Posted by Spriggy on March 16, 2005, at 16:52:26
In reply to Paxil w/drawal question..anyone?, posted by katia on March 16, 2005, at 15:05:04
Well, of course, I agree with you. It was the withdrawals. I went through the same thing you experienced coming off Lexapro. It totally kicked my butt out of reality and all I thought about was suicide in between swinging from depression to anxiety to condemnation, etc..Yeah.. it's the worst.
NOW, if you are indeed BP 2 ( I am too- you can join my club), YES, you need to be on a mood stabilizer too.
My doctor actually told me today that if one of his patients is bipolar 1-5 (apparently there are 5 numbers now, ha ha), he recommends not using ANY antidepressent (like Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro) that messes with the seratonin system. He just said that in BP people, that when you use those meds to treat their anxiety or depression- you are asking for mania.
So my dr. instead has me on Lamictal - a mood stabilizer that has AD properties in it (and it shouldn't cause weight gain). He also has me on Klonopin for anxiety and Risperol for sleep.
I haven't swallowed my first Lamictal yet. I'm a big time drug paranoid freak (thus the anxiety!) but I have read it is great for BP 2 people like us.
NOW... if you really want off the Paxil, you can ask your doctor to switch over to Prozac with a much longer half life until you can wean off totally.
It should help.
Another thing that helps is Benadryl. It's documented. Maybe even ask for a Benzo like Xanex or Klonopin until you can wean off totally.
Then ask for a mood stabilizer if you are indeed Bipolar 2.
I wish you the best. Coming off that stuff is like dying and waking up in Hell.
poster:Spriggy
thread:471753
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050312/msgs/471803.html