![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Festus on September 8, 2003, at 22:23:08
What are the main side-effect/WD symptoms from stopping Paxil?My doc stopped the Paxil 5 days ago and put me right on Prozac.I have felt sickly,nauseous,tired,edgy.Is this the WD from Paxil or the Prozac side-effects?I,d like to try the method Cam was describing,where you go from an SSRI to Prozac,taking both for a week,then stopping the other med and staying on the Prozac 1 more week,then stopping it.I know right now,I,d just as soon hide under the bed for a week.Festus
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on September 9, 2003, at 12:19:49
In reply to Coming off Paxil:does the Prozac trick work?, posted by Festus on September 8, 2003, at 22:23:08
Paxil withdrawal, in my experience, tends to cause extreme malaise, anxiety, nausea, cognitive difficulties, problems with coordination (i.e. clumsiness), and of course those oh-so-annoying brain zaps. The withdrawal is described by many as consisting of flu-like symtpoms.
The switch to Prozac to avoid SSRI withdrawal is quite often very reliable, as it is eliminated from one's system at a much slower rate than Paxil. The effects you listed (i.e. feeling sickly, nauseus, tired, edgy) are most likely due to the Paxil withdrawal, though Prozac could also cause these symptoms.
One thing that may help ease the withdrawal even further is to talk with your psychiatrist about adding a benzodiazepine to calm your brain. If you already are taking one, perhaps a temporary dose increase would be in order.
Hang in there -- if you stick with the Prozac, I can almost guarantee you that the withdrawal will end up being pretty painless (once you get past this initial transition phase). It sure as hell beats the pants off discontinuing Paxil cold-turkey <shudders>!
Best of luck,
~~Michael
Posted by calaway on September 10, 2003, at 23:34:02
In reply to Coming off Paxil:does the Prozac trick work?, posted by Festus on September 8, 2003, at 22:23:08
Boy do I know how you feel. I was switching from Paxil to Effexor and my Doc felt that I should be able to just switch from one to the other. I was so sick, disoriented and ect, I thought it was the new effexor. I told the pharmasist where I was getting a prescription for my son at. She told me that no it was the withdrawls from the paxil. She told me to taper off over two week while also taking the effexor. I went home and took my regular dose that night (so by now I had skipped 2 days) With in 10 mins I felt like myself. I took a slightly smaller amount the next night(split with a pill splitter). The next day I didn't take it at all. Woke up not feeling great, but not horrible either. I took the Paxil that morning, felt great all day. Took it at night the next day once I started to feel the withdrawl symptoms comming on. Felt fine all the next day skipped that day and the next took it the third. I found by slightly pushing my body to increase the hours (not day at first) between doses I came off it very easily in two weeks. I was on 20mg and depending on your dosage if it is higher do it over three weeks. Listen to your body(your first withdrawl symptom should be a headache) and space out the doses.
Good luck.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.