DO NOT stop taking Seroxat/Paroxetine/Paxil (or any SSRI/SNRI) without medical supervision. Withdrawal symptoms can start as soon as you miss a single dose and can go on for many months (years in my own case). Withdrawal symptoms can include akathesia, agitation, mania, psychosis, self harm, suicidal thoughts and actions, violence, fear of loud noises, electric zaps of the head and body, thoughts of homicide, profuse sweating, disturbing nightmares, lack of empathy toward other people, anger, severe memory loss, nausea.
It’s all too easy for withdrawal symptoms to be dismissed by doctors as your original illness returning – however, it is much more likely to actually be the SSRI causing the problems. There are places you can turn to for advice and understanding if your Doctor is unable to offer this.
Professor David Healy has written a new (June 2009) withdrawal protocol which you can download here – Healy_Withdrawal_june_09. You can print it out to take along to your Doctor if you need to.
There is a free e-book (pdf) available – The Paxil Withdrawal Guide, by Darcy Baston. Darcy is the founder of Paxil Progress, which is probably the best support site and forum in the world for people who want to know more about SSRI addiction or who need support and understanding with withdrawal problems.
Harvard psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen’s new book The Antidepressant Solution: A Step-by-Step Guide to Safely Overcoming Antidepressant Withdrawal, Dependence, and “Addiction,” can now be ordered online.
There is a short page on the MIND website about Seroxat Withdrawal which includes a link a withdrawal plan written by Professor David Healy – Halting SSRIs.
Dr Peter Breggin’s book – Your Drug May Be Your Problem: How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications can be ordered online. Dr Breggin has developed a program enabling “…patients to free themselves from psychiatric drugs, emphasizing throughout the importance for patients to keep control over the withdrawal process”.
If you have a sceptical Doctor then Dr. Breggin’s website might be required reading for him or her.
Label Me Sane is an organization designed to assist people with withdrawal and tapering from benzodiazepines, antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs. They offer a support hotline and have medical staff available for consultation.
Contact: www.labelmesane.com
The Road Back has designed withdrawal protocols for all types of psychiatric drugs and will assist with their side effects and tapering management with natural therapies, contact: www.theroadbackprogram.com.
Taper Safely is a non-profit organization dedicated to informing the public on the dangers of SSRI antidepressants, how to Taper Safely off of them under the care and guidance of MDs and professional practitioners, and other safe and natural alternatives. For assistance in finding an alternative MD and/or treatment program near you, contact: http://tapersafely.org
The Alternative to Meds Center located in San Francisco is an inpatient service based on an orthomolecular treatment model. If you prefer a medical detox center that helps people withdraw from psychiatric and other prescription medications, with assistance in tapering and rehabilitation using yoga, acupuncture, exercise, and nutrition contact: www.alternativetomedscenter.com
My own experience of withdrawal was a nightmare – all I can say is take it slow and use liquid Seroxat/Paxil.
Good luck – you’re not alone.
January 24, 2008 at 4:19 pm
This is a great list. I’m sure a lot of people will find it. It didn’t even occur to me in 2001 that there was any way to get off ssri’s without a medical person’s help and when my nurse just kept telling me I needed to stay on it longer, I thought my only choice was to go cold turkey. I’m so grateful I refused the Paxil because someone had said it gave him insomnia. Thank you so much for keeping this site up.
April 3, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Hi I am on my second week of withdrawal from 20 to 15 , I am halfing the thirty and i am feeling really aggitated and can not think straight, I had dropped from 30 to 20 and after about three weeks I felt a bit normal but since going down to 15 I dont know if i can stay like this my kids lifes are hell, I keep shouting a them, any ideas as to what would help. lynn
June 5, 2009 at 10:10 pm
I am so sorry I did not check back. I hope you are okay. If you have the money for therapy, schema therapy helps with agitation in general.
July 27, 2009 at 5:59 pm
HI ITS NOT GOING TO BE EASY FOR YOU. BUT IT WELL WORTH IT IN THE END. iM OFF SEROXAT 18 MONTHS. IN SEPTEMBER 2007 I MADE A DECISION TO WEAN MYSELF OFF THE MONSTER PILL SEROXAT, LITTLE DID I KNOW WHAT I WAS LETTING MYSELF IN FOR. I TOOK JST 4 MONTHS TO COME TOTALLY OFF THE DRUG THAT WAS A BAD DECISION THE MORE SLOWLY YOU DO IT THE BETTER. YOU MIGH BE EXPERIENCING HEAD SHOCKS NAUSEA SWEATING LIKE DYING OR THE TAKING OF YOUR OWN LIFE. THESE FEELINGS PASS BUT IT WILL TAKE MONTHS A LOT OF MONTHS. FAR BETTER THAN BEING A SERIOXAT SLAVE ALL OF YOUR LIFE. FAMILY AND FRIENDS SAY IM A MUCH NICER PERSON SINCE C OMING OFF THE DRUG. I STILL SUFFER SOME SIDE EFFECTS BUT IM IN A MUCH HAPPIER PLACE THAN THE 9 YEARS SPENT ON THAT DRUB. THEY DRUG COMPANY STOLE THOSE YEARS FROM ME AND FROM MY CHILDREN . SEE MY CHILDREN WERE AGED 9 AND 13 WHEN I STARTED ON IT NOW THEY ARE ALL GROWN UP MY SON HAS LEFT HOME AND MY DAUGHTER IS TURNING 21
May 24, 2010 at 8:10 am
Hello Julie,
I have just been looking at different sites re. Seroxat/Paxil withdrawal and found your comments helpful. I am in the process of withdrawing from this drug which unfortunately I have been taking for 19 years since the birth of my son. I have tried at least 4 times to withdraw and it has been impossible each time. The feelings in my head are terrible but am determined to finally withdraw this time in order to be placed on another anti-depressant if necessary.
So far I have managed to wean myself down to 10mg but my head feels as though it’s flying and I feel off balance but hopefully this isn’t going to last long. Next week I am going to start my 5mg dose daily.
Am I going to feel okay soon? How long will it take for these strange feelings in my head to disappear? I cannot understand why my GP every placed me on this drug because of my past history of attempted suicide attempts as well as being someone on the Autistic Spectrum. I am so angry like so many others.
Miranda
February 27, 2012 at 9:39 am
you are probably going too quickly. I go down 5 mg. once every 3 months. Then my body adjusts more smoothly. I know it seems like a long time to to drop only 5 mg. once every 3 months but I can guarantee its a lot easier for your body to handle every dosage drop by doing it this way. There will be less agitation this way but you have to be patient and not rush the weaning. Too many people want it all done over the course of a couple weeks. It took me a year to drop from 40 mg. paxil to 20 mg. and it was so easy. I have tried cold turkey and will never do that again.
Hope it all goes well for you.
May 18, 2008 at 8:00 am
[...] Seroxat/Paxil withdrawal help [...]
October 21, 2008 at 7:41 pm
this is the first time I have seen this forum. I came off seroxat cold turkey in 2001, neither my family or I understood the problems I had b4 or after. I did it alone and cold turkey. It was hell.
For anyone who reads this forum follow the advice offered, come off slowly get support.
7 yrs on I still get manic agressive homicidal dreams severe paranoia and I am totaly unable to emphasize with anyone. I want help but don’t know where to go maybe my mind is to screwed up to fix now cuz I quit the way I did. Don’t make my mistake, look at the advice offered here consider it it might just make the difference to save u from my fate
August 5, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Ian,
I am coming off seroxat and thank you for your advice. Don’t give yourself such a hard time, and you are able to empathise with people. You would’nt have posted your advice here if you were not.
All the best
November 19, 2008 at 2:06 am
I am on Seroxat at the moment, got to view this page because I couldn’t stand the nightmares I was experiencing right now and woke up trying to find a solution on the internet. To be honest it makes me really scared, I don’t know what is the meaning of having such vivid dreams, is it dangerous? When I tried to cut my dosage by half a tablet (as ordered by my doctor) I had terrible electric sesations in my head and body…
November 21, 2008 at 11:59 am
The vivid nightmares are totally seroxat related.
They can be very scary, it’s a mind-terror drug.
It should be banned.
October 29, 2010 at 11:04 am
N’importe quoi !
C terribles tous ces commentaires : le Deroxat est très utile alors pourquoi faire peur aux gens.
Moi je suis en train de me sevrer : je prenais 1 cpmé par jour depuis au moins 7 ou 8 ans ; et mon sevrage se passait bien : diminué d’un quart puis passée à 1/2 par jour mais j’ai eu des troubles quand passée à 0 cpmé : nausées et j’ai décidé de reprendre 1/2 tous les jours et d’essayer dans qqs temps de redescendre à 1/2 tous les deux jpurs.
October 29, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Bonne chance Sofia – tous ne sont pas aussi chanceux
November 26, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I am going “Cold Turkey” and this is my 5th week. It is a living nightmare, I cant discribe what hell i am going through. I have tried to take my own life is the very worst thing I have tried to do. My hubby and our 2 kids are also going through hell living with me and my manic mood swings, one monent i am ok the next i have an over whelming urge to sob, next i am just so so mad and aggresive it is just sheer hell on us all. I am dying of the heat one sec then freezin the next, i cant think stright i can just bring my self to eat, and me head is in bits, i have always got this swishy feeling going on ……….. After telling this to my doctor she then priscribed Valium and sleeping tablets!! I will not take those as i DO NOT want to get addicted to another drug to get of seroxat!! I fell like its just me , what can I do?
June 5, 2009 at 7:47 am
I have only ben without my seroxat for a few days as my shrink is away and forgot to tell me to get another prescription! I am currently experiencing the swishy electrical sensations that everyone has describles. You are definitely not alone. I am hoping the posts left here will help us all get off these drugs in the best way. Hang on in there
June 5, 2009 at 10:13 pm
I hope you are okay. If you are still suffering, maybe you can find a different doctor. I believe some people have had eventual success with a very, very slow taper down. Good luck. If you are better, please consider reporting your experience to the FDA.
December 31, 2008 at 3:07 am
It’s not just you Jenny, we all went through it and it is hell.
The only way is to warn others of the dangers of Seroxat.
Take care.
I Wish you the best, and I hope things ease for you soon.
January 2, 2009 at 12:34 am
I have been on Seroxat for about two years for mainly panic attacks. I have been advised by my doctor to switch straight from 40mg Seroxat to 50mg Sertraline tablets-leaving 24 hrs in between.
I did this 3 days ago and experience almost contstant ‘electric’ shocks especially when I move my head or eyes. Along with this I seem to be getting palpatations, nightmares and terrible hot and cold sweats. I have researched the ‘electric shocks’ and apparently they are called “Brain Shivers” and can last up to a month…great!!!!
I dont even know if the doctor is correct putting me straight on to my new medication as I thought it involved a week between cutting down the old meds and building up the new dose of meds.
Have been crying at everything alternating with a terrible temper…I only hope things get better.
The doctors need to tell people these effects of withdrawal so people arent stuck on the drug due to fear of the side effects when coming off it!!!
January 15, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I was on Seroxat for about four months up until and just after the death of my father in 2003. My doctor thought it a good idea at the time. Thanks doc.
I was in the London Fire Brigade for twenty years, during which time I have run into thousands of fires and other pretty dangerous incidents when every sane person was running out. Also, during my sixty years on this planet I have jumped out of planes, been stabbed, held prisoner, been in a couple of near fatal road accidents, abseiled down cliffs, been in a hurricane at sea, and many and various other experiences that were a little on the scary side.
Being on Seroxat was, without doubt, the most frightening experience I have ever had in my entire life.
Manifestations of its ‘side effects’ included homicidal and suicidal ideation; ‘electric’ shocks (I’ve had a few of those too: real ones. Seroxat provided the worst); nausea and vomiting for up to six hours at a stretch; paranoid delusions; being unable to walk – you name it. Oh, and I can’t forget the sheer terror of – I still don’t know. The horrors just used to just come out of nowhere. Truly dreadful. Oh, and tremors? If I needed a drink, I’d have to put an inch of water in a pint glass. It was that or spilling the lot.
How on earth did the manufacturers manage to get away with it? It is totally beyond me.
It took me about three months to get anywhere near ‘normal’.
My only advice regarding this demonic medication is 1/ don’t even think about taking it, and 2/ if you are taking it, reduce your dosage very, very gradually. Under medical supervision, of course. I hope that your own doctor is better than mine was. She just shrugged and looked at her watch. That was one of the times when the homicidal ideation crept in.
If you are a doctor and you are still prescribing it (It can’t still be available, can it?) then you deserve to be struck off.
And on that happy note, I wish anyone out there who is suffering now, or has suffered from it, the very best for a full recovery.
Cheers
John.
October 25, 2011 at 2:01 pm
hi john, i know its a while since you posted your comments about the anti-depressant. I have been on citalopram the sister of the drug for 3 months and have been off it for 19 weeks i have several withdrawal symptoms, the one that i am left with at the moment is a bit like anxiety, i can feel a strange feeling in my chest and throat, i have been told off several medics that the drug will be well out my system now! but is it the chemical change that the drug has caused. I was on seroxat 16 years ago and that was hell! Look forward to hearing from you. How long did it take you to get it out of your system
January 15, 2009 at 9:36 pm
My heart bleeds for the sufferers who’ve left their experiences.
I am not sure if protocol permits, but I would have no objection to anyone contacting me directly, in which case I’ll provide my email address.
I am an experienced counsellor, for what that’s worth (Samaritans), but my value would probably be in empathy. I’ve been there, done it; I have the Seroxat tee-shirt, the CD and the tattoo (Figuratively speaking of course).
In my experience, especially with situations like this, it’s good to talk, even if it’s an exchange of email.
I will await contact and permission by this site’s moderator before leaving my email address. However, if it’s deemed inappropriate to exchange mail, be of good cheer – you are not alone and recovery is possible. Just do it right. Trust me, it’ll be OK in the end.
Cheers (again)
John.
February 6, 2010 at 10:37 am
I have been taking 20mg seroxat for 13 yrs since my husband died suddenly.I have been coming off it gardually for 4 months and now on no seroxat,but i have never been in such a bad place.what can i do i feel so out od life and everything i want to feel better but dont want to go back on seroxat again
February 13, 2010 at 1:12 am
Hi Karen
I’ve recently just started coming off Seroxat the last week or so, and it is hard. The GP told me to halve the dose which to be honest was bad advice as the side effects were too much. So i have taken it upon myself to do 20mg then 15mg alternate days and the side effects are still pretty severe. I can only tell myself it’s physical and i will be fine in time. It’s totally doable, you can make it, my GP did warn me it can have a rebound effect when coming off it, so hang in there.
March 8, 2010 at 6:14 am
Going off Paxil has been horrible. My life is on hold, I have constant vertigo,nausea fatigue, flu like symptoms. Every day I think the next day will be better but it isn’t. How long can this last?
April 1, 2010 at 10:38 am
Hi John,
I too am a counsellor and have been taking Seroxat (20mg) for 13 yrs. I have decided to come off it and so have been told to reduce it slowly. I would really value talking or e-mailing you if this is possible
Kind regards
Amanda
April 16, 2010 at 8:18 am
Hey there, I have been taking seroxat for 5 yrs and have reduced from 40mg to 10mg but my most recent drop from 20 to 10 has been the worst so far. Nausea, giddiness, irrational thoughts and depressive symptoms. Last night the bad dreams started. Reading others peoples comments and experiences makes you realise that this is “normal” and that I am not getting depressed again, its seroxat that is causing the problems. That said the sensations are real nonetheless. I think we all need to support each other here, so if any of you want to contact me feel free to do so x
April 22, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Hi all,
I have been on Seroxat for over 2 years and have been weaning off for the past 6 months. I insisted that my doctor gave me the liquid version and have been reducing my dose by 1mg a week. This has been OK for me, although I am now down to 12mg from 30mg and am struggling a bit!! I spoke to 2 doctors who denied that there are any withdrawal symptoms at all, before this one gave me the liquid. I take a mixture of tablets and the liquid to make up my MGs. Please note that the liquid form is double the dose of the tablets, ie. 1mg of liquid is ‘worth’ 2mg of tablet, so I take a 10mg tablet plus 1mg of liquid to make up my 12 dose. I think that I will now reduce by just half a dose per week as am not feeling so good, with a lot more shocks, sickness and cramping shocks in my stomach.
Anyway, hope that helps you – the reduction for me has been bearable, so get some liquid (use a syringe for doseage) and do it really slowly
)
Good luck!!
Bridget
September 22, 2010 at 11:03 am
Hi Neighbor:
I am getting off Seroxat after 5 years, no more B.S. Withdrawal symbtoms are Killing me….I am lashing out at the wrong people, please help me… I took seroxat because I hurt the most beloved persons in my life (Wife and children)… I don’t know why I can turn from the most educated polite person to this monster in seconds.
My biggest FEAR is I will be back to square one, I will be back to that horrible life I used to live before Seroxat…..
My children are my life, how long these nighmares and this feeling of pity will last…. PLEASE TELL ME, anyone
March 28, 2011 at 10:03 am
Well it Happenned….
Here I am driving my kids crazy, in the verge of divorce after multiple affairs…
Nooooooooooooo, please God no…
I went to the pharmacy and got seroxat.. Took it yesterday, Sorry guys
March 29, 2011 at 6:28 pm
It’s not you – not the REAL you – it’s the Seroxat… how long have you been taking it?
March 28, 2011 at 10:14 am
Hi Kuwait
I don’t think a side effect of Seroxat is forcing you to have multiple affairs. Sure your sex drive comes back but you choose yourself what to do with that. And if you hate Seroxat so much why go back on it? There are other medications out there.
May 27, 2011 at 2:24 pm
hello iv been takeing this evil drug for fifteen years im trying to cm off it im down to 5mg and feel so ill iv never felt so scared will i get better please can u give me any advice thank u.
January 17, 2009 at 9:30 am
I have no idea what normal conventions are, but please by all means leave your email address, John.
I’m like you – I simply can’t believe that GPs still readily prescribe Seroxat (or any other other SSRI/SNRI) to their patients.
The reason I started this blog was to help people and spread information. If only doctors would listen to us.
June 16, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Dear Admin,
I am in a bit of a fix myself, Ive been on Paxil 20mg for around 4yrs, I was cutting doen a little by missing one days dose, and then had only 10mg on odd days. Did this for around 3-4 weeks. Think I have conceived had all the signs. My doctors told me prior to conceiving this drug is fine keep taking it 2 docs thats the worrying thing. If I had known all I know now I would never have let myself conceive. I was overjoyed with my partner now I am obsessivley on the net trying to find out. Now that I have cold turkeyed so to speak how will this affect my unborn?? I am handling so far and Im on day 4 of not having it.. something inside me feels extremely strong perhpas the thought of being pregnant is overriding it all. Yes im having some withdrawal symptoms dont get me wrong but I made a plan of action. Totally eating well, pampering myself mentally physically, stopped working, partner to be there for me, also going on my bike daily to build serotonin. I just need to know is whatim doing safe pls tell me? ?The sooner i know the better….because I may consider abortion if my unborn is at any risk from me suddenly stopping. Then start again….
August 22, 2011 at 2:37 am
I am trying to get off Paxil because we would like to have another child. However during my last pregnancy 5 years ago I took paxil the entire time. I was not told of any side effects to my baby. Now I see things on the TV about paxil babies with problems. However my son is a happy healthy 5 year old with no effects of the drug at all. We got lucky! I just hope I can get off this so we can try again. I am sure your baby will be fine too!
January 17, 2009 at 11:34 am
Thank you Admin.
I have a few more anecdotes: both my own experiences and those documented of others. I’ll perhaps include a couple of these (there’s a long list) in the next ‘message in a bottle’. They may have been covered before, but I think that this campaign, for that’s what it seems to be, needs all the support it can get.
Having googled SSRIs in general and Seroxat in particular, I find that they are still being prescribed. Incredible.
I have been prescribed SSRIs on two occasions: the first after a motorcycle accident – PTSD was the diagnosis); the second during my caring 24/7 for a cancer and alzhiemers suffering dad. Enter Seroxat.
Did I need SSRIs? I don’t think so. Did they do me any good whatsoever? A resounding NO.
At least with diazapines, despite them leaving you a bit of a zombie and not able to drive, they do their job (I’ve taken them on a short-term basis on three occasions in my life).
I’ve been taking a pretty strong codeine medication since the accident in 1995. This has side-effects, but it works for my complaint (chronic back pain), so that’s why I take it. Seroxat did me no good whatsoever. ‘Keep it up’ I was told. ‘It takes time to get into gear’ or words to that effect. It didn’t take long for my scent to become like that of a ‘wild animal’, according to those close to me; for my tongue to go white like the rind of Camembert; for me to drag someone out of their car for a perceived slight in heavy traffic. The list goes on. (This is the tip of the iceberg and I have whittled this entry down considerably – I have no wish to get either boring, long-winded or both).
And Seroxat? for what? For what improvement of my mental or physical state?: Zero.
When is the medical establishment going to conclude that the stuff which might have seemed like a good idea at the time is now clearly dangerous?
There have been other ‘miraculous’ treatments during the 20th century: Heroin? (Great for that chronic cough! Buy some now!), Radium? (Orally, of course, but pity about the radiation sickness and cancer), Cigarettes? (Get those lungs cleared! Settle your nerves! Look cool!). Benzodiazapines? (Keep taking them for as long as you want!); Tired? Listless? Fat? Hey, we have great new stuff! : Amphetamines! Pregnant? How about Thalidomide! (On sale and prescribed for SIX YEARS!) And before that: purging, bleeding, the application of leeches etc etc.
So, if you want to talk in confidence, here I am.
neighbour1@aol.com
However, if you want your experiences aired for others to see, just write in to this site and we’ll share . Sharing is, after all, the raison d’etre for this site, or so it would appear. It’s up to you. I can’t claim to be an expert in this field, but, as one of my own observations goes: the definition of an expert is anyone who knows more about a given subject than I do, especially if they have first-hand experience.
Anecdotal evidence is just that – anecdotal, until it becomes so well documented that it provides good evidence and constitutes a true study. I was a coroner’s officer for some time too – investigating sudden deaths, but I have to be more circumspect here. Suffice it to say that Seroxat occasionally reared its ugly head.
Seroxat victims, like atheists, are difficult to organise: similar to attempting to herd cats. But providing that there’s enough of us, perhaps we can make a lot of noise.
Cheers
John.
January 18, 2009 at 4:02 am
I sit here on my computer and can barely type. I’m so sick that I would pay to be inside someone else body right now. I hate the day I ever set foot in my previous Mental Health Facility, these people don’t care about prescribing these drugs to people, all they care about is the kick backs they get. With that being said I have being taking ” Paxil” the hell drug for over eight years and I’m determined to get this poision out of my system. All I can muster is hang in there.
January 30, 2009 at 3:13 pm
I am four days off 20mg doseage of Seroxat. After 8 months on this drug!! I ahve decided to come off it, because its doing nothing for me. I don’t really understand why I was prescribed it in the first place. The last 3 days have been bad. Awfull nightmares, I am now getting tight chest feelings, my eyes feel heavy and tired, buzzing in my head and flashes going off also. I am feeling sick also. I have read the above with inters espeicailly Neighbour and can concur that the idiotic stuff can make someone into a raving lunatic. I hope I have the courage to see this through. I was no angel 10 to 15 years ago and took my fair share of illegal drugs (coke and E), and had some pretty awfull come don days…but this at the moment is very scary and 50 times worse
September 22, 2010 at 11:22 am
Hey Sean:
You have desribed me to the teeth… I can’t believe we share this current situation ( I am four days off 20mg, but was on it for 5 years now, offcourse tried to quit 2 times and could not bare watching my family suffer my mood swings)….. Are you doing it cold turkey, I am doing almost cold turkey, I am just tired of it…. Tired of this pill that have controlled my life…. This time I will success, this time we will make it Sean. I will keep my promise, please keep yours.
January 31, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I have been off and on anti-d’s for over 12 years, every time I go to doc, he asks how I am feeling and despite me saying I am not depressed, just stressed and agitated, I knows when I am depressed!!! I always come away with anti-d’s. I came off mine 6 weeks ago (seroxat) after being back on for 4 months , the “electric shocks” is doing my head in, when will this pass?
I really, really do not want to go back to the doc as he will tell me to go back on them and I am not taking drugs that (a) do not help and (b) I don’t need them, only thing I want is some beta blockers, they help me!!!!!
J
x
February 1, 2009 at 4:10 pm
It is now 5 days cold turkey…the zaps are still zapping and I am visiting the loo a lot!!! loud noises do my head in…jumping out my skin BUT i am beggining to feel like i did before i satrted taking this seroxat crap. I feel human!!!! and i didnt have to take over an hour to orgasm today..much to my wifes relief lol. This drug must be take n off the market….1 week ago i wudnt even have the patience or inclination to even type this…thats what it does do you…makes you feel half arsed about everything…sat here been zapped but hey i have a smile on my face and the future is a future again …luv and best wishes to you all x
June 5, 2009 at 7:56 am
Thanks, Sean, for letting me know how you feel after just 5 days cold turkey …. and the fact it also affected your libido. I’ve been on this drug for 3 years, going up to a dose of 62.5 and now down to 20 … I so desperately want to get off them and am trying to go cold turkey … Thanks Carrie
February 8, 2009 at 3:01 am
Well I cannot believe that today I typed in search “zapping in head”, and found out its my Paxil..I thought I was slowly dying..I cant believe so many of you know about the brain zaps..They scared me so much..I couldnt explain it to anyone, and terrible headaches..my doctor made me go down on my Paxil about a month ago, and I never knew all this would happen..I am so glad to have found you all, too bad its such a terrible thing we all have in common.. Best of luck to you fellow zappers!
February 13, 2009 at 1:54 am
Glad to see that you guys have positive attitudes. That’s really important.
Attaboys!
Attagirls!
It will get better.
Neighbour.
February 15, 2009 at 11:29 am
I was slowly reducing seroxat after having been on it for 5 years. GP advised ‘ no withdrawal symptoms’ however when i got down to 10 mg and started getting shakes, hot flushes, nausea, angry, mood swings etc he said there can be some symptoms but they dont last more than a few days.I then found out i was 4 weeks pregnant and they cut me off from seroxat completely. GP advised that i would be fine after a few days and would just have to put up with it as it wont hurt me. I took last seroxat tablet on Tuesday and have been feeling worse an worse ever since. Yesterday i spent all day with shakes and hot burning fce so had a flannel on my head laying on the sofa, also felt to nauseous to eat. Today the shakes arent there but i am irrational and angry and cant focus on anything, even brushing my hair. I will be back to gp tomorrow, asking to see a gp who doesnt see mental health as ‘people making it up’ but would be grateful for any suggestions.
