Quiting paxil cold turkey

Captain Ginyu said:

Paxil (Paroxetene) is never recommended to be stopped abruptly; withdrawal syndrome is caused by this. The symptoms are: dizziness, headache, nausea, sensory disturbances, tremor, anxiety, and dysphoria. While taking this medication already has some risk for suicide, making the decision to halt the medication immediately, is even more dangerous than taking it. Sorry for your loss, Weird.

Click to expand...

Did you copy and paste that or something?

The problem is that the lowest dose they make is 10mg! To not stop abruptly you need to go mega slow..but that is almost impossible to do accurately..they have a liquid version but it's very expensive even if you have health insurance.

Okay, let me make a quick disclamer here...I am not a doctor nor a healthcare professional. So please do not consider any of my discussion bonafide healthcare advice as such. It is for the people to always make sure they are well informed,(homework/research). I can, and I am always eager to help by pointing out what I already know. I actually study a lot with prescription meds. I get so very little down-time, I rarely am able to even visit ICMAG.

Now specifically, some of the info I obtained about Paxil is from an app I have, but it can be found by anyone with a pharmacology or a medication book, (the later the edition the better). Since I am guilty of plagiarising without crediting the source, you can find the info here: Pharmacology 8th Edition by Richard A. Lehne. You can also G**gle it, but watch the source.

10mg is usually the lowest given, but the lowest is actually 7.5mg. I didn't say this previously...Only about 20% people get withdrawal syndrome. So, in most cases nothing will happen. The chances of getting withdrawal syndrome are greatly increased if the person has been taking the medication for more than 10 years. 20% may seem low; after all, it is much lower than 100%. It is, however, still a significant number. I dare say that many people who are placed on this medication are not informed by their provider about the possible ramifications. Not all about Paxil is bad news. Unfortunately, I cannot recommmend any links, because I would violate TOU.

I don't know long a person who has been taking Paxil with a 10mg prescription in order to acurately tell them what they will experience if they stop the dose. I can only say that there are inherent risks. And depending on how the person can handle it, some precautions may need to be observed, especially if the person is in depression, and a suicide risk. In a scenario like that, the dollar signs are not even part of the equation!

Green Squall said:

The problem is that the lowest dose they make is 10mg! To not stop abruptly you need to go mega slow..but that is almost impossible to do accurately..they have a liquid version but it's very expensive even if you have health insurance.

Click to expand...

I have been there and done that. Us old folks know about pill cutters.



They're cheap too. Good luck with getting off the stuff.

I've never heard of a 7.5mg Paxil dose unless your talking about Brisdelle which is 7.5mg. It's basically Paroxetine with a different name being prescribed to women for hot flashes.

I also spent a lot of time on paxilprogress.org, before it was shutdown literally overnight, reading about peoples struggles getting off this poison. Definitely more than 20% go through the horrendous withdrawals, sometimes lasting more than a year. It was really sad.

Also, your totally right about health care providers not warning people about the ramifications. In most instances they are not even aware of how dangerous this drug can be. I talked to two doctors and a nurse practitioner at my medical place. All were absolutely clueless. I propose General Practitioners should be barred from prescribing this stuff. Leave it to the mental health professionals.

As for pill cutters...Not accurate. A lot of people have found success using milligram jewelers scales, weaning 10% every 4-6 weeks. That is a long, arduous process that is extremely hard on most people.

I am very passionate in warning people about the dangers of this drug. GlaxoSmithKline was actually fined 3 BILLION dollars a few years ago for being shady liars. Pushing the drug for off label uses and withholding safety data. They are no better than the drug cartels we hear so much about.

Ok that was my rant. Time to go smoke a well needed bowl. Stay safe my friends!

Totally agree with you about big-pharm. They have a COLOSSAL lobbying power, and with a flowing river of money. Sad thing is that 3 Billion made some rich people more wealthy, and is nowhere near to breaking their bank. And it isn't going to do a damned thing for any of those who were adversely affected.