Paxil withdrawal problems
Common Questions and Answers about Paxil withdrawal problems
paxil
I have just gotten off Paxil 20 mg after 20 years. I will have to say I had terrible side effects. You didn't say much about getting off Paxil. Did you have as hard a time as I did. I am off 2 ½ months and have terrible sweating and heart palpitations until this day. Did you have that and did it ever pass? Don't know about the ejac's part as I am female. But, I still to not have desire for sex.
t have dozens of websites just devoted to the problems of Paxil withdrawal. Perhaps some people would have the experience you describe, but you state it as a guaranteed result, which there aren't any of in this biz. As for Prozac self-tapering, that's a theory, but many complain of withdrawal of it when it does wear off, but it's just later, so it's possible we just don't know the extent of its withdrawal.
You can't generalize from your experience to everyone's experience, but telling everyone now is a little late. The Paxil withdrawal scandal hit over a decade ago, the company's already been sued and paid out its settlement, and any practicing doc that doesn't know the difficulties of this med by now is incompetent. Look, Paxil destroyed my life. I'm four years into my Paxil withdrawal and it doesn't look like I'll ever recover.
The Zoloft, as you discovered, doesn't get rid of Paxil withdrawal, so you have no idea what's causing this -- the Paxil or the Zoloft. That's the downside of moving immediately from one med to another without completing a nice slow taper from the one first. Especially Paxil, which is known to have a strong withdrawal. If the Zoloft proves problematic, taper it down slowly; don't do this again.
The question for the poster is, has this been continuous from when you stopped the Paxil (and why, after all this time and litigation would anyone cold turkey off Paxil?). If so, then yes, you're still in withdrawal. You, too, should then research Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome and then ask yourself why at this late date in the very tragic Paxil story you went off it cold turkey. Even tapering off this drug can cause problems.
Withdrawal can leave scars. In other words, Paxil is forever. I've never gotten back my sex drive, either. The withdrawal drove what was left of it away. But with time, I'm sure it'll come back, you have a kind of PTSD right now. Some therapy might help you deal with that. You might also want to get your testosterone levels checked -- they might still be down.
I am a 20 year old, 5'2", 115lb. female and for the past year or so I've been on Paxil, but my entire experience with Paxil is that it makes me nauseous and shake no matter how long I take it for. My body can't seem to get over the side-effects, so for a while I was only taking the Paxil every three to four days (they were extended-release pills) and I seemed to be alright. But for the past few weeks I decided to try to get off Paxil completely.
Me either, but due to the short duration of your taking Paxil, hopefully it'll go away soon. I wish I could help, but I've never been able to solve my Paxil withdrawal problem. It can be a very tough med. But it does seem odd since it usually takes four to six weeks for an antidepressant to really start working. I wish I could help.
I've tried to get off Paxil recently and had the WORST problems. After researching and talking to people who have gotten off (or tried to get off) of the drug I am horrified that Paxil is still being prescribed. I am also AMAZED that a DOCTOR would actually say that this isn't dangerous, or that it isn't the PAXIL!?!? Are you kidding? How much were you paid to say that? Paxil DID help with my panic attacks. Did not cure or stop them, but helped.
Sounds like it's mostly the withdrawal from the Paxil. Going on and coming off Paxil are always really horrible. Symptoms will subside once your Seretonin starts firing normally again.
You may want to start taking 5HTP to help with the withdrawal. You can buy this product at any drugstore or even walmart. It really does work to increase seretonin.
Without knowing more about your situation I would suggest that it is possible that you had both a withdrawal syndrome and a recurrence syndrome. The withdrawal syndrome (which I think is what you meant by the physiological stuff) was followed by a recurrence of your original symptoms (worse perhaps because of the withdrawal and the lack of good communication from your psychiatrist). I would say that your best strategy is tackle this as if it is a pretty severe depression...
t tell which problems are withdrawal from the first med and which are side effects of the new med. By the way, Paxil is notorious for weight gain -- I gained a lot of weight on it. What you need is a good psychiatrist, as it sounds like you're trying to do this with a general practitioner.
Heroin in far worse physiologically, and Paxil far worse emotionally to withdraw from. And Paxil withdrawal can last a whole lot longer. But the reason it's not addictive is, to be technically considered addictive, you have to need to continually increase the dose to get the same effect. That's not true of ssris. But addiction is actually a medical term that has found it's way into our common lexicon in all kinds of erroneous ways.
re on a high dose of Paxil. Now, some psychiatrists will switch you to Prozac to help with Paxil withdrawal, because it stays in the body longer. Don't know if it helps or not.
And how did you feel while going off of it? As I said on the other forum, the withdrawal effects of stopping Paxil are its worst aspect. Another problem with Paxil is that it's stronger than other antidepressants for whatever reason, and often other antidepressants don't work because of that. (Often, Paxil doesn't work anymore either once you quit using it).
It will be 3 weeks this saturday. I have been feeling relatively good for the last few days in fact. I did have a lot of side effects in the beginning week. This was a different feeling though. I felt out of control. I felt like passing out and that I couldn't stand up. I was really tired too. My doc immediately prescribed me 20mg of Paroxetine and 10mg of Buspirone. He wanted to up my dosage to 25mg of Paroxetine and 15mg of Buspirone.
Hello, so are you suggesting that I still might be having Paxil withdrawls?
I was tapering off of the Paxil when I started taking the Remeron. I have been off of Paxil now for a little over a month (I had been on it for quite a few years but just on 10mg's for the last year and 1/2) and started Prozac about 13 days ago.
Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives - Joseph Glenmullen MD.
The Antidepressant Solution: A Step-by-Step Guide to Safely Overcoming Antidepressant Withdrawal, Dependence, and "Addiction" - Joseph Glenmullen MD.
I was on Paxil for 14 years, and had enough of it's problems...sweating way too much
anytime of the year, nastiness, unrelated anger to situations, rages, poor decision making, It made me a monster.
When I stopped no one told me DO NOT STOP COLD TURKEY......I did in April 08 and in Sept. I went into the most hellish experience I ever had. Head pressure, lights flashing in my eyes, burning in hands and feet, tingling all over my body, OCD way off the wall, and fear I have never known before.
My doc stated that I could switch over to Lexapro from Paxil so I took both for 2 weeks then dropped Paxil all together. Could I still be feeling the affects of Paxil withdrawal? I felt good after 2 weeks and even tried to come down on my Klonopin a couple of days after my paxil ended. Mistake! Just wanting to know if anybody had the same issues and how long do I need to plan on suffering? This is getting old and I'm ready to feel like my old self again.
Hi, I am a Registered Nurse and was taking 20mg Paxil daily. Due to health problems, I have been unable to work for 10 months and I have no insurance. And, because I am struggling financially, I couldn't afford to see a doctor to renew my prescription. I had to stop taking Paxil abruptly, 3 weeks ago. I have been suffering with numbness in my feet, finger tips, brain and face, and it is not getting any better.
t quit the Paxil abruptly instead of tapering off slowly, did you? Because it sounds like you did. What you have is withdrawal. Paxil and Effexor give almost everyone who takes them moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking them, and it's especially bad if you quit abruptly. This drug needs to be stopped as slowly as necessary.
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