Zoe
February 22, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I have been taking Seroxat on and off since 1994. I am a recovering alcoholic (20 years of sobriety and counting) I have suffered with depression and anxiety all my life. Initially Seroxat helped these complaints, however over a period of time I realized I was losing interest and motivation in life itself. I stopped taking Seroxat completely in 1999 and went through hellish withdrawals for many years it was ridiculous but I persevered. I had blood shot eyes, sleep disorder, panic attacks, extreme confusion, impaired vision etc etc. I never seemed to recover and six years later due to an terrible life event I had a nervous breakdown (a bad one) I went to my Doctor and started taking Seroxat again. Now I am on 30mg of Seroxat and I dearly want my libido and lust for life back. Thank God I came across this page because no one understands anything about Seroxat (no Doctors etc) unless you have experienced it. Today 22/2/09 I have decided to start a detox. However this time I am going to take it real slow. I will go from 30mg to 26.15mg for a month and see how that goes then I will continue lowering my dosage. I was wondering, because of my anxiety would it be ok to take beta blockers in order to reduce my feelings of anxiety while I am withdrawing from Seroxat. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
JohnK
February 24, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I had some really vivid nightmares when I first went on the Paxil. But I was aware of it as a side-effect, and didn’t let it bother me. After awhile, they were just entertaining. Now, I’m going off the Paxil, and had one night of strange dreams, but that went away. Now I’m down to 10mg and am just really dizzy. Take it slow, if you’re going off, and drink lots of water! If you’re just going on Paxil….it does really help. It helped me immeasurably. But I’m done with it now.
March 9, 2009 at 4:11 am
I am going to try to go off Paxil after one or two previous tries. I have been on Paxil for close to ten years. When I first started taking it, I have to say that it did help me. I was in an anxious and stressed out place in my life, and Paxil lightened my mood and actually made me a more productive person.
However Paxil had drawbacks – I’m pretty sure it’s been giving me headaches and dizziness, caused me to gain weight and knocked my libido out of commission. So I’ve decided to go off.
This time I am going to go off with “The Road Back” program. I am wrapping up the pre-taper portion of this program and am about to start tapering off. Needless to say, I’m apprehensive – having suffered negative effects the previous times I’ve tried to quit Paxil – primarily headaches, dizziness and anxiety. Fortunately I have not experienced the brain zaps (knock on wood).
My question is, has anybody else used The Road Back program? It involves taking a number of supplements – vitamins, Omega 3, protein powder mixes, etc. It seems logical, but it’s not cheap.
March 16, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Dear Admin,
Thank you for your excellent website. I am now off Seroxat after six years. It took me about six months to reach this goal by slow tapering (very slowly) away from this demon drug. I am very well familiar with the withdrawal symptoms described so well by others who visited your site and left their comment.
I am now on my third week free from this drug. It feels like I have stepped out of a nightmare that is so hard to describe and is only understood by those who have been there. Even though I have reached this stage, I believe there is a long way still ahead. So fare I do experience good and bad days but they are nothing compared to the years while I was slaved to this demon Seroxat. I wonder how long it will be until the occasional black clouds that still linger vanish for ever.
Best wishes,
Leon
March 20, 2009 at 5:00 am
Hi,
You guys are all scaring the hell out of me.
I have just started on Seroxat 12.5mg last night, and was told by my doctor that I will not feel any side effects til like 10 days, which is when I was suppose to see him again.
I noticed that an hour after I took the pill, my whole brain became numb and I could no longer think of unhappy thoughts, and if I did try to bring an unhappy thought up, my brain will just automatically dismiss it. It feels as though I had no control over my brain… like… when you feel tispy from drinking alcohol
Which was good, I thought. But I found it strange cuz I was told I would not feel anything until 10 days.
Then, I got tried, and I couldn’t sleep. And when I finally did, I woke up five hours later with my brain being super hyper, and all the voices which took me 5 years to suppress came floating into my brain and it wouldn’t stop screaming. And I became hungry. I tried to sleep it off, and when I woke up 4 hours later, I feel extremely tired and unable to do anything. Even typing this letter takes a lot of effort. And I became hungry again.
I was prescribed Ritalin 10mg as well as I was finally diagnosed with ADHD (I finally KNOW what the hell is wrong with me, which is good) and it is said that Ritalin is suppose to cause insomnia and help with my focus, but I still feel extremely tired.
I am not sure if I want to stop Seroxat, because I am really, really depress and I have no idea how to deal with it any more. But I don’t want to go through this ‘cold turkey’ you guys are going through, as it will make my already miserable life more miserable. Is there any kind of drugs that is not as bad?
March 27, 2009 at 9:55 am
Dear Min,
i am going through my withdrawl phase. I took seroxat for several years (because of my BDD). In addition i have to take ritalin on workdays. I was very scared to get off the Seroxat. It took me really long to realize that Seroxat itself was my problem. Withdrawl is awfull, but not as bad as this compromise in tabletform! I think for people with ADHD its very imporatnt to get the right dose of ritalin. I am on Ritalin LA 30 mg/d and it works fine. It keeps me balanced and focussed all day without paralysing me. Some people have to take 5mg Ritalin every 3 hours, some 10mg every 4. Once you have got the right dose, most people wont need the antidepressant anyway. And please DO stay away form Strattera, its a total scam.
I hope your physician has told you that ritalin 10 mg wears off after 3-4 hours and you have to take a nother tablet after this time, otherwise you will be dealing with a rebound effect that can be mistaken for a depression.
There are other SSRIs that are less “addictive” like Effexor (Venlaflaxin), but i think you should find an ADHD sepcialist who really bothers to work with you on the right dosage regime.
good luck, and don’t forget, we people with ADHD can get depressed when nothing happens when life has no ups and downs and all the black and whites are replaced by eerie shades of grey. Well thats what seroxat and all its SSRI relatives do.There maybe times when all is black and grey is welcome but in the long run, the grey is most dangerous situation for a person with ADHD.
April 6, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Hi all.
I am going through the withdrawal phase from stopping paxil cold turkey. I have been on it about 4 months for social anxiety. It helped a great deal as far as the anxiety, only to my dismay I realized it was the reason for the 15 lb weight gain since I started taking it. I eat healthy foods, and exercise about 5 times a week. I should be losing, not gaining. I decided to go cold turkey because it seems whether you wean off or go cold you have the horrible withdrawal symptoms, so why prolong my agony.
Today is day 3. The first day I was great. No noticeable side effects. Yesterday, day 2, it all started. The swooshing feeling in my head, the electric zaps, the nausea and frequent urination. I couldn’t fall asleep, and when I finally would, within minutes I was waking up from horrible horrible nightmares. Today, day 3, It feels like I have the flu. My body aches and when I walk, it feels like I am going to fall over. I just want to stay in bed.
Does anyone have any suggestions on the relieving these symptoms at all? I am so desperate I will try anything.
April 11, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Dear Ann,
Your case is very similar to mine. I took Seroxat for 4 months to heal an acute depression resulting from staying in an awful country for 3 years.
I’m 35 and never had taken previously antidepressant medications. Although I had my share of clubbing in my 20s and did all sorts of recreational drugs, I’ve never experienced such debiliating withdrawal symptoms. It’s my 4th day since stopping my 20 mg regime (cold turkey) and the symptoms have started to improve . On my second day, I couldn’t get out of bed; and when I did, I trembled like a fish out of water. Now, I can fairly say that I regained control over my body. The zaps are the most bothering symptoms, but it seems that homeopathy (Nux Vomica and Ipeca) is helping get rid of nausea and abdominal cramps. In addition, I’m drinking lots of water and taking 2 strong multi-vitamins ,many minerals (Zinc , Magnesium and Calcium) and high doses of Motilium that seem to decrease the “zaps”.
I’m positive that the symptoms can be dealth. please note that most homeopaths believe that Nux can be effcetive in relieving many of the drugs withdrawal symptoms and I think it works. Anyhow, it’s not harmful.
Finally, I must say that I’m very happy for quitting this ugly drug.
April 17, 2009 at 9:27 am
Hi all! I am now on my 49th day off this drug. It has been a semi-rough ride so fare. I am interested to know if anyone has been through the following or similar experience after quitting the drug?
1. Currently I sleep well during the night without vivid dreams.
2. I feel alright between 0800 to 1400.
3. During the afternoon, I begin to feel light headed, occasional dizziness, headaches, cannot consecrate or focus on simple tasks.
I wonder every day how long these symptoms may last; Does anyone know?
Best wishes,
Leon
April 19, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Personally I think that Seroxat causes long term neurological damage and god knows what else..
April 22, 2009 at 1:17 pm
its 5 weeks now, after i ve stopped taking seroxat, I quit cold turkey and I am almost feeling fine now. (omg I am sooo glad I ve quit! hair, skin fingernails have suddenly gone lots better, i ve got lots more energy, cholesterol level dropped significantly,and i can eat like god knows what without putting on any weight….and the smells sounds music etc that i am suddenly able to notice again…its fabulous)
September 22, 2010 at 11:39 am
Good for you lilly
I am on my way, your story gives me hope, one week has past and waiting for the 5 weeks feeling you have talked about….. One thing I am noticing already, my sex drive is off the chart. Seroxat has supressed it for so long..what is up with that? have you had the same feeling?
April 26, 2009 at 12:59 pm
hi all very interesting comments i my self have been on seroxat for 5 years on and off i did manage to come off 60mg 2 years ago with great difficulty i hit another low period about 6 months ago and decided to go back on them again only on 20 mg what a nightmare! this time round the drug just made me totally distructive not caring about anything and drinking like a blue whale i strongly recommend anyone wishing to start this drug to totally dismiss the idea i am coming off this drug once and for all, i wish you all the love and happiness you could possibly want xxx
May 16, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I have been taking seroxat for 10 years(was carelessly prescribed them at the age of 13) and I have been trying to get off them for the last 2 weeks due to the fact that I have had to live with the severe side-effects of this drug for most of my life.A few years ago, I tried to come off them and I failed because of increased aggression and a pretty debilitating condition(paresthesia) caused by withdrawal. G.P’s constantly dismiss the withdrawal symptoms of seroxat as psychological(i.e. “it’s all in my head”)however, these symptoms are PHYSICAL (sensations of tingling/electric shock in the face and hands,muscle twitching,vertigo,distorted vision etc.) as well as psychological. I feel like I have been damned to an addiction which could have been avoided and lied to by the doctors and psychiatrists. This drug is supposed to treat deppression/panic attacks/suicidal thoughts yet, according to numerous articles relating to the drug, it CAUSES suicidal thoughts and self-harm.
Presently, I am taking less than 10mg in an effort to “ween” myself off them and the withdrawal seems to be mild so far(agressive tendancies have greatly increased though) however, I am very concerned about what kind of withdrawal I will experience when I stop completely(as previously mentioned,I failed at coming off them before and the withdrawal was absolute hell for me) I guess I’ll just have to be patient and wait and see.To everyone who is trying to come off this drug, unfortunately I don’t have any concrete advice(I wasn’t given any from my doctor.what a surprise:p) but I do say, don’t give up!Be determined and strong and firmly let your G.P know what you are going through. Withdrawal periods vary depending on how long you’ve been on paroxetine but eventually it will leave your system and you will feel like yourself again. Wishing you all the best(and sorry for going on about it.Just had to vent a bit)
Thanks.
May 26, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I was on Paxil for 10 years also, from the time I was 10. I was vomiting at that young age a lot due to that I had just moved to England and the language was very diffficult, so the doctors gave me 40mg of Paxil. (Called Seroxat) Since then I had moved away from England and now live in America, where I am given the Paxil under the name Paroxetine. I recently decided to quit the Paxil, and weaned myself off of it for two months, and then quitting for good 5 weeks ago.
Weaning did not help once I quit cold turkey. I am still vomiting every day, 5 weeks later. I have been hospitalised and very ill. I am unable to work or go to school and it is severely debilitating.
No one should ever start taking Paxil at a young age. I myself became a zombi and I could not judge right and wrong in the most logical fashion. I am not ashamed of my youth, I am ashamed of the system and what they allowed to happen to us.
I decided to post my story because the person above me not only had my name, but a very similar time frame!
June 1, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Hi All
Thank goodness I found this website. Been on seroxat for over 6 years for ocd – mainly unsupervised, except the first few months!
Saw a psychiatrist recently who wants to see what i’m like off them. I instantly switched, under his advice, to prozac for 1 month. The last week i went down to every other day. Now I’m two months without anything. I’m in AA and today i’m 5 months off alcohol and recreational drugs too. And so now I’m two weeks off anything.
I don’t feel like the seroxat actually helped with my ocd. Since coming off it, my ocd has remained the same……..
However, mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares, guilty feelings, shame, fear, anger…….where did all that come from?! From not taking one little pill?!
Grrrrr. I’m so annoyed I ever took it in the first place. My ocd is as manageable as it ever was, but now I have all this other stuff to cope with.
Hating my life as i type. But i guess I better get back to work before someone comes over, sees me on here and maybe fires me for it! (See my projection and disaster-prediction?!)
I feel ever so slightly better though that I may not be alone with all this. I just don’t get how my moods and feelings can change within literally seconds. It’s a total nightmare………
July 7, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I have been on Paxil for approximately 10 years. I’m 42. Each symptom I aquired over the years were met with yet another drug to counter act the side effects. I have been across the country searching out specialists for chronic fatigue help. Thinking that there was really something wrong with me. All Blood tests were normal, I was normal mentally and physically. But why was I so tired. So so tired. I could barely take my kids to school. It was a game in our car, I’d put my head down at stop lights, and the kids would tell me when the lights turned green. I’d have to skip work, and go back to bed to sleep the day away as well as the night. I’ve been thru narcolepsy sleep studies, I’ve been thru all the studies even tried accupuncture. Everything comes up negative and no help. Everyone attributes it to raising 4 girls (16,14,9, and 7) and running my husbands business and the household and perhaps now I’m experiencing perimenopausal symptoms. But still I ask, despite my busy life, I still shouldn’t feel this way and want to sleep my life away. So now I’ve been given adderall to give me go-go juice for the day. And then Lunesta at night for the insomnia. What is perplexing to me, is that no Doctor ever said, Susan, your serious fatigue, memory loss, insomnia is really from your Paxil usage, and we need to get you off of this. You know, Paxil was a great drug for the time I needed it. It allowed me to settle down my mood swings and refocus and stabalize my thinking. But now that it is time to get off this drug: Myself, My family, my staff and all those who cross my once humble and christian path will feel like they are meeting satan himself. I am so concerned about this withdrawl, but I have to do this, the long term side effects have now outweighed any benefits of the drug. I swear if I did not work for my husband I would have been fired by now.
Doctors now want to do a brain scan because I have noticed a severe memory downturn. I blew him off, and will not. I will go with the obvious. Get off the paxil.
July 12, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Hi Susan, great to hear from you and people alike, i HAve been on seroxat for nearly 10 years @20mg per day, and now down to 4mg liquid but having terrible side effects, Im too constantly tired and have n oenergy , memory is terrible and im confused and can not concentrate. Can you tell me does the Adderall help you in anyway ? are there any side effects as I may consider this a option ? Would love yo hear from you ?
Andy
July 21, 2009 at 10:32 pm
This is my first time on a website like this, so I don’t know if I’m doing this right or not. I was prescribed Paxil, 30mgs, 11 years ago by my RHEUMATOLOGIST for treatment of Fibromyalgia. I did not want to go on a anti-depressant & didn’t think I needed one. I was not even thinking of them as any kind of treatment. They never entered my mind. However, my Dr. insisted this was a treatment to help me deal with the constant pain of the fibro. To my surprise, it did help. There was an adjustment period which I did not like, but he insisted I needed to give it some time. Sure enough, I did do a little better. It’s now been 11 years & I decided I wanted to come off it because I was getting concerned about the longterm side effects. I was developing other symptoms fairly recently of other problems & I thought it was a good time to stop & see if these other symptoms were related. I moved and now have a new dr. who started tapering me from the 30mgs to 20mgs for one week & then 10mgs for one week. It’s now been one week of none. The first 3 days were fine–then I got hit BAD. I have been crying-heavy crying-for 5 days now. Extremely nauseated, then dizzy like crazy; sweats & feel so hot I think I’m gonna freak out. Then I’m so cold. Emotionally, I wish I was never born! I can’t, or won’t, even write what my thoughts have been. The Anger & Rage is really frightening. The hate & disgust I feel for certain things & then the hate & disgust I feel for myself for feeling like this is just soooo confusing!!!. Heart palpitations, shaking inside, generally, the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. I want to be off this med. I need to know how long this is going to last & what I can do to help myself. Please, if anyone can help me, please write me, please.
July 25, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Kathleen, stay in touch with this site and get in touch directly with me if you so wish. You are not alone and there’s help out there/here.
neighbour1@aol.com
Cheers
John.
July 24, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Hi. I’ve been on Paroxetene for about 4 years. The reason was after I had 2 panic attacks in 2 weeks ending up in ER both times. Never had one in my life. I started at 30 mg and varied dosages. Over the last year or so I was reduced to 10 mg. Dr. always said he didn’t think I’d need to be on forever. I probably had 2 attacks after that during the 4 years. I had no intention of quitting right now. Actually it was prompted by running out, calling pharmacy and then needing dr. authorization. After about 2 days of no refill..I went in for emergency refill..they gave me 3 tablets. I took ONE…then lost the other 2!!!! I thought I’d be OK as the dr. would probably refill. WRONG…about 6 days later I was told RX was ready. By that time I was in full fledge w/d mode! I’ve been reading forum after forum and see the symptoms for paxil w/d are all common and I’ve got most of them! Exception: the brain zaps (Thank God). But I’m scared to death I’ll get them. Sounds like I’d know! But I do have a constant buzzing..main symptom of bother..extreme dizziness, bad, vivid dreams, feeling hot, mood swings, anger, muscle aches..lovely!!!! I had my physical a few days ago with dr. and he said since I had been through the “worst” of it and I was already on only 10 mg, we’d just leave me off. I called my homeopathic chiropractor who is my true go to guy. He diagnosed me a couple of years ago with adrenal exhaustion and through supplements made me feel like a new woman (with exception of improving libido from paxil)!! I saw him yesterday and he gave me St. Basil’s supplements (for anxiety/mood) and a 5HTP supplement (to take before bedtime..basically a form of serotonin…said it would help with the sleep/dreams). He said “a couple of weeks” is not right…he said w/d is more like 3-6 months for many. I pray that these supplements help as I feel like my boys think an alien kidnapped their mother’s body!! A mean one! I am going to try to drink the water and exercise (which I’m not great at). I’ll post on how the supplements work!!! Good luck to all of you!!!!
July 25, 2009 at 12:42 am
Dear Andy,
The Adderall has given me my life back for the most part. Without it, I would not have any life. I have the energy to enjoy my hobbies and drive long distances to visit family. Not to mention, I have been able to concentrate at work and get things done. I experience little to no side effects. Occasional headaches, but nothing that a couple ibuprophen can’t take care of. My gosh, that is terrible to be on such a low dose and feel that way. I will say, when I avoid sugar and eat mainly fruits and veggies, I feel better. No fast food what so ever. The adderall also gives me energy to go for a 20 minute walk. Diet and Excerise is key. It’s the thing we all hate to do, but feel so much better when I comply. There have been a few days a week, where I can muster thru without the adderall. I attribute that to diet and walking. Hope this helps.
July 25, 2009 at 10:47 am
I just got about three message alerts, indicating that someone else (three, actually), had just added their comments and observations about this demon drug. Is there ANYONE out there who has actually benifited from this stuff? I have yet to see one, single person. So, if yo’ve benifited from it, then come on down and tell us! Are doctors really so closed-minded and in the thrall, financial or otherwise of Big Pharm that they continue to serve out this stuff as though it was aspirin? The mind boggles. To recap: I was on it for about six months during the slow death of my father, who I was caring for. It took me a while to get over it, but I’m more or less OK now. That was six years ago, but I’m not altogether sure if I’m actually back to ‘normal’, as I have no control ‘Identical Twin’ with whom to compare. I am truly amazed that it’s still being prescribed. I have jumped out of planes, sailed through a hurricane at sea, had a gun held to my head. I’ve been stabbed, shot at, clubbed and cut; I’ve run into thousands of fires (ex London Firefighter) and been in many near-death experiences. However, my experiences on Seroxat/Paroxitine/Paxil were the most frightening of my life. Note that it has, like a dangerous criminal, many AKAs. Perhaps we should gather strength from each other, and acting as one, sue the arse of the bastards who make it. Just a thought. But, brothers and sisters, in the meantime, if you’re going to quit, then DO NOT cold turkey! Softly softyly catchee monkey. Wean yourself off it very, very slowly and gradually. Think of yourselves as very slowly surfacing scuba divers and come up real sloooooooow, to avoid the ‘Bends’ of Seroxat madness. You can do it. If you want to talk, albeit through email, then you can email me direct as a long-distance shoulder to cry on. None of us wanted to get to this stage in life and have to rely on Stoicism, but it has to be done with this one. Cheers. John in London (and now a free man!)
October 3, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Hi john, well hell it has been , been on seroxat for 5 years managed with it as you do!
Then i started to come of it, 2omgs down to 5 mgs after 5 weeks and then stoped.
Big misstake i am having a hell of a time dealing with my emotions i feel weepy ,sad ,alone ,and iam so angry at people and that does hurt.
Iam looking for some help please , how long will i feel like this ?
i do not whont to go back to seroxat .
Jack
July 25, 2009 at 10:50 am
Oh, and re my last post
neighbour1@aol.com
Contact me directly if you feel yourself on the edge. And despite my being a devout atheist – God bless this site and those who started it. Thank you for telling us all that we are not alone.
July 27, 2009 at 7:47 am
A BIT OF HOPE…..
So sorry to hear all the recent stories since my post. I just wanted to give a little hope.
I was on seroxat (paroxetine) for 6 years almost totally unsupervised. The I saw a psychiatrist who switched me 3 months ago to prozac – no “changeover” period. Then I stopped prozac after a month, so I’m now two months without anything.
It was hard at first, which is when I found this page. I had many of the symptons you describe. I was originally on it for OCD and my OCD started coming back.
Depression, suicidal thoughts, mood swings, intrusive and obsessive thoughts, compulsive behaviour, fatigue, nightmares……
I didn’t want to go back on it. And I didn’t want to stay where I was. So I just tried to discipline myself. I got to the gym – at least 4 times a week. I made sure I did exercise on other days such as walking at least half an hour. I kept in touch with friends on a daily basis. I started getting to work early as I feel more productive in the mornings. I forced myself to try and have a balanced diet and eat three square meals.
With all the things going on in my head, all the practical stuff seemed like a waste of time at first. But I’m sure it has helped. I feel like things are changing for the better on a daily basis. It is hard at times, but not as hard as the initial period, which has to be progress.
I am prone to mental disorders, i know that. So I know I won’t ever be like a “normal” person…….whatever that is, if it exists!
But I do know that at least now I am me, or I’m trying to be me and find out who me is. I wish I was never on seroxat, but then I can’t look back to the past cos I can’t change it. I turned 27 yesterday and this week I’ll be 7 months clean and sober (a day at a time). So I’m just trying to keep it in the day and be good to myself.
If anyone wants to email chat, feel free.
Jonny
xx
July 27, 2009 at 12:47 pm
sorry to disturb… i jus came back after seein the psychiatrist.. i was prescribed seroxat CR 12.5mg daily for my panic attacks and rather poor control of unhappy thoughts… the doctor told it was a very low dose..not much of side effects will be experienced… conveniently failed to explain of possible withdawal symptoms.. infact he told me to trust him and i will feel much better… now im holdin the med in my hands…wondering whether its goin to be worth it… IS IT?
im really sorry about all u guys who had to go thru this hell.. no one deserves such pain and suffering… really sorry pls do take care..
August 11, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I seem to be having a very different experience than some other people here. I ran out of my Paxil prescription around the end of June and figured I might as well get off it then. I quit cold turkey (I realize now that was a bad idea), and for the first month was fine. It’s been about six weeks now, and for the past couple weeks it’s been horrible. I can deal with the nightmares and vivid dreams, but I’ve had the out-of-body feeling and my mood swings are very intense – I get angry very quickly and frequently feel like crying. Today I got frustrated over something that should be minor and sobbed for about 15 minutes.
My question is, since I’ve now been off Paxil for around 6 weeks but am experiencing these awful symptoms, should i go back on it and wean myself gradually? I’d rather not do that, but if it’s the only solution to addressing these hellish side effects, I feel I might have to.
Can anybody offer advice, please? I feel like I’m going out of my mind and am having thoughts of suicide.
August 16, 2009 at 7:20 am
DLB,
I was on 40mg of Paxil for a few years and quit cold turkey. I started up again when I had serious anxiety problems about a month later. I then weaned myself down to 15mg per day and stayed there for about a year. I quit totally about 6 weeks ago. I have the head zaps now, and vivid dreams, but otherwise I feel great. I would recommend going back on and weaning off slowly. It worked for me.
Good luck and God bless. If you are having suicidal thoughts I urge you to cut down slowly. Please know that you are not alone and you will and can get through this.
August 25, 2009 at 7:13 pm
HI, DELIGHTED TO HAVE FOUND THIS WEB SITE, ABOUT 20 YEA RS AGO I WAS PRESCRIBED SEROXAT AS I WAS HAVING A LOT OF PANIC ATTACKS AND BECAUSE OF THEM I WAS ALSO VERY DEPRESSED, IT TOOK AWHILE FOR THEM TO WORK BUT EVENTUALLY I STARTED TO FEEL A BIT BETTER , ALSO I WENT FOR THERAPY, BUT ANYWAY MY POINT IS THAT UP TO A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I WAS TAKING THESE REGULARY THEN STARTED MISSING DAYS HERE AND THERE BUT FELT OK, OR AT LEAST THOUGHT I DID, THEN I HAD A COUGH THAT I COULDNT GET RID OF AND WAS PUT ON STEROIDS AND CODINE AND FELT JUST DREADFUL, THOUGHT I WAS DYING, OR WOULD POSSIBLY HARM MYSELF, SO I DECIDED TO DO A BIT OF A DETOX, SO FROM 10PM ON A TUESDAY NIGHT UNTIL 3AM ON THURSDAY THE ONLY THING I PUT IN MY BODY WAS WATER, NO FOOD, NO TABLETS, AND AFTER THOSE COUPLE OF DAYS I FELT WONDERFUL, BETTER THAN I HAD IN AGES, REALLY ALIVE, FOR A FEW MONTHS I FELT WELL, BUT THEN A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO I STARTED TO FEEL A BIT DEPRESSED AGAIN AND DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO, MY SISTER IS TAKING VITAMIN B AND I FOUND FROM RESEARCH THAT ITS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SO I HAVE STARTED TO TAKE VITAMIN B COMPLEX, ITS ONLY BEEN TWO WEEKS BUT ACTUALLY THINK I AM A LITTLE BETTER, I HAD GOT TO THE STAGE WHERE I WONDERED WOULD I GO BACK ON SEROXAT, BUT AFTER READING ALL THESE STORIES I AM SO GLAD THAT I HAVENT GONE BACK ON THEM, AND NEVER SAY NEVER BUT REALLY HOPE THAT I DONT RESORT TO GOING BACK TO THEM AFTER READING ALL OF THESE STORIES, AND WITH THE HELP OF GOD THE VITAMINS WILL HELP. HOPE ALL OF YE SUFFERING WILL GET BETTER. REGARDS CATHERINE
August 30, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Hi All,
Was on 20mg of Seroxat/Paxil for about 3 months in order to assist with work related anxiety attacks. Have never been one for taking any type of tablets and therefore decided to come off and reduced the dose to 10mg for a week and have now been off for a week. Like many, I was prompted to search the web in order to find an answer to how long the side effects would last. The descriptions of other ‘sufferers’ are uncanny, especially the dizziness, ‘electric’ shock sensations in the head during eye and head movement, sweats and the bad dreams. So, given the relatively short period of time that I was on these, what is the estimated time for the side effects to subside? Surely with healthy eating, plenty of excercise and fluids these chemicals should be out of my system within say two weeks? Anything longer than this can only be as a result of damage caused by the chemicals? Would greatly appreciate your constructive thoughts. Thanks. P
August 31, 2009 at 10:18 am
Hi everyone…I’m currently on my second week of reducing seroxat 20mg down to 10mg. Its been mental!
