Everyone is Different
Wednesday, December 6th, 2000 (continued).
Someone said:
“Do you think how one gets off Paxil depends on why one went on it in the first place? Like if someone went on it for bad depression as opposed to someone (like me) who went on it for other reasons than depression? Maybe that is why it was easier for me to get off it?”
You’re probably right. The longer you were taking it probably makes it harder to get off it too.
Also, I’m not sure about this one, but anyone who manages to wean themselves off the Paxil slowly is, perhaps, less likely to have a rough ride — as opposed to someone who found out the hard way by trying to get off Paxil cold turkey and ended up having go back on it and start all over again.
I followed my doctor’s orders and stopped taking the Paxil cold turkey and went through a week of pure hell. I think that experience was such a shock to my brain and my neurochemistry that my nervous system has never fully recovered and, subsequently, the weaning process has been more harsh for me than it would have otherwise been.
I was given Paxil because of post-traumatic stress that I experienced last year after, well, a traumatic event. But even before that, although I’d never taken an antidepressant until Paxil, I used to have periods of mild depression, and I’ve had them all my life. Perhaps that indicates some slight chemical imbalance, or maybe it’s just a part of the personality I have, which is that I have a tendency to think about things way too deeply.
I may not have the most normal or average personality profile, so maybe there is something a little bit out of whack, neurochemically speaking. But I think this slight out-of-whackness may account for my having the personality that I have (and I wouldn’t want to be anyone else). And it’s these little details, these quirks of personality, which I think may influence how someone reacts to getting off Paxil — and which are completely overlooked in the generalizations that are proliferated in the current medical literature.
Some people may be slightly predisposed to having a rough ride getting off Paxil.
And then there are people who have had chronic depression or severe depression (the two are not necessarily the same), an obsessive-compulsive disorder, or some other psychological or social disorder their whole lives, and who have probably taken other antidepressants before Paxil came along and will probably continue to take antidepressants their whole life. If anyone is going to have a hard time getting off Paxil, I would think this group must be at the top of the list. But I don’t know.
I think what a person was prescribed the Paxil for probably does plays a part in how well they’re able to get off it. And a lot can be explained by that. But there are other factors.
Personally, I have always had a low tolerance to any kind of drug. For instance, although I don’t drink caffeine or alcohol anymore, I can get pretty close to drunk off two beers. Whenever I found myself in a situation where someone passed me a joint, one drag and I’d be complete toast. Half a cup of coffee and I am zooming. I have always been like this.
So when someone with this kind of metabolism throws Paxil into their system — it’s no wonder it’s ruined my life. It’s no wonder that stopping Paxil cold turkey (imagine that, going cold turkey!) nearly killed me. The post-traumatic stress I was experiencing just before I started taking the Paxil was dealt with very effectively through communicative therapy, and nothing of that experience is an issue for me anymore. The continuing trauma of the Paxil withdrawal — now that’s another story altogether. I think I could have had a relatively smooth ride, but my doctor’s advice to stop taking the Paxil cold turkey was the wrong advice, and I wish to hell I hadn’t listened to him.
That’s my rambling take on why I have had a rough ride. I think it could have been avoided. But like you said, some people will inevitably have a rougher go at it. It is so important for people to be as well informed as they can be about this junk. When I initially took Paxil, and when I followed my doctor’s advice to go off it cold turkey, the principle of informed consent was completely ignored.
Hence, I have this overwhelming desire to sue GlaxoSmithKline for deliberately misinforming and not informing doctors and their patients of the withdrawal effects of Paxil. What can I tell you? I’m human.