I am currently taking Paxil 20mg daily for Anxiety. Oops I just realized that don't have any refills left and my Dr. is not available today. I don't have any left and will start having withdrawals tomorrow. Paxil hasn't been working that great for a while and I'd like to get off of it anyway. I know that I shouldn't go cold turkey like this but I'm going to miss a few days anyway. Does anyone know which herbs I can buy over the counter that will work like SSRI's that might be the most effective to start taking immediately and might help reduce withdrawal symptoms?
2006-06-29 09:10:50 · 11 answers · asked by SW 1 in Health ➔ Alternative Medicine
St John's Wort, Kava Kava
Check out http://medlineplus.gov/ and look under drugs and supplements. It has a great deal of info on various herbs
Anyone that's taken Paxil knows that once its past its half life you do start to feel withdrawal symptoms
2006-06-29 09:13:07 · answer #1 · answered by scgleason74 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do not mess with herbs right away! They may seem harmless because they are natural but they can still have bad interactions with other drugs that may still be left in your system. Call your doc's office anyway. They should have an answering service that can page either your doc or another one that's on call and they can call you in an emergency prescription for a couple of days until you can meet with your doc to get a plan to taper off. Please trust me on this. I've seen first hand how bad Paxil can affect someone who stops suddenly, even if just for a couple of days. If you absolutely can't reach anyone, try the ER.
Also- just a note about St. John's Wort- my regular doctor and my ob/gyn have told me that it can effect birth control pills. I know it's worked for a lot of people but that's something to think about.
2006-06-29 09:18:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i was on paxil for a long time..if you stop taking it suddenly you could go into serious withdrawl...i did...it was comapaired to withdrawl from meth. One answer said that paxil will stay in you system for 2 weeks and that just not true. For me withdrawl began only 6 hours after missing a dose.
Paxil is very addictive but the fda hid that....
I would recommend that you go to this site
http://www.prozactruth.com/
it will tell you all that you knew and all that you dont know about paxil...
also the proper way to get off of them is on this site
http://www.theroadback.org/
It will tell you how to get off of the safely and how to controll the side effects and the withdrawl effects.
I just completed it about 2 months ago. I thought that i would never be able to get off ssri type drugs. I was on 12 different ones over 5 years and never had any success with any of them...all i was was severly addicted to them....
I have been there.
Also there are herbs that have ssri type properties but they are not safe to mix with paxil...i have been there to.
Feel free to email me
yellowcason@gmail.com
Rebecca
2006-06-29 12:10:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
St. John's Wort is supposed to be good for depression - but I don't know how it would react with the antidepressants already in your system. It could be harmful. You might want to talk to the pharacist before taking anything.
SSRI's build up in your blood stream over a two week period and it takes two weeks for them to work out of your system so you shouldn't be going into withdrawal that quickly. You need to call the doctor's office and make an appointment ASAP.
2006-06-29 09:14:53 · answer #4 · answered by Tamborine 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try nothing for a couple of days.paxil should stay in your system for 2 weeks so you should not feel withdrawal symptons in 2 days.
if you don't think paxil helps try low dose of buspar or better yet eat right,excercise,avoid toxic people and get enough sleep.
you can live with anxiety disorder without drugs.
you have to take very good care of yourself and know that most people have some degree of anxiety too.
2006-06-29 09:20:43 · answer #5 · answered by freebird 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call your Dr.'s answering service and have him call in a script right away ! This happened to me 2 weeks ago and I was sick within 24 hrs. It was horrible Don't let this happen to you ! Make an appointment with your Dr. to ween you off that nasty drug the right way ! And talk to your Dr. about herbs !
2006-06-30 10:21:34 · answer #6 · answered by BaBaWaWa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't do a switch like that. I am on Paxil and took St. John's Wort and it counteracted.
2006-06-29 16:00:30 · answer #7 · answered by googirl77 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would still call the doctor's office and get them to call in a couple of pills for you until your doctor is back. You shouldn't stop taking them suddenly.
2006-06-29 09:14:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact Your doctor's answering service and have them contact them.... if You doctor is a good doctor, he or she will call in a script to your pharmacy for You.
2006-06-29 09:15:14 · answer #9 · answered by M L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
true cold turkey can be hazardous; its a med you need to wean yourself from....you can ask your doctor for suggestion and talk to Aheslth stoe person who has mor knowledge
2006-06-29 09:14:29 · answer #10 · answered by butterfly_lashes 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