Mental Health Coming Off Paroxetine (Paxil)

[OneEyedRonnie]

Hello, my friends.

I have recently come off Paxil after a 30 day taper. I decided to come off Paxil in favor of Wellbutrin because I have recently entered into a bit of a relationship with a very sweet lady that I think very highly of, and, well.. Paxil fucks up my sex drive. So, in case things were to get serious with said lady, I asked my doctor for alternatives to Paxil that would not effect my libido, and he suggested Wellbutrin and thus began my taper.

That was about 33 days ago. I have been completely off Paxil for 3 days. I have also been taking 300 mg of Wellbutrin over this period, the idea being that once I cut out the last 10 mg of Paxil, the Wellbutrin would have taken effect.

Except now I'm in a really bad place. I have been having INTENSE anxiety attacks in which I basically play out a bunch of disastrous "what if" scenarios in my head. The majority of these seem to involve people I love abandoning me (baggage). I also have brain zaps, nausea, and a very deep, dark and scary depression. I worked 12 hours today and I spent the vast majority of the time trying not to cry. When I got home I bawled my fucking eyes out, honestly. Not an easy thing for me to admit.

It's very scary because I can't picture it ever ending, and at the same time, I can't bear it. I cannot. I'm ready to throw in the towel and go back on Paxil, honestly, because I am going to end up in the psych ward at this rate. I'm not trying to be dramatic, that's just how I feel.

I'm not even sure why I created this thread, to be honest. I guess I partially just needed to vent. I was wondering if anybody out there had advice for dealing with discontinuation syndrome from SSRI's? I don't know if this feeling will go away, or if this is just the nature of my depression without an SSRI. I'm scared.

Thanks for letting me rant guys. I appreciate anyone that has read this mass of craziness and if anybody has any feedback or advice, that would be very welcome.

 

[jammin83]

how long were you on it?

sounds like classic SSRI withdrawal. Paxil is one of the harder ones to quit.

survivingantidepressants is a good resource. they would most likely recommend reinstating and a slow taper that would take at least six months. you would probably only have to reinstate a fraction of your original dose.

hang in there. quitting psych drugs can be a real bitch. most definitely withdrawal and will pass with enough time. not how you are. it can take years. Im 18 months in from antipsychotic withdrawal and still having symptoms. so yeah, it can take time. much longer than people think.

to add to that:

you should prob reinstate a small fraction of the original dose if you have any left. the longer you wait the less likely it is that reinstating will work. pushing through psych drug withdrawal is never a good idea. you aren't saving yourself any time and putting yourself through hell for no reason. it can make you worse and you can do more damage to yourself. you shouldn't ever feel the way that you are for very long. when you get severe symptoms like that, its bad news and you should try and treat that. you shouldn't ever let withdrawal symptoms get out of control for very long.

you probably have some decisions on your hands but you can suffer for a long time going basically cold turkey like you did. sometimes these things clear up pretty fast sometimes symptoms linger. some people are fucked off for years at a time and cant work etc. it can be pretty disrupting. take it easy and think pretty hard about reinstating and doing a slower taper. its prob your best shot right now.

 

[almostoptimistic]

That's a bizarre switch. I am assuming you were on Paxil for anxiety? Wellbutrin often causes anxiety itself, although it is effective when added TO an ssri to combat sexual side effects.

Paxil discontinuation is the worst. Cross tapering with prozac and then discontinuing prozac is how many get off. I would ask your doc for prozac.

 

[OneEyedRonnie]

jammin: I was on it for 4-5 years. I appreciate your advice, I will check out that forum. I'm also on my way to see my doctor before work; I'll get him to reinstate me on a "maintenance" dose if possible and take it from there. Thanks!

almost: It was for a combination of anxiety/depression, although I think anxiety was the main issue. Thanks for taking the time to read my thread and for your advice. I will bring that up to my doc!

 

[Cdkman]

My mother dropped Paxil because of the same issue u had..she started Wellbutrin and she had problems which she called "anger attacks' and crying spells.she described them as an endless thought loop that always resulted in a negative emotion..they went away after a while and she is doin great now..it will pass hopefully, good luck

 

[OneEyedRonnie]

^^ Man, I can relate to the crazy thought loops and crying spells. Just straight up obsessive thinking. I'm on a maintenance dose of 10 mg paroxetine now, and off the Wellbutrin (which was exacerbating my anxiety) and feeling 100% better. Also, at this low of a dose, my sex drive isn't completely gone. I will try to taper off the paroxetine again eventually, but for now I'm too fucking exhausted and just happy to be feeling better. That scared the shit out of me.

I appreciate your advice and good wishes guys! Means a lot to me. Cheers!

 

[jammin83]

Great news Ronnie! Im glad you are feeling better. :D

Give yourself some time to stabilize then head over to the SAD website when you are ready to taper. They are very informed about tapering medications. A slow taper will minimize your symptoms. Its never good for your brain or mind to get too far out there. It can get ugly so no more kamikaze tapers.

 

[OneEyedRonnie]

I have learned my lesson for sure! Honestly, on the mental side of things it was comparable to coming off d-amphetamine. Physically, it was much worse. I'm so relieved to be feeling better that it's almost like I'm on a bit of a 'pink cloud'. I've perused the forum a bit over at SAD and will definitely be using it as a resource when I'm ready to taper.

Thanks again!

 

[llama112]

I wish I had seen this sooner! I'm glad you are feeling better. Like others have said Wellbutrin is definitely not usually used for anxiety. Sometimes you have to really taper off the antidepressants. I was on Zoloft for a month and a half and the withdrawals were hell for a few weeks. Xanax helped get through them (NOT daily though, don't want to get a benzo addiction).
If I try another SSRI and decide to get off it, I'd definitely take a few days off work. Try to relax, remember to eat. Things like Pepto-Bismal for nausea and/or throwing up.

 

[OneEyedRonnie]

Thanks llama! I don't have easy access to benzos without going to a doc and feigning panic symptoms--but I don't like to do that anymore. I do have some phenibut coming in the mail but I plan on being extremely cautious with it (I've never tried it!). I appreciate the kind words and advice! I don't have a whole lot of support offline for this stuff. I don't even really relish the thought of admitting I'm on paxil because there is still a bit of a stigma associated with that sort of thing (unless that's just my anxiety ).

On a positive note--I'm feeling better, the weather is warming up here in Nova Scotia and I turn 32 next week! Good things ahead, for myself and us all, I hope. Thanks again, friends!