Hi Dan,
I read your posting with interest and I admire your courage in telling
it like it is. You two will make it, of that I am sure. You are prepared
and ready and she has the determination and strenth to fight her way
through. From my own experience, I know how important it is to know what
others have gone through so keep posting. Believe me, I will be there
pulling for you every step of the way.
Comfie
On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:53:04 -0000, "carsondan"
< dgoggiano%40sbcglobal.net">dgoggiano
sbcglobal.net> said:
>; 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!
>
>
>
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