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Re: Paxil withdrawel and nicotine

Posted by JohnL on January 27, 2001, at 4:45:53

In reply to Paxil withdrawel and nicotine, posted by Benjamin on January 27, 2001, at 2:55:34

> I recently stopped taking paxil, 50mg a day for the past three months and have had ahorrible time with vertigo and crying spells that started about 3 to 4 days after my last dose.
> I have noticed another odd effect brought about by smoking a cigarette. I get astrange pulsing in my wrists and hands as though my heart is pounding through my veins and my blood pressure has skyrocketed, but a check of my pulse and blood pressure show that both are within normal ranges while this sensation persists.
> I smoke only occasionally.
> Has anyone else experianced this plus any suggestins for mitagating the withdrawel
> Thank you

Hi Benjamin,
I don't know anything about the smoking thing. But in terms of the withdrawals, one thing you could do is take a tiny bit of Paxil once every 2, 3, or 4 days just enough to ease the symptoms. Kind of like stepping stones. Of course, this is assuming you have any leftover.

When I quit Paxil after a year on it, I tapered down over a few weeks. When I was ready to stop completely, the intensity of withdrawals surprised me. I was very dizzy, lightheaded, and spaced out. I took a half a tab and it eased the withdrawals nicely. Not completely, but enough to get me through another couple days comfortably. After that I took another half tab a couple days later. After a few more days, a quarter tab. After a couple weeks of this my body was much better adjusted to the whole thing and withdrawals were just a minor inconvenience for a few days when I finally stopped altogether.

You could just wait it out. But there's no way to predict how long it will take. Might be days, might be weeks. The weirdness can definitely be reduced by taking small amounts every now and then until your body is better adjusted. Sometimes people take Prozac for a couple days and then stop, because it has such a long halflife it naturally weens out of your system over a week to 4 weeks, so withdrawal is minimal. Taking a little bit of Prozac after stopping Paxil is sometimes helpful. I think the easiest thing to do though is the stepping stone method.
John


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