Coming off Seroxat after 10 years

[markrut]

After 10 years on seroxat, the last 2 years on 10mg I have finally decided to come off. 6 months ago they just seemed to have stopped working, I understand that when they stop working they can go against you. I am on 9mg for the last week and have not felt to bad until I woke this morning and the room was spinning, dizziness got better through the morning but feeling a bit agitated. Anyone else been on them long term and now tapering off?

[diane07]

Hi markrut

A huge warm welcome to nmp.

You'll get loads of advice and support here and make some lovely friends along the way.

Best wishes

[IHATEANXIETY]

Hi, well i am just in the process but only started this week. Am going through bit of a blip at moment so went back to drs this week. Am being weaned off seroxat so taking my usual dose but 10mg Citralopam along with it. I too felt Seroxat just wasnt helping me anymore.
Will let you know how i get on x

[wendy28]

Hi ive been on seroxat 10 years to,they really worked for me,but ive tried coming off them a few times with really bad withdrawels the last time i cut them down was january and ended up back depressed anxious and the full blown panic attacks!!.Am now back up to 20mg again..sorry dont want to put a dampner on things,all i would say is try and do it really really slowly with the help of a supportive doctor,because mine wasnt...told me i was imagining the withdrawel symptoms..
good luck x

[wendy28]

sorry me again dont think they work for me really anymore,but just cant come off them..

[Alan Mack]

Hi Markrut

I've been taking 20mg SEROXAT for just over nine years now, about three years ago I tried to come off them, I went to see my doctor and he told me to start taking one pill every other day which I found out was the totally wrong thing to do as the side effect are horrible dizziness, sharp pains when I moved my eyes in strong light and my anxiety started to rise so I ended up just going back on them, I'm hoping to come off them in the future because I worry about the long term effects, I know now If I start to come off them to do it milligram by milligram I've now got to bite the bullet and get on with it but reading your post has give me hope that it can be done and I really hope it goes well for you mate

I think the same as Wendy and Ihateanxiety, I don't feel like they are really helping me anymore

Alan.

[AIDIELOU]

i was on seroxat for years to come off them try reducing the dose even going as far as breaking the tablet in two then taking them every other day.i got shock feelings coming of them but after a few weeks they went.hope that helps

[maxfactor]

ditto,you can get liquid form too 2 take a really low dose.
Ooch that electric shock feeling is quite normal when tapering.

[markrut]

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies.
I have been withdrwaing for 2 weeks now, I dropped from 10mg to 9.5mg after 3 days the dizziness started which has been bad and stomach cramps, no concentration what so ever. I spoke to Professor David Healy who is the leading expert in the UK for antidepressant withdrawal. He advised a very slow taper or a regime that by slowly tapering off seroxat and at the same time slowly taper onto Citalopram to help withdrawal symptons. Unfortunately I will still have seroxat withdrawal even by taking Citalopram.
I went to my doctors and he suggested the following:
Week 1 - 10mg Seroxat plus 2.5mg Escitalopram (less side effects than Citalopram)
Week 2 - 10mg Seroxat plua 5mg Escitalopram
Week 3 - 10mg Seroxat plus 7.5mg Escitalopram
Week 4 - 10mg Seroxat plus 10mg Escitalopram
Week 5 - 7.5mg Seroxat plus 10mg Es
Week 6 - 5mg Seroxat plus 10mg Es
Week 7 - 2.5mg Seroxat plus 10mg Es
Week 9 - 0mg Seroxat plus 10mg Es

Take Escitalopram 10mg for further 3 weeks, then taper with Escitalopram liquid

I checked this out with to pharmacists because of the concern over Seretonin Syndrome, they both said that because of the low dosages they were not toxic.

Has anone else had a regime like this?

