Hi!
I've been on Paxil since about 1998. I guess it has helped reduce the depression some, but it's a b**** to get off of. I was on 12.5 mg's (lowest dose) but couldn't wean off of even that little dose. Now I'm on 30 mg (they upped it since the accident) but I want to get off of it or switch it to something else. LLh, I think you suggested Lexepro? What do you know about it? I think you're the one who said she had a couple of friends on Paxil who switched to Lexepro? Did they have any problems switching? Paxil is notoriously hard to get off of. I've tried several times with no luck. Also, I think it causes weight gain. I once switched to prozac which totally took away my appetite, and that was good, but this was during hurricane Katrina and I became obsessed with hurricane Katrina, I couldn't get it out of my head at all. I worried about all the people and what they had gone thru, and all they had lost, and what would they do. I actually started dreaming about it. I realized that was abnormal, and switched back to paxil. Any advice anyone?
I honestly think you should stop all drugs you are on.
Lola, My doctor had put me on Paxil, Lexapro, Zoloft and Effexor over the course of a couple of years for depression. When one didn't work she would try another. For me none of them worked. What worked for me was getting off all pills and giving my mind and body a chance to heal after all the abuse I had put it through over 5 years of abusing pills. I still have my days when I feel down and that's normal but at those times I remind myself of all the things I have to be thankful for. Shantel
Lola,
My OB put me on a very low dose of Prozac ten months after the birth of my second child, for continuing post-partum blues and PMS. Two years later my dose had quadrupled. I started seeing a psychologist, and a psychiatrist switched me to Zoloft, then Wellbutrin, then Luvox and finally Serzone, to which I had a bad reaction. None of the a/ds worked entirely and the side effects became gradually more troublesome (lack of dreaming, inability to focus, loss of libido, weight gain, to name but a few).
I was always hunting through the literature for the just the right combination of SSRIs that would somehow "fix" me. I chose to start therapy with Dr. M, my current psychiatrist, because he uses a/ds as a last resort. I haven't taken an a/d since 2002. I'm not saying I never will again. We've talked about putting me on one during the SAD months, but sometimes you have to be in discomfort in order to do the necessary emotional work.
I'm not saying this is true for everyone, but it seems to be true for me.
Love,
Gina
My OB put me on a very low dose of Prozac ten months after the birth of my second child, for continuing post-partum blues and PMS. Two years later my dose had quadrupled. I started seeing a psychologist, and a psychiatrist switched me to Zoloft, then Wellbutrin, then Luvox and finally Serzone, to which I had a bad reaction. None of the a/ds worked entirely and the side effects became gradually more troublesome (lack of dreaming, inability to focus, loss of libido, weight gain, to name but a few).
I was always hunting through the literature for the just the right combination of SSRIs that would somehow "fix" me. I chose to start therapy with Dr. M, my current psychiatrist, because he uses a/ds as a last resort. I haven't taken an a/d since 2002. I'm not saying I never will again. We've talked about putting me on one during the SAD months, but sometimes you have to be in discomfort in order to do the necessary emotional work.
I'm not saying this is true for everyone, but it seems to be true for me.
Love,
Gina
Bullwinkle
I know u mean well but advising someone to stop all drugs is risky and potentially dangerous...............some have mental health problems that only someone qualified can advise on.
blessings Paul
I know u mean well but advising someone to stop all drugs is risky and potentially dangerous...............some have mental health problems that only someone qualified can advise on.
blessings Paul
Neon- I'm not terribly "anti" anti-depressants at all. However, when I look out (here,there,everywhere), people in active addiction tend to look for anything to take, to somehow ease the pain of the root cause, which is the addiction itself. I did it myself. know my doctor, when I said Zoloft didn't help, put me on Buspar, when I said that didn't help, put me on Lexapro, when that didn't worked, tried Wellbutrin. It wasn't until I cut all the crap that it finally happened for me.i wasn't depressed at all. Granted, there are TONS of people who are depressed and need AD's certainly. Just my opinion, but until you quit the opiates and have some clean time, forget musical chairs with the AD's. Stiick to thhe one you have. There comes a time where you have to assess your real health (mental or otherwise) problems and you can't do that while being acitvely addicted.
