Posted by k on November 14, 2002, at 21:55:40
In reply to Re: Paxil and Withdrawal Symptoms-Unbelievable, posted by LISABECK on October 26, 2000, at 22:08:32
Hey... well, I am in the middle of that wonderful journey known as stopping Paxil..
I am an adult survivor of severe child abuse, and surprise.. I have been dealing with depression all my life.
I was hospitalized 2 years ago. ( A newly-wed, my husband and I separated. Living in a new country, away from all my family and friends, I couldn't cope and checked myself in to get some help)
The psychiatrist put me on an amazing cocktail of Buspar, Klonapin, Remeron and Paxil.
Over the next two years, as I dilligently worked to deal with this stuff, I became financially and emotionally stable, and began to reduce the chemical cornicopia of drugs that brought their own share of problems.
The first drug I stopped was the Klonapin. A controlled substance, I felt that it was probably the "heaviest" drug in the arsenal. Stopped it cold turkey.. had no ill effects.
Buspar and the Remeron were the next to go. No problems. Felt good about getting off the medications, and no reoccurance of symptoms. I figured Paxil was the safest, easiest to get off of and the least worrisome (???) so I left it for last.
I had been on 60 mg for the last two years. I dropped down to 40 mg for 3 weeks and started getting the wierd zaps, sleep disturbances, and sweating. I did not connect these symptoms to Paxil withdrawal. Went down to 20 mg for a couple of days. Wierd stuff happening, but still didnt connect it to the Paxil. Stopped cold turkey about 6 days ago.
3 days ago, I figured I had the wierdest, bad ass flu of my life. I literally got zapped off my chair by a shock. Head is "full", can't concentrate worth beans (you have no idea what an effort this email is), the zaps in the head and body are almost continuous (really bad when I am hungry, but the nausea makes it hard to eat), diareaha, abdominal discomfort, cant sleep at night, cant stay awake during the day (refuse to nap), crying all the time, mad at my husband, then happy, sweating, dont have the strength to clean my bathtub, struggle to brush my teeth -- (work is obviously out of the question)
The good news... my libido is back.
I finally figured out that I dont have the flu. I volunteer on Thursdays at the Veterans home in King, and I didnt want to take the chance of making the residents sick. I checked out Paxil withdrawal symptoms, and WOW... there it all is.
I am so pissed off about this. I swear that I will kick, scream and fight before I let anyone put me on a mind altering drug again.
As for kicking Paxil, although tempted to take the drug again to feel better, now that I know what is making this happen to me, I would rather kick it fast than draw out the agony. If you are in the least interested in my story, and wish to know, I will keep you in the loop as to what happens next...
(Whee - are we having fun yet?)
poster:k
thread:47473
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021108/msgs/127701.html