Tips on how to wean off of Paxil (paroxetine): Bad withdrawal.

I need some encouraging words to help me through the process of weaning off Paxil. I’ve been on for 20 years started with 20 and now have weaned back down to 20 after being on 40 having a very difficult time need some advice.

Don't give up. Exercise, stay busy, get sleep, eat healthy, talk to others, journal... Maybe describe what you are experiencing with more detail. Others may have advice for specific symptoms.

TY, my anxiety is worse, it’s been 3 weeks dosing from 30 to 20. Hard to eat healthy because I don’t feel like eating at all. Starting to miss work. Not sure if I should push through and get to the job. See how I do.

Can you tell me about your experience?

Currently, I am on the 3rd week of going from 30 to 20 mg. of Paxil. I am still experiencing side effects, insomnia, nauseau (don't feel like eating), increased anxiety and legs feel weak. I don't want to lose my job, but am missing a lot of work, because I am very anxious about going into the office now. Kind of like I have formed a phobia about it. Thank you for any good reviews of weaning off of Paxil. da

A friend of mine has been on Paxil for over 20 years. She has tried to cut back and get off, but ended up going back on.

I would love to hear from those who have gone through this process, how long it took, how often did you go down on your dose, how long side effects remain, etc. How you got the courage to continue life as usual....where did you get the strength. I just want to lay on my couch like a vegetable and I know this is not productive.

I want to be off of the Paxil, because it was making me feel awful all of the time. It had stopped working and I was tired of missing family, friends and work all the time.

I was taking Paxil a long time ago for debilitating anxiety, I used Ativan to help me but they are the wrong ones to help me because Ativan is like putting a bandage on the problem. I went on Paxil with the doctor’s help, he started me on 5 mg for 2 weeks and I was to increase to 10 mg. It turned out that 10 mg was too much so I stayed on 5 mg. I initially found Paxil very helpful and I was able to stop Ativan but after a year I had enough and I weaned off them over a few weeks, my dose was low so it wasn’t too bad, I skipped a day every week until I was done. Paxil is helpful med but you do get very fed up with them after a while, they allowed me to be calm and gave me a good appetite, unfortunately I tried going back to them and I felt sick and every other antidepressant did the same thing, I have seen positive results from the newer antidepressants and I wish they would work for me but after trying about four different brands I gave up, I now use an older antidepressant but the effects are minimal and I still need Ativan to help me.

Try to get to work. I had days when all I could do was think, "Fake it until you make it". It does help. Have you ever thought that if you just try to show up, no one knows what's going on inside of you? I have been so bad that I could not touch a keyboard or eventually drive....and only you are the one to know what you can or can not do without endangering yourself or others or your job....but I sometimes would show up at work and just get by but then later in the day or early evening my head would gain some clarity and peace. I would stay late and work or take work home to keep up. Only you know what you can get away with...and not jeopardize your job. And if you have sick days...that's what they are intended for. Some of us bust our brains at work and need time to heal. I wish you strength and peace.