I’ve had >headshocks >headaches > sleep disturbances >wierd dreams (not nightmares yet tho) >bad mood swings from sad & emotional to raging anger >tierdness >nausea.
Its been difficult, and glad i’m doing this, however am putting everyone through hell. Work has been very hard, I’ve been losing my rag everyday, and thats not me!!!
October 12, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I have bee on 30 mg of Paxil for over 2 years now. At first I thought this to be a mircle drug. It did help. But as they up’ed and up’ed the dosages to finally hitting 30 mg, it came clear to me that I had a ball and chain drug. Not only that how fair can you go on this drug??? Um I think I will stick it out without it. Been 2 weeks now, and I am in worse shape than when I started taking this poison. I feel worse than a detoxing drug addict. What the hell is wrong with this doctors that prescribe these pills from hell. I have always had little faith in doctors, and now I have none. I wish you all well. If you are a new user of any SSRI/SNRI I recommend you think twice. If you are coming off them, remember to just breath (alot) and take time to relax if you can, cause it is a hellish rollercoaster you have just lauched and it is hrd to say when the ride will end. Fasten your seatbealt tight. Really tight.
November 19, 2009 at 1:33 am
I have now been on seroxat 20 mg for 6 years now and have never felt right from day one. I have had weight gain , erection problems ,sweating,nightmares you name it ive had them. I told the doctor i wanted to come off and dropped the dose from 20mg to 15mg . I am starting to feel some life come back into my penis but its still not right . (This drug blows viagra out of the water so i wasted money there) . My next move is down to 10mg followed by 5mg liquid which is the way my doctor has told me to follow. Touch wood i seem to be coping at the moment and i am determined to get off these forever . Good luck to all of you and i will keep posting along the way to let you know how things are going .
February 8, 2010 at 10:19 am
Hi Ronny, you know obviously I don’t have the erection issue being a woman but I do have sexual dysfunction (quoting the side effects here) and really I guess since I’ve been on them totally gone off sex since I can’t orgasm, sorry if that’s too graphic. I have also had the same side effects as you, weight gain, sweating, nightmares etc, not that I’m denying the fact that they haven’t helped me but I’m also just starting to withdraw and I was so happy to see your post. The fact you are coping makes me feel better and cross fingers I will too! Hope you are still ok!
November 19, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Be careful Ronny – you might be going too fast there…
I had to go much slower and got onto the liquid as soon as I could.
December 22, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Thankyou for creating this site. I’ve taken seroxat for 4 years now after suffering from clinical depression and anxiety panic attacks. Still trying to come off, even with help of a alternative medicine doctor. Currently taking natural supplements to re-establish all my neurotransmitter including serotonin after doing a neurotransmitters test. Serotonin, GABA, Dopamine etc were low. Taking a bunch of supplements cant get out of Seroxat though. Suffering anxiety and a lot of dizziness, cant function. Bad news.
February 8, 2010 at 10:16 am
Hi, I have been on Seroxat for 18 months (20mg) for severe anxiety and panic attacks. They’ve done their job and I have been feeling good with only the occasional panics. However I have gained weight and suffered these very vivid dreams and night sweats so decided the time was right to come off them. In the past I have gone cold turkey and had to return to them so this time thought I would be sensible and lower the dose slowly under the watchful eye of my doc. She has told me to take 20/10mg on alternate days but after reading this I think i’ll self m edicate and do 20/15 alternate days for a while. Yesterday I took my first 10mg and woke up today feeling totally spaced out, heavy tired eyes, depressed and weepy. I am determined to do it but I’m totally terrified of what the future holds. One of my greatest fears is feeling that anxiety which I originally took Seroxat for, but can’t stay on them forever I guess!
February 13, 2010 at 8:50 am
may doctor prescribed SEROXAT 10 mg daily for premature ejaculation treatment for 2 months… today is the first day …
Please Advice shall i start taking it ?
ahmad4@gmail.com
February 14, 2010 at 11:07 am
No do not start taking it. It will be of no help. I have been on it for 12 years. 2 weeks agoI cut my 40mg dose down to 20mg for a week. Then decided to go cold turkey for a week. The doctor gave me venlafaxine to switch to but haven’t taken it yet as i’m not sure if that is good advice. Feel all the symptoms mentioned by others and don’t know what to do?
February 16, 2010 at 10:32 pm
I reccomend not taking it, sure it would help with the issue but to be honest the side effects aren’t worth it. I’m at the moment trying to come off a 20mg dose and after 3 weeks can manage 15mg but still having withdrawel symptoms.
February 17, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Hey again people. I’m on my 3rd day of 15mg and could really do with some pep talk. I am in a word feeling numb, depressed, feeling like crying at everything, no get up and go, sitting staring into space and sometiems losing my temper at nothing, screaming and shouting. I don’t want to feel like this for day after day and need some assurance that eventually this will go!
February 17, 2010 at 8:15 pm
just as the seasons change i am sure your emotions will subside, a brave step you have taken , winter gives way to spring, and summer is yet to come you will be in full bloom in may what a very courageous person you are just as the chick flys fom the nest it soars to new heights only made possible from the courage to jump x
February 18, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Hi Louise
You will get better – how much did you drop down from to get to 15mgs? You really need to take it sloooowly.
Once you’ve stabilised at 15mg – and give it a real long time to feel OK – then I suggest you drop by 10%, so only reduce by 1.5mgs then wait to fell OK before the next drop.
There are loads out here who been through what you’re going though now – there is light at the end of the tunnel, but please take it slow and talk to your Doctor if you need to.
Good luck.
February 18, 2010 at 8:40 pm
I dropped from 20mg to 15. The doc told me to take 10mg but I couldn’t see the logic in that. I’m considering going back and asking for the liquid form so I can withdraw more slowly, cos I can’t take any more days like that. I was either depressed for like a wild animal with my mood swings.
February 19, 2010 at 7:38 am
Liquid would be good – it’s what I used. It is the only way to reduce by the 10% amount.
Some people can come off Seroxat more easily than others, there’s no one size fits all answer. It seems you’re having trouble the way I did – and it took me almost 2 years to reduce and stop taking it.
Take it easy – don’t put a time limit on things, just know you’re moving forward albeit slowly!
February 19, 2010 at 7:43 am
I just re-read your comments Louise – that Doc who suggested alternate days on 20/10 should read all the up to date info on Seroxat withdrawal.
The alternate day thing is crap – possibly dangerous even.
ARGHHHHHHHH – when will they learn?????
March 3, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Good evening.
I have been on Seroxat 20 mg or 10ml for the liquid form for ten years, and it worked wonder for my severe anxiety attacks, irrational fears and depression. I put on 30 kilos, not so good. Tried to lose the weight but no luck. At 46 now I decided to get Seroxat out of my system after reading about the put on weight side effect and how dangerous that drug is.
My first attempt has been a disaster with a GP giving a plan for a week. from 20mg to 0 in one week. I got so sick after 3 days that I had to call a friend to help.
That’s when I started to do some research and I discovered that what I thought was a miracle pill is actually a monster one.
So went back to Seroxat, changed GP and started to come off again with the liquid form over a 4 months plan.
Thanks to this help and website, I managed to adapt the plan.
It is now March and I am on 3.5 ml.
Up until the 3rd week of february I was fine or so I thought.
Before that I experienced the weeping and mood swings, and the tiredness.
But last week, I completely cracked up while I was visiting my family back home.
I cried so much, all the panick and anxiety attacks came back, fears, thoughts etc, all at once non stop, so much that I had to come back a day earlier from my trip to be able to see my GP before returning to work which is temporary with a view to permanent position.
Of course I don’t want to mess up my chances to get a permanent job, not after a year of non employement.
I was so bad that I don’t know how I made it on the plane and back home.
My GP advised me to go and see a Psyachatrist as I was never properly evaluated and also offered to put me on a new drug ( I didn’t pay attention to its name as I was too upset). I told my GP that I will think about it.
I managed to get through the day by saying to myself, another hour, you can do it, it will pass, another hour etc.
Then 5pm arrived and I went to my accupuncturist who is so nice and supportive.
After an hour session, a lot of crying and talking, I am able to write this.
I am feeling much more relaxed. I still have no appetite, but it’s the first time in 6 days that I feel relaxed and I have laughed.
The doc also advised me maybe to raise my daily intake of Seroxat to 4ml, but I don’t know what to do.
This is so hard, is it getting better?
Did all the anxiety came back because I am taking less drugs, will it go away, or will I need to go back to that drug or another one.
It is so scary. I thought I was in a world apart, completely out of reality, scared on my own.
I was looking at my partner and wondered why does he have to go through this, it is so unfair to him, and I started crying again.
But tonight because I feel a little better, I look at him and smile.
My English is not perfect sorry this is not my first language.
March 4, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Hi Isa, how are you today? – I hope you’re still feeling better.
Just take it slowly – when did you get down to 3.5 and from how much? Maybe going to 4 might help – then take a while to settle at this level to feel better – then 10% reductions only – no more – and take it slow.
I think what you’re describing is Seroxat withdrawal. You’ve been on the drug for 10 years and what you describe is classic withdrawal – I remember when I went through it (and acupuncture helped me as well). You’re not on your own – there are lots of us out here who know what you’re going through – and know you can beat it!
Have you looked at the forums Paxil Progress and Seroxat Mad? (the links are in my blogroll) and you’ll get lots of support at either of them.
And keep talking to your new GP.
March 4, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Hi Isa, I’m sorry you’re having problems. I also had bad advice from my GP who suggested cutting from 20mg to 10mg straight away. I have decided to do it my own way and have been taking 15mg for about a month now and am just about starting (STARTING) to feel ok. I am going to then move onto the liquid form.
The panic/anxiety is terrifying and like you Seroxat did do wonders for me at the beginning. You will be FINE, just remember that it is the drug talking and not your mind and believe that you will get better. I am having panic attacks too since beginning to withdraw but nto as crippling as you. I just try not to let them get out of control and not to beat me as they’ve done before. I believe you will come out of this a stronger person. Take care.
March 4, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Thank all so much for your support.
It feels good not too feel alone.
I went to work and managed to go through the day with the fear of having attacks. I am having pin and needles in my legs. Also I haven’t been eating a lot in the last 6 days. I just can’t relax and I feel so bad for my partner.
I had a bad episode coming home after work this evening and I could see the worry in his eyes and it scared me.
I was supposed to give a course this evening to an adult with litteracy problem, I am volonteering, and after 30 min I had to run from there, I couldn’t be there I was so bad and scared.
Feel like I can’t control my thoughts and it’s horrible.
I wish there was a group where I live where I could go to talk, but I don’t think there is.
Hopefully my GP will be able to help tomorrow.
The thing is I am not sure if it is the withdrawal effects which trigger this, or if it is me losing it again.
One other symtoms I had before me getting so bad, is that I couldn’t stand the noise anymore, loud TV, repetitive noises, it was driving me mad and so annoyed and angry.
Now that I think back, there were signs and I ignored them.
In janruary, one thing happened that scared me, but I put it down to the stress ( I have to admit I have been very stressed this last year ).
I was sitting in front of my PC at work and suddenly, blank, total blank, I could see where I was and knew my colleagues, but I didn’t know what I had to do or tell the customers, couldn’t remmember anything, and it took half an hour to come back to me, and of course went home and Ignored it.
I am wondering if it is part of the withdrawal effects.
Thanks again for your replies.
Isa
March 5, 2010 at 9:34 am
Hey Isa
The thing with anxiety is it’s a vicious circle, you’re scared of having panics so you do. That make sense? It sounds exactly the same as what I have been through a number of times before the tablets. Life was one long panic attack, I’d feel anxious constantly, and then have huge panic attacks 2-3 times a day, like you I couldn’t eat. Along with the tablets (at the beginning) I had to teach myself not to be so scared of them, it’s hard and easier said than done but it is possible. The worst thing you can do is run from a situation when you have one, try not to ingore it but to know it won’t kill you and that you can carry on regardless, it’s a slow process but I promise it will help. That aversion to loud noises as well is part and parcel. I think for you it sounds like a combination of withdrawl and your own fear of “losing” it again. I have every faith that you can beat this, and believe me I know words don’t help when you feel this bad, I have been there stuck in that hole.
Louise x
March 5, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Thank you Louise you are so kind.
So it will get better eventualy, that’s good.
I went to my GP this morning and he gave me a week treatment to start with for recovery. He talked about general anxiety disorder and depression, which I carry probably since my chilhood.
Something to relax and be able to function a bit better and a new ssri med, don’t ask me which one, I don’t want to know right now, just want to trust him and will see.
I took one relaxig tablet and went for a long walk with my partner and the dogs and feel much better already.
I managed to clean kitchen put the washing machine on, tidy my room, slowly but I am happy with that.
But I am so relaxed that I feel like sleeping when I stopped, so i try not to.
I am worried for my partner. He came with me to the GP this morning, he is so good to me, but I can see he is worried even though he is trying to hide it and put on a brave face.
Any idea on how to deal with family and partners. I don’t have kid, it might just as well in my case.
Thanks again Louise, you have no idea how much it comforts me to read you.
March 5, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Well that’s good, if you need med’s theres no shame in that, I think it’s just this particular one that is hard work. If you want you can email me direct lucoley@hotmail.co.uk, it will stop everyone else getting irritated withus back and forth hee hee.
With regards to your partner, don’t feel bad, it’s another symptom I guess, the guilt about others. I was lucky like you my husband was very good, patient although he didn’t fully understand which is normal unless you’ve felt the same. All you can is keep talking to him and telling him it’s temporary, and it IS. You knwo yourself you’ve been through it before and you will get better. But I really recommend trying to teach yourself not to be so scared of the anxiety, trust me it does help. It’ doesn’t CURE but it does give you a bit more ammunition to deal with it. The best way I explained it to my husband was it’s like being in a clear box, you can see everyone around you and you wonder how they have normal emotions and everytiem you move out of the box you panic. I used to get so jealous of other people laughing, it sounds silly now but it was so real. I too suffer with longterm depression and I have just about accepted I will always suffer.
Like i said get in touch if you need to.
xx
March 17, 2010 at 1:07 am
I ran out of paxil about a week ago, ive been taking it for about 3 or 4 years and the withdrawls are horrible! I can deal with feeling sick and everything but the shock like feeling you get will drive anyone insane.. its the worst thing i have ever experienced in my life.
March 22, 2010 at 11:51 am
After reading the different internet, I don’t know whether to jump back on Paxil or not. I saw a lot of people statements that withdrawal symptoms could last 2 weeks after quitting cold turkey. Researching further, now I find people talking about months, even years!
I took Paxil for 9 years or so (interestingly, I noticed I had “electirc shocks” in my first months of taking it; back then, my the psychiatrist I was seeing had no clue what I was talking about. I am glad to see…).
Bah, everything I want to say and ask is too much right now. It would be like a book. A disorganized book.
All I will say for now is, since quitting Paxil, my dreams are tremendous. And tremendously interesting, and superbly detailed. Sure, they may be filled with violence, gore, the macabre, but that’s cool, they are interesting as hell. No pun intended, but… okay, enough about the dreams. I am sure if someone “normal” had my dreams, they’d be freaking out. But I am glad I am at least dreaming.
I also want to say WTF is up with the close-call crying spells? I was watching Survivor yesterday (not a heart-wrenching, emotionally touching epic), and someone got slammed into a fence. I started chuckling, because it was humurous (because the person didn’t get hurt), but then almost had an outburst of crying. I went back and watched the scene again, and the same thing almost happened?
What a rambling mess this is. Anyway, I don’t know what to do now. More Paxil, stick it out, or what?
I know for certain I will need another drug to control severe depression and anxiety, but should I do that now or what?
Sorry for the effed up post…
March 22, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Hey Eric. I’ve gone cold turkey off Seroxat/Paxil in the past and this time decided to come off them by reducing. I’m on half my original dose at the moment. Yep the dreams are vivid, if only I could write a book about them i’d be rich! You did make me chuckle about the crying episodes, let me tell you that last Monday I dropped my dose by 5mg (after 6 weeks of stickng to 15mg) and omg by wednesday evening I was crying at nothing. Thursday halfway through a chat with a friend I decided to cry, felt fine after that. Cried about one hour later at the news on the radio. Saturday was one epic crying day for no apparent reason whatsoever. Accompanied with feelings of depression, hating myself, wondering what the hell it was all about. HOWEVER because I’ve been through this when I first dropped the dose I can honestly say it DOES get better! It was around 3-4 weeks before I settled on 15mg so I’m expecting it the same with 10mg.
If I were you and you already know you’re going to be taking something for your issues I’d swap now to ease the withdrawals. I’ve had a few mild panic attacks but nothing as severe as I was having before the meds but I can control them so (touch wood!) I’m going to give it a go taking nothing and see how it works out for me.
May the force be with you my friend!
March 24, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Thanks for the reply, Louise. I hope you are able to eventually continue without taking anything. That would be the ultimate situation, yes?
I didn’t make it past the day I wrote my post. I felt physically awful, screwed up in the head, with my entire body having continual shocks.
I ended up calling my doctor (at the VA) and left them a voice mail (no one at the office answered) and told them I was going through horrible withdrawals. Luckily, they called back within a couple hours and could squeeze me in for an appointment in about 2 1/2 weeks.
I ended up finding some Paxil from another source, thankfully. That will tide me over until I see the VA man, who will then hopefully instruct me in a good method to get off Paxil/switch to something else. It took until today to feel “normal” again, not awful like when feeling the withdrawal.
I decided to, and started, to come off Paxil a few months ago.
I dropped down from my normal dose by half a pill. After a while, when I wanted to drop to a dose less than full pill size, I took half a pill. A couple weeks of that, I then broke the half-a-pill in half again, ending up with a quarter pill. My finale was breaking those quarter pills into eights, which I took for four days before running out.
I had some of the electric shock feelings when I got down to (which is about 7.5 mg, I reckon), but nothing too bad. But man, when I stopped any Paxil at all, that was rough.
So I am back on it until I can find a good way to quit it. Good luck to you, Louise, and anyone else wanting to quit Paxil for something else, or for nothing at all!
March 24, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Maybe too quickly? I have been on the 10mg dose for 10 days now and still feel dizzy as hell, the emotional side is calming down little by little, but I knwo i’ll go through it all over again when I lower the dose again which is so frustrating. It’s like going backwards every few weeks. But hopefully in the long run it will be better because between having anxiety issues, being on meds, trying to come off meds I’ve forgotten how Louise actually is NORMAL!!!!
April 23, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Hi Louise!! I have come down from 30mg to 12mg over the past few months and the easiest way is to insist that you get the liquid as well as the tablets and use both together – then you can come down by 1mg per week – 5mg drop is way too much. By reducing dose slowly, you don’t get such bad symptoms and once the week has gone by you are ready to reduce by 1mg again. Just note that the liquid is double dose of the tablets, so 1mg on the syringe is actually 2mg of tablets – hope that makes sense!! Now I am down to 12mg though, it is harder, so I need to drop by 1/2 mg per week.
Good luck!
B
April 25, 2010 at 10:45 am
Hi Bridget
Thanks. I am still on 10mg, my dad died unexpectedly so I thought that now isn’t the time to be messing around with my emotions and they’re pretty much all over the place anyway. I am going to do what you suggested though and get the liquid version as I can see in the future that dropping to 5mg is going to be hell especially as my emotions are raw anyway. It’s weird becuase I say this with every drop then of course it all calms down and you feel fine and so carrying on with the tablets doesn’t seem such a bad idea after all……till you drop another 5mg!!!!
April 4, 2010 at 11:09 pm
WELL,HAVING BEEN IN DEPRESSIVE STATE WITH IT’S TURTURE FOR 7YRS BEFORE STARTING TAKING SEROZAT FOR 3YRS NOW AND FEELING BETTER ALSO.I THINK I SHOULD NOT IN A HASTE TO WITHDRAW FROM IT,RATHER IT WILL TAKE MORE 1YR TO SLOWLY COME OUT OF IT,I HERE ADVISED ALL TO DO SAME,THANKS.
April 4, 2010 at 11:29 pm
we all should remember that we exercised patient before observing improvement when we started taking seroxat,so why can’t we exercise that same amount of patient while dropping it? for example,if you raised a class cup up and drop it sudenly by force,it will definitely crash on the floor,but if you drop it gently on the floor,it will not get crashed. it’s the same in the case of stopping seroxat by sudden,thanks, i am dropping my dosage slowly slowly never in a haste.
May 20, 2010 at 12:03 pm
i am 18 years old !
I had been put on seroxat .. just 10 mg though ( thankfully)
a week back i stopped taking it myself ..
now i feel dizzy and disoriented most of the time … haven’t told anyone in family or physician about stopping my medication …
had been trying to ignore the symptoms but then i got on internet and googled this up .. after reading all this i m seriously worried !
dont know what to do
help please !
June 8, 2010 at 6:42 am
Hi, I have been on Seroxat on and off for many years. Until 3 weeks ago I was on 20 mgs a day. However I felt it was time to withdraw from the tablet and with my GP’s backing he suggested I withdraw to 10 mgs a day for 4-6 weeks and then one 10 mgs tablet every other day for 4-6 weeks.
Well I reduced the tablet to 10 mgs a day about 3 weeks ago. All was fine to start with until 2½ weeks in when I felt constantly nauseaus, dreadful upset stomach (sample came back normal) lightheaded, and so the symptoms go on and on.
Just wondered whether anyone else has experienced these symptoms on withdrawal and whether they are here to stay
Thanks.
June 30, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Hi Spike, I get the symptoms pretty much straight away but they last for weeks. My main one is the electric shocks, when I turn my head everything is off balance and liek a shaking inside, everyones different but they do go eventually so stick with it!
June 11, 2010 at 3:44 pm
This is my second attempt to wean off. Last year,I got down to 10mg, but couldn’t go any further.
This time, I started at 10, shaved a SMALL sliver off with a knife for about a week, shaved a LARGER sliver off the second week. Now I am down to about 6 mg this way. When I get 5, I can break my pill in half, to go twice the distance! When I get to 5, I may stay for two weeks before I start shaving again. Maybe I’m prolonging the misery this way, but haven’t had any of the EXTREME despair/depression/darkness that I had the first time. My main complaint this time is I am SO TIRED…I feel like my muscles are poisoned!
June 14, 2010 at 9:09 am
Good luck Charlotte.
Just take it whatever pace seems right for you.
Have you thought about using liquid Seroxat and a syringe to measure more accurately? In the UK it’s a no-cost option on the NHS – just ask your doctor.
If you do use the liquid, be aware that it is ‘double strength’ – so 2.5mls of the liquid equals 5mg in tablet form.
It would be helpful if Glaxo made made tablets in 5mg and 2.5mg strengths….
June 24, 2010 at 6:57 am
I am so afraid it is too late for me. I was on Seroxat for 5 years, and after some unsuccesful attempts to quit, I finally quit cold turkey in sept. 2007. I want to undescribable hell, but the docs kept tellng me it was not the drug but my depression (I took it for work-related stress and not for depression).
I learned from this site and PaxilPRogress the truth and the Antidepressant Solution of dr. Glenmullen and the letters of dr. Healy.
But too late, I got off cold turkey and it is too late to taper the right way. I have still lingering symptoms, now 32 months later! I am so much regretting not finding the crucial information at the crucial moment… and now it is too late!
Is there still hope? I really do not want to end my life but if things do not clear up I have little choice…
June 27, 2010 at 3:23 pm
There’s always hope Klaus.
It just takes time – you’ve stopped taking it and now just calm down and take things slowly.
The docs were wrong, but you’re in a better place now. can you talk to a doc about how you feel? Or anyone for that matter.
You’ve done the hard bit – don’t let Seroxat beat you now.
June 28, 2010 at 7:13 pm
It sure takes time… I leanred from PaxilProgress that 3 years recovery after a CT is not unusual. I am off work no for more than 2 years and the end is still not in sight, altough some issues have cleared up and I feel in many senses more myself again.
My GP keeps denying everything, even after I showed her the Withdrawal Protocol of dr. David Healy. And I do not want to consult a psychiatrist ever again in my life, but I have family supprt, a holistic doctor and work with a good kinesiologist.
But in the end it keeps a waiting game. Issues are mainly physical now but still pretty nasty. My only hope is the promise that everybody heals in the end, even after a horrendous cold turkey…
June 30, 2010 at 6:05 pm
I started tapering off this drug in January and found it really hard, I was only on 20mg so not that strong a dose but the withdrawel is so so very very hard. Every time I lowered it I’d hit this wall of depression, crying all the time etc. I managed to get down to 10mg in March and was planning on starting the liquid then my dad died suddenly in a horrendous drowning accident whilst on holiday with my brother. The fall out from this incident was so traumatic and an ordeal, that was April and we’ve just buried his ashes now. I decided that it wasn’t the right time to lower my dose further. My doctor agreed and after changing GPs finally got a lovely doctor who told me that seroxat is the worst one to come off.
However my problem now is that I am seriously depressed and anxious, I am so used to panic attacks that I can keep a lid on those JUST but every day is a struggle, I am losing my temper quicker at my kids, my husband, and just feel either numb inside or really weepy all the time. I am fighting against the idea to up my dose again as I’ll jsut be back to square one. I know what I’m going through has to be felt because it’s part of the grieving process but because of my history of depression/anxiety I think it is scaring me more because I don’t want to go back there.
June 30, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Hi Lou
Good to hear from you – but what can I say? So sorry to hear about your Dad – you absolutely did the right thing by not lowering your dose.
I had times like you describe when I was withdrawing – terrible tempers and feeling numb and weepy and struggling through every day. I’m stubborn and what I decided to do was to stop thinking about reducing and just creep forward day by day, at a stable level of Seroxat, towards what I hoped would be a better place. I so wanted to get Seroxat out of my system that I didn’t ever go back up in dose – but that was me – it might not be right for you to take this approach. The way I dealt with my temper was to just leave the room – just go upstairs or somewhere – just be alone – let it pass. I’d avoid situations with people if thought I was on edge (or might be) and it kind of worked for me.
Grieving is good – what you’re feeling is natural and perhaps if you can really accept it as just a part of life it’ll stop scaring you…. you won’t go back to where you were – you’re not the same person anymore. You know so much more now – maybe not all of it good, but you are in a better place. You WILL beat this.
Do you have anyone to talk to? Is your husband understanding all this?
Just know you’re not alone – and also know it’s NOT you or your depression/anxiety coming back – it’s the f***ing Seroxat!
