should i go off the paxil?

hi, im new to this forum, so hi to everyone out there, now on to my question and possible life story.

i've been on paxil, i think maby since 9th grade, i'm taking it for ,i think, my anger issues, i dont know, one day the doc perscribed it and i've kinda been on it ever since. actually i remember when i wouldn't take it at first, i guess i didn't want to be the person with all the problems (that sounds kinda stupid now that i think about it) i remember when i first started taking it, it was in liquid form, an orange flavor, i can't hardley even think of the color orange anymore let alone eat an orange because of it now. then they said that they weren't making the liquid version of paxil any more, so i had to go on the pill. it took me a long time to actually convince myself that i could swallow pills before i could even take these. first i think i was taking 40mg pills, then when i heard about the paxilCR, i asked my doc about it, and so he put me on that and uped my dosage to 50mg. so life is good and all but some times i forget to take it, somtimes i don't take it for weaks, and then i started only taking it when i got really bad. in highschool they said i had A.D.D. and everything else under the sun. maby i was misdiagnosed (sorry i cant spell that well) i feel fine when im not on the paxil, and like i said, i think i was only taking it for my anger problems, i guess i just want to try and controll my anger without the help of meds. my mom already knows that i've stopped taking the paxil, i'm just wandering if all of this is a good idea?

hopefully somone who knows about this stuff will respond. sorry this message is so long.

 

I recently went off of Paxil. Don't just stop taking it! You need to taper off of it slowly...or you will feel awful. Paxil has a long half life, so it may take awhile, but when your serotonin levels start to drop quickly, you will feel bad. Talk to your doc, tell her you want to go off it...The doc will should prescribe some Paxil 20mg. You should take 2 for a week or so, then 1 & 1/2 for a week, then 1 for a week, then 1/2 for a week, then you will need a few 10mg tablets, take 1/2 daily for another week or so.

I had been on Paxil for about 10 years. You do forget why you are taking them. If you really need them, you will know, soon! I went back on antidepressants, but switched to Lexapro because it has less side effects for most peple.

Good luck!

 

thanks.i've been off it for weeks now, i really haven't felt any different.

 

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T QUIT IT COLD TURKEY!!!!! I have done it before & it's BAAAAAD. You will feel like you are literally going mad. You should never quite taking any kind of anti-depressant cold turkey. I was taking 75mg of the stuff everyday. Please, I beg of you, don't do it or you'll regret it.

 

I took the paxil meds for the first time in a few weeks yesterday morning, prety much because i couldn't get to sleep the night before. my mind was like on super hyper mode, that night, it was like my brain was bouncing off the walls of my head while i just laid still trying to go to sleep. i might have dozed off a coupple of times, but i was wide awake to hear my mom leave for a buissness trip at like 4:00 AM. so i decided to take them and hopefully get a good nights sleep that night. witch also wasn't a good nights sleep either because i ended up waking up at 4:00 in the morning again and eating a can of corn for breakfast before i went back to sleep.

Now i know paxil takes like a day to actually kick in, but here's waht makes me think it kicked in a little bit earlyer then that - i was talking, a lot more then i normally do when not taking the paxil. but i also felt realy bad all day long. my mouth also got dry alot. i've taken the meds again today, i just hope i feel better then i did yesterday.

 

It takes a week or more for it to work. Sounds like you should keep on taking it...

 

i think i will keep taking it. i felt alot happier at work yesterday then i did when i wasn't taking it. i think i just hated the idea that i'd probally have to take it for the rest of my life just to be happy. and i got a good nights sleep last night, if you call 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM a good nights sleep.

 

I will take antidepressants for the rest of my life...

WHO CARES! They make me feel better! Life is to short!

 

Really. Some people's neurotransmitters just need a little help. I'll be on Zoloft my entire life. So what? It controls my chronic pain and prevents me from getting unbearably depressed because I HAVE chronic pain.

Talk to the doctor who prescribed them. What you were describing (hypermode) sounded like hypomania, which is a symptom of certain types of depressive disorders, and does need to be treated.

If you needed heart medication for life, you wouldn't worry about that, would you? If you needed thyroid meds, or insulin, you wouldn't go off of them "just to see" if you could get along without them! Talk to your doctor. If you are doing well on them, there is good reason to stay on them, most of the time.

 

im sorry, i didn't mean to offend anyone. i just wish there was an eaiser way. it's hard to remember to take the meds every day. but i will keep taking them. yester day somthing happened that i normally would have gone balistic over, but i didn't, and after a while it didn't even matter. so i guess that means the paxil is working. thanks again for helping me to figure this out.

