My Immune System / Back on Paxil
Monday, July 10th, 2000.
Today is my 3rd day back on Paxil after going through the hell of cold turkey withdrawal by my doctor’s orders (my plan now, of course, is to wean myself off it slowly). The electrical surges in my brain immediately disappeared — and that’s the only thing I care about — and I’ve been feeling sleepy with a slight headache ever since. I’m sleeping like a dog, although the timing is still a little bit off (I’m working on that).
Also, my immune system is back to normal. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my immune system went right down the toilet the second I went off the Paxil cold turkey. I had a slight sore throat at the time, which, along with the inside of my mouth, immediately became inflamed and incredibly sore. One side of my gums were swollen and painful and my throat was killing me the whole time.
It’s my 3rd day back on the Paxil and most of that has cleared up on its own.
Did anybody else experience flu symptoms while they were trying to get off the Paxil?
Postscript - February 3rd, 2001: The answer to my question, Did anybody else experience flu symptoms while they were trying to get off the Paxil?, was of course YES. I lost count how many people said YES. I experienced then what those who have lived through paroxetine withdrawal call The Paxil Flu. It’s more than a bad case of the flu. It’s closer to a total breakdown of the immune system. Before I began to wean myself off the Paxil, I started to take daily vitamin supplements, B-Complex especially. That, along with as much regular exercise as I could manage, helped keep me healthy for the duration of my withdrawal (which lasted close to seven months).