Ad's have been very beneficial to those in crisis during a depression..funny thing...my feelings about these drugs has changed completely. I have been on elavil, wellbutri(nighmare) and a few others. The side effects have always been troublesome and I never stayed on...except the elavil. It helped an awful lot with chronic pain...I gained 30 pounds...that just made my back pain way worse. Let me tell you about getting off elavil (while trying to taper off oxy) I CTed it on the advice of my DR. cause I am going under anesthesia next week and he was concerned with all the meds. It was really bad. 15 days today. It proved to me that if I could do that than I can do opiates. Drugs are bad(IMO) They dreate more problems than you start out with and what you realy ned is talk therapy...get to the bottom of what is making you feel so depressed. Granted...sometimes it is entirely biochemical but I think there is an overusage of these drugs in America, A pill fixes everything mentality. They don't tell you what it's like to get off. I felt nauseated and exhausted for 2 weeks...than MORE depressed than when I started...I know this because the last 2 days I see a change. I am more myself and less panicky.My mornings were hell...wd's from oxy along with extreme fatigue and nausea. It takes a good 2 weeks to get out of your system. I have lost 10 lbs. and my heart no lomger palpitates when I get up. My goal is to be off EVERYTHING. Plain and simple. Our bodies are amazing and know how to heal themselves...our brains tend to fight our natural ability to heal by interfering....get off everything...you are prolonging it all...at least try to taper off the ad if it's not working. Sharonn
Bullwinkle.....Thanks for your prompt reply. I guess my post was just a knee jerk. Alarm bells ring when i hear advise to just stop stuff.These days I speed read posts and to be honest don't remember all the background to every individual poster..........I lurk a lot but dont feel as involved as I onced did.
I am sat here with lap top on my knee watching Overhauling (Yawn from the UK) and was cruising the posts. Keep up the good work everyone
Paul
I am sat here with lap top on my knee watching Overhauling (Yawn from the UK) and was cruising the posts. Keep up the good work everyone
Paul
Expanding on my thoughts.
I recognise now that when using opiates and latterly booze I was depressed because of the nature of there action but initially, when taking them, I experienced some euphoria. This euphoria relieved an underlying depression.so it became a chicken and egg situation. I believe I was depressed, the drugs relieved that so I needed more but more made me depressed (paradox). When I got clean (6 months ago) I first experienced an amazing high and lifting of symptoms of depression as a reaction to how low I felt using depressants , a sort of honeymoon period followed but then the underlying depression emerged so after al this time I have gone back on Prozac on Drs advice. Prozac has often been very good for me over the last 10-15 years I have used it. In fact I kept clean and sober for 14 years but relapsed after stopping it and being prescribed pain killers for fibromyalgia. The pain killers lifted my depression, which I refused to acknowledge, and chased the buzz. My addictivediseased nature kicked in and the rest is history.
So what I am saying is someone with a mental health problem may be self medicating with opiates and once clean may need an AD for clinical depression to prevent that relapse.
God I hope that makes sense
Paul
I recognise now that when using opiates and latterly booze I was depressed because of the nature of there action but initially, when taking them, I experienced some euphoria. This euphoria relieved an underlying depression.so it became a chicken and egg situation. I believe I was depressed, the drugs relieved that so I needed more but more made me depressed (paradox). When I got clean (6 months ago) I first experienced an amazing high and lifting of symptoms of depression as a reaction to how low I felt using depressants , a sort of honeymoon period followed but then the underlying depression emerged so after al this time I have gone back on Prozac on Drs advice. Prozac has often been very good for me over the last 10-15 years I have used it. In fact I kept clean and sober for 14 years but relapsed after stopping it and being prescribed pain killers for fibromyalgia. The pain killers lifted my depression, which I refused to acknowledge, and chased the buzz. My addictivediseased nature kicked in and the rest is history.