July 7, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Hello Louise – I was really interested in reading your comments. I gave been on Seroxat for 12 years and have never been able to come off despite trying about 10 times. Next week with the help of a psychiatrist and a new anti depressant I am going to start coming off over a 5 month period. Would love to exchange views with you
January 29, 2011 at 4:29 pm
what tablet r u on now , i would also like to exchange veiws with u , i;ve tryed coming off many times but i suppose have too resign myself to the fact i;ll be on them the rest of my life hope u r feeling better and the new drugs worked regards joanne
July 18, 2010 at 4:09 pm
has anyone experianced weight loss when coming off seroxat it worrys me
September 23, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Hi joanne:
Yes I have. Taking seroxat for 5 years made me gain some weight, but I knew it was probably one of these sides effect I read about. I tried to get off seroxat 3 times and failed, but I have noticed that I was losing weight while attempting….. No this is my Third time quiting, this time I have this urge to quit for good, no more pill for me, no more…… I am experiencing wieght loss again, but I like it. I think it is natural to lose weight if you have gained some because of Seroxat… Pray for me while I pray for you…
July 18, 2010 at 7:57 pm
hi there again. i ask earlier if anyone had lost weight when reducing seroxat . i;ve been on them for 14 plus years since losing my son very tragicly and i think they suppress all my emotions now its all coming to the fore i;m crying for him all over again .i live alone so no one really to talk to .at my hour of need. i wanted to come off my tablets . i want to feel normal again . if thats poss. i have no social life for always at the back of your mind u think am i going to be alright .so u lose confidence in y/self . i have cut down from 20mg to 10mg but as yet not got the confidence to go that bit further. my tummy feels its going to leap out . get nausea agitated. i;m losing weight which i can ill afford to any suggestions would be so welcome or alternative medicine please get in touch .
July 31, 2010 at 11:52 pm
Hi joanne, Be strong girl…You can do this thing…I too am alone with no one to talk to regularly and also have the feelings of no confidence. Just replace the bad thoughts with the good ones, think of pleasant and beautiful things.
Take it slow….our thoughts are with you.
July 20, 2010 at 9:51 am
Hi Joanne,
I am now free of Seroxat. I completely stopped taking it early March this year.
I was on it for ten years and put on 3 and half stones in 2 years.
I started coming of it in August 2009, with the help of my GP, and very very slowly. Used liquid form as it is easier to get correct dosage.
Went from 20mg to zero.
Was doing fine up until early february this year, at this stage I was on 5mg.
It started to go wrong when I went back to my family for my mum death anniversary, where all my emotions came out, all emotions that were hidden by seroxat for the last 10 years.
I was doing so well that when I came back to my GP, he decided to stop it all together and gave me a different Anti depressant instead.
I dropped everything, work, life and went to my sister who helped me go through a very difficult month. I went for conselling to talk about all my emotions, and I felt much better after a good while.
I am feeling so much better now, but I know I owe it to my sisters and friends who rallied around me and helped a lot. I know it would have been a different matter if I had been alone.
I have lost a stone and a half since I started coming off Seroxat in August 2009.
I am hopefull I will be free of drugs very soon.
I take the new AD as a safety buoy, but I know now it is possible to live anormal life without it.
Another thing that really helped me as well, was walking, alone or with friends.
Take it easy, take it slow, and get well soon.
July 23, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I have been on Seroxat for almost 10 years, the last 2 years on 10mg, unfortunately I have felt a lot of fatigue, dizziness and a little more anxious, I am told It could be that Seroxat is no longer working for me and I am now tapering off using a plan from CITA, Council for Tranquilsers and Anti depressant withdrwal.
Has anyone had these kind of symptons although they are still taking Seroxat?
July 26, 2010 at 10:33 pm
I have been on paxil since i was 16, i’m 20 now, I was at 40 mg and dropped to 20mg for about 5 months and felt no changes and now im trying to get off it all together. I took 15mg for about two weeks and didn’t feel much except for the weird dreams. I am now on 10mg and feel depressed and have been crying for no reason. I plan to stop taking it all together tomorrow because I want to get it over with. I once forgot to take my 40mg a day for 3 days when I was 18 thinking that there were no side effects since my doctor didn’t tell me there were any. It was hell I was dry heaving and sweating, I wanted to die. I just hope that going off of 10mg won’t be as bad as that was. I just hope it takes only a couple weeks for the side affects to go away. Im actually really scared cause I know the next few weeks are going to test me, but I see that all of you people have gone through this and it gives me hope I can get through it to. Great website.
July 31, 2010 at 11:44 pm
I am, as of yesterday, beginning my descent from Paxil. I have been taking it for 15+ years. In the past I have skipped doses for 2-3 days and have only had the vivid dreams/nitemares, which I always felt like I was missing because of the drug itself. I miss having dreams. They are good to get rid of the confusion of our daily lives. My hubby killed himself 2 years ago and since then my feelings have been strange (like not having any), and I have been getting the sweats and anxiety even while on the Paxil. I think it has run its course with me and I am all too ready to dump it. I WANT MY LIFE BACK!
I have been reading all of these comments and feel much better about attacking this demon now. Just knowing there is a place to come to for support is strength enough for me right now!!!
Thank you for this website…..and thank you to all who have shared here. KUDO’s to you all!!!! Just remember — Baby Steps!
August 1, 2010 at 8:15 am
Dear all,
I’m so happy to finally be able to share my experience with you people.
I’ve been taking SSRI’s medications for the past 8 years. I’ve been on seroxat for a year and a half, and now considering quitting coz as you all mentioned its living hell. Even when I’m still on the medication, I still suffer from brain shivers every now and then especially the left side of my brain and when I move my eyes. In my case, my major problem was not depression and panic attacks as I consider themsymptoms of my problem. My major problem is that I have emotional disorder; confused about my gender identity. I’m a female, and since I was 7 years old I knew I was different. I lived all my life in denial, and every time anyone used to talk about homosexuality, or bisexuality I used to freak out, and panic. and I was so pressured by our culture and societry. for me being bisexual or a lesbian is HORROR!! Everytime I start liking a woman, or get attracted to i go into a minor depression and anxiety, and my thoughts just get stuck in a doorway and that I’m never gonna be able to feel comfortable around women ever again! but again this might not be true, and maybe the medication is not helping me to express my real emotions because really SSRI’s makes me feel like a zombie or a living machine!!
I’m still in the process of accepting myself, and loving myself and don’t know if I will ever reach acceptance and peace of mind and to be able to have a relationship with a woman. Anyhow, adding to this major problem, I went through tuff times during childhood, teenage, and adulthood. And honestly this is what causing all my depression and anxiety. Now I’m an addict to seroxat (30 mg per day).
I have to say that doctors are so commercial these days, all what they look for is money. I had terrible experiences with doctors where I reached to a point that they convinced me that I have a chronic disease, and have to stay on meds till the rest of my life!!! Which is not true!!?
I learned that the brain needs good nutrition and vitamin supplements and minerals. TRUST ME food may screw your mind. I have hypoglycemia as well, and it has very similar symptoms to anxiety. Please check out the food you’re having as it really helps.
I’m still in the process of discovering what is the best nutrition plan for my brain and how to quit seroxat without going through hell, as i tried to quit before, and I honestly felt like dying! i mean i can relate to what you people are talking about!
I really would love to share my story in more details, so if anyone out there would like to share his/her story as well, please contact me
r_bassil@hotmail.com
Thank you again for giving me the chance to share my story.
Love
Yasmeena
August 8, 2010 at 9:34 am
In February 2007, I have had a sever panic attack. I was working all day long in my office on the computer and suddenly I looked outside behind me (where the window is) and I noticed that it was dark. I had the feeling that I have missed the day and the severe panic attack started. Before that, it used to come especially when I go home knowing that I love my family so much and I love being with my kids. However, on that day, things seemed to be out of control. The glass of whisky I use to take when I go home did not work. Things quickly turned bad. I felt like I was dying or going crazy, it was a very very stange feeling. They took me to the hospital. Did a heart test and all was good. So they gave me a shot of valium.
The next day, I took a Deanxit tablet to make sure it does not happen to me again. Then each day a tablet for around one week. Then, I thought it is time for me to stop Deanxit. So when I did, 2 or 3 days later, i was in a depression. I don’t know if this is true, but I was incapable of doing anything. Hopeless, anxiety can’t talk to anyone even my kids…. All this of course multiplied by 100 or 1000. So I restarted taking deanxit but it wouldn’t work anymore. So I started taking Lexotanil. Also, nothing. Things were going worse. I can’t work, I can’t do anything.
I went to the doctor and he said that this is because of the severe panic attack I have had. He prescribed for me Seroxat 20 mg (one table a day), one Deanxit (one tablet a day), and Lexotanil 1.5 mg (one tablet a day). I felts really good after that.
After 3 or 4 months, the doctor asked me to cut off Lexotanil. I did, and there was no problem at all. After that, he asked me to quit on Deanxit. I tried for 2 or 3 days but I couldn’t. I went back to Deanxit. In February 2010, I decided I have to start reducing Deanxit. I did and started to take it when necessary. Sometimes once a week, sometimes twice a week. Or twice a month. However, It was always not easy and I never felt as relaxed as I used to when I was taking Deanxit. In March, the doctor agreed, upon my request, to reduce the dose of seroxat. I reduced it and started taking one tablet every 2 days for 3 weeks. Then half a tablet every 2 days. Of course, the dose of Deanxit has slightly gone up, instead of one or two tablets a week, now 1 tablet every 3 to four days on regular basis because it is becoming more necessary.
3 weeks ago, I stopped seroxat totally. After 4 days, the hell is back. Sever feeling of anxiety, depression, and other feelings I can’t explain. I restarted the seroxat for 2 to 3 days and sometimes 2 tablets a day. It felt good after that. The last time I took Seroxat was 5 days ago. Yesterday it was the hell again. So I decided to take one today with one Deanxit. Two tablets of Lexotanil (1.5 mg) didn’t have an effect last night.
Any comments pleaseeeee.
September 3, 2010 at 10:25 pm
i just want to say im on seroxat 30 mg 7yrs now and it gave me back my life i do get zaps if im late taking it otherwise it has made me feel normal again .
September 4, 2010 at 8:39 am
I’m pleased for you.
I’m not sure why you take 30mgs though – 20mgs is the recommended dose for depression according to Glaxo.
That’s when I found out how terrible the drug was – when I tried to reduce from 30 to 20…
September 11, 2010 at 4:35 pm
I’m in the uk and have been taking seroxat for around 11 years. 20mgs is the recommended dose but I was told by GP that a higher dose is needed if that does not work.
the past 4 months I’ve been on 3omg, and also in the past. I have stopped cold turkey a few times because I’d felt better. My depression &anxiety came back worse.
However I’ve been at the stage where I’ve felt happy since a move to the west country, the countryside &ocean have done wonders…so I tried again to stop..halving my tablets for 1 week ,then stopping . 3 weeks later and I feel like hell. Every day I have felt sick, sat down, walking in the supermarket etc. I jump at doors closing, silly things. I feel off balance and just feel strange. None of this was ever present before these drugs.
I am going to have to start back on them I think. I have some in the house, I just want to feel right, but feel upset and cheated. I’m also having to stop myself crying a lot and having palpertations what feels like my heart ! got me worried about heart attack LOL the dreams are scary sometimes until i wake up fully…they feel like ‘waking dreams’ . I HAVE been sick and had upset tummy too.
No one understands.
September 11, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Hi Dan – try Paxil Progress or Seroxat Mad – both good forums with people who understand and will listen to you. The links are on the right hand side of Seroxat Secrets in my Blogroll.
You need to have been through it to understand…
You say “I have stopped cold turkey a few times because I’d felt better. My depression &anxiety came back worse.” Can I just be clear – it wasn’t your depression coming back, it was withdrawal. Pure and simple.
Also maybe have a look at the ‘Seroxat/Paxil withdrawal help’ page at the top of Seroxat Secrets – some good links there.
You’re not alone.
September 11, 2010 at 4:47 pm
..oh forgot to let people know I started taking the drug for panick attacks that came out of the blue one night (horrible..feel like your dying) and short periods of mild depression but I was in nasty relationships at the time & drinking more than I should to cope.
I’ve just started 15mg seroxat . I know I was more stable BEFORE I ever took this drug.
September 9, 2010 at 5:02 pm
I have been on seroxat for 10 years 30mg then reducing five years ago to 20mg dont remember the side effects as was pregnant at the time. I have tried several times since to reduce but gave up each time as withdrawel was so intense. I am now taking 20mg and every other day breaking the tablet in half. I feel awful ive had all the side effects listed headaches shocks to the heads crying temper feeling like i cant go on, constant headaches and i also have 4 children to care for as a single parent. i am determined this time to carry on its been five weeks and im not giving up. Has anyone come of these tablets and felt ok after. Im scared im going to feel like this for ever. Im scared as to when to cut down next as i dont want to feel worse then what im feeling now. Even if i ever manage to get of these completely will i always feel the withdrawel effects? How long should it take to completely come out my system? I was never depressed when prescribed these tablets i had given birth to my 2nd child when my partner left me for someone else and had to sell my home so i was sad and wrongly prescribed this awful medication. Any stories of success would really help. My e mail is scrawneybutt@hotmail.com
Thanks
September 9, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Tracy: all I can say is take it slowly.
Use the liquid rather than the pills and don’t do every other day – smooth things out and go real slow – no more than a 10% reduction then stabilise before the next 10% drop.
Please go over to Paxil Progress for advice and support. The link is in my blogroll.
You can get off it – I did!!
September 10, 2010 at 10:01 am
Hi Thanks for your reply. I looked at Paxil Progress it was great. I have been to docs and got liquid. I made a mistake i am on 10mg not 20mg. what i wanted advise on like i said im taking full dose one day then half the next. Now i have liquid do you think i should take 10mg one day and maybe 9mg the next? Or should i stick to the 5mg what i have been doing as if withdawel is the same i dont want to up the dose again. Or do u think i should take the 10mg minus the 10% drop daily like you said so every day i take 9mg until i feel ok then drop it again to 8mg? Also is is true that 1mg of liquid will be like taking 2mg as im scared going to get dose wrong. Any advise please x
September 10, 2010 at 10:35 am
Hi Tracy,
1 ml of liquid is equivalent of taking 2mg. I have a regime from a charity called CITA (Council for Information on Tranquillisers, Antidepressants and Painkillers) their web address is: http://www.citawithdrawal.org.uk
They stress that any withdrwal should be very slow, for example the first 2 weeks of the regime is to take your normal dose, in your case 10mg for 3 days drop to 9mg for every 3 days, on the fourth day back to 10mg. Good luck with it.
September 10, 2010 at 8:58 pm
i been taking seroxat for 2 years , i am stopping now . The brain shocks are the worst , I take a deep breath to reduce the interval between the shocks . I think it helps a little bit . Breathing is very important .
Try using Omega 3 pills , i am using it , supposed to help with the brain shocks . Calcium and magnesium are good for the heart beats , magnesium itself should help a bit with brain shocks too . Calcium reduces the heart rate .
October 26, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I took Seroxat for approx 1 month in 1999 when I had post-natal depression. After a few weeks of taking it, I just felt numb to everything, I felt I had lost all my ability to feel any emotion at all. I decide to take myself off them as feeling numb was no better than feeling depressed. A few months later I started to get the painless electrical pulsating feeling flowing through my body. It only lasted a couple of seconds a time but could go on for days.
It is now 2010 and everytime I am ill, I get these for days on end. I had no idea the side effects of a drug could go on for almost 11 years. I wasn’t addicted to them and had no problem coming off them because I was only taking them for a short space of time, so I am surprised to be suffering from these painless but irritating side effects. I can only describe the sensation as similar to the feeling you get when you jolt from a dream you were falling in.
October 27, 2010 at 12:23 pm
thank you everyone who has filled this page with their experiences on taking this danger pill….my husband was prescribed this pill the day before..we jus thought we d refer the internet before taking it…i dont understand why he was prescribed this at all….thanx to the admin of this page and to you all who written in here… my husband is safe by not starting on this pill at all….god give all of u strength to come off it as soon as possible … and enjoy the rest of your lives to the full…
November 22, 2010 at 7:53 pm
wow where do i start,i started taking seroxat(peroxatine) about 15 yrs ago now for sever panic attacks which totally ruined my life for a good 2 yrs ..i was virtually house bound for that time which i found hard to take as i was 24 and always a relaxed and out going person..anyway after lots and lots of visits to my doctors and many other treatments i was finally put onto 20mg of seroxat, during all these yrs ive only tried to come off them once and that was about 4 months ago,when my doctor lowered my dose to 10mg,after 3 weeks of feeling pretty crap i was finally took into hospital after suffering sever chest pains which was thought to be heart related.after a 2 night stay and being given the all clear at was then put down to anxiety,which was caused by the lowering of my dose of meds.i have since been back on my 20mg and feeling back to my old self, but still some days suffer memory problems,and what i can only explain as my brain feeling very cloudy,even though i take my dose every day..i have a few times in the past run out over a weekend and can only explain the side effects as very unpleasant and feeling alot of the symptoms many people have already listed on here..will i be on this tablet forever,im not sure if i will ever be ready to go through the hellish side effects of coming off the meds totally..thanks for all the storys i does make you realise im not going through this alone.
November 26, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Hello jamie
You will need to reduce this medicine gradually . I did this without any supervision , i do not trust doctors any more . It was a doctor who prescribed this anyways . I started splitting the tablets into smaller pieces , and staying for some period on lower dose . It could take you few month to stop it but its totally worth it . Keep your self busy and try not to think about the medication while lowering your dose . Engage in new things , read , practice your favorite sport, paint , watch movies the key is keep your mind busy all the time . From my experience forgetting the medication is very important . Always take a deep breath to reduce the brain zaps . Use Omega 3 pills regularly .
Remember that the first few days or lowering the dose are the worst . I been there . Defeat the first period and things will get better . Tell your self that others defeated this ,and you can do it too . Good luck .
December 19, 2010 at 3:29 pm
I am on my second day of suddenly stopping Se***t I wont even advertise their death drug. I know this is going to be hell if I survive this? I know I will want to kill myself as I have been here before with the lower does daily routine. At present I feel hot, sweaty, anger, sick to my stomache, zaps, weak and feel like I need to just sleep, so here it begins the road to hell. I know this is going to get a lot worst and I am not even sure this will work but I am going to get mad with it im going to piss it right out my system. Sorry for the swearing but its part of withdrawl symptoms.
Symptoms:
I will go though the anger, night terrors, I mean nasty night terrors where you are afraid to go to sleep. Sickness, shakes understatement, panic attacks, anxiety, lack of memory, wanting to kill myself, wanting to kill others, agitaion beyond belief, mood swings, swearing, feeling of complete loss of control, madness, lack of focus with the eyes, virtigo, lack of concentration, this will be due to lack of sleep, not wanting to eat, this is a good thing as I have put a ton of weight on with the drug, unable to leave to house, wont be able to mix with people, suicidal thoughts yes I know I have said this already, but here it comes again this will not leave you, talking to yourself, asking yourself what is happening to me, going mental some more, getting more sick, become zombie like, lack of hygine, palpations, electric shocks in the head, wanting to die, just wanting to die, searching constent on seroxat groups for help but knowing there isn’t any. So you ask why on earth are you even thing of giving up this death drug just stay on it, WRONG! this drug stops working after a period of time but you are now addicted to it. They say its not addittive, they are bastards who lied to you to make money! I have managed to stop alcohol, I became an alcoholic on the death drug for 8 years. yet I cant stop ser***t. Anyone drinking STOP IT NOW!!! Take hold fight back get mad with this shit drug tell yourself I am going to stop it. IF YOU FEEL LIKE KILLING YOURSELF ASK YOUR DOCTOR TO PUT YOU IN A CLINIC TO MAKE SURE YOU DONT TAKE YOUR OWN LIFE. After all they put you on it did they not? I am going to do just this and if they say no I will go to the papers I will make this public because I have had enough of being treated like some kind of guinue pig for this drug company. Huge james has dropped this case all of a sudden and I would like to know why? Why all of a sudden after years and years of letters and court dates do we get a letter the next month saying sorry but we dont think we will win this case and goodbye???? How many of you had the same thing told that everyone decided to drop the case as well because I didnt, I am taking it further. Someone has had a payout somewhere at our expense.
December 27, 2010 at 7:44 pm
i took seroxat 20mg for 2 yrs and came of it in a month by slowly reducing the dosage. 3/4 of one pill the first 10 days, 1/2 the next 10 days and 1/4 the last 10 days. Apart from mild headaches I had no problems.
December 27, 2010 at 11:22 pm
I’m glad it went OK for you – you’re one of the lucky ones. Too many others have not been so fortunate.
December 29, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Hi there
Been on 15mg of Seroxat for 8 yrs. Really saved my life when I first went on it but really want to reduce now. Feel really achey and in loads of emotional pain. I have gone down to 12.5mg. Such a small reduction but I have tried in the past to withdraw and just felt so anxious and unwilling to to go through it. GP thinks I should just stay on but I have a gut feeling that this drug is too old and maybe a more modern SSR would be better for me. I do suffer from severe depression and can not afford to go down again but I am ready to be released from Seroxat. I feel on the verge of flu all the time and want to cry.
December 30, 2010 at 12:13 am
I think you’re describing Seroxat withdrawal symptoms… it’s not your depression returning, it’s related to the drug.
Do you know Paxil Progress? It’s a good forum and there are many people there who could help you.
I’m not sure how good your GP’s advice is… after a while many people find Seroxat simply no longer works for them and it can be a problem to withdraw from it and replace it with another drug.
Have a look at the ‘Seroxat/Paxil withdrawal help’ page at the top level of Seroxat Secrets. There might be some stuff there you could print out and take to your GP – you must tell him/her what you’re feeling.
Good luck.
January 8, 2011 at 8:17 pm
My dr just took me off 20 mg Paxil cold-turkey when she found out I was pregnant (was on it for 13 months prior to the + test). I have been off it 4 days now and I can’t stop thinking really awful thoughts and the pregnancy my husband & I were so excited about now sounds like a nuisance/future I don’t want (even though I was so happy when we found out and up until a few days ago, I did in fact want kids). Now I want the big “A”–begging my hubby for $ for it–and can’t seem to even recall WHY I wanted to get preggers in the first place. Called my dr and she said it’s just part of the withdrawal but I mean I REALLY, REALLY don’t want to be pregnant anymore and can’t shake this nagging feeling that I only wanted kids because of the false happiness created by the SSRI. What do I do?? My current mental state cannot be good for the thing growing inside me, but at this point, I don’t even want that thing anymore & truly feel that if I go full-term, it’s going to the adoption center. I WANTED to get pregnant but now I can’t stop thinking about getting rid of it
Need advice. Thanks.
January 8, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Have look at Paxil Progress – there will be people there to support you.
It sounds like withdrawal – so it will get better, it will.
January 9, 2011 at 10:48 am
Keep on going that is the withdrawal making you feel so awful.
January 29, 2011 at 4:22 pm
hi again .after trying to come off seroxat 20 mg taking it slowly over 6 months , ive had to go back on them .no self confidence don;t want 2 go out .just want to lie in bed no interest don;t want to read watch tv nothing at all . im worried im having a breakdown/i.ve seen my gp and he wanted to change me to a differant drug called sertraline. he said just stop taking seroxat . and start the new one but i;m afraid of side effects. anyone advice me . it also woul;d be niice if there was someway of talking to the many people who r experiance these feelings. as i panic and think im going mad.im alone and neighbours who once did come and c me have all got fed up they think its all in my mind . so desperate to get a reply joanne
January 30, 2011 at 12:40 pm
hi friends. i;m here again 6 months down the line and had to go back on them seroxat] i;ve been on them again since xmas and still feel terrible. do;t want to get up out of bed .no interest in anything tele books as my appetite as gone. everything to much bother .stomach churning . is it the tablet going back on them or a breakdown im really frightened. doc. wanted to put me on sertraline anyone had any problems with them . please get in touch joanne . i feel so alone .
January 30, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Hi Joanne,
had to increase from 10 to 20mg last October and it took nearly 2 months before any relief in stomach churning etc.
over the 6 months of withdrawal did you come off slowly, I am advised to come of at half mg at a time. I am on 20mg and expect to take around 12 to 18 months to come off, the main point is to take withdrawal really really slowly.
January 31, 2011 at 12:05 am
This is my 3rd attempt in 9 years to come off seroxat, the hell drug, the bane of my life….
Last time I tried to come off it back in 2002 I had a manic breakdown and admitted myself into a psychiatric hospital. So yes I am very anxious about this attempt to come off of this @****** drug! I was on 20mg back in 2002, reduced by 1mg per week and by week 8 was when I completely lost the plot. I had 3 weeks and 2 periods of not sleeping whatsoever for 8 days…TWICE! The insomnia alone sent me insane but before that had sheer moments and feelings of pure terror and fear but could not tell you what I was so terrorized by.
I was put on this drug for panic attacks and to help chronic fatigue. The insane thing is I had never experianced real depression until taking seroxat.
Of course there is also the electric shocks when I move my eyes or head, the palpatations, the panic feelings, the headaches, the nausea, and I get these when not withdrawing, but it gets 100 times worse if I miss over a days dose.
My doctor has refused for the last 8 years to take me off, each time I was given a higher dose, much to my fear that the higher dose each time I had in the back of my mind how much harder it would be to withdraw the higher the dose.
Since having my dose increased to 40mg 5 years ago I have suffered even more problems, I have fully blown ME now, I had chronic fatigue to start with but my symptoms are so much worse, but go figure, on the days I need to go out I miss my dose of seroxat and I feel so much better (sadly I can only do this for 16 hours before the widrawel kicks in)
I have been for endoscopy (camera down the throat to look in my stomach) thanks to the acid pain, and severe nausea seroxat has caused. I have ended up on a high dose of anti sickness medication, medication for vertigo, sleeping tablets for 9 years, long term anti biotics for a acne problem that I am 95% sure is caused by seroxat. long term codeine painkillers for the severe headaches. This is all because of one drug. SEROXAT! Plus the more side effects the more tablets to deal with the side effects which then those tablets give you more side effects.
I hate my doctor for putting me on seroxat and not listening to me for years when I wanted off it.
My mother was on seroxat for 15 years and she never had a problem on it or coming off of it and she does not understand why I feel so ill coming off of it, just because she didn’t have the same problem.
Anyway. Right now I am on a 4 week plan by my doctor (my new doctor) to reduce from 40mg to 20mg by doing 40/40/20/ for 2 weeks then 40/20 for 2 weeks then I am going to be introduced onto amytryptaline (dont know how to spell it) This way I will not be left off of tablets and am hoping this will help with the withdrawel and any problems that arise. I am very frightened and anxious about this though because of my previous experiance withdrawing.
Not just seroxat though, I had severe problems withdrawing from effexor, another SSRI 12 years ago. I had brain zaps and all the other problems for months even though I was then put on seroxat, took along time to stop getting shocks through my head a nd body.
I just pray and hope that I can get off this and get my life back and salvage some of the 10 years I have lost
I know what you are all going through, which is a hell you could not explain to anyone else.
