Date:  Tue Jan 30, 2001 0:33am

Debs told me about this group; thanks Debs. I've got some questions 
and hope to glean good info here. 

I took Paxil for 6 years. An "ex-psych" told me to discontinue the 10 
mg. cold-turkey; she said I wouldn't have side effects because the 
dose is so small. Nine days later hell hit. I've dropped her, but 
have to deal with this.
I've been experiencing withdrawal 2 weeks. Tomorrow I see a different 
psych hoping to find out WHEN this withdrawal usually ends. I also 
hope to find out if, by withdrawing this quickly, I'm doing permanent 
damage to my nervous system. I'm seriously concerned about this and 
can find nothing addressing it.
I'm sure this psych will recommend I start back on a smaller dose of 
Paxil, and then gradually peter off over a period of months. Would 
anyone here feel this is a good option? If not, any ideas for other 
survival options? (I'm having a hard time surviving myself and I'm 
sure my family is going nuts!)
I'm still struggling with nausea and everything in sight makes me 
sick, especially my dog and my husband! (No joke) I appear to be sunk 
in the mire of Obsessive-Compulsive problems, meaning I go nuts if I 
touch a door knob. I absolutely feel very sick to my stomach at the 
thought of hugging my husband or petting my dog. 

Here's my question: did any of you feel this type of thing during 
your withdrawal from an SSRI? 

I once had problems with obsessive-compulsion (mild) and Paxil 
handled it. Now that I'm so quickly off of it, I'm concerned that my 
nervous system is screwed and I'm going to have worse problems than 
ever. 
I dread going to this psych tomorrow as I'm sure he's going to insist 
that I don't have to suffer, IF I'll just take some magic pill. I'm 
really angry with psychs right now and am in no mood to hear his 
condescending tone. If I could find several well-written articles 
answering my questions, I'd be content with that.

Is there anyone here who has a history of OCD, took Paxil, dropped 
it, and then CONQUERED the OCD withOUT using drugs???

Thanks for any input.  Just call me Zest. Hopefully I'll get some!

Zest
 
Date:  Tue Jan 30, 2001 2:04am

Response1: 
If you've been off Paxil for two weeks already, going back on it to ease the 
withdrawals will only prolong your hell.  I went cold turkey and was so sick 
that I listened to my pharmacist who told me to go back on, thereby 
prolonging my agony by another three months.  I guarantee you that your 
shrink past or present doesn't know as much about Paxil as we do.  How long 
will this last?  Who knows?  I weaned for three months, then was sick for a 
whole year, and the year after that.  Paxil is a horrible nasty drug.  It 
should come off the market before it destroys more people.  I don't know 
anything about OCD, but expect the weirdest things to happen to you. Only God 
knows what this drug really does to your brain.  The drug company ain't 
telling, and your doctor sure as hell doesn't know.  Do a computer seach on 
Inositol to treat OCD.  They had good results in test trials -- 12 grams a 
day is supposed to work really well.  Good luck.  Our prayers are with you.   
 
Trisha   

Date:  Tue Jan 30, 2001 2:57am

Response2:
Dear Zest, 
I have a couple questions- Did you start on the Paxil 6 years ago as a 
treatment for the OCD or did those symptoms develop while you were on Paxil 
for soething else?  I ask because my son developed mild OCD only after 
starting on Prozac (which is basically the same drug as Paxil).  Did you 
notice any other problems develop during the time you were on Paxil? 
As far as the withdrawal symptoms you are experiencing right now-they are 
very real and are not a return of symptoms indicating a need for the drug 
(other than basic addiction).
You may find it easier to get through the withdrawal period if you go back on 
and more gradually taper the dosage down.  I would recommend some excellent 
sites for well-written articles by doctors and researchers:  
www.drugawareness.org,  www.breggin.com, and Dr. Glenmullen's site- I don't 
know the address, but if you do a search on Glenmullen or Prozac Backlash you 
should find it.Good luck,

Patti

Date:  Tue Jan 30, 2001 1:21pm

Response3:
Hi Zest, My husband was cold turkied off Paxil (only took it 8 days) 
he would run from me and at one point he shoved me - hard....he 
wanted none of near him, we were his worst enemies. I raise birds and 
also have three big parrots, the sounds made him crazy, the dogs, 3 
poodles' barking at someone at the door would make him want to kill 
them, the sun shinning in the window as I turned a corner would hit 
him and he would moan and get angry at me for hurting his head. Oh 
yes, his head...he explained it like this "someone had put their hand 
inside his skull and grabbed hold of his brain from the back of his 
neck and squeezed, sending terrible pain all around his brain" he 
wanted  to die or at least go unconscious....yes, it is the sudden 
withdrawal. 
DO NOT GO ON LORAZEPAN (ativan), it is a Benzo - go to their egroup 
for Benzo, those people claim they have a much worse time than the 
users here, because the drugs are so addictive. I find that hard to 
imagine, but my husband has to go through withdrawal from both 
Serzone and later lorazepan.
Good luck and be strong,  

Joey

Date:  Wed Jan 31, 2001 9:15am

Response4:
Dear Zest, 
First of all here are some links for you to read. 

http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000825_SSRIwithdrawal_feature.html 
http://www.priory.com/psych/panes.htm 
http://paxil.bizland.com/transcript.htm 
http://members.fortunecity.com/siriusw/depression.htm 

You are definately not alone. Did you know that only a few years ago 
Pharmaceutical companies sold their SSRI's (like Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac) for 
having NO withdrawal reactions at all ? Did you also know that doctors believed
that SSRI's did NOT cause withdrawal reactions ? Yes it reached public 
attention only after many individuals reported these withdrawal symptoms over a
long (years) time period. So WE are the real guinea-pigs, nice to know isn't 
it ? 

Today, the Pharmaceutical companies renamed withdrawal for discontinuation 
syndrome, avoiding the negative connotations of the word withdrawal, well here 
you have a great lesson in how to mislead the public. 

I cannot believe why the doctors let you take this drug for that long because 
the don't know anything about long term side effects, the drug Paxil is 
approved for the market only after 6 weeks "clinical trial", you can ask Trisha 
for more info on this. 

You said that you absolutely feel very sick to your stomach at the 
thought of hugging your husband or petting your dog. 
Zest, this is all serotonin related. I remember that after my Prozac-attack I 
even did not feel my own body anymore, it felt like it was turned inside out, 
like all my inner nerves were on the outside. 

Your serotonergic system is an inhibiting system and because it is affected by 
Paxil it won't work properly in his actions anymore. So you must be feeling 
very uncomfortable right now with any human touch and I know that feeling and 
it's horrible but it will get better. 
Give it a few more months to find it's balance again. And one more thing, don't 
let any doctor try to convince you that you must take another drug. Don't trust 
them when it comes to SSRI's ! 

Take care, 

Charly