I thought I would post some of the successes over the last week and
half, with the intent of providing hope for others out there. As
posted, last Monday my wife began the process of tapering for 10mg
of Paxil (which she has been on daily for more than five years). We
expect to chronicle and post this in detail, but these are the
highlights.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, pharmacist or medical professional
of any kind. Anything I put in here, including calculations are
based on my own work and could be wrong. Everyone should verify
their own dosages and numbers. Also, each person is different so
what is working for my wife, may not work at all for you. I will
tell you that if she missed her pill on any day, she became very
ill, very quickly, so she definitely had a bad reaction to the
withdrawl.
10mg - 6.7mg (approximately 1/3 of a 20mg tablet)
Day 1 - Out of body experience, shaky, nervous, wierd. NIGHT was
BAD, lots of anxiety, hard to sleep, teeth grinding, jumpy. Dizzy,
nausea and headache. TIRED TIRED TIRED. We were both terribly
worried that this process was going to get a LOT worse. I
internally questioned whether we could make it, but she stayed
strong!
Day 2 - Bad day- emotional roller coaster, didn't help that there
was b.s. going on at work for her. The second day was filled with
sensations in the body, a general feeling of "walking one step
behind" herself. Both days were plagued with horrible short term
memory (I mean alzheimers in nature). Anger started to become more
prevalent. Ridiculous headache, still dizzy, and nausea. Slept ok,
but very sweaty. TIRED TIRED TIRED. Sensitive to sound. Needing
food in the middle of the night. Very tense muscles.
Day 3 - A little dizzy, and some nausea, but starting to feel a
little better. Some roller coaster effect (emotions) but most of
the "out of body" experience was going away. Not quite as tired,
but still out of energy. Sensitive to sound. Needed food in the
middle of the night again. One period of hypersensitivity on all of
her skin...she hated my touch, which is unusual, but I told her it
was just the Paxil and that it was ok!
Days 4 and 5 - Getting better all the time. Still more inclined to
get angry or anxious, but ok. Since she started feeling physically
better, I think she started building on that momentum, and it helped
her. By day 5, things were pretty good. Still sensitive to sound,
but sleeping ok.
6.7mg -> 5mg (now on liquid form)
She decided to drop earlier than a week, because she was feeling
alright. I did a lot of research on the halflife and built a
spreadsheet with the total Paxil concentration in her body (always
estimates of course) based on the halflife, and things looked ok.
So analyzing the halflifes, there are a couple of things to
consider, anything up to about 30mg a day is out of your system
(almost completely, i.e. .00x mg left) in 8.75 days. Days 1-3 are
the biggest reductions in total paxil. So, if you are taking 10mg
daily (not the CR product), you have up to 20mg in your body as any
given time. I'll publish the table at some point, probably when the
whole story is out. In any case, please see the disclaimer
above...I'm not a professional, just explaining what worked and what
has not.
Day 1 -> Quick anger is back again. Easy to get anxious. Tired. A
little dizzy, and brief period of nausea. Two things affecting the
lessened symptoms I think- a smaller drop and knowing a bit more
what to expect. Bad teeth grinding at night. She woke up drenched
in sweat. 10 minutes of anger at about 4am.
Day 2 -> woke up without signficant nausea or dizziness (what a nice
surprise). A brief period of anxiety so far, but in a great mood!
Some items to keep in mind-
1) Everyone who said to drink tons of water is right! 8-12 pints
is not in any way out of the question.
2) The day tapering started, we added B-Complex vitamins, Fish Oil
(lots of Omegas), and Choline. These were all taken in the morning
and in the evening.
3) Dramamine was very helpful. Dr. office said she could take
100mg/day (4 regular doses). This was required on days 1-3, and
less so on the second drop. This was likely part of the reason she
was sooooo tired.
4) Food...quality snacks, trail mix, saltine crackers for when the
stomach isn't feeling good. She felt the best when she was grazing
all day long. This isn't the time to be worrying about weight!!!
5) Whenever the emotions popped up, a good brisk walk was a good
solution.
6) Tons of support. Picking up slack with the kids, around the
house, being extra extra understanding. ALL THE EMOTIONS ARE
OK...if you are around (or are) a person getting off Paxil, just
know that you are going to be experiencing a variety of feelings,
but it is ok, as everyone else mentioned, you will make it through.
The good stuff (yeah, you didn't see any before this, but this you
should read closely!!!!)
1) Day 1, despite all the crap, clarity started to return. She
said it was like lifting a cloud. I am noticing a difference in her
(it is obvious).
2) With the lower lows, comes higher highs...happiness, joy, etc..
3) Tremendous (and I mean tremendous) improvement in sexual
function, post day 3...Did I say tremendous?
4) She is getting more comfortable with herself.
5) After the first couple of days, the memory seems to be
improving, exceeding the state while on the full dose of paxil.
Final comments for the moment:
1) I might suggest 2.5mg drops from 10->7.5->5.0 instead of the
larger first drop. We are planning 1mg drops from 5.0->0, but
expecting to do every 4-5 days. Right now things are going well,
but we can adjust anytime necessary.
2) I think the gradual tapering approach is working well because
things are coming back slowly...if she had quit cold turkey, in
addition to having the withdrawl, all the sensitivities, anxiety and
emotion would be rushing back rapidly, and that would be more
difficult for her (not everyone) to adjust to (remember, 8.75 days
and it is GONE, GONE GONE.)
So all in all, we are both ecstatic, and she won't be going back on
paxil...something else if necessary, but not this stuff (according
to her...)
We're adding excercise in hopes to combat the need for additional
drug therapy. Cardiovascular exercise improves Seratonin levels.
Yeah, another natural therapy, I think this one has less negative
side effects though. A lot has changed in her life since she
originally needed the Paxil, so she has a good chance at making it
without medication. She is the strongest person I know! Not
everyone can give up Paxil, or other medications they are taking,
but I for one am very happy that she has chosen to!
Inquiries/comments welcome!
.