It's interesting to read these withdrawal stories and compare them to my own. I was on 20 mg Paxil for 8 years and decided to stop due to (1) weight gain and (2) a feeling of "flat affect", i.e. rarely cried or reacted strongly to anything, including sex. I tapered down in one week, which was NOT long enough, and didn't contact my psychiatrist, which I should have done. My symptoms included: the horrible vivid nightmare/hallucinations that just filled me with terror, numbness and tingling, extreme itchiness all over my body, pain and "heaviness" in my legs and feet, insomnia, whooshing sounds when turning my head. No "zaps" or nausea, though my appetite has changed and even when I'm hungry I have a hard time finding anything I actually want to eat. Two weeks post-Paxil, I finally went to see my psychiatrist and he told me that going off Paxil and Effexor can be extremely difficult, worse than any other antidepressant. He suggested taking one 10mg Prozac, which he said would help alleviate the symptoms and would stay in my system for about 6 weeks, then disappear. I did that and it helped a lot, especially with the horrible dreams. I have now been off Paxil for 2 months. I still have occasional insomnia, tingling in extremities and (worst of all) pain and "tiredness" in my legs and feet. Most of the other symptoms no longer bother me. I exercise faithfully 3-4 times a week, which helps my general mood plus is a good thing to do anyway. I have lost 5 pounds without dieting. I feel much more "connected" to the world and feel positive and happy. So far, no panic attacks or depressive episodes, the two reasons I took Paxil in the first place. For those who are considering getting off this drug, I say go for it, but do it slowly and check with your doctor first. Expect some problems, but know that eventually you will be very happy you stopped!

Okay, here is my story and I hope someone else can benefit from it. I'm a 29 year old female who was placed on Paxil 2yrs ago for depression by a Psychiatrist. He started me out at 20mgs and eventually I ended up on 75mgs. Before Paxil, I was going through a hard time and became depressed, after Paxil I found myself numb, which made me feel more depressed, what a vicious cycle. So, up and up on the Paxil he went. I never really did feel that much better from the Paxil even at my highest amount, just incredibly numb. I did however start to notice these "shock" feelings in my head. I would tell my co-workers about them and they just looked at me like I was a psycho, but hey I thought I was too at 75mgs of Paxil. So, I threw the shock feelings to the side. Then one day I had a Grand Mal Seizure out of the blue, no personal or family history. I had all the testing you can have done, even a week long video EEG, everything was normal. I noticed after the seizure that I kept having these "shock" feelings and they were becoming more frequent. I didn't know what the deal was, I even thought they were mini seizures. I told my two different Neurologists and my Psychiatrist about these feelings. All the Dr.s just gave me that head tilted look and would say Hmmmm. I felt even crazier at this point!!! The seizure scared me badly and I re-evaluated my life. I decided I wanted to get off the Paxil (since it didn't help much anyway) to see how I felt without being drugged. I told my doctor I felt great and wanted to decrease the medication, as a nurse a knew this was a no-no, but I was determined to get off this medication. My Dr. decreased my Paxil in one day by 20mgs. Holy smokes, was I in for a ride. I felt awful: palpitations, chills, sweats, diarrhea, headaches, confusion, unsteady gait, mood swings, insomnia, restlessness....and more. The big thing I really noticed was the head shocks got so much worse. Then a few weeks after I decreased, Whamo, I had another seizure! HMMMMMM.....can anyone say Paxil??????? Again, all of my tests were normal. My red alarm went off and I started to research Paxil. I read that if you have a seizure and you are on Paxil, then you should stop taking it, but neither of my two Neurologists nor my Psychiatrist mentioned this to me. Thank God I found this website! I felt as though I found my lifesaver. I was shocked at all the things I read. My depression turned to anger, but I also had a new sense of hope. I slowly began to decrease my Paxil 5-10mgs per week, just depended on how many head shocks I was having. I took my last Paxil two weeks ago and I feel alive and happy. I'm still having some withdrawal feelings, but the head shocks are virtually gone! I followed the advice of the others who had gone through this and drank lots of water, got lots of rest and started to exercise almost every day. I tell myself that my exercise is my "happy pill" and it works. For those going through this withdrawal right now, stay focused, don't panic (you will be okay and you are not dying...lol) and exercise. As for my seizures, I hope I have found the reason and stay seizure free, only time will tell. Happy healing to all!!!