 

Yes, I think you should go off the Paxil but I'd consult my doctor as well to taper the dosage. They're way overprescribed and half the people on them don't need them. I wouldn't necessarily take this as medical advice either (insert disclaimer) maybe you're one of the people who require medication. Emotions these days seem very misunderstood, maybe I'm wrong. I find myself constantly observing people worrying about all the wrong things, stuff you should just let go. I don't think kids are taught how to deal with emotions truthfully. How rarely do you see someone who is honestly emotionally stable? I think it's whack I wasted important years on ADs because of that issue. Perhaps it only applies to me and I just imagine seeing it in the majority of people. I read in some book, "people who tell the truth are usually ready to hear the truth" I could apply this to just about anything but I think it's appropriate here, as well. My entire experience with ADs and psychoactives is what pushed me into the field of pharmacology in relation to the mind.

 

I am glad you are doing better Laura.

Siekk, it appears that laura has some symptoms which do make her a candidate for antidxes. Hypomania is not something which should go untreated. Depression, and it's relatives are not just "emotions" they are serious NEUROTRANSMITTER disorders, which, if they are happening, do need to be treated, so the person can function. I don't personally beleive depression is all that overtreated anymore, You are 17, how are you "In the field of phamacology?" I've been a medical professional for almost 20 years, and there is a HUGE difference between saying "no one is mentally stable" and saying "no one needs treatment for neurotransmitter disorders."

Laura, I am glad you are doing better.

 

thank you maggie.

 

I don't know how anyone can deny ADs are overused but I'll think what I will. Most all pharmaceuticals are overprescribed. I'm merely stating my view that we underestimate our mind/body and its response to stimuli. People seem to have reduced consciousness concerning their emotions and some require medication because of this, it could go either way. I'm certainly not denying the absence of disorders which necessitate being medicated but unless testing proves a chemical imbalance how can you be sure who needs it and who's confused? From my experience most people go in to see a psych or shrink and come out with a prescription because of the way the professional perceives them. I've read a lot about perception and neuropharmacology and often hear people advise patients not to get a diagnosis based on what you feel for obvious reasons; it's subjective, that's what feelings are.

"Depression, and it's relatives are not just "emotions" they are serious NEUROTRANSMITTER disorders, which, if they are happening, do need to be treated, so the person can function."

Are you aware that "No experiment has ever shown that anyone has an "imbalance" of any neurotransmitters or any other brain chemicals. "?

Maggie Sugar, I'm not sure what medical field you work in but you're being lied to, check out this site for starters http://www.etfrc.com/ChemicalImbalances.htm

Now when it comes to physical disorders they are obviously easier to diagnose because you're not going on what's in your head. You have by no means the definitive answers about pharmaceutical use and neither do I but we're both welcome to ponder. You asked how I'm in the field of pharmacology and its merely because its been a life interest. My father owns a pharmacy and I've been reading his texts and working for him before it was even legal to do so. All forms of drug use and their effects captivate me and that's the field Im starting school in while pursuing a second major in chemistry. The chemistry side is because I'm also interested in animal rights and I want to find reliable alternatives to animal testing. What better way to get it done than to test it myself.

 

Not without weaning off that bugger or you are going to crash. So work with your doctor and taper off....but it is worth a try.

 

I was on paxil and it made me lose my appetite so i had to go off of it. you have to taper off or else you'll get sick i was on a really low dose and still freaked when i went off of it. All of those drugs in that family make you lose your appetite and be a little lazy which sucks but to me it's worth being chill.

 

WIth the new black box warnings, it will be harder for people who need them to get them prescribed. I know of family practictioners and peds who will no longer prescribe them at all. Many people with little insurance are being forced to pay large amounts of money to see psychaitrists, when before their family practice doctor was prescribing.

You OBVIOUSLY have NO experience with pain conditions. Pain meds are the MOST underprescribed of drugs. Ask any pain patient. It is the MOST undertreated illness in this country.

I'm being Lied to? ROTFLMAO, Yeah, my close to 20 years in the medical field, my 2 Master's Degrees, my professional creds, my training and all the patients I have seen and what I have learned from them is completely wrong and can be negated by someone who has been ALIVE less time than I have been in practice. :H I know my profession, and I have seen what works and what doesn't. There is something to be said for EXPERIENCE and education, not just pulling random crap from L Ron Hubbard off the internet.

Your dad is a pharmacist? How does HE feel about your Dianetics based fear and loathing of phamaceuticals?

Damn that sounded prettty arrogant. But I don't like being bullshitted.

 

BTW, there are NO tests for most neurotransmitter imbalances.

I went to your site. You are a Dianetic's advocate?

 

Bullshit! People taking SSRIs have "significant decreases in platelet serotonin levels" this points to the FACT that the serotonin is being retained, in the interneuronal space, where it is needed for the treatment of depression. Kristensten, Hett et al, Distribution and excretion of Serataline and N-desmethylsertiline in human milk. Britsh Journal of Clinical Pharmocology, 1998 45(5) 453 457.

This is only one. One I had lying around in my head. Do you want me to get more? There are dozens of articles and studies which prove chemical imbalances? Ever hear of LITHIUM?