Looking for Courage (August 2000)
I spent most of August 2000 trying to find the courage to begin the process of weaning myself off the Paxil. I was pretty shaken up by my initial withdrawal experience, and I wasn’t looking forward to taking a ride on that boat again any time soon.
I eventually decided to wean by alternating 20mg with 15mg for a week or so, level off at 15mg for another week, then begin alternating between 15mg and 10mg and so on.
The weaning process began during the first week of September. I took my last dose of Paxil around the first or second week of November. The actual weaning process took about two months (which is fast compared to most of the people I know), but the severity of the withdrawal didn’t let up until near the middle of January 2001.