bad idea

[Anonymous]

everyone knows that it's not a good idea to abruptly stop taking medications like Paxil (which was what i was on) and i was up to 50 mgs. of course i'm having mega-bad withdrawal symptoms like fatigue and nausea and dizziness. it's been 8 days now and there seems to be no mercy.

any one know about how long this could last?

 

[shep]

I have not tried any drugs yet but I could recommend the following site if you have not been there already. One of the forums deals with medications and you could ask your question there and probably get better results. It is: http://socialanxietysupport.com/index.htm
Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

You really really really ought to go back on the Paxil and then wean off of it in a controlled manner. Speak to your doctor about this. I've read of cold-turkey withdrawals going on for a frighteningly long time, so please consider this. It can be dangerous, even if the crazy physical symptoms aren't in and of themselves.... these withdrawals can include very severe depressions, delusions, and the like, which can lead to self-injury or worse...

I had to wean off of Effexor really slowly. And still I had brain zaps, a "I feel very weird" feeling, some dizziness, mood issues... You may need to take a similar approach with Paxil. Are you sure you want to stop taking it? What made you decide?

I know docs often recommend a 14-day 'washout' period between new antidepressant meds. Perhaps you'll begin improving by then.

'Mega-bad withdrawals" after 8 days sounds mighty rough--good luck to you!

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for the responses, i did try taking just one 25 mg pill a day and that's helped alot so i'll just take it from there.

oddly enough i wanted to stop taking paxil for the side effects thinking maybe i'll only feel bad for a day or two...

 

[Anonymous]

Say, J.... I was curious as to why you weaned off of the Effexor..

RE:
((I had to wean off of Effexor really slowly. And still I had brain zaps, a "I feel very weird" feeling, some dizziness, mood issues... ))

Wasn't it helping, working for you, unpleasant side effects?

Thanks!
Curious George
(I'm not a little monkey anymore... I'm a big ape )

 

[Anonymous]

My weaning off of Effexor was part choice and part "no choice." I was thinking of getting off of it because I gained a lot of weight on it (close to 40lbs), and because it got a little too good at suppressing my emotions--without significantly improving the SA (THOUGH I didn't know I had SA then). I didn't give a rat's ass about a lot of things. I lost much of my ability to feel love (and I was living with a GF at the time). I was at a funeral and felt strangely unaffected, thinking "You know, I should probably feel a little sad right now."

The "no choice" part of it was that I got laid off from my job and lost my insurance (COBRA is so expensive it's worse than nothing for most people) and Effexor is quite expensive.

I had to wean myself down to five of the tiny time-release pellets before I could stop entirely with a tolerable level of side effects. And I was only taking 150mg (a fairly low dose of Effexor/venlafaxine).

 

[Anonymous]

Curious George here again...

Thank you for responding J. I take 300 ml of Effexor daily in combination with some other meds as well, so I was curious as to why you stopped taking it. I had the same problem losing my insurance about 2, 3 years ago and had to wean myself off of it as well, so I know where you are coming from there! The Effexor doesn't effect me the way it effected you. Zoloft did effect me in very similar way to how you felt taking the Effexor in combination with other medications. Effexor seems to be the only med that really helps the severe depression I suffer without it, so as soon as I got persciption coverage, I started taking it again.

I too put on some extra weight taking it which definately is NOT a bonus, but, making choices & decisions... I guess I would rather have the extra pounds than have the hopelessness and other negative thoughts that come along with the depression.

Thanks again, J

 

[Anonymous]

You're welcome, Curious George.

This also goes to show how the same med can affect people drastically differently. Also known as: Your Mileage May Vary.