February 9, 2011 at 9:53 pm
Down from 40mg to 20mg now which I have to do for a week, then I am down to 20mg every other day next week and start amytriptaline whilst on the seroxat every other day. I coped ok, better than last time when 8 years ago I was reducing by 1mg (which although very slow for some reason it was far worse in the long run) It was so long and drawn out and I was still suffering. So the way I have been told to reduce this time, although faster and probably gonna hit me hard now I have really dropped my dose it could be better not being so long and drawn out…I may be taking that back in the next few days now I have dropped from 40mg every other day to 20mg everyday.
Am on day 2 of dropping down to 20mg and last night the spinning in my head started and the terrible nausea which went with it. Until last night, apart from the odd day of severe headache, moderate dizziness and nausea I was actually coping very well.
Today is a different story. Although I feel unwell in myself, it’s not so bad, it is the pyschological side that is worrying me today. Never had a problem in my life with my memory. Have been using my internet banking for well over a year, memorised all my numbers. Today for 2 hours now I cannot for the life of me remember my number or password which is scaring me and not to mention really annoying. I cannot get into my bank account and keep sitting here throwing numbers around in my head which is now just really freaking me out. To anyone else this would sound stupid, but for me going through withdrawel it is scaring me.
I cannot be on this drug for life, I have to get off it one way or another, have tried twice in 8 years and failed. I have to stick this through and get off of it, now is as good a time as any and I have come through 2 and a half weeks of it now. I am trying to be strong and I am determined to do this. I keep telling myself that at worst I am gonna have 6 weeks of hell. But at 31 years old and a life ahead of me, what is 6 weeks if it means I get my life back at the end of it?!
February 9, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Good luck with your withdrawal. I am just starting mine been on Seroxat for almost 10 years. I have had different advice on how to come off from cutting down from 20 to 15 then to 10 then to 5 each week. The common advice is to take it very very slowly, 5% drops or 1mg at a time until I find my level I can cope with.
February 11, 2011 at 10:18 am
Hi All
It’s me again! I had to go back on my 20mg dose on October when I was suffering from severe anxiety and panic attacks and I TRIED my damned hardes to just cope with them but it got too much. I couldn’t sleep, and functioning on a daily basis was just ridiculous. I feel tons better now and I am bloody determined that this year i WILL come off the damn tablets. I went to the docs this morning for my prescription and got a lovely locum doctor I hadn’t met. He asked me why I was on Seroxat and I told him it was what I was prescribed years back so when I made a repeat trip to the doctors for the same problems she said she was going to put me back on it. At the time I told her my concerns about this drug after all that I had read and her words were “you’ve done alright on it before and you’ll be fine again”. How I wish I hadn’t listened and been more forceful that she put me on another drug. He told me today that now it’s recommended it isn’t prescribed at all and he really doesn’t like it. We talked alot about coming off it in a couple of months and he gave me a website to look on http://www.livinglifetothefull.com for CBT. Which I am going to give a go.
I just feel this is all so tragic and my belief in my own ability to manage this withdrawal has been totally shattered by my experience last year. Also my belief in my own ability to remain off meds altogether is wavering. I can’t beleive I can get myself into such a mess, I am a very confident, independent, strong person so why the heck do I get myself into these situations???
February 19, 2011 at 2:26 am
I am in the same situation. I tried to withdraw 8 years ago and I had like a form of breakdown coming off of them. Along with all the physical withdrawel the mental was the worse for me. I felt like I was actually going insane. I was frightened for no reason, had waves of fear go through me where I felt like I wanted to die.
I tried again to withdraw last week and the same thing happened so am back on 40mg again for the past week now. Finally the nausea, electric shocks and headache has gone and slowly my mood is going back to “normal”
There is a link on this site at the top for seroxat/paxil withdrawel guide. It’s helpful. It suggests coming off it really slowly at 2.5mg per month is the reccomended way to do it. It seems to be very well tollerated doing it this way. So in a few months when I have the energy to try it again I will be doing it that way.
I hate this drug. I fear I will be on it for the rest of my life. Have been on it since I was 20 and am now 31. I was prescribed it for panic attacks. It’s never helped, has made me worse and given me a whole range of nasty side effects which is why i want off of it. I don’t think I should of been prescribed such a nasty drug for panic attacks, they have anti anxiety drugs for that which are non habit forming. My anxiety actually got worse when I was given seroxat. I finally 18 months ago came through them on my own. I can’t see that seroxat finally kicked in after 10 years, it was all me that healed myself. Since trying to withdraw the panics have started again. I hope they just go away and are not a start up of what took me so long to get rid of.
I think the way to come off this drug is very very slowly. It could take a year, but what is a year out of the rest of your life…not much. slow withdrawel at 2.5mg should give far less symptoms and problems so I like to think that it wont mean a year of nasty withdrawel.
I spoke to people on paxilprogress site and alot of people have sucsesfully come off of it doing it slowly and they are fine now with no problems. So it can be done. These were people that had the same horrible problems as the rest of us coming off it. So it’s good to know you can get off it
February 11, 2011 at 2:24 pm
I have been on Seroxat for 9 years and this last year I have been trying to come off it. I have found it to be a living hell. I wish I could just be normal again. I have become a recluse. I can’t bear to spend time with anyone and yet I used to be the life of the party! Every time I go out my front door I feel scared. I’m a mess. I have suicidal thoughts and feel like cutting myself constantly – I have never self harmed and do not want to start in my mid 30′s! I get tremors and electric shocks shooting through my head, I feel sick and shake. I often have the flu like symptoms too. It is SO embarrassing not being able to function like a normal human being anymore. I can’t see the bloody point of myself. This is a nightmare. I feel so foolish to have gone on to this drug in the first place. I was mugged when I was younger and began to suffer panic attacks after the mugging. It was prescribed to me by a supply doctor who didn’t even know me – it was sold as a ‘wonder drug’ and I was told it was completely non addictive. I did not want to go on prozac as that scared me-Seroxat was sold as a non addictive anti-anxiety drug. WHAT A LOAD OF *****
It is ruining my life. I have a very challenging job and constantly have to deal with challenging situations, which I usually thrive on, but not anymore. I have come down from 40mg to 10mg and I am beginning to feel I will never be free of them. Every time I try to go lower than this dosage – I lose the plot. I don’t want to be this mad person anymore. As you come off the drug, you start to realise you have been almost in this feelingless trance for years. The big difference I noticed when I was was on the drug was my lack of care for anyone or anything – nothing seemed to bother me at all – a zombie. I have been offered Fluoxetine to take as well to help me come off Seroxat, but I just can’t see how taking another drug that I could get addicted to, is going to be helpful in any way and I am too scared to try. I am so angry at the drugs companies for not taking it off the shelves and it is heart breaking to hear that people are still being prescribed the drug. But as the second biggest money spinner in the world, we are never going to get the support and backing from the government that is required to stop these horrific drugs harming more people. It’s great for the economy if loads of people are on drugs – especially ones they know you’re never going to get off – very clever Mr GSK ! A disgrace-you are a disgraceful company. You disgust me.
My heart goes out to those suffering right now and I can only say that I wish everyone the luck and will to get off this poison. Speaking for myself I have no idea when this torture will end-I do not want to be a statistic, so I will keep trying and I hope that some day in the future I will feel like myself again. Z.x
February 19, 2011 at 2:35 am
You may have to come off of it slower.
I have been through this twice and failed, I failed again last week as I had feelings of being terrified and wanting to die. I felt like I was losing my mind aswell as wanting to be sick, my head felt like it was hanging off, I couldnt focus my eyes on anything and the shocks through my body!
Well you aren’t going mad, a sane person couldn’t have written all what you wrote
Can I just say, I took fluoxatine…the withdrawel off of that is almost as bad as seroxat and 2 weeks after coming off that was when I started taking seroxat. so if you want off of drugs don’t start taking that. yes it will take away your withdrawel symptoms because it’s another SSRI drug and you get the same problems coming off that too.
If you are really feeling that bad, sorry to say you might have to just go back on it. I had to make a choice whether it was worth losing my sanity and possibly harming myself or to go back on it. I chose to go back on it. I hate the drug, I want off it as I feel it has ruined the best part of 10 years of my life. But at the same time I don’t want to feel like I want to end my life. Nothing is worth feeling that low.
February 22, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Hi,
I just wanted to drop you a line and thank you for replying to me. I found your supportive words really helpful. I’m not in to facebook or any of the social networking sites and was hesitant about writing anything on here, but I felt so low at the time and sometimes you feel no one is listening about the dreadful effects of this drug and I just wanted to be heard…by someone. I am now back on 10mg a day but in liquid form which is 5ml. I need to stabilise on this amount before I try to drop again as I can’t cope or deal with another melt down at the moment. I have struggled to get from 40 to 10 for a year but it just doesn’t seem to get any easier, just worse. I am definitely only going to drop in 1ml stages from now on, I can’t drop anymore. I tried to do one day on it and one day off but this was way too much of a physical shock and the mental trauma is too painful. I have learnt my lesson to take this extremely slowly from here on in. It mustn’t get the better of any of us though, I will keep striving to get off this. I see this as a war between me a GSK and they are not going to beat me. You have to believe you can beat it some day, don’t you.
Anyway, I really hope you are coping well with life at present and thank you again for taking the time to get back to me. Good Luck and keep strong. At least we are not on our own.
March 3, 2011 at 8:27 am
HI ZARA I HAVE A SIMILAR STORY TO YOU, I GOT FROM 20MGTO 10MG IN 6 MONTHS THEN 5MG IN THE NEXT 4 MONTHS TOOK 5MG FOR 2 WEEKS THEN QUIT TOTALLY, HOWEVER STARTED TAKING VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS …ITS BEEN HELL BUT I REFUSE TO TAKE ANOTHER CRUMB OF THAT POISON AGAIN…6 MONTHS ON AND IM STILL STRUGGLING BUT THERE IS A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IVE NOW LOST 9KG AND THE MORNINGS WHICH WERE HORRIFIC ARE GETTING BETTER…I STILL SEE TREE BRANCHES DIFFERENTLY AS WELL AS THE FRONT OF SPEEDING BUSES, NOT TO MENTION KITCHEN UTENSILSS BUT I KEEP FIGHTING IT ..DONT HAVE A JOB BUT ITS A FULLTIME BATTLE I TRY TO EXERCISE EVERYDAY BUT ITS HARD TO DO WHEN HAVING AN ANXIETY ATTACK ..THANKS TO W/D SYMPTOMS . FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE BOUGHT ME DEPRESSION BOOKS ON CBTHEORY QUIYE FRANKLY THIS IS TOTALLY BEYOND CCB THEORY …I BELIEVE WERE DEALING WITH BRAIN DAMAGE …WHO IS MAN TO THINK HE CAN PLAY GOD WITH THE BRAIN? ANYWAY KEEP FIGHTING TO GET OFF WE HAVE NO OPTION YOU CAN DO IT.!
March 12, 2011 at 8:16 pm
hi guys…I saw this website, and after reading all comments, i must say i feel so much better and STRONGER.
About 2 year ago, i started having panick attacks,and anxiety problems. After months of struggling with this problem, I decided to go visit an pscyhatrist. I was never fond of tablets, but he mentioned that I need to take a drug called SEROXAT, otherwise i will never get rid of this problem. I insisted that i have never thought that i need any type of pill medication, but he kept on telling me, tat its just for a few months, and i’ll come back to normal. So I started taking this EVIL drug. I must say that i was feeling so much better, and it eliminated my anxiety completely. But after a fews months i realised that I wasnt myself anymore, and could not continue taking this medication-as all it does–it hides ure problem, but ure condition will still be persisting and getting worst.
I decided to visit a pscyhologist, and I stopped seroxat immediately. Ohhhhhhh god i passed through hell, I can say that the first 2 weeks were the worst- I had hot flushes,and then shivering the other second. Trembling(i couldnt even speak to certain people), excessive sweating, mood swings and enormous fear. Now im into my third week and I must admit,that i feel SLIGHTLY better. My pschyologist is helping me alot aswel.
After reading all these comments, i will NEVER and NEVER touch this evil pill again. I thought that I was going crazy, literally, but now I know that its the seroxat side effects.. Guys after reading all these comments, please get that courage within you to fight it–we can all do it together…we control our minds–we dont want to let this evil pill take over, so lets fight it together.
this website,has got me to my senses, and showed me that im not crazy(cause believe me thats wat I thought about 2 hours ago)
March 18, 2011 at 4:59 am
Hi,
I was diagnosed with social phobia and depression, and had been taking seroxat (10 mg a day) for over 2 months. I decided to quit, the “cold turkey” way, since I noticed it was no longer helping me, and the quality of my sleep was being compromised. I’m on my 4th day now, and I can say I’m already experiencing hell. I feel dizzy, can’t concentrate, and get sweaty palms. I’m getting shaky and lethargic throughout the day. The slighest sounds would usually freak me out. I literally feel like a crazy person. After I get through this, I swear I’ll never take that pill, or any other SSRI, again.
March 26, 2011 at 8:30 pm
hi david,
I have stopped them cold turkey aswel in febuary. The first three weeks, i passed from the exact same experiences which you did..but it will all fade away as time passes. The only thing which is still bugging me abit is the sweating which sometimes i cannot control. However, I am feeling soo much better now, and Im building my own strong character…If I can do it, you can aswel. it takes some time but you’ll get there, believe me. Give it a few weeks and side effects will slowly diminish…and ure not crazy–hehe thats wat i said when i was passing throu that time, because for a second i was feeling happy, and the other second i would have terrible thought, I also use to have enormoussss fear from people which i cannot describe–sometimes I even use to loose my voice and couldnt speak to them. But now its been a month and all this fear diminished. keep strong, you ll feel much better as time goes by. remember one thing- you have a voice, you are nothing less than others. believe in and love yourself and always be positive in life..takecare
March 20, 2011 at 6:08 pm
hello everyone…
i m on seroxat CR 12.5 mg from a month…i m scared some of my friends told me to stop this drug …i tried and skipping for a day or two i am having weird kind of nightmares, mood swings, panic attacks, severe headache , nausea, weight gain etc
i am scared really wanna quit plzz lzz plzz can somebody help me ?? what should i do??
March 22, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Hey Rida
Don’t skip it. My advice would be to take it for the 6 months advised period then come off it. I’ve taken it off and on and when I@ve only been on it several months i’ve been just fine stopping it. It does work and makes you feel better it’s just coming off that’s the problem. I have also put weight on taking it, 3 years now and I am now lowering it 1mg at a time and so far no side effects. I can’t say it didn’t help me because it did but I do beleive it stops working eventually and that it’s incredibly hard to come off but it’s possilbe. Stay strong try not to over think it because it won’t help. xx
March 29, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Hi, I am 20, I was put on seroxat about a month and a half ago and told to stay on them for at least 6 months..Stupidly after a month i ran out and did not bother to get more; since, i have been feeling awful, i have thrown up, have a constant feeling of nausea, have terrible headaches, an increased sensitivity to light..has anyone else had that?? Also i have found myself crying over nothing and have self harmed again which i hadn’t done in years. My dreams are extremely vivid, my memory is suffering, and i have alot of suicidal thoughts.
As none of this is all that visual my mum and boyfriend think i am being soft; i started to think i was so it’s a relief to know i am not alone.
Can anyone offer any advise? I need help.
March 29, 2011 at 6:24 pm
sounds to me like you’re suffering Seroxat withdrawal – please talk to someone but be aware your doctor may not know (or believe in) the fact that many people suffer this way when they stop Seroxat.
The vivid dreams are real give-away. I don’t think the self harming and suicidal thoughts sound very good – please be careful.
Show this site to your Mum and boyfriend maybe?
If they understand they’re better placed to help you.
April 5, 2011 at 11:01 pm
hi, just reading all your comments has made me feel much better. i have been on seroxat for just over thirteen years. my doctor,the one who prescribed them all those years ago retired and my new doctor was shocked to see how long i had been on them. with her help i have been reducing the dose from 20mg a day and i am now on 2.5mls every day. this has taken since last august to get this far. i saw her weekly at first and now once a month. if i feel i need to which i have done, i can speak to her or the duty doctor. i have been given anti sickness tablets which i only used in the early days and now have access to diazipan if i need them. i used three the first month and one last month. these seem to help on bad days. spoke to the doctor today and she wants me to stay another month on this dose before reducing any further. i think to get off this drug a good doctor can make all the difference.
May 7, 2011 at 6:45 pm
I just wanted to say Months ago I started to have paxil reduced. Then a few weeks ago the dose was lowered again. A week into that the withdrawal started really kicking in. The withdrawal was the one thing I feared as this is not the first time I have tried coming off. I told my boyfriend that I was ready to just get off of it. I am 23 days Paxil free right now. It has been hell. I am still weak. I saw my Dr. this week ans she says there is a huge difference in me. I laugh now, I have feelings now all of this after 14 years of being stuck on this drug. I plan on staying strong the pills rent to the recycle thing. I want to warn people don’t do what I did. I am a very stubborn person who when I set my mind to something is hard to change. You also need support I had lots of it and still do. I deviated from the plan and am looking forward to better days
May 14, 2011 at 4:21 pm
I have used Seroxat at 30mg from 1997 for grief issues, i had no symptoms of anything, and had no problems when starting it.
Im 2005 i started getting symptoms, which i now know to be anxiety related, plus the fear thing which set in, and found myself a couple of times, unable to go from my living room into my kitchen, and had no idea why.
I visited my doctor and he ct me off seroxat, i had at this stage used the drug for 8yrs, and now i know i had built up a tolerance to it, and the drug had become ineffective.
Ct off rendered me pretty much non functional, as most here can understand.
I rang my doctor and explained while crying what i was feeling, pretty much everything that is described here, and
he prescribed me diazepam, propranelol and prozac, which i took from january 06 up until march, whereby i informed my doctor that i was still suffering from symptoms, so again, he ct me off those 3 too , 2 days later i had a benzo ct induced seizure. At that time, i had no idea why and the doctor was reluctant to explain why this had happened.
In april, the following month, i visited my doctor again, and explained that i was very emotional and had anxiety, he told me i needed to go back on 20mg, and gullible as i was, i believed him and went back on it.
I took this dose up until Nov 07, by that time i had found a support group called paxil progress, and found 1000s of others having the same symptoms, as up until this point i had no idea of why im was having these crazy symptoms or feeling ill – then i knew.
In nov 07, i summoned up the courage after my bad experience above, to start my very slow descent down from the devils poison, and it has taken me 56 long months of tapering/filing the tablet down to get to zero.
I got off on the tiniest sliver of paxil you ever saw in your lives.
My last dose was on wednesday 11th may.
Thursday 12th may was an exceptionally hard day.
Friday 13th was tolerable.
Saturday 14th – today
woke at 6.30am, feeling exceptionally teary, with jittery/shaky feelings, hot, relentless crying, told my husband, after having these symptoms for the last 56 months, i didnt want to do it anymore.
Not ….. that i dont want to live, i most certainly do, i have 2 daughters getting married this year, and have just had 2 new granddaughters born, why wouldnt I.
I just dont want these horrendous symptoms any longer, but i also know that going back on seroxat is not the answer, as i didnt feel well taking it.
Because of my long history with this drug, yes!!!!! i am so nervous, i am scared, in total , apart from the short 4.5 months i was off this, i have taken this poison for 14yrs, for GRIEF issues, omg, how gullible am i, in 1997, this drug was totally non addictive, and was hailed the wonder drug from america.
I have never in all my yrs experienced symptoms so horrific, akathesia, anxiety, panic attacks, fear, the list is endless.
I spend most of my days alone, my husband works, and as very few understand this, unless you have been there, id really love to talk to someone in the same boat.
Its very very hard to stay positive and upbeat, and to have support while going through this means everything.
Yes!!! i am upset, i was lied to and decieved, and denied the right to choose what medication i take, knowing the true facts beforehand.
I also was part of the failed litigation with HUGH jAMES, IT BREAKS MY HEART that GSK created all this pain and sufering with there wonder drug, and got to walk away free.
But most of all, i would like to know how others have survived the horror that is Seroxat WD!!!!
If anyone cares to chat my email address is
anjopom@yahoo.com.
Id be very grateful of advice aND MAYBE SOME SUPPORT TOO.
May 14, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Angie, I really don’t think you should post your email address on a public website as you don’t know who will contact you and there are some dodgy folk about! I myself am down to 6mg/3ml a day on this horrendous drug and it has been hell-everything you describe. I think to a certain extent we have no choice but to go through the vicious side effects, I don’t think there is any easy route, but you do sound like you have your head screwed on and I totally believe you are strong enough to stay off it become strong again-you have your beautiful family to get well for. I think it can also help to make sure you are getting a lot of exercise so you start producing more natural seratonin, also eating bananas, chicken, turkey, pumpkin seeds are also great for the brain and seratonin levels. Massage is also helpful and getting enough sunshine on your skin. You can also take selinium and vitamins, chromium and minerals. All these things can help a little but I believe it would take a few weeks to feel a difference. I really think you need to fight this and STAY OFF any Drugs-you have done SO WELL and it gives me hope that some day soon I too will be seroxat free. I’m thinking of you and know how you are feeling. All the very for your future. Z
May 14, 2011 at 11:14 pm
All that advice is good but I found in the worst of it I couldn’t eat and there was noway I could be on my feet long enough to exercise. I used nutritional shakes when I couldn’t eat. One thing also is drink water lots and lots of it. I am at 4 weeks off of this drug after 14 years. Stay strong You will make it
May 28, 2011 at 7:01 am
Thank god for this site…….
I have been taking Paroxetine (Aropax) for 2 years and am in the process of withdrawing. I feel as bad as I did when I was prescribed this medication in the first place!
I started this medication after suffering anxiety and panic attacks. After a heart event that frightened the hell out of me the panic attacks got worse and reluctantly I started 20mg a day.
A month ago my GP put me on Seroquel (25mg) at night to help me ‘chill out’ and get some sleep – they seemed to be doing a great job….then 2 weeks ago he advised I begin the withdrawl from paroxetine.
20 mg to 15 in the first week….wasn’t too bad….a little lack of focus and more jittery…but nothing to serious. Then last Tuesday (May24) I dropped from 15 to 10mg. The horrible feelings didnt start till yesterday (27th) so at least I got a few days to build my false sense of security!
For the last 2 days I have felt like absolute Cr#p, especially later in the afternoon…..like right now! I have nausea, diarroeh, hot flushes, cold chills, MASSIVE anxiety and had 4 panic attacks last night….short but pretty full on. I sleep well at night and thats down to the seroquel but if this is what my days are going to be like….Im not sure if I will cope. Im a mum of 2 teenagers, I work, study at uni and need to function……please please some advise on how to get through this…and someone please tell me they got through this hell …so I know there is something to hold on to.
May 28, 2011 at 8:08 am
Hi Lorna
I would advise that you just take it slower – 15 to 10 in one drop is too much. Just reduce by 10% steps and use the liquid and a syringe to be as accurate as possible. I took almost two years to reduce from 30mgs.
After each 10% reduction wait for a few weeks to stabilise and when you feel OK then make another 10% reduction, so each reduction will get smaller – 10% of 10mls is 1ml, 10% of 7mls is 0.7ml etc etc
Take it slow and tell the doc what you’re doing. Remember that the liquid is double strength as well – 5mls = 10mgs – or it is in the UK.
Also check out Paxil Progress – you’ll find support there.
Good luck – just go slow and don’t set deadlines.
May 28, 2011 at 9:50 am
Thanks for the quick reply…..I have joined Paxil Progress and see there is some great advise in there. I think I will ring my GP and discuss slowing this process down, even staying on 15mg for a month or so then dropping little by little. Thanks
May 28, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Hi Lorna,
I am also going through the horrors of Seroxat withdrawal. YOU MUST NOT lower your dose so quickly – it is actually dangerous. You must change over to the liquid form and ask your pharmacist for a syringe as the cup you get is just not accurate. I am now down to 2.5ml and I’ll be honest it is a living hell but I have realised I need to slow down the process-Im just so desperate to get off it. 5mg jumps is just too much for the brain and body to cope with. My side effects kick when lowering by only 1 point of a ml ! It is a long and difficult road but I know WE CAN DO IT. IT must be so hard when you have children to worry about, all the more reason to take it really slowly. But don’t give up just because it’s hard. Stay on the amount you are on until you stabilise for a period of time and lower it in very small amounts. My heart goes out to anyone who is suffering like me and you but we are must be stubborn and head strong and slowly take our lives back. You will be okay Lorna-you will. You have to get better for your beautiful children. It’s not you it’s the drug. You are a very capable woman and will find the strength to get through this. Be strong. Thinking of you.
May 29, 2011 at 4:30 am
Thanks Zara,
I have to sy I don’t even know if they do paroxetine in liquid form in Australia…..but I really hope so. There is no way I could cope with another huge drop in one go. As its Sunday here I havent had chance to talk with my GP but thats my first call in the morning. Then I will ring and book in for accupuncture – I have been told it can help with withdrawal symptoms. Today is day 6 on 10mg, I decided to stick with the 10 for now……if I can’t cope I will go back to the 15 – but no higher. I think remaining positive is going to be the thing that pulls me through this mess.
June 8, 2011 at 11:40 am
Hi,
This is the first time I have written but really struggling with the withdrawl side effects at the moment. I started Peroxetone last August after being in a terrible state then having very bad reaction to Citalopram. Feeling very stupid for starting it when you read all the horror stories about it, but was in such a bad place looking on the internet was beyond me at that time, but saying that it has really helped me since then and I noticed an immediate effect on my mood and was able to continue working throughout the depression and since…up untill now.
My doctor was very happy for me to stop taking it and I have followed his course of tapering which has been very fast I have come down from 20mg to nil in 2 months. This seems very fast compared to some people out there. tool my last 3.5mg tablet 3rd June 2011.
On the positive side I am feeling more like my self but this is buried under all of the side effects and currnetly unable to work (or drive) due to the dizzyness, electric shocks, neusea, insomnia, nightmares, inabaility to regulate tempreature, inability to concentrate or sit still and headaches, but my mood is good somewhere underneath this all.
Has anyone else stopped in this way and only had the physical side effects, not the increase in anxiety? If so how long did it take the symptons to go?
I am grateful for any advice but determined not to go back on the tablets it feels like a big achivement to be off them and like it is the right thing to do.
Thanks.
June 11, 2011 at 8:07 pm
hi so nice that i found this site. i am from bulgaria..i’ve been taking seroxat for two years. i, m trying to stop taking it now but it is sooo difficult.i have all these withdraw effects. it is really a nightmare. but i am sure i CAN do it. thanks to all of you for the advices here. it feels really better when u know that u are not alone
June 25, 2011 at 9:13 pm
i have taken seroxat for twenty years in racent months the theraputic effects have deminished my gp said double the dose a delay in prescription has produced more intense withdrawal than ever before i belive that this drug has simply blotted out issues it was meant to treat and apart the usual withdrawal symptons the ugly truths that led to the need for treament flood back into my mind
August 25, 2011 at 11:55 pm
Hi there,
I really need some advice/guidance.
I have been n paroxetine/paxil for 12 years.