So what I am saying is someone with a mental health problem may be self medicating with opiates and once clean may need an AD for clinical depression to prevent that relapse.
God I hope that makes sense
Paul
Hey Bullwinkle, Neon, Sharon:
Thank you for your responses. Bullwinkle, while you make an excellent point, when I went on the paxil I wasn't on the opiates. They put me on paxil after the loss of a child. I totally fought going on any AD's at all. But, all my life I've had severe panic attacks - since age 11 - they were destroying my life. Eventually a Doc put me on benzo's, which I was on for years. Once I was on the paxil, however, I was able to wean off the benzo's without too much trouble. And I had been on them about 25 years!!!! So my thinking is paxil is better than benzo's. But, I've tried a few times to get off the paxil and it's hell. Maybe I shouldn't mess with it. With my addictive behavior, although I never abused the benzo's - why risk it. I do need to get off the opiates though. I'm in a total quandry because I do have pain issues. But do I even really know my level of pain, you know what I mean? This is a crazy situation for me to be in because long before my accident opiates were my doc. I managed to kick it for 8 years, but now I'm back. Sharon, oh my God, I'm on amitriptiline (elavil) too. Its supposed to help with the nerve pain & help me sleep. Everyone (all the doctors) assured me it was safe and not to worry about it. I take 50 mg daily. And now your saying that was even worse to get off of? How much were you on and why?. What happened when you quit?
Neon welcome back! I think you're right, some people have issues besides the addiction and I honestly think I'm one of them. When I think back to before the panic attacks were controlled, I was miserable, my life was shrinking, I felt like I could become agorophobic and afriad to leave my house. And I totally think an anti-depressent is safer than a benzo in terms of liklihood of abuse. Thanks everyone, ya'll all gave me something to think about
Thank you for your responses. Bullwinkle, while you make an excellent point, when I went on the paxil I wasn't on the opiates. They put me on paxil after the loss of a child. I totally fought going on any AD's at all. But, all my life I've had severe panic attacks - since age 11 - they were destroying my life. Eventually a Doc put me on benzo's, which I was on for years. Once I was on the paxil, however, I was able to wean off the benzo's without too much trouble. And I had been on them about 25 years!!!! So my thinking is paxil is better than benzo's. But, I've tried a few times to get off the paxil and it's hell. Maybe I shouldn't mess with it. With my addictive behavior, although I never abused the benzo's - why risk it. I do need to get off the opiates though. I'm in a total quandry because I do have pain issues. But do I even really know my level of pain, you know what I mean? This is a crazy situation for me to be in because long before my accident opiates were my doc. I managed to kick it for 8 years, but now I'm back. Sharon, oh my God, I'm on amitriptiline (elavil) too. Its supposed to help with the nerve pain & help me sleep. Everyone (all the doctors) assured me it was safe and not to worry about it. I take 50 mg daily. And now your saying that was even worse to get off of? How much were you on and why?. What happened when you quit?
Neon welcome back! I think you're right, some people have issues besides the addiction and I honestly think I'm one of them. When I think back to before the panic attacks were controlled, I was miserable, my life was shrinking, I felt like I could become agorophobic and afriad to leave my house. And I totally think an anti-depressent is safer than a benzo in terms of liklihood of abuse. Thanks everyone, ya'll all gave me something to think about
I totally agree with Danny....but there are exceptions. Only we know if we need them or not.
i am a true sufferer of depression, i can go back into my teens BEFORE i ever abused any chemical at all and know i was truly depressed.
paul stated that depession can lead people to use drugs and i believe that in my situation, at the time i was so depressed from daily molestation i had to endure plus the loss of my unborn child that my father forced me to abort and with genetics to add to that this spawned a true depressive episode PLUS panic anxiety symptoms first appeared.
i then was first introduced to my very first drug which was marijuana. at that period in my life is when the panic/anxiety disorder introduced itself to me and for the last 32 years of my life i have been caught up in this nasty abyss of panic and fear that i just cannot recover from. man, i have missed out on so much of my life because of this nasty nasty disorder, it has been like a quicksand for me, when you allow the fears to take over and reward your brain by avoidance , you are screwed!