[Kerry B]

Hi I was on Seroxate 40mg for 13 years and came off them by taking Escitalpram 20mg under the supervision of a Psychiatrist, as i found the seroxate where no longer working for me, i just felt really nausea all the time but didnt really notice the withdrawals, I did try and reduce the Seroxate with no additional medication and couldnt manage it as the withdrawal side effects where to powerful and all the panics seemed to come back.

I am now back on the Seroxate as the Escitalopram was not helping me at all. I am back to square one!

[markrut]

Keep your chin up, I know it is hard, after all all we want is to be free of Seroxat.
How are you feeling now after going back to Seroxat? What dose are you on?

[antosarmy]

Hi,

I was on Seroxat for 12 years and finally, after many failed attempts, came off them last December. In the end when I did come off them it was a very rapid come down from my daily dose of 20mg, down to 15, 10 5, and then zero. It all happened in the space of about 6 weeks for me.

You are all aware of the physical side effects of coming off paroxetine. The fuzzy head feeling, the dizziness, the bad sleeping and the confusion. Paroxetine is not the friendly drug that the drug company wanted us to believe.

Anyway, from me who has now kicked them into touch some advice from my experience.

The fuzziness in the head and the dizziness will pass very quickly. After one week off them you will notice a marked improvement. After three weeks you will feel very few physical effects. During the three weeks (or thereabouts depending on the dose you are coming off of) you will experience feelings of loss, like you are losing a crutch. You will have indecision, wondering if you are doing the right thing. All these things are natural and are not caused by the Seroxat. They are natural human fears when coming off a drug that has been your crutch for many months or years. It is natural to feel afraid.

What I would say is this - Before trying to get off the drug ask yourself why you want to come off of it. Not the answer you give the doctor, but the honest answer. Be honest with yourself and tell yourself why you want to be living your life without this medication. For me I gave them up because my life gave me no reason to continue being on them. I mean I went on them in 2001 after a relationship break up. I was over it a long time ago and I really didn't need to be on them anymore. I could be happy without them. So for me it was a realisation that I had no need to keep taking them.

When you are coming off them, if you fail, try again a few weeks or months later. But if you fail, don't beat yourself up over it. Just be happy you tried. I failed about five times before I finally decided I was going to give it a really good go and I broke through the barrier.

After coming off them, when the physical effects subside, you will have to deal with the emotional side. You may cry very easily. I do. I still do after 7 months. Impatience and shortness of temper may also visit you. But remember your personality will not change. It did not change when you were on Seroxat and it will not change when you are off them. I mean this as a plus. I mean it will not change for the Worse, in case that is a worry you have. Yes you may become short tempered for a period, and yes you may cry at the most ludicrous of things, but you will not change for the worse when you get off this drug.

So what is life like when you are free of it? As time passes you brain will start to produce its own "fix" of the chemical that Seroxat was supplying. Your Brain slowed down its production of this chemical because Seroxat was supplying it. After three months your Brain will be giving you all the Serotonin you need for a mostly balanced mood. At that time you will be completely normal and mostly ok. You body will supply you with the "natural" Seroxat substitute. Except you won't be getting any of the side effects of Seroxat. The furry brain feeling (pins and needles in the head) dizziness or the really high highs that make a person almost maniacal. Balanced will be the way you feel.

As I said before I am now 7 Months into my journey and I regard myself as being free of this drug's physical effects completely. The emotional struggle continues daily but you have your good days and your sad days but as time goes by your good days will become more numerous. But no matter what, when you do get this drug out of your system, do not go back on it or on a substitute. Tell yourself that you have won the biggest victory of your life. You have taken your life back from this drug and from the drug companies that want to keep us all medicated. You are a soldier and Seroxat is your enemy. Defeat that enemy and do not go looking for any more fights. Defeat Seroxat and you have won the War.

[sandra49]

I have had several attempts,with drs advice,coming off seroxat but I always have the vertigo symptoms and they scare me as I had them in 2007 and was ill for 6months with vertigo. on the positive side I have gone from not going out at all to going for a meal, to see my son(12/2 hours on the motorway) we just have to keep plodding on I guess!