Re: This is an insidious drug

[Guest guest]

What you say really rings true. Today I just feel like a truck ran

over me. I feel so sick. I was feeling quasinormal over the weekend.

Anyways, I am coping better. It is not sending me into the depths of

despair, but it is very scary. I am so angry at my doctors, which I

guess is common as well.

As far as the duration, I wonder if it has anything to do with the

length of time you were on it. I was on my cocktail for around 8

months. I can't envision this going on for years. I just can't. It

has taken every ounce of my strength to get this far. I keep

thinking this is retribution for the life of debauchery I led prior

to this. Probably not. Anyways,thank you for the reply. I am gonna

keep fighting this with every fiber in my being and trust in the

fact that it gets better. Once again, I refuse to believe this will

go on for years. I have to think that way. If it does, then I will

find a way to cope. All the best,

Casey

> In a message dated 9/21/04 1:43:43 PM Mountain Daylight Time,

> mcpark99_2000@y... writes:

>

>

> > Anyways, the point is that I have noticed a pattern of getting

> > better and then crashing hard, over and over again. Incredibly

> > insidious. It isn't just getting a little better at a time. I

was

> > wondering how similar some of your experiences were. I am

assuming

> > it will get the point that the good times will outweigh the bad

and

> > the bad someday will just subside to the point of not

recognizing

> > it. I

>

> Dear Casey: This is, alas, all too common. Most people have

windows where

> they feel almost normal only to be hit a day or two or three later

with

> withdrawals all over again. this entire process can be quite

discouraging. The

> pattern was the same for me for the first two or three years after

getting off

> Paxil. It started by having just a few hours of feeling okay in a

week's time,

> to a day here and there, and then it was two or three days a week,

but the key

> for me was NOT overdoing it, NOT getting overstimulated, and NOT

believing

> that I was totally okay. The minute I thought I could resume my

pre-paxil

> schedule was when I'd have a major crash, and what felt like the

worst hangover ever

> in my life. Even now, 7 years later, I still have to curb my

enthusiasm to

> do more than my body is capable of managing. If I exceed my

limits, I'm down

> for the count for two or three days. Keeping a tight schedule of

eating and

> exercising helps a lot, but I still only have about 4 hours a day

where I am

> completely symptom-free even after all this time. After that

period, I'm plagued

> with brain fog and lethargy, so I try to get as much accomplished

during my 4

> hour window as I can. What helped me a lot was not getting worked

up about

> the down time, which I now use to do quiet activities. The more

worked up I

> got the longer the episodes lasted, so now I just roll with the

punches, and

> stop trying to go back to the hectic schedule I once had. It's

okay, though,

> I've found other pleasures that I didn't know about before --

gardening, long

> walks in the woods, knitting, writing, reading. You'd have to

know the kind of

> lifestyle I had to understand how great a departure this is for

me, but it's

> better than the alternative, so I guess you could say I'm in

the " acceptance "

> stage of what it is, and what this drug did to me.

>

> " Blind Reason "

> a novel of pharmaceutical intrigue

> Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. It's

> Unsafe At Any Dose

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for sharing this with us, I think I may be going

through a 'pissy' phase again:)

I had to go back to my usual dosage of Zoloft after cutting down for

a month. After two weeks Im still feeling crap, even though when i

started taking magnesium I felt amazing for a few days. I'm so

lethargic, can't think straight, even the simple things are

exhausting to me.

I don't want to go back to my usual dosage, but I will have to for a

while till I 'normalise' and then I will slowly start cutting

down..very slowly.

Thanks again to you all

> > In a message dated 9/21/04 1:43:43 PM Mountain Daylight Time,

> > mcpark99_2000@y... writes:

> >

> >

> > > Anyways, the point is that I have noticed a pattern of getting

> > > better and then crashing hard, over and over again. Incredibly

> > > insidious. It isn't just getting a little better at a time. I

> was

> > > wondering how similar some of your experiences were. I am

> assuming

> > > it will get the point that the good times will outweigh the bad

> and

> > > the bad someday will just subside to the point of not

> recognizing

> > > it. I

> >

> > Dear Casey: This is, alas, all too common. Most people have

> windows where

> > they feel almost normal only to be hit a day or two or three

later

> with

> > withdrawals all over again. this entire process can be quite

> discouraging. The

> > pattern was the same for me for the first two or three years

after

> getting off

> > Paxil. It started by having just a few hours of feeling okay in

a

> week's time,

> > to a day here and there, and then it was two or three days a

week,

> but the key

> > for me was NOT overdoing it, NOT getting overstimulated, and NOT

> believing

> > that I was totally okay. The minute I thought I could resume my

> pre-paxil

> > schedule was when I'd have a major crash, and what felt like the

> worst hangover ever

> > in my life. Even now, 7 years later, I still have to curb my

> enthusiasm to

> > do more than my body is capable of managing. If I exceed my

> limits, I'm down

> > for the count for two or three days. Keeping a tight schedule of

> eating and

> > exercising helps a lot, but I still only have about 4 hours a day

> where I am

> > completely symptom-free even after all this time. After that

> period, I'm plagued

> > with brain fog and lethargy, so I try to get as much accomplished

> during my 4

> > hour window as I can. What helped me a lot was not getting

worked

> up about

> > the down time, which I now use to do quiet activities. The more

> worked up I

> > got the longer the episodes lasted, so now I just roll with the

> punches, and

> > stop trying to go back to the hectic schedule I once had. It's

> okay, though,

> > I've found other pleasures that I didn't know about before --

> gardening, long

> > walks in the woods, knitting, writing, reading. You'd have to

> know the kind of

> > lifestyle I had to understand how great a departure this is for

> me, but it's

> > better than the alternative, so I guess you could say I'm in

> the " acceptance "

> > stage of what it is, and what this drug did to me.

> >

> > " Blind Reason "

> > a novel of pharmaceutical intrigue

> > Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. It's

> > Unsafe At Any Dose

[Guest guest]

As far as the duration, I wonder if it has anything to do with the

length of time you were on it. I was on my cocktail for around 8

months

I only took Paxil for just under 5 months, and at pretty low doses, and two of those months were the weaning off process. There were three days in the early part of my "treatment" where they bumped my dose up to 40 mgs and as I lay on my bed, unable to rouse myself to full consciousness, I remember thinking, "this is how someone in a light coma feels; aware of their surroundings but unable to wake up fully." I was never the same after that. Don't think about the future. Just deal with the day-to-day process of recovery.

"Blind Reason"

a novel of pharmaceutical intrigue

Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. It's

Unsafe At Any Dose

[Guest guest]

In most cases, length of time plays a major factor. For a

minority of people, time is not an indicator of the extent of damage

done (most of this group of people had more adverse effects while

taking the drug than people who took the drugs for years had).

Regards,

> In a message dated 9/21/04 10:15:30 PM Mountain Daylight Time,

> mcpark99_2000@y... writes:

>

>

> > As far as the duration, I wonder if it has anything to do with

the

> > length of time you were on it. I was on my cocktail for around 8

> > months

>

> I only took Paxil for just under 5 months, and at pretty low doses,

and two

> of those months were the weaning off process. There were three

days in the

> early part of my " treatment " where they bumped my dose up to 40 mgs

and as I lay

> on my bed, unable to rouse myself to full consciousness, I remember

thinking,

> " this is how someone in a light coma feels; aware of their

surroundings but

> unable to wake up fully. " I was never the same after that. Don't

think about

> the future. Just deal with the day-to-day process of recovery.

>

> " Blind Reason "

> a novel of pharmaceutical intrigue

> Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. It's

> Unsafe At Any Dose