first of all my parents offered NO support when i told them what i was feeling, i had NO idea what this disorder was back in the 70's. instead of helping me they insulted and laughed at me and told me i was not normal so i hid this disorder for many many years, and for that i lost so much of my life. i was soooo embarrassed, i felt like an outcast, i so envy people who can accomplish what so terrifies me,
so i took it upon myself as a teen who knew nothing at the time and i made my very first appt with a psychiatrist, i remember being so full of anxiety about this first appt. i recall sitting in the chair and seeing this man across the desk from me and i didnt even know how to explain to him what i was so afraid of, all i could think of is he must think i am nuts just like my parents do so i told him a few of the symptoms and left his office so embarassed that i never returned to him and continued to suffer for many more years.
in 1997 i had been abusing pot for many years and the opiate addiction comes later in life, but at this time i was so severely depressed i made my 2nd appt with a psychiatrist and that is when i was introduced to first prozac and then the doctor switched me to 40 mgs of paxil. i felt a great deal of relief i wasnt depressed anymore and i was not so anxious as i was, but i still couldnt kick this panic thing. from there years past and i still knew i had a lot of work to do and that is when a therapist suggested that i look into co-dependancy, i read melody beatty's book Co-dependant No More and i started attending 12 step meetings for co-dependancy, they were called CODA co dependant anonymous, i really dont think they offer these meetings anymore and they need to because i was so helped by this group who got me to where i am today. alot of people are in co-dependant relationships too.
this is where i learned about detachment, setting boundaries with my family who abused and hurt me so much. i got my first sponsor named June, she so helped me to stand up to my mom who had me as her puppet and she was the puppeteer. later on we found out as we got to know one another that she june had worked at a resaurant with my mother and TOTALLY understood what i went through as she was afraid of my mom as well. my goodness God is so good to me to put me in that situation, of all the people on this planet i was directed to go to a meeting and meet a woman who knew my mother and her cruel ways. praise you dear Father in heaven.
by now i am cooking, on my way, my first door to recovery had been opened.that was 10 years ago so here we are today i am still on paxil and i have had some situations with this drug that i would like to share.
my family doctor diagnosed me with type 2 daibetes and the issue of quitting smoking needed to be addressed, so he thought he could help me by switching my ad from paxil to wellbutrin (zyban) in hopes it would help me quit smoking, i started that in late summer 3 years ago, by feb of the next year i was soooo severely depressed that thoughts of killing myself were occuring and i just simply could not even function, my Lord please never let me have to go thru that dark episode again as long as i live as it was horrible! i couldnt get out of the bed, my dog had pooped on the floor by my bed because i was so depressed i didnt let them out that morning to do their business, and i left that poop sit there on the floor all day, didnt have any energy to clean it up, my son came home from school around 3 pm and he was like MOM!!!! get out bed what is wrong with you? i started crying i dont know!! I AM SOOOO DEPRESSED!! and i couldnt figure out why after all i am on an ad wellbutrin so i shouldnt be feeling like this, all of a suden i had a light bulb moment (thank you Jesus) could this depressive episode have anything to do with the fact that i switched from paxil to wellbutrin last summer???????????????? i immediately got out of the bed, called my doctor was put back on paxil and thank you Lord i was back to feeling normal again after a week!
now here we are 2006 i am in rehab to stop a vicodin addiction, started suboxone and i have been clean for almost 8 mos now! this was last july.