Through out those 12 years i wasn’t sure if i could feel the effects but i was so young when i was put on them (14) that i think i was actually slightly unaware of what was going on at at all apart from the fact i was terrified all the time and needed some help.
Any way my antic attacks have been a pretty constant problem so 2 weeks ago my doctor suggested that i income of pail and transfer to cipralex another sari.
So i started by taking 1 pail and 1 cipralex for 2 weeks and now today i am taking only cipralex x2.
I feel awful…i am getting brain zaps which shock me from behind the eyes when i move my eyes around, pulsating in my neck and chest…spinning, crying, exhaustion, depression…is this normal.
The aim of weaning from one drug to the other was to avoid a lot of the side effects and at 1st i felt quite good but now i just feel crap.
Have you heard of any other swapping meeds stories and do you think it is normal to still get pail with drawl even though i am starting a new medication???
Also i wondered if you’d heard of anyone getting brain zaps even when they have been on a normal dose of pail as i had them ..midly through out there use.
Thank you so much for your time and best wishes,
Amelia
August 27, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Dear Amelia
It is my belief that when you have been on Paxil/Paroxetine/Seroxat for many years it is virtually impossible to have uncomplicated withdrawal especially if you try to stop taking it in two weeks, even if you are taking another SSRI in it’s place. The symptoms you are experiencing are what most people suffer when they try to wean themselves of Paxil. I can only imagine how horrific stopping them in two weeks has been for you. It has taken me a year to get from 20mg to 1.5ml. As I have experienced the terrible side effects that you describe myself, I know exactly how awful you are now feeling. For many people coming off Paxil should be taken extremely slowly, especially when you have been on them your entire adult life. Doctors are not always the most well informed regarding Paxil withdrawal as the information is not readily made available. Sufferers like yourself and me are often left to find out how to withdraw safely online or through the help of the wonderful people who run sites like this one as they recognise the desperation,terror and disability that many people suffer from Paxil withdrawal. You will find so much fantastic information on this site that almost all your questions can be answered.
I am no expert but my advice would be to go back on the Paxil (even though it pains me to say it as I personally resent the awful drug so much, I am anti any SSRI drugs, but that is another matter and something you may want to research yourself in the future when you feel strong enough to deal with it). By stopping it in only two weeks you have put yourself in a very vulnerable position. You must wean off Paxil extremely slowly – I myself have to get the liquid version and use a syringe to very gradually lower my dose – I can’t lower it more than point one of a ml and even then the side effects come on. At worst Paxil withdrawal can make you feel suicidal and your life is worth more than that so you must not let yourself get to that stage. If you really feel dreadful you should take the Paxil again and then it must be a very gradual reduction and if at any stage you feel you can’t cope just go back up to your last drop and stick there until you feel able to mentally cope with the next drop.
Please just slowly wean yourself off, over months or even a year, it is not a race – as I was once told by Bob Fiddaman who also runs his own excellent website. He went through hell after he just stopped taking the Paxil like you.
Just out of interest it would be worth checking if your anxiety gets worse at a certain time of the month, many teenage girls are diagnosed with anxiety when actually it is just hormones – which can be equally dreadful for some but if you can identify a link it is worth researching. Maybe you don’t need SSRI’s and would benefit from natural remedies. Whatever you decide to do you must do it slowly. It really upsets me that a doctor could think after having been on a certain drug for so many years that you could just swap it for another in a matter of 14 days – it is just madness and I feel very sorry that you have had to go through this hell.
Please know that you are not alone and it is not you going mad it is your brain/nervous system going crazy for the Paxil. You will get through this but you need to be very sensible about it.
In any case you should go back to your doctor and ask him, since you have been on the drug for so long was it a great idea to come off it so quickly? And you should try to get some help from your doctor to wean you slowly from one drug to the other – if you must take SSRI’s you should do it very safely.
Please also remember you are a young woman and there is a lot of evidence mounting up the points to Paxil being a teratogenic and if you intend to have children in the future you should be aware of this.
Things will get much better for you Amelia, I just know it. Please be strong and be safe – if you ever feel really low you must seek help. And please, please don’t rush coming off the Paxil.
All the very best
August 27, 2011 at 5:35 pm
I have been on Seroxat/Paxil for over 10 years I have been weaning off since March this year from 20mg and now down to 10.5mg, everything seemed fine until I dropped from 11 to 10.5 and after a few days I have started to feel very tired, headaches, dizziness, aggitated and generally feeling unwell. I have been told by a Psychologist that it will take me 18 months to come because I have been on for so long. Maybe she is right and I am coming down to fast. I am going to give it a few more days and if I continue to feel this way I will go back to 12mg and re-stabilish.
I have done a lot of research on Seroxat and it is obvious the slower you go the better, I need to listen to myself!
September 8, 2011 at 12:17 pm
I have been on 20mgs of Seroxat for ten years and am finially trying to wean myselff offf. I am going down by an mg over three weeks at the moment, It has been going well but I am now at 17mg and I had a dizzy fit yesterday and on and off feel like crying. Is this to expected? Does this suggest that it is going too fast? It is good to be able tot see other people’s stories as it feels quite lonely not to be able to talk to anyone about it!
September 8, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Those things and so much more can be expected. I am now about 6 months off of paxil. I gave up on the step down method and quit cold turkey. I had the support I needed to do it that way and my Dr. had put me on another med to help. I couldn’t get out of bed for a few days and then there were crying spells and so much more. I hope this helps you a little bit and hang in there it does get better
September 8, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Hi Anna
I’ve also been on 20mg. This is my 3rd attempt at coming off Seroxat and I’m doing it slowly this time. I started lowering by 1mg a week to 17mg and since then have done 1mg approximately every 4-5 weeks, I’m now on 12mg using the liquid version. Those symptoms you are experience are really normal for this. I get the crying thing alot but mainly I suffer from visual disturbances and headaches. My mood underneath it all is fairly good though, I know enough now to accept these withdrawal symptoms will happen. First couple of days of experiencing it I’m a mess and then I adapt. They tend to fade after a few weeks then you drop again and it can happen again. Strangely though not every drop is the same. My advice would be to take it slowly using the liquid, there’s no rush, as long as you come off it in the end, I’ve had to battle to accept that as initially I just wanted to be off it. Good luck and take care x
September 10, 2011 at 7:41 am
I am 46 years man who was living very naturally with life ups and downs until one day I had a problem and that problem put in depression for few weeks and I was about to get crazy. I went to see a GP who started giving me Lorazepam (initially marketed under the brand names Ativan and Temesta) and it started reducing my depression temporarily until a friend of mine gave an advice to see a psychiatric who had put me on seroxat gradually from 10 mg to 30 mg daily. At the beginning I suffered a lot from the side effects of this drug. Now I am still suffering of nightmares and if a little change of my daily routine I become very sad and depressed, also being so sensitive towards anything in my daily life. I wanted to getride of these crazy tablet ones for all and I have started reading to see what others say (choosing not to go to psychiatric again) whom I think will be the best people to help me in this situations. I have seen that reducing gradually the dose would be the best thing to do over a long period of time (don’t rush yourself) you were on that medication for a long time and it would required also long time to get rid of it. Being on this medication for 10 years making me feel that I am controlled by it and I can have my own control over myself. I am waiting for your advice.
September 12, 2011 at 3:12 pm
REad my other post Rasool, the devil attacks the weak…. and we are weakened by our very complicated lives. Pls dont label me a cookoo, because I am not. Just remember you can do anything u want to if u will it enough. My father had a will power i had not seen before or since, and i think I finally get it. Slowley or fast , whichever u prefer, find other medicines (try meditation for one, nutrition another what u eat seriously affects ur mind and can even mimic scitzophrenia in some cases and our foods are laden with crap nowadays) the ones that are really good for u and dont give u quick fixes. Have people who bring out the good in u around not leave u feeling lost or confused, wherever u can.Life is damn hard that is a fact and we r not supposed to be happy all the time, super confident, perfect social butterflies and certainly wont be by putting undue pressure on oursleves, we are told what we should be like by media and not listening to oursleves anymore, when we dont fit the medias ideal we start beating oursleves up, lol its a joke, when u see thru it all u just see it clearly, there are societies where people embrace differences, red indian will give u a name that is just for u and a special attribute, we have moments of happiness in life enjoy them, but life is hard and so will be living it drug free but drugs come with their own problems. THIS DRUG IS NO GOOD. I am not writing them all off here, they can help u for a time and some people need them they are so far gone in their problems and cannot get off them, i get that but too many people are put on them too easily and then have further problems on them, I would stay away from this drug is what im saying!!! Good luck
September 10, 2011 at 7:53 am
hey everyone ! I am on seroxat (20mg) for my social anxiety for just two weeks & after reading all above posts i have decided to discontinue it. Despite of the fact that i have been on this drug for very short duration, Do i still need to tapper down the dosage to avoid side effects or i just stop taking it ?
Regards,
David
September 10, 2011 at 8:23 am
You must tell your Doctor what you’re doing and ensure he helps you.
After two weeks I have no idea of the best way to stop taking it. Just to be sure I’d suggest a slow taper using liquid Seroxat.
September 12, 2011 at 2:54 pm
To all and David, I might be the only one who says this to u David, Having read all the previous posts and my own cold turkey off it when i got pregnant I personally think it makes no difference, people get the same symptoms i have noticed but mine were less dragged out (physical problems), especially as u r so new to it, i was on it for years! I had feelings like I was wearing somebody elses glasses disoriented, severe night mares for a week (nightmares every night whole time i was on it anyway so I handled them), pins needles and alsorts but i said if i hav to stay in bed all day every day for a while I am going to do it. Basically i said even if it kills me il come off and i did to my surprise that stuff did pass one day it went a week and a half later. Not to say things are perfect far from it I know its affected my mind in some ways, but i handle it, and I have made a decision that is never again after I read what it can do to embryos/ fetus’s i was sickened and what people are going through. IT IS SIMPLY NOT A SOLUTION this drug and id rather have my problems than become like a drunken fool on it thinking that everyhting is a joke incl my actions, How they gave it to women like me is beyond me as we obviously may fall pregnant and il tell u NEVER trust any doctor pharamasist completely either trust the common man and research everything on the net-double and use ur common sense to guide u. While being pregnant I have had dodgy advice from people who think they know it all and luckily i did my own research. The docs were telling me Paroxetine is safe for pregnancy, its great for pregnancy one told me, another absolutley safe these ‘m f’rs’ dont know what the hell they are doing. YES U HAVE done a great thing to come off it and well done for checking out unlike idiot me who didnt when i first had it assumed it was like fluoxetine etc!~ U DONT NEED THIS DRUG it gives u nightmares every night mine finally stopped when i stopped it and it makes u do crazy stuff and u still feel shit on shit days, yeh it made me more confident too confident! A bit of a loud mouth infact and not a very nice person anymore more of an idiot, i lost my essence. As u get older u realise ur ok the way u r and nobody is perfect, the world is pretty messed up right now and its constant bad news i actually know whats going on and its not good people ask the right questions and u will get the right answers, intelligent people often get depressed they pick things up and absorb it like a sponge if they are caring. Seriously people what is there to be happy about not much at the mo lets be frank… thats y we feel lost mostly or different its not just us its the whole damn world we live in based on lies and hypocriscy. lol. I have a different medicine now and formed my own community.. I speak to people who care for the truth mostly and find it out. Thats my medicine. THIS DRUG is simply a devil in disguise. I DONT EXPECT TO BE HAPPY EVERY DAY NO MORE, Thats another illusion we have been brainswashed into thinking by the media. I am real, genuine, and care for the things that matter and I am happy for that I have happy moments that I deserve but NO i stopped expecting to be a happy have it all hollywood character a while ago and do u kno what bad days and good i am just happier to be REAL. People I am now off it since June cold turkey and I tell u what i eat well and watch the right things not half the bull on TV and I like myself even when If feel bad. Ive been thru things in my life that made me very strong, I dont need a devil drug to make me ‘happy drunk’ but stupid. I know how to love myself and ACCEPT myself. Love to all of u i wish i could talk to every one of u. xxx anyone wants to talk to me ur wlecome butif i dont get back its because I am pregnant and focusing on learning about nutrition and doing my flat up at the mo. ps. meditation = free and makes u sharp awake and give lets ur mind empty the dustbin out. We all go back to God/ unconditional love again one day, it wont be like this forever. Reassure ur minds with this.
September 12, 2011 at 3:35 pm
All PAxil sufferers. I want to say we are ‘doing time’ here on earth, living in invisible cages and we are limited beyond our vision even though they tell us u r free lol, make the most of it where u can…. it will never make complete sense because we dont have all the answers no matter how much we learn in every aspect of life we will never have all the answers, we r lost sheep we can only do our best to live it in peace and harmony. STOP being hard on ourselves and keep away from PAXIL if u can i say. I do believe in justice and something better awaits, but no im not suicidal saying this, I just know whats happening in the world, or a little of it to know we are mostly not the problem, we just manifest the symptoms of the disease of this life. I had two near death experience in my life one when i nearly drowned too, and i went from being in the greatest physical turmoil to absolute peace when i left my body and I was about to enter somewhere extremley beautiful and indescribable, immense warmth light and goodness was oozing from it and speaking without words inviting me in, love was waiting that was familiar, it was soooooo inviting the only reason i didnt go was i didnt want to get my sister into trouble with my Dad for letting me drown so i went back. Read about famous people who had near death experiences and u will see. We were born in the biggest race of sperm u can imagine read up on it, and ul c how special u r, and u wont doubt urself again, ur a winner, to hav won that race, we r supposed to live this no matter how crap it is or good, each and every one of us until our appointed end are here for a reason. When it ends- Then it will all make sense i strongly believe. Life is crazy. Were just the victims. We all have a fight, the biggest fight is within us. Keep winning, by believing in u no matter how u dont fit the ideal u have been force fed. PEACE
September 18, 2011 at 3:47 am
I have been taken seroxat for more than five years with different doses , so is it safe to take it more than i did even for eternity , cause I think I can’t give up taking it cause I feel good while taking it , when I forget to take it for even a single night next day I feel bad , so is that ok ,
September 19, 2011 at 2:13 am
I have been weaning off Paxil since May after taking this drug for 10 years with a max dose of 40 milligrams. I am so so close to the end of my weaning; I am down to just 5 milligrams. Along the way I have had minor bumps with withdrawal symptoms but keep going forward as I am determined to kick this drug. Now the past few weeks have been very difficult with headaches, fatigue, “visual disturbances” and body zaps. The withdrawal symptoms are by far the worst I ahve experienced so far. So so annoying. I am determined not to let this get me down; There is a newer book out called “The Chemistry of Calm” I recommend it highly.
September 20, 2011 at 9:04 pm
My doctor prescribed me seroxat 20MG when i was 17, 10 years later at 27 i am still taking them. I also have nothing good to say. I remember within the 1st week of taking them i was hooked, i was only 17 and didn’t take my medication seriousely so forgot to take them one day. The next day i had severe headaches, vomiting, sweating and my body felt so heavy and exhausted i couldn’t get out of bed, it didn’t click at first it had anything to do with seroxat untill a few times of doing it you realise and i definately realised they are not to be messed about. I was living at home at the time and there was a programme on panorama quite a few people had either killed someone they loved dearly or themselves. My mum got worried and threw them away and said you won’t be taking them anymore. 1 week later i had a beakdown, delusions, sweating, flickers in my head now i have read the comments i know they are called electric shocks and i acted out a suicide attempt, i couldn’t sleep i was awake all night shaking and crying but i didn’t actually know why. It was actually the dentist that contacted my doctor and said i need help, it come out that i came i was taking paroxine and 2 weeks later after they were taken off me i cracked up. I never messed them about after that but in 10 years there have been times when i haven’t had them due to some circumstances and i trash the house looking to see if i can find 1 tablet at the bottom of the draw, i have called a helpline saying that if they don’t give me a prescription i will harm myself i would do anything to make sure i take them. In the past 2 years i have been experiencing my heart raceing, it races so fast i vomit I went for an ECG and other tests but nothing flags up, untill 1 doctor read from his book a side affect complaint is arrythmia so the doctor and I are not sure if this has developed due to taking this drug for so long, he put me forward for counselling to try and come off them with guidance and supervision. Finally we were getting somewhere untill the pharmasist accidently gave me 30MG instead of 20MG and i was taking them for 2 weeks, i had all the side affects and my work sent me home. I then noticed and realised and had to go back to 20MG but unfortunately due to them being so strong i am now addicted to 30MG and i am surprised it happened in a space of 2 weeks. I am back on 20MG now battling the side affects, i get the vivid nightmares, tremors, electirc shocks, sweating, nausea, vomiting, feelings of suicide and i could go on for ever. My message to everyone is when you have the feelings please tell yourself it’s a chemical and you wouldn’t feel like it if that chemical wasn’t there. Get professional help, visit sites like this so you know your not the only one, gradually come off them i have seen some people write on here liquid, thanks to those people i will look into that and good luck. Anyone thinking of taking them DON’T! and to anyone that has lost anyone i’m sorry.
September 21, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Steph – what can I say?
I feel for what you’re going through – maybe you could try liquid Seroxat as it allows you to reduce by smaller, more controlled amounts.
Ask your Doc about it.
It’s tough to quit – but the trick is (I think) to take it real slow and reduce by a 10% amount each time and wait until you feel OK at the new dose, then go again.
You will get through it – I know, I did. It won’t be easy, but you can do it if you want to – keep your Doctor in the loop at all times.
Good luck.
September 25, 2011 at 11:48 am
Dear all,
First, i’m so happy that i found out that i’m not alone. I’m on seroxat 30mg for onver two years. before that i stayed taking citalopram for 5 years. I changed a lot physically, i’m over weight now, gained 30 kg over the past 8 years. all my life i was a skinny person, NOT ANYMORE. Anyhow, i had lots of physical symtoms and did like millions of blood test but all is normal except that i have high cholestrol. Also i suffer from Hypoglaycima (low blood sugar) which hassimilar symptoms of depression, anxiety and panic attacks. ONE MAJOR SYMPTOM I’M SUFFERING FROM IS LIKE AN ELECTRIC SENSATION GOES FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF MY TUMMY, TO THE HEART, LEFT EYE, AND THEN MY BRAIN. I START THEN HAVING THIS SENSATION THAT MY HEART IS IN MY STOMACH AND MY STOMACH IS EMPTY. PLUS I FEEL LIGHTHEADED AND CAN’T CONCENTRATE MUCH. if i’m sleeping on my left, and moved my eyes to the left, it hits me like you’re hitting a guitar string that keeps vibrating! as if i had hit a nerve with my left eye! ( i know sounds creepy) USUALLY THIS HAPPENS AT AROUND 3 IN THE AFTERNOON TILL I GO TO BED. IT INCREASES WHEN I EITHER SKIP A PILL WHEN I’M PMSING (BEFORE MY PERIOD I EXPERIENCE THE WORSE PMS SYMPTOMS) ANYHOW, I SAW LIKE THOUSANDS OF DOCTORS ABOUT THIS SENSATION AND THEY SAY NOTHING PHYSICALLY IS WRONG AND ALWAYS SAY (IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD HEHEHE THE USUAL). Please if anyone out there who has the same symptom please please let me know coz i’m freaking out. i’m going to try to stop the medication but scared like hell to go back to depression or panic attacks and to be worse than before.
Please if anyone out there quit seroxat, please tell me that after you’re done you feel better
i need a push and hope that all will be OK
Thank all and wish you all the best.
This is my email, you can contact me directly on my email it’s bassilko@gmail.com
September 28, 2011 at 7:47 am
HI, I have now been off seroxat for 5 weeks and feel a little bit better, I dont want to be dead so that is good, but I am still suffereing from horrible feelings in my head and nausea and wanting to cry. I still look forward to sleep more than anything which isnt great for an active 35 year old newley wed. I read that it takes 3 months fro seroxat to get out of your system, does anyone know, I just want to see an end it sight. I thought it was 2 to 3 weeks so now I am in week 5 I am loosing hope. I am seeing the psychitrist on Friday so I am hoping he will tell me it wont be much longer. I want to enjoy life like a young woman sshould, and start a family, any advice???
October 25, 2011 at 2:21 pm
hi emma, i was on the sister to seroxat (citalopram) for 3 months, it has been 19 weeks now off it and i am still suffering with anxiety symptoms, i have had the horrible feeling in the head etc alot of the withdrawal symptoms have passed but this horrible anxiety is getting me down. I had a hysterectomy 16years ago and i was given seroxat, it nearly killed me coming off it, so i should have known better this time. How long were you on it love x
September 28, 2011 at 7:49 am
anyone know how long it stays in your system? x
November 15, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Hi.. I went on Seroxat 12 years ago. So stupid, my relationship had broken down and i was depressed and not sleeping. With hindsight and the benefit of age and a bit more wisdom (iam 38) I now think..doh!! Of course I was down – what did I expect?? I am angry that after a 5 min consultation with a doc I was put on these things!! I feel dead inside. My emotions aren’t real. I am sick of sweating at night, sick of panicking if I am going to run out, sick of them!!! I am sure for many with serious depression they are a life saver, for me and many like me I would never have taken them had I known they were addictive. The benefits have never outweighed any positives. I would urge anyone to truly look at their situation..are they really depressed or are they merely going for a bad patch? If its a bad patch, its part of life, don’t add to your troubles by taking drugs!!
I am taking the advice on this website and am gradually cutting my dose from tomorrow, I am also badgering the hell out of my doctor for help. The NHS were quick to put me on them, they can support me coming off them. I am really scared of what lies ahead. I have got a job, I can’t afford to be sick. I have to carry on with life. Last time I came off them I felt like a had the worst flu and my head was wired up to the mains. I am strong, I gave up smoking after 20 years overnight and didn’t look back but I am terrified of this.
I would really appreciate any support, comments and advice off people who are about to start withdrawal. Maybe we can support each other? I am crying my eyes writing this. I am desperate to be free. I don’t want recrimimations or to kill anyone from Glaxo. I just want be free and to be the bouncy fun loving girl I used to be. Please help. Thanks Nicola xx
November 15, 2011 at 10:42 pm
Hi Nicola
OK – you’ve taken step 1… you really want to quit.
Step 2 – get liquid Seroxat and a small syringe (be aware that 10mls liquid = 20mgs tablet). You will squirt the syringe contents into your mouth – no needles!
Step 3 – take it slow and never reduce more than 10% of the dose you’re on at any one time.
Step 4 – reduce 10% then wait until you feel strong and able to think about the next reduction. Stabilising may take 2 days or 2 weeks or 2 months or longer…..
Step 4 – don’t put any time limit on it – no pressure.
Keep your Doctor informed about what you’re doing.
You’re older now – be aware that your depression has almost certainly gone – but withdrawal may make you feel like it’s back – but it’s the withdrawal from the drug, not anything returning.
Lastly, please take it slow and talk to your nearest and dearest – it took me almost 2 years to stop – and then the hard work started!
You can do it – others have.
Just be careful – and if you have to go back on a reduction to a previous dose then do it and don’t beat yourself up.
Keep in touch – good luck
November 15, 2011 at 11:56 pm
Hi Nicola
I feel for you but this can be done so don’t despair. I have been on and off Seroxat since I was 18, I’m now 37. This time around it’s been 8 years constant and I’m now down at 10mg. My problem was panic and anxiety related to stress in life. I relate although it worked well for me it did rob me from my emotions and other “normal” feeligns. Like you my nhs doctor didn’t think twice about putting me on it and in actual fact the last time I was prescribed it 8 years ago I expressed my concerns about what I’d read about it she said I’d be ok, and she didn’t believe in the stories, like a fool I put my trust in her. How wrong was I! I would say withdrawing has been hard but not hell, it will be done. Big piece of advice DO NOT rush it, your goal is to come off so there is no need to rush. I started in January last year got to 10mg but all the panic came back, in hindsight my father had died in an accident and I was obviously grieving and stressed and deeply regret putting it back up to 20mg. Again in January this year I started and got to 14mg but my oldest daughter was raped and I was going on holiday feeling stressed, didn’t want to ruin it so on advice from my GP put it up again to 20. Since then (June) I have lowered it to 10mg using the liquid form which I highly recommend. I’m not saying it’s a walk in the park but sincerely it hasn’t been that bad so far. For me when I lower I feel really good for a week then the side effects set in, I’ll feel low and cry alot and get weird symptoms like sensitivity to light etc but I can live with it. I think if you know what the symptoms are and are coming from it helps. I did lower to 9 the other week and put it up again to 10 because I was feeling really anxious so I will wait a couple of weeks till I feel a bit more positive before doing it again.
If it helps email me, I can’t fix your problems but I am in contact with a lady I met here and just having someone who understands it all really does help, to rant or vent
. Don’t forget the LIQUID not the tablets!!!!! Make your GP give you the liquid don’t be scared to be forceful and put your opinion across. They aren’t the ones going through it you are xx
November 22, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Hi there, i feel for you, its not going to be easy, my advice is go very very slowly off them, take up exercising, or some kind of hobby, keep a diary, because the withdrawal symptoms come in clusters, but do get weaker in time. Some days you will feel good other days desperate. Have a good friend you can talk to and tell them how your are feeling. x
November 23, 2011 at 4:17 am
Tytytytyty for this forum!! I began having severe anxiety attacks back in ’99, I mean I was rushed to hospital 3 times for possible heart attack. One day in the doctors office he noticed a little habit I have and began asking me some strange questions about the order of things, like pictures on walls… he wanted to know if the number of things on a wall or coffee table ever distressed me. In specific; can there be 3 pictures on the wall or does it have to be 4? Even or odd? To my surprise I was diagnosed with mild ocd. The remedy? Paxil. Over the years I have returned to paxil when anxiety and ocd ticks were getting out of control, but then I would just quit and go about life again. After an attempt on my life the anxiety became unbearable to the point that I was becoming agoraphobic, the solution? Paxil. No worries I thought, I’ve been on and off many times. This time when I quit cold turkey my body went outta control! I phoned the hospital one night to ask a question… I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep and couldn’t, my mind was racing when suddenly I experienced the most terrifying electric zap that began in the back left side of my brain and travelled to the front right side. Being from a small town the nurse who answered my call was well known to me. “Don’t panic, it’s your brain resetting itself, you quit your paxil cold turkey didn’t you.” Omg, really? I began trying to research this phenomena with limited results. I did find confirmation that in fact it did happen because I had quit cold turkey though, whew. I was terrified for a very long time that it would happen again, it seemed that if I was really tired I could almost feel the electricity building. Again the anxiety and twitches started to become too much about 7 months ago so back to the doc I trekked, the solution? Paxil. This time I thought, no worries I will wean off like I’m suppose to. Um, OMFG!!! I ran out of pills and by day 5 I couldn’t handle the almost constant little electrical shocks that seem to surge through my body and the nightmares, omg the nightmares! I was dreaming the most bizarre things you can imagine and it was all so vivid. I nearly ran to the pharmacy! Turns out I had no more refills and the look on my face must have alarmed the pharmacist because he assured me he could give me a few until I could get into see the doc. I went home with 3. Before I could get in to the doc I was again out – for another 6 days! I am having trouble functioning at all because of these electrical shocks and I can’t focus well on thoughts – hence the super long post! I decided to try researching again and here I am. I feel like I am going to have a stroke!!! The brain is twitching, the anxiety is rampant and I just feel like one of these bloody shocks is going to stroke me out or something! I no longer think I’m crazy tho thanks to all the people that have posted here. I do believe it’s time to kick this drug forever, but I’m scared of the shocks, omg I’m scared of that big shock that I just know is building! I will try the weening that I’ve read on here, I can’t thank you enough! I can’t believe this drug is legal! Um, it seems my eyes are not focusing like they should be either and I’m just going to go ahead and blame this withdrawl at this point. Thank you to all who posted, I feel reassured that it IS the drug doing this even though my doc looked at me today puzzled when I mentioned electric shocks!
