, you dont have to. If you have found the others dont work, then theres not a whole lot of chance that this one will. If you try out the natural approach and have no success, then try the drugs by all means.. But having survived psychiatric drugs and come out to discover that diet was the cure, I am a firm believer that diet should in fact be the first avenue of treatment.

Pity the docs dont feel the same...

[Robbed]

When it comes to SSRI withdrawal, ALOT of doctors are in complete denial of is existence. And even when they acknowledge that it exists, they are in denial of its potential seriousness. So I am not surprised your doctor is saying it is over. Regardless, it takes some people as long as several months or more to completely return to normal after SSRI withdrawal. This is one of the many reasons why I just don't think SSRIs should be taken until all non-phamacological interventions have been exhausted. Now I know this is not what you wanted to hear. But it ay not take you this long. And things will gradually improve. Try your best not to make the situation worse by focusing on how bad you feel, even if you can only do so a little. This will help speed your recovery from SSRIs and anxiety in general.

[sluzi26]

Hi there. I'm someone who has been suffering with anxiety and panic attacks since 2006.

I'm a 22 year old male in my junior year of college, to give you a little bit of background.

My bloodwork had Vitamin B levels of 496 and blood sugar of 90 and everything else came back healthy...

Suffice to say everything else I experience is psychological.

I've been taking Pexeva for 3 weeks now after a prior history with the drug (6 months in 2007) and I'm incredibly lethargic and tired all the time.

However, my anxiety is almost totally gone.

[Piglette130]

I'm a 24 year old female, and I've been on Paxil CR for 8 years for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. About a year ago, I decided to taper off the meds, because my husband and I began thinking about starting a family. I experienced a bunch of annoying symptoms (flu-like, nausea, night sweats, nightmares, restlessness) but most annoying was the electric shock, buzzing sensations I got in my neck and head. Did anyone else get these when going off SSRIs? Luckily, the symptoms subsided after a week or so, but unfortunately 4 months later I went back on the Paxil after having a miscarriage and suffering depression over it.

Now, over a year later, I am tapering off again, because we got the okay from the DOC to start trying for a baby again. The same miserable symptoms are back :( This time with all the awful vomiting/diarrhea, and horrible shock feelings.

I guess my reason for posting is just to see if anyone else is experiencing the same things, and if you have... how long did it last for you?



:(

[fernandogress]

Tell your Doctors, and perhaps they will make the connection! How hard has it been for you to wean yourself from Paxil ? It's as agonizing as coming off of heroinDrug abuse..and shares most of the same symptoms and long term effects! While researching an answer to all of the awful symptoms.Paxil as a source of these particular symptoms we all experience. Guess where I kept finding my search results directing me to? HeroinDrug abuse withdrawal. The symptoms associated with heroin withdrawal that are similar to Paxil withdrawal are: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, restlessness, and leg movements, or jerking. While heroin produces muscle and bone pain, insomnia, and cold flashes with goose bumps which are not identical to Paxil withdrawal, the Paxil symptoms of headache, "electric shocks", dizziness and hot flashes as well as psychotic mental state are similarly debilitating and certainly result in the return to the use of the drug (paxil) in the same way that heroin produces that result! Most experts agree that the major withdrawal symptoms peak between 24 and 48 hours after the last dose of heroin and subside after about a week.

[Robbed]

Things will get better, but they will take some time Im afraid.. The drugs will take some time to clear out of your system completely, but they will clear out after time (although dont ask me when, I firmly believe some of the side effects of effexor are with me 11months on.. Having said that-I was on effexor for a few years..)

It's a common misconception that withdrawal is caused by the wait for a drug to clear your system. Paxil is actually completely out of your system in just a few days (the same is true for most other drugs, including cocaine, heroin, or nicotine). The real cause of withdrawal is actually the chemical imbalance caused by abruptly removing a drug from your body. Basically, after taking a drug for some time, your mind and body become dependent on the drug for some semblance of 'normal' operation. And when you quit, things become imbalanced (causing withdrawal symptoms). So what REALLY takes time is for your body to 'retune' itself for life without the drug. This is the case for all drugs, whether paxil or heroin or cigarettes.


Most experts agree that the major withdrawal symptoms peak between 24 and 48 hours after the last dose of heroin and subside after about a week.

Which brings up another difference between Paxil withdrawal and heroin withdrawal: paxil withdrawal typically lasts quite a bit longer.