now i have had one bad side effect from paxil and i hope i am not revealing too much info here but this drug prevented me from enjoying an orgasm and i told my sub dr this and he said lets try lexapro, i was in such a haze that week as i had just started my induction to sub. i was in rehab for16 days, as i am being released i am in the process of weaning off paxil to start the lexapro, i didnt hear my sub doctors instructions or my brain didnt absorb it, i dont know what happened but i jumped off the paxil way too fast, i come home from rehab and all of a sudden i feel panicky, hmmm i wonder whats going on here, as the days passed i was in such a state of panic and anxiety i thought i was gonna die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was crying hysterically, pacing the floor back and forth couldnt concentrate for sh*t the phone would ring and i would literally jump out of my skin! then the most scariest thing happened i was driving and it was dark out and all of a sudden it was like i blacked out for maybe 2 seconds then when i realized what had just happened i panicked and i almost had a car accident because when i "came to" after leaving my body for 2 or 3 seconds i didnt know where i was what day it was anything! it was awful, you see my most feared phobia is driving that is where my very first panic attack occurred back when i was a teen so i have researched this disorder extensively and know that wherever a persn is when the first panic attack appears is usually the then "feared place" it could be an elevator, an escalator, the shower, a high rise building whatever. for me it happened in a car so driving and being in a car is what i fear the most today.
after that episode i was so severely shaken, i had just been released from rehab, trying to adjust to the suboxone which was very very difficult at first as this is a very powerful drug, so i came home from rehab to an alcoholic/porn addicted husband who could not give 2 sh*ts about my recovery, my parents and siblings could not even care less of what i had endured in the past 16 days of rehab way too much stress for a person brand new in my new world without drugs and to have all this happen is just one small chapter in my book called life.
my sub doctor was like i need to see you asap, so it was sat. when i called and i was to see him asap on mon morning, as i was driving to the appt which the rehab facilty and all its aftercare was a good 45 min drive from my house, this in itself the fact that i was able to leave my safety circle that i had enclosed myself into was a true miracle. but i wasnt paying attention because i was so full of anxiety and nervous that i missed the left hand turn i was supposed to take, all of a sudden things dont look familiar anymore and i realize that i am lost! i cant believe how i have made it through so many trials in my life, now i am late for this most very important drs appt, i turn the car around, realize where i made the mistake and now i am back on track, but i am LATE! as usual i also have a problem with punctuality.
my cell phone is dead and i just emptied out all my change in my purse before i left and i dont have any money whatsoever with me to make a single phone call to my doctor from a pay phone to call and say i am late! i know the doctor had squeezed me in that day and this issue of me being so panic stricken is so important and now i screwed it all up, by now i am a basket case when i FINALLY arrive, i was sobbing when i got to the receptionist desk, i see my doctor and i am hysterical! he then realizes how bad i truly am and said stop the lexapro and get back on paxil and he upped it 1 more mg. boom! few days later i am back to normal again, so i realize how bad this drug is going to be if i ever need to go off of it, it is TRUE you have to jump off very very slowly, i wish i had known that but like i said i was in a suboxone fog when he gave me instructions on how to switch from one ad to another.
so here i am today and i have decided that it is more important in life to not be depressed than to to able to have an orgasm! sad isnt it. i have been so deprived in that dept as my father violated my body and for that he robbed me of all intimacy,
so that is my story about paxil, i know that i HAVE to have it, paxil restores all the imbalances, serotonin etc. thanks for letting me share, jewels
paul stated that depession can lead people to use drugs and i believe that in my situation, at the time i was so depressed from daily molestation i had to endure plus the loss of my unborn child that my father forced me to abort and with genetics to add to that this spawned a true depressive episode PLUS panic anxiety symptoms first appeared.
i then was first introduced to my very first drug which was marijuana. at that period in my life is when the panic/anxiety disorder introduced itself to me and for the last 32 years of my life i have been caught up in this nasty abyss of panic and fear that i just cannot recover from. man, i have missed out on so much of my life because of this nasty nasty disorder, it has been like a quicksand for me, when you allow the fears to take over and reward your brain by avoidance , you are screwed!
first of all my parents offered NO support when i told them what i was feeling, i had NO idea what this disorder was back in the 70's. instead of helping me they insulted and laughed at me and told me i was not normal so i hid this disorder for many many years, and for that i lost so much of my life. i was soooo embarrassed, i felt like an outcast, i so envy people who can accomplish what so terrifies me,
so i took it upon myself as a teen who knew nothing at the time and i made my very first appt with a psychiatrist, i remember being so full of anxiety about this first appt. i recall sitting in the chair and seeing this man across the desk from me and i didnt even know how to explain to him what i was so afraid of, all i could think of is he must think i am nuts just like my parents do so i told him a few of the symptoms and left his office so embarassed that i never returned to him and continued to suffer for many more years.
