Coming off Seroxat after 10 years

[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!