Please read all of this before responding if you feel you really need the points?

Question

Do you ever feel as though you have completely wasted points by asking a question?
Gee, I know the points are made up and don't really matter- but you do have to work a little to get them in the first place.

I came off Paxil cold turkey. I said I was a week into it and I asked if anyone came off cold turkey and how long it took.

I got a buch of responses saying you are not supposed to come off cold turkey - which I have heard.

Someone suggested Xanax - how irresponsible is that? Unlike Paxil, which just has withdrawal, Xanax is actually addictive and has a withdrawal that I can only imagine is much worse than Paxil.

I am not getting back on the medication because I am handling this but I am just not happy about the whole withdrawal process.

So, if you have come off Paxil cold turkey - and if you didn't, good for you but know your information won't be helpful to me - then how long did it take before you got through the worst of it?

slw182 - It's ok. It's just the Paxil withdrawal turning me into Mr. Hyde. Thanks for making me laugh!

Answer 1

I am not surprised by your question. Of all the SSRIs, Paxil is notorious for the worst 'SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome'. The symptoms can range from headaches and flu-like symptoms to full-blow hallucinations with electric shocks.

I witnessed a close friend abruptly cease Paxil after a few years on 40mg BID. The best way to explain his withdrawal would be with a scene from the movie “Trainspotting”. Had I been a bystander, I would have thought my friend was a heroin addict undergoing withdrawal.

A few days after his last pill, his body turned white and clammy. He would be freezing cold one minute than boiling hot moments later. The Paxil seemed to excrete from his skin; his sweat had a strange odor. He lied in bed for 3-4 days in a fetal position...very restless and unable to eat.

After the first week, he felt better physically, but mentally something was off. He couldn’t drive or be in public places. It wasn’t that he feared others, but he feared himself—a Paxil-free self that he hardly knew. He would often complain of electric shocks, strange bodily sensations and minor hallucinations—like focus or peripheral vision abnormalities.

As the days progressed, the symptoms gradually subsided. I estimate it took 3-4 weeks for him to get through the rough stuff. It could have been longer and he didn’t want to concern me.

SSRI withdrawal is real. Studies indicate that it occurs in 25% of individuals. Dosage, duration, physical and mental health are all factors in recovery. There is no ideal time frame.

You are very strong and courageous for choosing to discontinue Paxil. I can only image what you are experiencing...like a car driving 55 MPH down the highway and then jerked into reverse.

In my opinion when people take psychotropic drugs, they surrender their mental health to a pill, thus robbing themselves of any responsibility for their own life journey. I don’t see such a person in your writings. Instead, I see a individual who has a good head on his shoulders and is determined to win this battle solo.

My very best to you...

Answer 2

I don't know if I actually had to come off Paxil as I reacted very badly to it. On 20 mg, I had no real reaction - doc finally up'd to 40 and the side effects drove me crazy. I had night tremors really bad and lots of nausea. Sometimes if I forgot that I had already taken my dose and took a second dose, I would vomit for sure. Anyway, I was sick for about a week after the fact. I dont' know if that helps any. How are you doing? How long have you been off? Be sure to get your 6-8 hours of sleep (if you can_) and drink a lot of water . Hit me up if you want to chat (messenger or e-mail) - I'll see what I can do to help. And yes, I have wasted points on questions that didn't help.

Answer 3

I have taken paxil three times and i quit cold turkey and nothing happened. I never had any withdrawls from it. If you did stop taking it don't go back on it. Because when i went back on it i had the worst side effects ever. It was horrible i thought i was going to die. But the first time that i was on it i didn't get any side effects from it at all.
No offence, but you seem kind of mean, lol. So i really hope that i answered your question right. The last thing that i would want to do is get on your bad side.

Answer 4

I am on zoloft and I get withdrawal symptoms if i forget to take them for one night. I start getting zapping sensations in my head and throughout my body at times. Also I sweat a lot more. I haven't purposely tried to come off it cold turkey but i know that form e it wouldn't be a comfortable situation. I would like to come off it altogether one day but it does scare me to think if i will start to get my anxiety/depression symptoms back again. I've noticed I'm pretty sensitive to the withdrawal symptoms of anti-depressants so my doctors advised me that if i plan to get off of it i should reduce my 200 mg. dose by 50 mg at a time. Ie; I would start taking 150 mgs for about a month to taper off and then go down a little more depending on how i felt. If i were to feel any anxiety symptoms i dont know if that would necessarily be from withdrawal or because im just off the meds. it is confusing to me. Its not a process im looking forward to doing but i'll try it out someday. NOT cold turkey though.

Answer 5

My son was forced to come off it cold turkey because of a hospitalization. I'm sorry to say that it took at least 3 months to get over the worst withdrawal symptoms. And after that , it was another couple months for it to get completely out of his system. (he had trouble regulating his temperature - felt hot or cold constantly) It is ridiculous but most doctors deny that there is such a thing as SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome.
The worst part for him was the "brain zaps" that went through his head. You probably know what I mean by "brain zap" if you have been off it for a few days.
Good luck.

Answer 6

First of all..."kudos" to you for getting off the drugs. I really respect you alot for that.
Secondly, it takes a few weeks to get over the effects of the drug, and quitting cold turkey is up for grabs, its a matter of opinion. I have known people who took lithium and stopped cold turkey with no adverse reaction, and according to the nay-sayers, thats a bad thing to do, but apparently its not so bad.
You have to keep in mind that when you visit a doctor and complain of emotional symptoms, he is going to prescribe you DRUGS. Your doctor is a doctor of medicene....its what they do. He is probably over booked on patients and wont take the time to find out whats really wrong.
The best drug you can take is a combo drug called YOURSELF and GOD. You are the one who can make you happy, you have to depend on yourself to make you happy. When we rely on friends to come through, it doesnt always work, they have their issues as well. When they dont come through we end up placing blame on them.
Whether you are in a good place or bad place in life right now has been assigned by you.
Its my opinion that so many Americans are depressed today because they have it too good. We are, by nature, creatures who thrive on challenge. In America, we can get by without having to challenge ourselves alot.
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
Could it be that 95.4% of unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
We have it pretty easy, which leaves so much time to dwell on the smaller things.
Cheer up and keep the docs around for heart issues.
Good luck!
D@N

Answer 7

I have not taken paxil, but I was addicted to other pills. It took a hospital to help me. I do not advise this because it suck. but if you do get suicidal, please go to one because in the end it will help. I know because it did for me.

Answer 8

its all mental like beer or pills or any drug out there some people don't have to weeen but some do!