in 1997 i had been abusing pot for many years and the opiate addiction comes later in life, but at this time i was so severely depressed i made my 2nd appt with a psychiatrist and that is when i was introduced to first prozac and then the doctor switched me to 40 mgs of paxil. i felt a great deal of relief i wasnt depressed anymore and i was not so anxious as i was, but i still couldnt kick this panic thing. from there years past and i still knew i had a lot of work to do and that is when a therapist suggested that i look into co-dependancy, i read melody beatty's book Co-dependant No More and i started attending 12 step meetings for co-dependancy, they were called CODA co dependant anonymous, i really dont think they offer these meetings anymore and they need to because i was so helped by this group who got me to where i am today. alot of people are in co-dependant relationships too.
this is where i learned about detachment, setting boundaries with my family who abused and hurt me so much. i got my first sponsor named June, she so helped me to stand up to my mom who had me as her puppet and she was the puppeteer. later on we found out as we got to know one another that she june had worked at a resaurant with my mother and TOTALLY understood what i went through as she was afraid of my mom as well. my goodness God is so good to me to put me in that situation, of all the people on this planet i was directed to go to a meeting and meet a woman who knew my mother and her cruel ways. praise you dear Father in heaven.
by now i am cooking, on my way, my first door to recovery had been opened.that was 10 years ago so here we are today i am still on paxil and i have had some situations with this drug that i would like to share.
my family doctor diagnosed me with type 2 daibetes and the issue of quitting smoking needed to be addressed, so he thought he could help me by switching my ad from paxil to wellbutrin (zyban) in hopes it would help me quit smoking, i started that in late summer 3 years ago, by feb of the next year i was soooo severely depressed that thoughts of killing myself were occuring and i just simply could not even function, my Lord please never let me have to go thru that dark episode again as long as i live as it was horrible! i couldnt get out of the bed, my dog had pooped on the floor by my bed because i was so depressed i didnt let them out that morning to do their business, and i left that poop sit there on the floor all day, didnt have any energy to clean it up, my son came home from school around 3 pm and he was like MOM!!!! get out bed what is wrong with you? i started crying i dont know!! I AM SOOOO DEPRESSED!! and i couldnt figure out why after all i am on an ad wellbutrin so i shouldnt be feeling like this, all of a suden i had a light bulb moment (thank you Jesus) could this depressive episode have anything to do with the fact that i switched from paxil to wellbutrin last summer???????????????? i immediately got out of the bed, called my doctor was put back on paxil and thank you Lord i was back to feeling normal again after a week!
now here we are 2006 i am in rehab to stop a vicodin addiction, started suboxone and i have been clean for almost 8 mos now! this was last july.
now i have had one bad side effect from paxil and i hope i am not revealing too much info here but this drug prevented me from enjoying an orgasm and i told my sub dr this and he said lets try lexapro, i was in such a haze that week as i had just started my induction to sub. i was in rehab for16 days, as i am being released i am in the process of weaning off paxil to start the lexapro, i didnt hear my sub doctors instructions or my brain didnt absorb it, i dont know what happened but i jumped off the paxil way too fast, i come home from rehab and all of a sudden i feel panicky, hmmm i wonder whats going on here, as the days passed i was in such a state of panic and anxiety i thought i was gonna die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was crying hysterically, pacing the floor back and forth couldnt concentrate for sh*t the phone would ring and i would literally jump out of my skin! then the most scariest thing happened i was driving and it was dark out and all of a sudden it was like i blacked out for maybe 2 seconds then when i realized what had just happened i panicked and i almost had a car accident because when i "came to" after leaving my body for 2 or 3 seconds i didnt know where i was what day it was anything! it was awful, you see my most feared phobia is driving that is where my very first panic attack occurred back when i was a teen so i have researched this disorder extensively and know that wherever a persn is when the first panic attack appears is usually the then "feared place" it could be an elevator, an escalator, the shower, a high rise building whatever. for me it happened in a car so driving and being in a car is what i fear the most today.