November 28, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Hello every body . I’ve been on Seroxat for 12 years now . Tried many times to quit with out success . I feel very bad . I wish I never took it . Withdrawal symptoms were mostly sleeping nightmares of unbelievable magnitudes plus feeling shaky , not sure of yourself , tendency to cry and feeling lonely and sorry fro yourself . I feel bad about it . I hope a time comes when I have a month of traveling and I start withdrawal. I am taking 2o mg daily . Does it come in smaller dosages such as 10 and 5 ?? I always thought it doesn’t . A swiss dr. recommended syrup which I bought but couldn’t continue on it .
December 26, 2011 at 9:52 pm
Hellow to you all/
I have been taking Seroxat for 5 years, and clean from it for the last 4 month. I would like to know if any of you had expirienced a withdrawal effect like a need to breath very deep in order to insert air, and in general difficulty in breathing and a strong pressure on the chestand that do not stop. familiar to someone?
December 27, 2011 at 9:45 pm
HI Sharon
That is a very common symptom of anxiety or panic. I get this frequently. I frequently feel a pressure on my chest, like someone is sitting on it and even though I can breath it’s easy to panic and think I cannot. You are doing really good being off it for so long so just try and relax and think this is just residual symptoms from coming off it. I can sometimes feel that pressure all day and yes although annoying you have to work hard to remind yourself it’s nothing physical but just your mind doing it. Try not to let it get you down but notice that when your mind is occupied that it goes away!
December 27, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Thanks alot! But,can it be a withdrawal effect? (it also comes with very strange feelings in my throat and “Black circles” under my eyes that doesnt disapear)
December 27, 2011 at 10:10 pm
I guess it can be a withdrawal effect. It could also be your own anxiety, for me it’s a very very common anxiety symptom indeed. The strange feeling in your throat too. I have a whole host of anxiety symptoms which I don’t entirely blame on Seroxat. The black circles under your eyes I don’t think so, that’s more a sign of tiredness or not sleeping.
January 17, 2012 at 2:28 am
After reading so many people’s posts on here, I feel like I should stand up and say Hello, my name is_____. And I am a sufferer of Paxil. Today is day seven of my tapering off the drug. I was on 40mgs of Paxil for about 7 years. My doctor wrote out a schedule for me to ween off of Paxil. Today I took 5mgs. And as I sit here I am shocking away, twitching, and wiping snot from my nose thanks to a long period of tears.
My doctor gave me Clonidine to take for withdrawl symptoms. All it has done is help me sleep. Before, when I tried getting off Paxil myself, I experience horrible, vivid dreams. That is when I could GO to sleep.
I am writing on here to thank all those before me that spoke up.
January 21, 2012 at 10:16 pm
I took paxil (10Mg, and I have a low tolerance to meds) I believe for for 3 Weeks for anxiety. I stayed getting nauseous so I stopped taking it. It’s now been over a month since I stopped and I’m in a living hell. A few days after I stopped taking it I was rushed to the er having a panic attack. Since then I have felt this way. I am terrified 24/7 & sick to my stomach. I used to live on my emotions and now i’m completely numb. I am sooooo scared!! I am worried paxil messed me up forever, wayyyy worse than I ever was.
January 23, 2012 at 2:15 am
My advice is to get into your GP’s office as soon as you can! There are other options out there other than Paxil. Since my last post my doctor put me back on 40mgs a day and had to add Xanax on top of it. I am not happy about this but I am grateful for those horrible withdrawls to be gone. If you can get on something else, it would be better than Paxil.
January 23, 2012 at 9:35 pm
I am on day 4 of tapering, this is my 3rd attempt over 12 years and this time I am doing it using the prozac method! I went though all what you went through on my 2 previous attempts, the first time I actually checked myself into hospital for my own safety. I really would advise you to go see a doctor ASAP! It will not get any easier for you in the next few days and you need to come off paxil alot slower and alot differently. I would suggest getting it in liquid form and dropping by 1mg per 2 weeks. I am not a doctor though and do not know what your personal history is. What I would suggest is you go back on the 10mg if you have that right now until you can see a doctor.. I have been where you are and at the end of the day I just went back on my normal dose…ok so I am different to you. I have been on it for 12 years and at 40mg.
So far using prozac, I have swapped 20mg of the 40mg of paxil/seroxat for 20mg of prozac and I tell you the difference is huge. I am suffering a little physically, but mentally I am not too bad which is a huge step forward for me. I hear people on here suffering and refuse any other medication because of their hatred for SSRI meds and I share that hatred! But sometimes you have to weigh up how you are feeling and your sanity and you cannot put your hatred for paxil over your immediate well being.
Please see your doctor. It is normal what you are feeling, we have all been through it but you need to do this slower.
January 24, 2012 at 12:47 am
To avoid confusion I am now on 20mg of paxil/seroxat AND 20mg of prozac, was on 40mg of paxil so have swapped 20mg of seroxat/paxil for 20mg of prozac. FOR ANYONE GOING THROUGH SERIOUS WITHDRAWAL I have really found a huge difference in swapping it for prozac. I know it’s another SSRI but prozac has a long half life and many years ago I just come off the 20mg I was on and had no problems at all. I think it is becaause of the long half life it is the reason why prozac is one of the less troublesome SSRI’s to come off of.
Considering my previous 2 attempts to come off paxil/seroxat were terrifying even after 2 days and back then I was only on 20mg, this prozac method is really going ok. Obviously I do not feel great, phsyically the only problem I have is moderate zaps through my head. Usually by now day 4 I would be unable to move, have serious palpatations through my whole body, the nausea, head pain so severe, sweating. That would also be paired with terror, hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, wanting to die and a 24/7 panic attack. On the prozac method I am getting vivid dreams for the whole night, feel a bit down, cried on day 2 for 10 minutes and had a little insomnia the 2nd night too.
So, so far it’s is easier this way. I do not want to jinx it though so I wont go overboard. I am not sure if the vivid dreams is a withdrawal problem or a prozac side effect. I do hope it stops though.
I understand peoples hatred of seroxat/paxil. I am right there with you, It has ruined my life and caused me many health problems and mental problems that were never there before I was prescribed this hell drug. I have felt a slave to this drug and have taken 40mg of it and been on it 12 years just to stop withdrawal symptoms. However, even through my hate of this drug I have to say to people who are withdrawing whether it be too much too fast or cold turkey just because they want this drug out of their life please do not risk your safety, wellbeing and health. Listen to your body and mind, if you feel that bad and you feel you may harm yourself then you have to go back to the dose you were on and take it slower or try another method. I had to twice just take the tablet, if I hadn’t I might not be here to tell you this today. I have tried a few times, I tried coming off it too fast and had to admit defeat for my own personal safety. Third time I am hoping is third time lucky using prozac. Don’t let this hell drug make you harm yourself. If you are having serious problems mentally withdrawing, take a step back, get help and try another way.
I hope to keep you all updated on my journey and I really hope my updates can be a sucsess story because I know myself I want to read more and more stories of people sucsessfully saying goodbye to this drug. It gives me hope that I can too, and I hope I can do this and give you hope.
January 26, 2012 at 12:33 am
I was diagnosed with anxiety twenty years ago wont bore you with trying to come off seroxat usual withdrawals jerking limbs electric shocks etc but ayear ago my foot dropped ive been diagnosed with a rare motor neurone disease called primary lateral sclerosis i came off seroxat via venlofaxine sister drug i believe caused my progressive condition which will eventually paralyse me the drug makers glaxo kline or whatever their name is need us to get together and collectively sue them for the drug seroxat a poison they,re still prescribing
January 23, 2012 at 10:37 pm
Hi, I,ve been on seroxat for over 22 years. It saved my life,thanks God! there was time in my life when i was thinking if to live open door in my house,so somebody will pick. up my 3-years old from nurserry. the seroxat change my life ,all those years gone by without problem. I try twice /during holidays times/ reducing dosage from 30 to 25mg,but after several days ,symptoms return and i come back to previous dosage. nowi feel that seroxat dont doing any longer for me. I sleep to much,and dont feel to do anything. My GP increased for me dosage to 40mg/day,and so far no,improvment. I dont wont to go again with withdraw symptoms but i am thinking to start taking additionally John Worth suplement. I just wont to get out of bed and to be motivated to get on with my part time work.I wonder if any of you have had experience of beeing off from seroxat and starting using any other antydepresant? thank you for any advice.Marry
January 27, 2012 at 12:00 am
OK for s start you CANNOT take st johns wort with any anti depressant. It can be very dangerous with excess seretonin in your brain can do you harm so don’t take it while you are on anti depressants.
I was on 40mg of seroxat for 12 years until 7 days ago. I have tried to come off it 3 times and been so ill and suicidal. This time I have dropped 20mg of the 40mg of seroxat and replaced it with 20mg of prozac so I am taking at the moment 20mg of seroxat and 20mg of prozac. The first 2 days I didn’t feel too great but now on day 7 I am getting no withdrawal symptoms and no side effects which for me is amazing. I too was not getting out of bed, maybe once a week I would get out of bed and that was hard, I had no energy, no motivation and already on day 7 of prozac I am starting to get out of bed again and my energy has increased.
You do need to replace the seroxat with another SSRI if you are feeling depressed, the doctor will just swap it for something. I do recommend prozac for cutting out the withdrawal symptoms. It can make you feel worse for a while depression wise but if you stick with it you will feel better.
March 3, 2012 at 7:18 pm
so after that you will be addicted to prozac and and seroxat instead of seroxat alone!
January 24, 2012 at 2:51 am
I’m having a hard time coming off Paxil I’ve been at it for a couple Days and it’s hell. I’ve had every single side affect and trying to pull through. I’ll I can say is if I could go back in time I wouldn’t have taken the drug. To me the withdrawals are worse than the depression ever was.
I’m going to give it all I got to pull through this living nightmare. Best to everyone else.
January 27, 2012 at 12:09 am
You need to either come off it really slowly, for example 2mg a fortnight (yes it takes a long time but you will eventually get off it) This didn’t work for me because like everyone else on here the withdrawal was so severe I actually worried for my life. My 3rd attempt to get off it now and am on day 7. This time I am coming off it using prozac. The idea behind this is paxil only has a 22 hour life which is why you get the withdrawal. Prozac has a very long life so it is a hell of alot easier to come off with minimal side effects. Day 7 and I have virtually no withdrawal symptoms which I feel like crying with joy because I never thought I would get off this drug after 12 years and 3 failed attempts. I have swapped 20mg of my 40mg of paxil for 20mg of prozac so at the moment I am down to 20mg of paxil and also 20mg of prozac. I have to wait a few weeks for the prozac to build up and then I can drop my final 20mg of paxil and replace it with another 20mg of prozac, then in a few months if I want off the prozac I can cut that down. i come off prozac years ago with no withdrawal symptoms so I am not worried about that because of the long half life I know it is nothing like paxil. At the top of this page there is a guide of how to withdraw using paxil liquid or using prozac if you want to read it. But to anyone who is finding it too hard, the prozac method really is a god send. It has made this 4th attempt so easy for me I am actually overjoyed already that I had said goodbye to 20mg of paxil and am halfway there in 7 days and I feel absolutely sane minded, and ok. The first 2 days were tough and I cried alot and felt anxious but I am doing well on day 7.
January 27, 2012 at 12:16 am
@Trish. Funny you say that (well not funny) I have ended up with neurological problems since seroxat, I now have a tremor in my neck, and have symtoms of MS. I have had M.E for 12 years since starting seroxat/paxil and I have problems with co ordination, dizziness, eye flickering and now this tremor which I am going to get a neuro consult for.
February 27, 2012 at 1:28 pm
paxil progress has a great tapering schedule and it is working for me. drop 10% of your dose every 3-6 weeks. nice and slow,
If you are on 20mg of seroxat (paxil american name) – it will take just over 18 months to taper off this nice and slowly with minimal side effects.
February 28, 2012 at 5:28 am
I have been on seroxat for more than 10 years and only 6 months ago I have decided to stop it by reducing the dose from 20mg to 10mg. I suffered a lot and now between time to time I become very depressed and sad, this is killing me as I get very nervous. Please advise?
February 28, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I have struggled with Paxil/Seroxat for the last 16 years. I have tried every imagiable way to try and reduce my dosage, I am not even talking about coming off it altogether, My question is this; I feel that different brands of Paroxatine have slightly different strengths, everytime I go to the chemist and get my repeat and they give me a different brand of Paroxatine I feel either withdrawals or a feeling as if my dosage has gone up 3 to 5 mg. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this? I am not talking about Seroxat/Paxil because that is made by one company alone (I have recently demanded I have the original Seroxat) I am talking about Paroxatine which is the cheap version of Seroxat, I feel like suing Rowland Pharmacy. Please comment. My Doctor says maybe there is an issue with different brands of medication.
February 28, 2012 at 6:23 pm
My doctor told me it it the different fillers they use in them. The fillers can make the med act differently.
February 28, 2012 at 6:17 pm
thank you for this information. I never thought or even looked for brands name. from now i will checking each prescription.
March 3, 2012 at 4:50 pm
Dear All
I’m on seroxat 40 mg since 2006 and I’m dying here suffering from a lot of Side effects.
I read the withdrawal plan, It is very much reasonable, but where can I get the liquid form of seroxat?
And would I be using any other anti depressent if I’m completely of seroxat ?
please help pleaaaaase
March 3, 2012 at 6:26 pm
down to 10mg of seroxat, am heavily sedated today because of the sheer terror I am feeling. I do not know what to do and the doctors wont help me. I cannot live through this. I just want it to stop, I want it all to stop NOW!
March 3, 2012 at 7:12 pm
I know exactly haw you feel. I tried several times to reduce seroxat just by 5mg a day and after few only days i felt like you feel. I spoil my holiday because i try to only then reducing dose. I thought, its no worth it, and i ve been comeback to previous dosage, even i was on this same dose for years. I’ve using seroxat for 22 years and now aim on higher 40mg. I dont care any more to reducing dosage, Iam only worrying haw to change seroxat for some other antydepresant if they will no longer effective. I dont want any more experienced terror.. I will suggest you comeback to previous dosage and you will feel better, really its not worst to suffer ,
March 3, 2012 at 7:25 pm
@Marry
I started with 40mg, but there were days that the doctor reduces it till 20mg and I had no problem, so I am between 20 and 40 back and forth, but the thing is now or since a few months ago i am taking 40 mg seroxat and still am so depressed, I feel my head is pressured, so i take xanax too, I feel like a junky with all these meds, yet am not happy
March 3, 2012 at 9:31 pm
1mg at a time and not for a day for a few weeks until you’re ready. Really I promise it is SO much easier, i’ve tried all ways and it’s the ONLY way. I’m down to 9mg and I am FINE. I drop a dose and have probably 2 weeks of depression but no physical symptoms and then I pick up again. I stay on that dose for at least 2 more weeks before I am confident enough to drop again. There is NO rush, the aim of the game is to be off them whether it takes a month or 2 years. So far for me it’s been nearly a year dropping from 20mg. It took a long while to get it through my thick skull that it is not to be rushed but really I cannot emphasise this enough, slowly and carefully you WILL feel much better this way.
March 3, 2012 at 8:05 pm
Well I am 6 weeks into my tapering. Was on 40mg of paxil/seroxat then dropped down to 20mg and added 20 mg prozac. 2 weeks ago I reduced to 10mg of seroxat and upped to 40mg on prozac and this is when the problems started. I felt so unwell within 1 hour of taking the extra 20mg of prozac and here I am 2 weeks 1 day on. NIGHTMARE! Early hours this morning I woke up in a sheer state of terror for absolutely no reason at all. Apart from feeling sick, nauseous and depressed for the last 2 weeks I was ok mentally so to speak. Obviously I wasn’t but I was dealing with it. This mania is what I cannot deal with. I have had adrenaline surging through my body since 5am and that was15 hours ago now and I am still like it now. I called the doctor and they have told me to take 4mg of diazapam. It has sedated me but I can’t sleep. I am really hoping and praying that when I take some more with my sleeping tablet later I will finally get some sleep and much needed relief from this surge of adrenaline. It is the most awful feeling. Has anyone else had this where your so frightened but not sure why and your heart is pounding through your chest and you shake, feel very ill and cannot stop it no matter what you do…..And can anyone please give me some hope by saying it does stop after a while? I need positive stories here. I am trying to hang onto hope and really pray I can get through this and come out the other side of it and kiss goodbye to this evil drug forever!
I have been on paxil/seroxat for 12 years now, this is actually my 3rd attempt coming off it. My 1st attempt was 10 years ago and that ended in me being hospitalised. I prayed I would never go through it again but I did last year attempt again but saw the warning signs and went straight back on the drug. I am too far gone this time as have been down 30mg for some weeks now so no point in taking it because it is not going to kick in straight away so it wouldn’t be a quick fix.
Anyway saw the doctor yesterday and she has told me to drop down to 20mg of prozac as maybe I am getting too much seratonin and that could be what has been making me feel so physically unwell for the past 2 weeks. I panicked this morning and took the 40mg of prozac. I now wish I had not done this as I think it has hyped me up even more!
Sorry for the long post, I just find it diverts my mind as long as I am typing I am not getting myself into such a panic, though still as I type and 15 hours on my heart is still pounding out of my chest, my stomach is still in knots, I also have a bladder infection so am constantly having to go to the toilet which is making things worse especially when I am trying to get some much needed rest and have to keep getting up to the toilet. I so hope this gets better because I cannot cope with being so terrified and what is so terrifying is not knowing why you are so terrifyed! Terrifyed of being terrified I think is the best way to describe it. A neverending panic attack…15 hour panic attack to be specific.
March 3, 2012 at 8:56 pm
try xanax whenever you panic
March 3, 2012 at 9:28 pm
Hi Stardust
It seems mad to me that you dropped from 40 to 20. I was only on 20 but that would be like me just stopping, way too quick!!!! Seriously if i could give you one piece of advice it would be to ask you doctor for liquid form and do it 1mg at a time it really is the only way and this is my 3rd time reducing so I’ve learned the hard way. It still doesn’t avoid the symptoms completely but they ARE way way better. I’m on 9mg now and fine with it, this is the 4th week of that dose and nothing at all symptom wise. Regarding your panic now I would recommend you up your seroxat dose to one that is manageable. I know it’s a stupid thing to say because i KNOW what that panic feels like and yes I’ve had it last for days let alone one day but you have to try not to be scared of it. It’s the reason I took the meds in the first place and I am slowly learning to self manage my panic attacks. The bladder thing I’ve found I get when I reduce a dose too, I constantly am running to the loo and have that pressure on my bladder. I would suggest maybe you’re taking too many meds but that is just my opinion. Another piece of advice I’d give you is really you are the only one that knows what level you can cope with, I’ve found over the years that the doctor can give me advice but at the end of the day she isn’t the one coping with symptoms. My GP would much rather I rush through this reduction method but screw her, I’ve listened to her in the past and ended up back at square one because the withdrawal was so bad, now I’m doing it at my own pace.
Stay strong, I know how that terror feels genuinely I really do.
March 3, 2012 at 9:34 pm
@Louise
How about xanax with seroxat?
does it make sense?
and the liquid form is not available in my country, how can I get it?
March 3, 2012 at 9:43 pm
I have done it with no other medication so I can’t vouch for that at all. I cannot beleive it’s not available there!!! What about shaving a little off the tablet with a knife? I’ve done that before in the past when I haven’t had the liquid, it’s hard work but same effect and worth it. But 20mg is madness, really it is, your body is so used to Seroxat that any other tablet I can’t see doing the job. It is up to you of course but if I were in your shoes I would be starting right back at 40mg and shaving the tiniest bit off it every day, same dose for a few weeks before shaving a bigger bit off it. I have found for me this works, I’ve found I get weepy and depressed after dropping even a small dose for a couple of weeks before I pick back up. I wait a couple more weeks then drop again. There is NO rush, I’ve tried doing it quicker. I’ve dropped from 20mg to 9mg in 10 months which seems so slow I know but the fact is I’m ok with it now, no major symptoms, as long as I come off it no matter how long that is what matters. If I’ve seriously struggled with a dose drop I’ve gone back up 1mg until I feel better.
March 3, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Thanks Louise. I did try the liquid method 10 years ago. I was on 20mg back then and tapered using the liquid at 1mg per week if I am remembering correctly. I got down to 14mg and the same thing happened.
I haven’t dropped cold turkey, it has been replaced with prozac, but that is not agreeing with me. It was all ok on 20mg prozac and 20mg of seroxat and I was fine for 4 weeks and had very little effects. It was when I dropped to 10mg 2 weeks ago and increased the prozac to 40mg that my problems started. I felt violently ill within 2 hours so for that reason the doctor yesterday advised me the prozac could be making me worse and dropped it to 20mg.
Well tonight I am in bed praying I sleep as I sit here shaking still. Dosing myself up on diazepam to try and calm the adrenaline down.
March 4, 2012 at 10:25 am
Seriously you have dropped too fast, that is why you are feeling like you are. I don’t think mixing Prozac with Seroxat is a good idea or a good way to try and come off Seroxat. Believe me I have tried many ways for many years to try and get off Seroxat. My advice is go back to 40mg of Seroxat for 6 weeks try and stabalise yourself then when you feel you are ready, drop your doseage to 35 mg for 6 to 8 weeks do this every 6 to 8 weeks untill you get to 20mg it could take you a year maybe more but in my opinion there is no other way to do it. Don’t underestimate the effects of the the withdrawals they are Evil. Have patience, keep busy and think positive but above all you must go back to 40 mg of Seroxat for at least 6 to 8 weeks and I feel you will start getting better. I hope this helps you, my thoughts are with you I know how you feel.
March 9, 2012 at 12:11 pm
My withdrawal side affects were after my gp put me down from 20mg to 10mg there side affect’s didn’t kick in to 3 week’s later first lot was headache’s and balance problem’s then there was abdominal discomfort pain and cramp’s,indigestion and nausea/queasy stomach like IBS then next lot was anxiety and nervousness.
March 10, 2012 at 3:12 am
I only took celexa 20mg for 3 months because I wasn’t completely convinced that I needed it in the first place – a huge mistake on my part. I asked my doctor how I should go about getting off of it. I went from 20mg to 10mg for 4 weeks and quit taking completely after that. After 3 weeks I started having the electric shock sensations. I have them all over, from head to toe. This has been goig on for 3 months. I really thought that since I was only on the drug for 3 months that this would go away sooner. I can understand why some people have withdrawal problems for a much longer period of time given that most who have posted have been on anti-ds for several years – this makes more sense. Literally, I was only on them for 3 months. Will these sensations ever go away?
March 26, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Yes they go away. Mine are lessening as we speak. I was on 40mg for 12 years. I get the odd zap 4 weeks in from completely stopping seroxat. I do get it when my eyes take a moment to catch up when I move them but they do get milder and then will dissapear
Don’t worry, they really will go away.
March 10, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Please do not panic. They will go away – I promise you. Unfortunately it just takes time. Be strong and know that this will not last forever. It is horrific when you are going through it but it is withdrawal symptoms and it WILL get easier. Exercise, drink loads of water. Eat really healthy food and take long deep breaths. It is extremely hard when you are in the grip of withdrawal – I have been there and thought it would never end. It took three months to get rid of the electric shocks after I had stopped taking seroxat/paroxetine for these to subside and I had taken the evil drug for 12 years – it took me over a year to come off them and I suffered all the symptoms you describe for the entire time and the three months after I had stopped. I felt so terrible I didn’t want to live but I have come through the hell and I am a million times better than I ever was. I’ve lost 7 stone now and I am healthier and happier than I have ever been in my life. Please be strong and know that one day you will feel better. I truly feel for you and would not wish ssri withdrawal on my worst enemy. You are not alone and you WILL get through this. My thoughts are with you and I pray that these awful side effects you are experiencing will soon be over. Best of luck and don’t give up. You can beat this. It will be the hardest thing you ever go through but know there is light at the end of the very dark tunnel. Very best Z.x
March 26, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Thank you Zara for your positive post. Meant alot to read that. I am doing better this week already. The past few days have been happy ones. I have my bad days but they get less and less. I just want people to know that it can be done. You can get off seroxat.
March 11, 2012 at 6:38 pm
hi i was on citalopram for 3 months and it s taken 8 months for all of the symptoms to go, mind you i did come them cold turkey, but i did not expect it to go on for so long, hang on there, it is a terrible time but keep on telling yourself its your brain repairing itself and getting used to not having he toxins etc.
March 14, 2012 at 1:07 am
I am no longer reading any posts on this site, for some it may be helpful but for others like me the negativity especially reading people’s withdrawal has gone on for years can terrify you in the middle of severe withdrawal.
I am 10 days off 40mg of this evil drug. I have been to hell and back yes. I even took an overdose of valium and was taken to hospital just over a week ago. I tried the prozac method of withdrawal, it did not stop the withdrawal, I have tried the slow tapering and that did not work. I AM OFF SEROXAT!!!! I AM OFF IT! I have paid a price and and am still paying the price mentally not physically so much. I had awake terrors that lasted 18 hours at a time where I needed to be sedated.
I am the type of person who was so sensetive to seroxat that just being an hour late on my dose I started to get withdrawal.
I suggest, people may argue with me on this but if you have tried slow weaning and you are still suffering withdrawal, just rip the bandage off quickly and quit the drug cold turkey. It wont prolong your suffering. PLEASE THOUGH IF YOU DO THIS MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOMEONE LIVING WITH YOU, ARE UNDER DOCTORS CARE AND YOU HAVE PEOPLE ACTUALLY WITH YOU THE WHOLE TIME YOU ARE GOING THROUGH WITHDRAWAL BECAUSE IT IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN IS IN A WHOLE OTHER PLACE AND YOU DO NOT THINK PROPERLY. I have suffered 12 years of seroxat and tried so many times and in so many ways to come off it. None of them stopped severe withdrawal symptoms.
I am on day 10 now I think of being seroxat free from 40mg daily for 12 years. The withdrawal does start to go away not in months or years but in a matter of a few weeks. Please don’t take notice of the negativity on here because it scared the hell out of me thinking the hell I was going through would be forever when in fact it isn’t.
I will be honest and tell you I am currently on 20mg of prozac and 15mg of mirtazapine which is a non SSRI and not addictive anti depressant which I can stop when I come out of all of this. I have also had to go on a low dose of valium.
I feel different off seroxat even just 10 days in. I no longer have major M.E symptoms which I have suffered for 12 years since I started on seroxat. I no longer feel I am in a daze or in a fog. I no longer have acid reflux, I also barely feel sick and nauseaus. My head feels different. I am very anxious and have been all over the place but please remember everyone is different and more importantly withdrawal does not go on for months or years, it starts to die down bit by bit.
