Serotonin Withdrawal syndrome

Hi, @frouke - very sorry to hear you are experiencing brain zaps and poor sleep, along with anxiety over the situation.

Here is some related Mayo Clinic information you may find useful:

- Antidepressant withdrawal: Is there such a thing? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/antidepressant-withdrawal/faq-20058133

Are you indicating you've told your doctor what side effects you are experiencing, yet you are not getting adjustments in your tapering schedule? If not, have you touched base with the pharmacist who filled the medication to seek his or her advice?

@lisalucier I am in this mess because of the doctor, against my better judgement I did what he said and now I’m suffering so much. I plan to go back to see him and try to make him understand what happened without getting him defensive, I tried telling him that I have to go very slowly with the taper but he said that’s nonsense because I only took 2.5 mg. for a month, however it can happen even with low dose and short term use, the medication in question is Paxil and it’s known to be very difficult to get off them due to a short term in your system. I have done a ton of research and they offer several solutions, one of them is to go back on another longer lasting antidepressant and then start a very slow taper, my angst is that I get so many side effects from these drugs and I feel very tired and worn out from months of not sleeping much. I realize that I have to do something because I’m not going to last long at this rate, thank you for your help, I feel so alone with this situation but I do realize that many people are going through similar issues.

@frouke - I'm tagging a few other Mayo Clinic Connect Depression & Anxiety support group members who've talked about tapering off of paroxetine (Paxil) so they can support you and tell you about their experiences @hippos4me @keppraeffect @mjmc5152 @petillo @mountainviews22 @ilikegreen.

@lisalucier I am in this mess because of the doctor, against my better judgement I did what he said and now I’m suffering so much. I plan to go back to see him and try to make him understand what happened without getting him defensive, I tried telling him that I have to go very slowly with the taper but he said that’s nonsense because I only took 2.5 mg. for a month, however it can happen even with low dose and short term use, the medication in question is Paxil and it’s known to be very difficult to get off them due to a short term in your system. I have done a ton of research and they offer several solutions, one of them is to go back on another longer lasting antidepressant and then start a very slow taper, my angst is that I get so many side effects from these drugs and I feel very tired and worn out from months of not sleeping much. I realize that I have to do something because I’m not going to last long at this rate, thank you for your help, I feel so alone with this situation but I do realize that many people are going through similar issues.

@frouke I went through the same thing. Paxil is very hard to get out of your system and it leaves you in a terrible place. Unfortunately all antidepressants have similar reactions. I switched from Paxil to Lexapro. I wish I could be on non of them. But that’s not happening. This is the lesser of the two evils.

@lisalucier I am in this mess because of the doctor, against my better judgement I did what he said and now I’m suffering so much. I plan to go back to see him and try to make him understand what happened without getting him defensive, I tried telling him that I have to go very slowly with the taper but he said that’s nonsense because I only took 2.5 mg. for a month, however it can happen even with low dose and short term use, the medication in question is Paxil and it’s known to be very difficult to get off them due to a short term in your system. I have done a ton of research and they offer several solutions, one of them is to go back on another longer lasting antidepressant and then start a very slow taper, my angst is that I get so many side effects from these drugs and I feel very tired and worn out from months of not sleeping much. I realize that I have to do something because I’m not going to last long at this rate, thank you for your help, I feel so alone with this situation but I do realize that many people are going through similar issues.

@frouke I stopped Paxil too quickly and had the brain zaps. They were very annoying and lasted about 2-3 months, then stopped. I suggest you wean off very slowly and maybe the brain zaps will be less annoying or even stop after a while. My doctor suggested Zoloft, but it was awful and I quit it after 2 days. I'm on Xanax now, but have to find a drug to use to replace it as I need to get off it before my system gets tolerant and needs more. I will see if the doctor will prescribe Buspar or Citalopram, which as I understand are ok for long term use, and are non-addictive.