I initially thought my social anxiety disorder caused my blushing. Now I feel my blushing is about 90% physical and 10% mental (my father [sweating] and mother [crying], though not blushers, both seem to have some abnormality with their sympathetic nervous system). There has to be some mental component because it occurs in response to social cues (a feeling of vulnerability, no matter how insignificant, seems to be the trigger) but when I didn't blush I had no social anxiety disorder. Once the blushing returned my social anxiety disorder came back. But I admit it's a real chicken-and-egg-problem and I can't be sure of the ultimate cause(s).
Make sure you give it at least a month for its efficacy to ramp up. If it works partially, but not completely, see if you can up the dosage.
In my case, the blushing came back gradually. It first started happening only in the most stressful situations and then gradually started happening in the mundane situations. I did not blush at all for about five years. The first time I started blushing again was when I voluntarily spoke in front of my church's youth group (see
here for a longer story). I had to periodically up the dosage I was taking. It was after about 10 years that I found I was getting virtually no benefit from taking it and stopped.
Now, about a year and a half after I stopped taking it, I have started taking it again and have had success (but for how long?). I am taking it in conjunction with the L-methionine and calcium (can't hurt). A problem now is that, at 28, I face far fewer blushing situations than I did in high school and college. I'm not really sure if it would work if I did public speaking or dated. Maybe it is just working in the less stressful work situations I come across.
My hypothesis for why it works is that there is a chemical reaction in my brain that triggers the blushing (probably dealing with serotonin). Paxil somehow interrupts/diminishes this reaction and thus I don't blush. I will start blushing again when my body adapts to the effects of Paxil. If I stop taking Paxil my body will adapt back to its normal state. Re-starting Paxil will then work. I really need a second drug so that I can switch between drugs without a long period of enduring blushing.
I tried that same dosage after I stopped Paxil and it did not help me. I also tried other SSRIs after the Paxil and they did not work. I don't know if that was because my tolerance to Paxil made me tolerant to other SSRIs or if the other SSRIs would never have worked from the beginning. My point is that you shouldn't be afraid to try different SSRIs. However I think Paxil and Lexapro would be the first SSRIs to try. Other drugs to consider, based off of my own internet research, are benzodiazepines, MAOIs, clonidine, beta blockers, and anticholinergics. The last option, if life is unbearable and you're willing to take the risk, is ETS.
I also think you should keep taking the L-methionine and calcium at least to the six month mark. You seemed to have some success and it seems strange that the placebo effect was still working over a month after you started taking the supplements. Of course, I am speaking as an outside observer and you know your situation better than I do. If the blushing is really 100% back then you're probably right to stop taking it.