I AM OFF SEROXAT AFTER 12 YEARS!!!!!! I QUIT IT, MY MUM SPAT ON THEM AND THREW THEM AWAY
)
This is a journey for me and I am having good days and awful days but I am off those evil pills!
I will update in one month, but I will no longer read the negative comments on here because they have terrified me. In fact I don’t want to read about this drug ever again. I have not looked up the side effects of my new non SSRI meds. I need to stop looking on the internet, it does you no good whatsoever and can be dangerous to read what other people say.
POSitVITY, POSITIVITY….WITHDRAWAL COLD TURKEY IS DANGEROUS AND EVIL, LIKE A BAD ACID TRIP BUT WHY PROLONG THE AGONY OVER A YEAR IF YOU ARE SUFFERING WITH SLOW TAPERING. RIP IT OFF, HAVE SOMEONE WITH YOU UNTIL YOU ARE THROUGH WITHDRAWAL AND IN A MATTER OF WEEKS ITS OVER. Be strong fellow addicts xxx
March 26, 2012 at 11:08 am
A great site and helpfull downloads. Am now of 2 0mg seroxat has taken 80 days in liquid for first 15mg fine last 5mg terrible been seroxat free for 28days and still getting withdrawl symptons ie. anger, tearful,racing heart negative thoughts, anxiety- although laughter, empathy and joy coming back too. All best and prayers to all in withdrawl mode. <3
March 26, 2012 at 6:59 pm
Well done Deborah – good luck with your future
March 26, 2012 at 8:26 pm
I am on day 25 of being completely off 12 years of 40mg of seroxat. I did not do it cold turkey as such. I started on 20mg of prozac and lowered down to 20mg of seroxat. No change. 4 weeks later when I increased to 40mg of prozac and down to 10mg of seroxat was when it all started going wrong. Read my above comments. I actually would not recommend the prozac method if you suffer with anxiety because it just revs you up too much. I had to drop down to 20mg of prozac in the end and decided with the input from 2 doctors to just stop the seroxat as I could be getting too much seratonin. So did that 3 and a half weeks ago. Am not on 20mg of prozac and 30 mg of mirtazapine which is a tricyclic anti depressant and a very good one too. My aim was to come off seroxat and be drug free but due to the withdrawal being so horrific and my sudden suicidal ideas I had to be put on another anti depressant. However, it’s not an SSRI and just being free from seroxat has made me proud of myself.
Anyway, well the past 4 weeks have been hell, living nightmare ect….I have had my days of awfulness, suicidal, terror, adrenaline, panics, terror again…..the only thing the prozac did stop was the physical withdrawal.
Today, I am sane again. I felt happy to be alive. I have back laughter, joy, empathy, a reason to get out of bed, a reason to get dressed, a reason to smile. 3 weeks ago I was in an ambulance.
For me 10 years ago slow weaning didn’t work, the prozac method didn’t work so really my only option was to go through hell. I did have 24 hour support though and had someone with me all day everyday when I finally went cold turkey (I was in hell anyway so stopping the seroxat completely was just ripping off the bandage that was half hanging off anyway)
This took me 3 attempts over 12 years to finally get off the drug once and for all.
I want everyone to know that it can be done, you might go through hell, you might want to die…..BUT….IT DOES GO AWAY! IT DOES STOP! You might have your moments but the withdrawal gets less and less, the awful feeling of panic, terror, adrenaline, get less and less. Each bad day is followed by good days and the bad days get few and far between. If you need help ask for it, if you need a short course of sleeping tablets or whatever for anxiety get them. I have been on valium the past few weeks, I have been on beta blockers because the anxiety was raising my heart beat to 120 beats per minute.
I lived to tell the tale though so will all of you. Don’t give up. If after 12 years on 40mg I can be rid of it so can all of you that are reading this. Don’t let horror stories of this drug on the internet scare you, you can get off it. Yes it’s awful but it can be done and the withdrawal does stop.
I am not back to normal as such, but I don’t want to go back to how I was for the past 10 years, I am now learning to live again. Change is scary, but I am seeing everything now that I have been missing. I would say nearly 4 weeks in seroxat free though I am doing pretty damn well today
March 26, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Great news Stardust
I agree – it can be done!!
Just take time to learn to be yourself again… I’m guessing you’ll understand that.
March 27, 2012 at 12:42 am
I am, I am re discovering myself and who I am now, not who I had become on the seroxat. I had been on it 12 years and my personality changed, so did my love of hobbies and interests. I am now learning who I am and although scary at first I am enjoying the new me and enjoying re discovering all what I like and want to do with my life. Very doable people, just take your time, not like me, I did it all the wrong way. But I am coming out the other side and excited about the future for the first time in 10 years.
April 2, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Hi all. I am new to this post. I was on 5 mg Paxil for 5 years, then up to mg for 7 years for anxiety, worry and depression. AT first it was like a wonder drug, could live my life again without the constant worry and anxiety and insomnia I was experiencing. Over the years, It was still helping, but felt flat, emotionless, and started to get angry and short-tempered with my kids and husband. A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to get off this drug, although was scared to go back to the way I was before paxil. So I went from 10 to 5 mg. The first couple of weeks I had more physical symptoms (btrain zaps, foggy, balance problems) but felt more alive, could cry again, loved my kids more. I liked feeling again. But just this past week, week 5 at 5 mg, I was unable to sleep for 3 nights in a row, extremely anxious and depressed, and scared and worried all day. Then yesterday started getting suicidal thoughts, which I have never had before, ever. So my husband encouraged to up my mg to 7.5 last night and see how I feel. If ok, then try a slower taper. Maybe 10 to 5 mg was too much for me, too quickly. I also took an ativan last night to make sure I slept. SO today I feel a little better, but still an underlying sense of dread and fear. I am wondering if I am doing the right thing. Stabilize at 7.5, then get the liquid and taper more slowly?? I wish I never took this drug, but what can I do. I want off, but am scared my brain is ruined. I don’t understand how I could 5 mg for years and be fine, and then going from 10 to 5 was pure hell. Can I ever be ok at 5 again? or off paxil completely?
April 2, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Hi Katherine
if you think about it, 10 down to 5 is a 50% reduction – that’s a HUGE step.
I suggest you use the liquid and never drop more than 10% at a time and stabilise after each drop until you feel ready for the next reduction.
Slow, I know… but the safest way – don’t put any time limit on it, just take it easy.
Take care.
April 2, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Thanks for the advice. I didn’t think this would be so hard, since I didn’t think 10 mg was a lot, and didn’t feel like it was doing much anyway. Boy was I wrong. At first I felt ok, “feeling” again was refreshing. But now, it is pure hell. I feel awful, so scared and worried all the time, crying, crazy suicidal thoughts, not sleeping. Do you think 7.5 is the right step up, to wean off of? Or should I have gone back to 10, and then try to wean? Also, is the liquid form readily available? Not sure why my Dr. didn’t mention it. I am scared I won’t ever stabilize or ever be able to go off paxil. Thanks, K
April 3, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Hi Katherine.
I have been off 12 years of 40mg of seroxat now for 4 weeks. I am on 20mg of prozac and 30mg of mirtazapine and although I am not myself I am not in a constant state of what I was in 4 weeks ago. I know the feeling of worrying you will never stabalize again but it does get better. I have my good days and bad days. The good become more frequent than the bad. Sadly at the moment I am also having to deal with my nan being on life support so can’t really say how I am properly because of all the stress which I am not dealing well with. Until that happened a week ago though things were actually alot better for me.
If you read my posts from the 3rd of march this year you will see where I was then and where I am now. HUGE difference. 4 weeks ago I took an overdose and was admitted to hospital. I had 20 hours a day of sheer feeling of terror and wanting to kill myself. 4 weeks on….back to watching movies again, enjoying them, seeing friends, going out shopping. The past week since my nan took ill and was put on life support I haven’t been that great, but that is understandable. I was doing so well until then.
You can either continue with your dropped dose and wait it out, and you will come out of it and start to feel better. It’s not a case of it not stopping and not going away because it will go away. But it’s really about keeping yourself safe when you feel that bad because although you know in your heart it is a chemical reaction making you feel that way it does not in that moment when you feel suicidal make you think rationally. So my advise would be to go back up to the dose you were on and stabalize, get yourself feeling better then re address the dosage and try it slower in about 6 weeks time or when you feel ready. Like people say on here, there is no time limit on withdrawal, it can take a long time but the most important thing is your emotional welbeing and safety. It can be done, you will get off it, you will feel normal again. Look at how many of us have been through this. We are still here and living to tell the tale and you will too.
April 3, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Hi my names Karl gave up seroxat 6 weeks ago after being on it 13 years was only on 10mg a day for the last year and started to feel bad.Doctor decided to try me on sertraline rather than up my seroxat felt terribble stopped the seroxat fully took sertraline for three weeks it was sheer hell.So i stopped the sertraline and now on nothing,Last time i took a seroxat 10mg tablet was 6 and a half weeks ago so havent taken seroxat for all that time.Havent felt very good had anxiety feel tearfull and a bit snappy.Apart from this dont want to go back on seroxat does anyone no how long it will take to feel better and do they think it is withdrawal or my original problems coming back.Realy want to not take seroxat again even though it helped me cabnt take other ssrris because none of them agree with me and they make my anxiety 1000 times worse even if i stick with them.Its funny because seroxat was the only one that helped but i dont want to take it anymore because of al the horror stories surrounding it. So do you think its withdrawl anyone??? and will it pass???
April 4, 2012 at 9:31 am
Any Answers anyone???
April 5, 2012 at 5:01 pm
This is a good site would of thought someone would have answered me lol
April 5, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Yes it probably is withdrawal.
It will pass but how long – who knows?
Took me years to feel more like I was before Seroxat
April 5, 2012 at 6:32 pm
Cheers admin sorry was just worried about not getting a reply felt a bit desperate to feel better you no how it is i read your story and hope im in your shoes one day looking back thinking thank god i dont take seroxat no more. Do the withdrawals get alot better after say 6 months? I have tried to swap to another antidepressant in the past to help withdrawal thinking once im on somthing different it will be easier to withdraw but no other ssris work for me just make me feel extremely anxious till i have to cease taking them.So im going to just have to go without any meds the only thing i might take is a beter blocker propanalol for the agitation i dont think this are addictive.?The only thing thats going to be the real test is going back to work any advice admin tips etc please share thankyou Karl ;0)
ps is there a chat room on this site and is it british based?
April 5, 2012 at 8:14 pm
Hello Karl I have been on seroxat since 1994 I can not get off it. I am on 25mg at the moment. I feel I need some sort of anti anxiety/depression medication so I am staying on it for the time been. However I have noticed my pharmacy have been giving me different brands of Paroxatine (Seroxat’s cheaper substitute) I have been wondering why at first Seroxat was good and on occasions it has not worked at all or its made me fatter or made me feel more depressed or anxious. I have sussed it out because I have been monitoring for the last 3 years the effects that the different brands have been having on me. Now I am certain that Paroxatine by different companies are all not the same. I begged my Pharmacy for the same brand but with no luck. I have felt ill on and off for 15 years and now I am sure I know why. I sent Rowland Pharmacy a complaint email 4 times but I have not got a response. I am now on proper seroxat and feel a bit better but its only 4 weeks and it takes at least 6 weeks to level out. I want to Sue Rowland Pharmacy for giving me cheap alternatives and different brands which I feel have been knocking me from pillar to post mentally for a long period of time. If anyone has any advice on howto go about suing a pharmacy please give me some. Thanks
April 6, 2012 at 9:08 am
Hi Johnk i had the same problem when i took it and always asked for the branded seroxat tablets of my doctor. I live in the southeast of the uk you can contact me at Karlfriend@live.co.uk if you want to talk seroxat.Ive been off it now roughly six and a half weeks and to be honest mate i cant belive how hard im finding it nearly started them again yesterday but resisted.I have in the past tried cutting down and going on to another antidepressant but every time i have tried the new antidepressants they make me feel terrible and cant tolerate them.Some people find swapping helps them get of the seroxat you ever tried Johnk? i wish it was that easy for me.I have quit smoking 20 a day for years and sorry to say it felt easier than this can not belive doctors are not aware of how addictive these tablets are when your on them your happy so you dont think about it till you try and stop then you realise how much s@it your in.Im finding the whole withdrawal thing very frightening and know it isnt my original problems it feel exactly like withdrawing of ciggarettes but a 100 times worse.Hope i get through this without going back on them the feelings ive had in my head rocking to sleep at night from agitation im just praying it passes so i can keep up with my goal to be free from these tablets.forever.Might add never felt depressed when i started these tablets in 1999 it was for chronic anxiety/panic attacks but coming off i have definately and had some weird anxious thoughts etc just hope being on them 13 years hasnt given me brain damage.
April 7, 2012 at 12:19 pm
I started taking Seroxat when advised by a Psychiatrist 20 years ago after 3 years of total abstinence from alcohol. The drug worked and I realised I had suffered from depression and anxiety all my life. I felt good, alert and optimistic for my future. I was working hard making money and had a nice partner. After about 3 years I started with the familiar symptoms of sexual dysfunction depression and anxiety and had no idea why. I felt too ill to work and my relationship collapsed. Something was drastically wrong with me and I had no idea what it was.
I stopped taking Seroxat cold turkey in 2000 because I felt that they had stopped working and my sex life was in ruins I now understand that the reason they stopped working is because Rowland Pharmacy gave me a cheap alternative.
I have contacted GSK and they told me that the Patent for Seroxat ran out around 1998 that’s when other companies could cash in on the drug and make some quick bucks that’s why I was giving the cheap alternative because Rowland Pharmacy saw an opportunity to make a quick buck. I never recovered from the cold turkey. I was sick as a dog for years and my sex life never got going again. I experienced extreme panic disorder, depression suicidal thoughts a general feeling of disassociation, sleep disorder and a general feeling of nervousness, I rocked myself to sleep every night if I could get to sleep and when I did sleep I had horrific nightmares. I lasted 6 years until I had a major mental and physical breakdown and PTSD (I am still recovering after 6 years) I had to go on medication and was very reluctant to go back on Seroxat but I was so ill I needed to. After about 2 years I felt I could start dropping my dosage from 30mg of seroxat.
I did not know at this time that different brands had different strengths and acted differently on the brain and body. I would get down to 25mg and sometimes I would level out and feel ok but I must say that getting to 25 mg from 30 was sheer hell. When I went for a repeat prescription it was pot luck which brand they gave me. Sometimes I was start feeling horrendous after about 3 weeks but still on 25mg and I had no idea why and sometimes I would feel horrendous for 3 weeks and then start feeling ok but get fatter and my sex drive would go again.
I sussed it out last year and told my doctor (he thinks its all in my head) I asked for branded Seroxat so I knew what I was taking and what the dosage was. It was very difficult but I managed to keep at 25mg. I felt that I would have to ride it out and wait till I felt better so I did. About 3 months ago I went for my branded Seroxat and got it but the box was slightly different but it said on the box GSK Seroxat so I thought nothing of it but was wary. After 4 weeks I got ill I was hot and shaking I felt disassociated and nervous I had nightmares etc etc, I was thinking that maybe I had been so ill for so long that I had brain damage or this was as good as its going to be. I contemplated suicide, I took Diazipam to try and kill myself at least 3 times, then I decided to call GSK and they told me that Rowland Pharmacy had given me a cheap Romanian Parallel import not made for the UK market, I was furious. The cheap Romanian parallel import is currently been tested for quality by GSK and I am waiting to hear the results.
I went to my Doctor and got another prescription of UK based Seroxat 4 weeks ago and I am feeling better but everyone knows here that it takes 6 to 8 weeks to find out for sure. I complained at Rowland Pharmacy and asked to see the manager and basically she couldn’t have gave a damn she was not interested and had no visible or audible signs of concern. I thought ok and I sent an Email to the head of Rowland Pharmacy Complaints Claire Broadhurst cbroadhurst@rowlandspharmacy.co.uk 3 weeks ago I have sent the same Email 3 times and begged for some response but to no avail.
I gave up alcohol 24 years ago and stopped smoking 3 years ago which were very easy in comparison to coming off Seroxat. I do realise that I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety I have done so as long as I can remember so therefore I need medication and I am thankful I live in a era that has solutions however over the years I feel that medication has done me more harm than good. I will stay on 25mg of UK based Branded Seroxat and see how things go for a while. More precisely I feel the Pharmacies and drug producers have done me more harm than good here Greed is the key word. If I had been left on Branded UK Seroxat I may not have experienced the living hell of the last 15 years. I feel I need compensating an apology something like a recognition by Roland Pharmacy of wrong done. Their greed has almost killed me and I am strong and experienced in mental illness so I just feel that someone who does not have the same experience as me would feel like they were going insane and take their own lives, sounds dramatic but this drug is very powerful and if not treated as such can be extremely dangerous.
Keep going people and if you suffer from depression take medication but you need to take the same medication that works for you and the dosage that suits you and finding this out can take a considerable length of time but there is no other solution at the moment,
May 1, 2012 at 1:15 pm
I have been off of Paxil for 3 weeks and feel as if I am losing my mind.. I have all of the familiar symptoms, including an explosive headache that cannot be relieved with any medication that I have been provided. I cannot stand to be near any sound whatsoever. I have 4 children who can be extremely loud, which makes my life a miserable hell right now. I am barracading myself in my room to avoid noise and light, only to have them screaming at the door. I am now at the point that I want to hurt someone or myself to make it stop. I feel like I could kill myself to escape this hell on earth. Nothing is worse that feeling like your head is going to explode, having children screaming in your ear, and having to means to stop it. I do not know what to do. I am beyond hopeless. This drug is pure hell! I only took it for 6 months and I feel like it will lead to the end of my hopeless, painful life. I quit cold turkey and refuse to ever take another Paxil again. I do not know what to do. Someone please help me before I hurt myself or someone else!
May 2, 2012 at 12:14 pm
What country are you in TT? I ask because in the UK we have a mental health home treatment team and they will help you and assess you at home and get you the right help.
Yes I quite paxil too on the 3rd of February. What I am about to write is not to scare anybody, it is simply what I went through and how it is starting to calm down. I tried 3 times to quit over the 12 years I was on 40mg of it. I tried slow weaning and it didn’t work, I ended up in the same situation 10 years ago so I was put straight back on it but at a higher dose. 2 years ago I tried 20mg/40mg regime for 2 weeks then to swap for another anti depressant. I lasted 1 week and had to go back on it. Back in january after christmas I made the descision that enough was enough after the drug had ruined my life, I never got out of bed, never saw daylight ect…so I decided to come off it using prozac. I was fine when I was on 20mg paxil and 20mg of prozac for 1 month, there was no change to how I had been for years. It was when I went down to 10mg paxil and upto 40mg of prozac that is all went very wrong.
I started to get paranoia, I couldn’t sleep because everytime I heard a plane go over my house I thought it was world war 3 starting, I felt terrified of I don’t know what I was terrified of. I overdosed on valium to try and sleep then ended up in hospital, they stopped the paxil and left me on the 40mg of prozac. I just got worse and worse over the next week. I had dilusions, suicidal ideations, an overwhelming urge to hurt myself, I was getting no more than an hours sleep at night (note that back in 2000 I was put on paxil for mild panic attacks, not depression and no other illness) I was now week 2 into having adrenaline surges that would turn into terror, I couldn’t be left alone and I just wanted to die. I got help with the mental health home treatment team here in the UK who dropped me down to 20mg of prozac and started me on a low dose of mirtazapine (a tryptic anti depressant) I calmed down for a week or 2 but then it all went wrong again. I think some of it had to do with what I have read on the internet about paxil withdrawal lasting for years, people telling me I had to go back on it. The internet can scare the hell out of you. Plus my nan was put on life support and I went to see her and this seemed to push me over the edge once again. This time it was worse, this was easter weekend so about a month ago now. I got to the point where I was so aggitated, so terrified, so suicidal which is terryfing because I have never been suicicidal in my life. I had an overwhelming urge to throw myself out of my bedroom window, I didn’t hear voices but something was making me need to do it and it took every single bit of strength I had left to not do it. I did however keep overdosing on valium and sleeping tablets until my mum took me to the hospital and said she couldn’t watch me anymore. So for my own safety I was addmitted to a phsyciatric hospital for 2 weeks. I was terrified, I was more in a state because I knew that I couldn’t get my hands on anything in there to end my life and that is all I wanted to do, I just wanted to die. I could not live through the withdrawal hell anymore nor the terror I was feeling, or the urge to hurt myself.
Never been in a mental hospital before, was terrified, thought they would lock me in a padded cell and inject me with some evil tranquilizers. THEY DID NOT! Hospital was amazing! I had my own bedroom, my own bathroom, we had a huge projection TV, 2 other TV rooms, a garden, games consoles, activities all day and best of all the patients I met.
They took me off the prozac as this was just making me worse, they increased the mirtazapine, put me on anti psychotics for my aggitation and to stabalize my mood, a low dose of clonazapam. Ok so it took a few days to get used to hospital but by the end of it I felt almost normal again. Coming home was scary but I have had good days and bad days but the bad days get less and less. I have been out of hospital for 1 month now but I do have the home support team round everyday to check on me.
Yes I know I am not med free which I wanted to be, however so many of my symptoms that I had during the 12 years of being on paxil have reduced greatly. I ended up with M.E and firbromyalgia from those pills which was a huge reason I wanted off paxil because I knew they were poisoning me and I was right because off them now I feel so much better. I have a more normal sleep pattern now, I am more active.
So my ride to hell started end of january, escalated on the 3rd february and have been free from paxil since 3rd february and free from prozac for 1 month. Am I ok? Not quite, I have some serious zaps in my head, the large dose of omega 3 supplements were helping with that but not helping now. Not nice but I can live with the zaps. I get random overwhelming feelings of unknown fear but this is getting less and I am learning to cope with it now. I get days where I feel I wont get over this, then the next day I am fine again. It’s been a living nightmare and I cannot say if it was all worth it at this moment in time, but to have some of my life back off the paxil then to be honest yes it has been worth it. But I was lucky, I had my mum watching me 24 hours a day, If I didn’t I really am not sure what would of happened to me and whether I would of taken my own life.
My advice to you would be seek help ASAP. You may have to go back on paxil and wean off it, or if you want to ride this out you need to do it in hospital, you cannot carry on the way you are because the chemical changes in your brain change the way you think and it can get very dangerous as I know all too well. Please get professional help now, be 100% honest with all the thoughts you are having and keep yourself safe because despite how you feel right now it will go away and get better so you just need to keep yourself safe because in a year you will look back on this and feel completely different. I am so glad I went to hospital, I am so glad I didn’t kill myself. 5 weeks ago I was begging my mum to let me go. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET HELP NOW. But also remember despite how you feel this very moment it does go away and you will get better. I am off shopping now, see look at that. 6 weeks ago I was screaming, now I am off out shopping, looking forward to cooking later and seeing my friend tomorrow. Hang on tight you will be me very soon x
May 1, 2012 at 7:50 pm
I managed to get myself off Paxil 30mgs over a 12 month period with just occasional dizzyness and brain wooshes but nothing that really prevented me from going about my normal life. However, I cut down at 5mg intervals every 2 months.
You cannot stop this drug cold-turkey and its also bad to drop too many mg in one go. Try 5mg stepped drops and don’t be in a hurry.
May 3, 2012 at 10:48 am
Hi Ian how long were you taking it? i was on it 13 years and 3 months off still realy struggling with insomnia and other symptoms but determined to stick at it but worried about losing my job because i havent been there for 3 months since i stopped the seroxat? Anyone else manage to still work why they were withdrawing??
May 4, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Karl it does go away with time, remember that when you feel really bad. I was on 40mg for 12 years until february 3rd this year when my weaning wasn’t making it any less severe for me (I am one person though, not saying slow weaning doesn’t work, it just didn’t work for me) so the doctor just stopped my last 10mg seems I was going through hell anyway. Have you stopped the seroxat completely? so you have been off it 3 months? Don’t go back on it now if you have been off it 3 months, you have been through the withdrawal now. Some people on here might say go back on it and wean slower but to of been off it 3 months there is no point going back on it. The other option is to go on a non SSRI anti depressant which I am on, I am on 45mg of mirtazapine, which also helps you sleep and although yes it is another drug, it is easier to stop than SSRI’s which I refuse to EVER take again. I have just found out that the M.E/chronic fatigue I had for 12 years was actually caused by seroxat and was not true M.E. I have found out my adrenal glands were depleted, one of the causes, long term SSRI use. I feel so much better physically now, half of my M.E symptoms have gone. The only thing I hate is I am still getting electric shocks in my head which I am trying to manage with 3000mg of omega 3 capsules a day and multi B vitamins.
As for emotional state, I am doing better than I was a few weeks ago and my stay in a psychiatric hospital. I am having moments of panic, but am learning to cope with this. Sadly my goal of being med free didn’t work, the withdrawal was so bad I had to be put on valium and a non SSRI anti depressant. But I can deal with that, they aren’t making me unwell, they aren’t doing to me what seroxat did to me and in some ways I am actually getting some of my life back that I lost whilst on seroxat. I was suicidal with the withdrawal so in a way the new drugs saved my life.
If you are struggling there are options to help you, maybe take some time off work for a while if you can. Talk to your doctor, explore other options like a non SSRI anti depressant I promise you they are nothing like seroxat. Of course with all psychiactric medicines you are probably going to suffer some sort of withdrawal but I do know that the ones I am on work differently and when I do stop them I will not go through hell on earth trying to come off them. You need to look at the here and now, what the symptoms are, what they are stopping you from doing and then explore your options to make you more comftable.
I nearly gave in a few weeks ago, I asked for another SSRI to make the pain go away, I am so glad I didn’t go for it.
Well I am 2 months seroxat free, 1 month prozac free ( I tried the swapping seroxat for prozac method. For someone who has anxiety this was the WORST method) Prozac was like a stimulant, oh it was awful paired with the seroxat withdrawal.
Anyway Ian, it might take a good few months for you to level out, my doctor can’t tell me when it will go away but she says it will and the longer I am off it the less severe it will be. I think it’s your body trying to adjust to not being loaded with chemicals. Your brain is suddenly starved of seroxat and it goes haywire! It needs to get itself back to normal, your body needs to get used to feeling emotions that were supressed for 13 years by seroxat. The human body is an amazing thing though at repairing itself. You are now feeling things again which is scary and after 13 years your body doesn’t remember how to deal with it without seroxat. That’s the way I look at it.
We will all get there, it just takes time. Try some hypnotherapy cd’s. try some herbal sleeping tablets, and talk to your doctor.
May 5, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Hi Stardust see you have been through a rough ride mate did you just stop from 10mg? Have you been able to go back to work and what meds are you on now do you still take the antipsychotics?? Im going to try and stick this out dont want to take any more meds but might ask for martazapine to help me sleep because im literaly getting half an hour an hour at best a night.I have thought about reinstating and doing a slow wean but i have read some people still suffer terrible even after doing that.You in the Uk mate if you are you can find me on facebook Karl Friend be willing to chat to you support each other through this ;0)