after that episode i was so severely shaken, i had just been released from rehab, trying to adjust to the suboxone which was very very difficult at first as this is a very powerful drug, so i came home from rehab to an alcoholic/porn addicted husband who could not give 2 sh*ts about my recovery, my parents and siblings could not even care less of what i had endured in the past 16 days of rehab way too much stress for a person brand new in my new world without drugs and to have all this happen is just one small chapter in my book called life.
my sub doctor was like i need to see you asap, so it was sat. when i called and i was to see him asap on mon morning, as i was driving to the appt which the rehab facilty and all its aftercare was a good 45 min drive from my house, this in itself the fact that i was able to leave my safety circle that i had enclosed myself into was a true miracle. but i wasnt paying attention because i was so full of anxiety and nervous that i missed the left hand turn i was supposed to take, all of a sudden things dont look familiar anymore and i realize that i am lost! i cant believe how i have made it through so many trials in my life, now i am late for this most very important drs appt, i turn the car around, realize where i made the mistake and now i am back on track, but i am LATE! as usual i also have a problem with punctuality.
my cell phone is dead and i just emptied out all my change in my purse before i left and i dont have any money whatsoever with me to make a single phone call to my doctor from a pay phone to call and say i am late! i know the doctor had squeezed me in that day and this issue of me being so panic stricken is so important and now i screwed it all up, by now i am a basket case when i FINALLY arrive, i was sobbing when i got to the receptionist desk, i see my doctor and i am hysterical! he then realizes how bad i truly am and said stop the lexapro and get back on paxil and he upped it 1 more mg. boom! few days later i am back to normal again, so i realize how bad this drug is going to be if i ever need to go off of it, it is TRUE you have to jump off very very slowly, i wish i had known that but like i said i was in a suboxone fog when he gave me instructions on how to switch from one ad to another.
so here i am today and i have decided that it is more important in life to not be depressed than to to able to have an orgasm! sad isnt it. i have been so deprived in that dept as my father violated my body and for that he robbed me of all intimacy,
so that is my story about paxil, i know that i HAVE to have it, paxil restores all the imbalances, serotonin etc. thanks for letting me share, jewels
HI Lola,
I know when you change anit-depressents you have to taper off of one and slowy start the new one. It is different depending on which one you are taking and which one you are switching to (they have different half lifes). The Dr. will know how to proceed. From what I have learned about them, you will feel 100 percent better if you are on the right one. If you don't need it or it isn't the right combination for you, you won't like the way you feel at all. When your brain feels right everything else is tolerable and I think there are studies that you have less cravings and are less likely to self medicate with other substances if your brain chemistry is balanced. I think you can go back and trace some relapses with other drugs even smoking and drinking to stopping an antidepressent. Many people don't realize this, I know as many people that hated them as liked them and that may be because it isn't what they needed. The people that I know who were helped say they will never stop... it changed their life. This is just my opinion. L
I know when you change anit-depressents you have to taper off of one and slowy start the new one. It is different depending on which one you are taking and which one you are switching to (they have different half lifes). The Dr. will know how to proceed. From what I have learned about them, you will feel 100 percent better if you are on the right one. If you don't need it or it isn't the right combination for you, you won't like the way you feel at all. When your brain feels right everything else is tolerable and I think there are studies that you have less cravings and are less likely to self medicate with other substances if your brain chemistry is balanced. I think you can go back and trace some relapses with other drugs even smoking and drinking to stopping an antidepressent. Many people don't realize this, I know as many people that hated them as liked them and that may be because it isn't what they needed. The people that I know who were helped say they will never stop... it changed their life. This is just my opinion. L
Also, I felt everthing you described in your other post when I was taking oxy. I felt horrible while I was taking it. I lost interest in everthing. All my joy was gone. That is why I was so ready to stop. I hated the way it made me feel, It really messes with your brain.