I had been on paxil for about 4 years. I was prescribed paxil for severe stomach pains which my doctor felt was coming from anxiety. Although the paxil did completely stop my stomach from hurting, little did I realize what it was doing to the rest of my body and my life!! First of all, the weight gain was terrible. I went from 119lbs to 154lbs while on paxil. It didn't matter how hard I exercised or what kind of diet I went on - nothing helped. I was extremely tired all the time and had no sex drive whatsoever! I didn't care about anything anymore. I lost a lot of good friends because of my new "kiss my butt" attitude. I even quit my job one day (thankfully they took me back when I explained that it was the paxil talking). I finally decided that I had to come off this wicked drug. I thought I could quit cold turkey - BIG MISTAKE!! After missing just two doses I could not even walk straight. I had horrible zapping feeling all throughout my body and buzzing noises in my head. My arms and legs were numb, my vision was blurred, my speech was impaired. I couldn't work or even drive my car. Once I realized that I couldn't do this cold turkey, I decided to try to skip a day in between doses - this didn't work well for me either. I still had the same symptoms, just not as severe. I finally decided that I would start cutting my pills in half. This seem to work the best for me. I continued to do this at two week intervals until I was literally just licking some powder that would fall off the side of a pill that had been cut into 6 pieces. I know this sounds dramatic, but it was the only thing that worked for me. I am completely paxil free and have lost almost all of the weight that I gained while on paxil. I still have some anxiety problems which effect my stomach now and then but I'm learning to deal with it. There is a light at the end of this tunnel. You just have to experiment until you find what works best for you.

When I got up Justus was playing with my bass guitar and decided to "quiz" me on the chords. I rambled " E, A,...uh uh" and then uncontrollable tears came forth. I could not stop crying, which caused me to hyperventilate and then came the nausea and vomiting. A bit later we decided that we could go pick up something at Wal-Mart and grab a bite to eat. A crowded Wal-Mart is not the place for someone going through any kind of withdrawal. Midway through our shopping quickly became the end of our shopping I managed to find my way to a bench to sit on as he checked out. The whole time wanting to just crawl underneath the bench and die. Again I was sweating and sweating and then moments later needed a blanket for the chills. I gripped my arm so tightly as my arms were crossed that my dull fingernail marks could still be seen hours later. We went home and this time I knew that I absolutely must stay there. The intensity of the pain I felt is beyond words. Whenever an attack would come on me all I could manage to say is "make it stop, make it stop". I think about and remember all the emotional lows I have had and even the most traumatizing events that I have lived through cannot even compare to the magnitude of the feelings of sadness, anxiety, fear, confusion and physical discomfort I was experiencing. Most of the evening became a blur. I remember lying down on my living room floor as if to say I give up while I lay there crying and shaking. I crawled to the bathroom cause I knew that I would be sick. And then I could not move from the little ball I had crawled into, laying on the cold bathroom floor sweating and coughing. At about 1am, I went and lie in my bed, simply for the fact that I knew my husband wouldn't go to bed with me still up. We had looked on line and found information regarding paxil withdrawal which stated it was generally safe to take Tylenol pm in order to help with muscle tension and sleeping issues. I would not take it, I have taken it many times before but just the mere thought of it, made me break out in a panic attack. I was angry and wanted to throw everything in sight. Fear gripped me. I was scared and I didn't even know what of. I was scared to sleep, I was scared of any medicine, I was scared to go lay on the couch. No logical reason for these things but it was just as a little child is afraid if they step out of their bed the monster will grab there leg, I was now consumed with the same kind of irrational fear. I could hear everything, the fan, Justus scratching his forehead, the wind outside. It all seemed so loud. So I cried out to God in my mind cause I just knew I could take no more. All I said was I need to hear you. And then as I lay there I didn't hear or feel any comforting words but I became a little less scared to take the medicine that would help me sleep so I did that. And I also realized that yes this was too way much and I need to rewind the process, I then took a Paxil. Not with the intentions of keeping on this life sucking drug but understanding that even though it only took one day to start, it would take many more to stop. This realization did not suddenly make everything better. I did continue to hear an audible noise that did not exist to which I woke myself with my own voice asking "what" in response to what I believed was Justus taking care of the "noise". I then looked over to find him sleeping. So as I begin this journey of being free from paxil I can only think "I wish I would have known.".. It has been about 2 months since I wrote that piece above, since then I have been able to tamper off paxil and have been paxil free for about 3 weeks. I still have an edge but at least I am a functioning human being once again.

I'm still unemployed and almost completely broke because of it but I am motivated and have made more progress in the last week than I have in the last four and a half months in terms of my job search. I just want to encourage others to hang in there because the symptons do go away. Also stay busy, walking really does help even if you feel sick or the zaps are frequent, you can do it. Drink lots of water or herbal teas with no sugar, eat healthy and in small amounts all day long and read (even on my worst day when I was using my brain I wouldn't get those zaps) and write out your feelings in a journal. Another thing, and maybe the most important is to think positively and know that this won't last forever and when it does you will be grateful for your new found appreciation of being paxil free. Also prayer and a belief in something higher than yourself (God or whatever you'd like to call it) will make all of the difference in the world. I'll just suggest the book that helped me get through it and is changing my life as we speak. It's called The Essential Ernest Holmes. He founded the science of mind school of thought (not scientology) which basically says that we are all responsible for how we choose to respond to situations in our lives, good and/or bad. And that it is very important to know that we are all products of a higher being and that because of that we are special no matter what anyone else has done or said to us, people who know this will always react to things differently and more positively than others, we tend to call them arrogant. Its not about thinking you're better than others its about knowing that no one is more worthy than you. It's really a good book. I like it because it's practical, it makes sense, there are no judgements or rules to follow and it has helped me a great deal and will continue to for the rest of my life. But do whatever you can to get closer to that higher place no matter what you believe in, we are all the same, some of us are just more in tuned with our higher selves than others. But we are all capable if we change the way we think, which changes the things we say and do, which changes our lives. Think negative and your life is negative, thinking positive has the same effect. I'm doing my best to work on that now and forever, old habits do die hard but I know I can do it.

