Posted by TamaraJ on February 23, 2005, at 18:24:03
In reply to Do NOT skip days when tapering medications!, posted by SLS on February 23, 2005, at 16:07:39
Scott,
I think I was one of the fortunate ones. When I discontinued Paxil a couple of years, I had initially reduced my dose in half and then started taking a dose every second day, then every third day until I stopped completely. I did not experience any noticeable or debilitating effects. Mind you, I occassionally took Xanax. My cousin, on the other hand, has been trying to discontinue Paxil for a while now, and is having a real hard time.
I stopped Effexor last September after a taper from 150mg to 0 over a two-week period. I haven't participated in the Effexor withdrawal threads because I can't say for sure what I experienced in terms of withdrawal symptoms. Before I discontinued, I had been given a Depo Provera injection, and was extremely ill from sides effects (throwing up every day, severe anxiety, mood swings, achy, flu-like symptoms and an overwhelming worsening of depression). But, I can say for sure that I did experience the "zaps" because I didn't have those after the Depo shot.
Tamara
> With the exception of Prozac (fluoxetine), it seems that skipping days in between doses of medication is counterproductive. It makes the tapering process more painful, not less. You are better off taking smaller amounts of the medication every day, even if it means dividing the pills into fractions.
>
> With Paxil and Effexor, I have had great success taking very small doses several times a day.
>
>
> - Scott
poster:TamaraJ
thread:462343
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050214/msgs/462397.html