Shantel and Bullwinkle, thanks for your posts.
I also chose to stop all medications and not add anything. In the past taking pills to "fix it" was the answer, but I needed to learn another way......... I had numerous people in meetings telling me to start ADs for the depression when I first stopped the opiates. But I just couldn't see doing this since I understood that the dysphoria/depression was from the drug abuse (cause and effect) and that if I would give my brain time to readjust that it might get better. And better it is getting. I can finally sleep! (and I dealt with incredible insomnia for at least 35 years) When i was in rehab the counselor told me that I couldnt take OTC sleep meds (including Tylenol Pm)! I thought they were crazy. then they tell me I can only have the sleepy time tea and that sleep would return if I would not medicate. Did not believe them, but after 37 days of 1-2 hours of sleep, I am sleeping 7-8 hours. Now my DOC for pain is aspirin and it works wonders. Prayer helps for sleep too.
-Gentlepeace
I also chose to stop all medications and not add anything. In the past taking pills to "fix it" was the answer, but I needed to learn another way......... I had numerous people in meetings telling me to start ADs for the depression when I first stopped the opiates. But I just couldn't see doing this since I understood that the dysphoria/depression was from the drug abuse (cause and effect) and that if I would give my brain time to readjust that it might get better. And better it is getting. I can finally sleep! (and I dealt with incredible insomnia for at least 35 years) When i was in rehab the counselor told me that I couldnt take OTC sleep meds (including Tylenol Pm)! I thought they were crazy. then they tell me I can only have the sleepy time tea and that sleep would return if I would not medicate. Did not believe them, but after 37 days of 1-2 hours of sleep, I am sleeping 7-8 hours. Now my DOC for pain is aspirin and it works wonders. Prayer helps for sleep too.
-Gentlepeace
I had been on A/ds for 20 years, about as long as I had used drugs. When I started on sub I weaned off them and haven't taken any since. I feel great!
Wendy
Wendy
I seen a documentary on a girl who was making a video diary during her trying to ween off the Paxil and she was in hell. She was from Britian and it has a different name there but exact same drug. The drug company and medical comunity were saying that there is no wds from antideppressants even my doctor tried to tell me the same but we know different For some reason the paxil does cause bad wds she was living proof
I know several people who have tried to come off of paxil or other AD's and had problems. Most of them ended up switching to lexapro or wellbutrin or celexa and then eventually coming off of those much more easily.
I tried Paxil but only for 12 days. The side effects were too much for me to handle. Years later, I went on lexapro for about one year. I had to stop without weaning because I forgot my script and went on vacation to another country. I did not have any major side effects. I have also been on and off and on and off and now back on wellbutrin. I have not had side effects when stopping this AD. I keep going back on it after anxiety levels reach an unbearable point.
I wanted to add that I don't think it is abnormal to be saddened by major tragic events. The media plays the same horrid, tragic footage again and again. It causes us to become more disturbed than we normally would be. I was very upset during hurricane Katrina. I cried, I prayed and I dreamt of the suffering that was happening. The same thing happened with the tsunami tragedy, and of course during 9/11.
Take care.
I tried Paxil but only for 12 days. The side effects were too much for me to handle. Years later, I went on lexapro for about one year. I had to stop without weaning because I forgot my script and went on vacation to another country. I did not have any major side effects. I have also been on and off and on and off and now back on wellbutrin. I have not had side effects when stopping this AD. I keep going back on it after anxiety levels reach an unbearable point.
I wanted to add that I don't think it is abnormal to be saddened by major tragic events. The media plays the same horrid, tragic footage again and again. It causes us to become more disturbed than we normally would be. I was very upset during hurricane Katrina. I cried, I prayed and I dreamt of the suffering that was happening. The same thing happened with the tsunami tragedy, and of course during 9/11.
Take care.
Atlas, I agree with you about the media. I love watching the news in the morning but with all the sick stuff going on in the world today I found it got me kinda depressed before I even started my day so I have cut back on watching it. Shantel