One Thursday evening (11 days ago to be exact) I realized that I had taken the last Paxil I had. Friday morning I called my Dr's office for a refill. When I went to the drug store that evening, it turned out that they had never called in the refill. Since I knew there was no way I'd reach my Dr. until Monday, I decided to quit then and there. I was in no way prepared for what was to come. The first few day were fine. I wasn't until Sunday afternoon, while hiking with my husband, that I realized something was very wrong. I began to feel very nauseous and dizzy. I thought that maybe I was just hungry, so we went to grab a pizza after our hike. I wound up eating just about the whole thing. That evening the dizziness continues and I began to hear a swooshing noise in my head. This "swooshing" would happen every time I moved my eyes and was very disconcerting. I woke up several time during the night bathed in sweat. It was awful. The next day at work, I could barely function. I was so light headed that I was afraid to leave my chair. I would break into tears for no apparent reason and two minutes later be laughing my self silly. I ate more food that you can imagine. I just couldn't stop myself. On Tuesday, things got even worse. I was unable to keep any food down and the "swooshes" were getting more and more frequent. I finally decided to call my doctor and see if he had any advice as to how to alleviate these symptoms. To my shock and disgust, my doctor told me that he had never heard of anyone complaining of these symptoms having quit Paxil. He reiterated that the drug was "non-habit forming" and then had the nerve to tell me that I may have an inner ear infection. I couldn't believe it. When I got home that night, I got online and found this site. Even though my symptoms were not subsiding, at least I knew that I wasn't crazy and that I was not alone. It's been 11 days now and I'm beginning to feel a bit better. I wound up taking the rest of last week off from work to try to just ride out the symtoms at home. I went back to yoga yesterday. I just want to tell everyone that it does get better. I still hear the swooshes in my head and feel perpetually "out of it", but I was able to work today and the nasuea has subsided. I hope that going forward I will be able to control my stress and anxiety on my own. I know that I will neve rtake this drug again. If anyone had told me that this could happen, I wouldn't have taken it to begin with. It's just not worth it.

I have already dropped 15 of the 40+ pounds I gained while on Paxil. I was naseaueated most of the time, so I wasn't eating much (brown rice and steamed veggies). What I did eat went straight through me (the water might have helped). The weight loss was another thing that kept me going. After years of watching the scale go up and up, it was wonderful seeing my clothes get looser and looser.

It has been some six weeks since my last dose, I am mostly over the physiological symptoms. In the past week or two, I have noticed my mood swings have dipped lower than before (while on Paxil), which is to be expected. They seem to be fairly short lived, and chocolate helps. So does exercise.

I would also like to mention that I quit caffine cold turkey because the thought of coffee made me sick to my stomach. I have only been able to enjoy my morning cup of java in the last week or so, as long as it's not too strong

For me, the dizziness and "zaps" only lasted a few days. After that, my worst symptom was agitation, including a pounding heart beat, horrible insomnia, sweating, shaking, and a sense of terrible restlessness. This lasted about 2 weeks during which time I could not sleep for more than 2 or 3 hours a night. My advice for these kinds of symptoms:
— Keep yourself as cool as possible. Run the air conditioner (or turn down the heat, depending on the season). Drink lots of ice water. Take cool showers. Go swimming.
— You probably won't be hungry very often, but when you do get hungry, restrict yourself to very very light meals, e.g., a little soup and soda crackers. Digestion will crank up your autonomic nervous system, which is already running in high gear. So you may end up feeling much worse after eating. However, drink lots of water so you don't get dehydrated.
— Get as much exercise as possible. Even if you normally hate to exercise, you may find that going for long walks has a calming effect.
— Avoid alcohol like the plague.
— If you are a caffeine addict, cut back on coffee/tea/cola as much as possible. Watch out for non-cola soft drinks that have caffeine in them (read the labels). Avoid herbal remedies that say they will give you "energy" or "stimulate the mind" or improve "mental clarity" etc. because these may contain stimulants like ephedra. Also avoid any over-the-counter drugs that can stimulate the nervous system. Many cold, allergy, and asthma medicines contain stimulants such as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine (Sudafed). Of course, if you have asthma, talk to your doctor before changing any of your medications or inhalers.
— Find a hobby or project that you can work on obsessively during those late nights when you can't sleep.
— Keep reminding yourself that this isn't going to last forever!

P.S. The doctor who helped me get off paxil does not like the drug, because of the severe withdrawal effects. He said there are other anti-depressants that are easier to get off. BUT GETTING OFF PAXIL IS WORTH IT AND THE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS ARE TEMPORARY. YOU CAN DO IT