Sheba,
It's great that you are able to talk to your doctor. Make sure you are prepared for your appointment with notes on your symptoms and moods. It will be important for the doctor to be able to gauge how you are doing.
Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator
hello - i was on paxil for3 years and couldn't really ever say if I felt any better - so I experimented and tapered off in a couple of weeks and the depression came raging back! I was unmedicated for 6 months and was out of control. Finally, after much searching found a good psychiatrist who put me on lexapro (said it was the "cleanest" SSRI w/the least side effects) and also Klonopin 3x a day for anxiety. I'm 50 and I think I've resigned myself to having to take medication. good luck to you - good luck to us all!!
Ok some updates. I'm off meds for a month and a half now and I'm doing a little worse. The paroxetine was helping but to feel beter it is obvious that I needed a higher dose. But I couldn't take more because of the side effects. Especially the blood coagulation problem. I give myself another month to reassess the situation and then I would like to have a serious talk with my doc maybe to switch meds I don't know.
I'm feeling a little better. The only problem that persist is the disturbed sleep and some time dizziness. But no way as in the first days. My mood is also impouving. The only thing is that I returned to be my old impulsive self :D
Thanks Sheba for your insights. I really don't think my meds are doing anything for me. I take them every other day and there's been no real difference noted between the days, except that I'm feeling calmer some of the days I don't take the meds. So thank you for sharing. I think after I get back from my upcoming vacation I'll make an appointment to discuss this with my doctor.
I wish you continued success with your discontinuation.
First of all you have to draw a balance. The help you get from the meds and the side effects of taking them.
You have to think seriously if you can manage without and if your problem in stopping them is the fear to go without or that you really need them to help you get some balance.
You have to put fears aside and concentrate on the effects, and side effects.
Put all this on paper or in your mind if you are an organized person. Than have a good talk with your psy and see what hr thinks of. If he tells you that you are ready to manage without the meds it is time to make this decision. Only after you make your mind try to understand what is the best strategy to quit and if you have to challenge a possible psicological addiction.
But first of all you have to be sure that it is time to stop.
And another thing after stopping give yourself time to assess how you are feeling. In the first period you will feel edgy and so on. Only after you get "clean up" from the meds you can assess how are you doing.
Thanks for your answer. I think about stopping my medication but have the fear of what I might be like without it. It seems tough enough with it. I applaud your efforts and find you to be a very strong person (through your writings) even though you probably don't feel the same.
As Breanne and Diva said Keep us posted on how you're doing. It's always nice to hear from you.
