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| Note:
this section deals only with problematic Paxil
withdrawal. Although I have not found accurate numbers,
it appears that anywhere from 4% to 10% of users can
expect some or all of the listed symptoms. The rest of
you should only experience the touted " two to
three days of flue-like symptoms".
First, the good news: you are not going to die.
Although, there is at
least one legal firm that specializes in wrong-full deaths caused by Paxil and
other similar drugs, my research indicates that all of of these, were suicides. As hellish as the withdrawal will be or is at the
moment, suicide is not warranted: there is an end in sight.
Still, the bad news is that the withdrawal process can mirror every depiction
of hell as I, a non-believer, had come to imagine. Glaxo
SmithKline (read about the huge
sums involved) makes no mention of these on their Paxil home
site , including in their prescription
information
. Avoid it if you have
the chance by choosing an alternate drug, or, if you are already on it,
take a couple of weeks off from work, and hold on. Here are some of the
symptoms that might await you, or that you might
already have encountered. Note that this list of
symptoms is by far not complete. It is a
compilation of my own experience as well as that of the
thousands who have written to me in the last couple of
months. It appears that the Paxil withdrawal process
varies from person to person. Although there are certain
symptoms that affect most users , your particular
withdrawal experience might be slightly different.
Please e-mail
me, if you have any symptoms to add to
the following list.
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- intense insomnia
- extraordinarily vivid dreams
- extreme confusion during waking hours
- intense fear of
losing your sanity
- steady feeling of existing outside of
reality as you know it (referred to as depersonalization at
times)
- memory and concentration problems
- Panic Attacks (even if you never had one
before)
- severe mood swings,
esp. heightened
irritability / anger.
- suicidal thoughts (in extreme cases)
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- a unconventional dizziness/
vertigo
- the feeling of shocks, similar to mild
electric one, running the length of your body
- an unsteady gait
- slurred speech
- headaches
- profuse sweating, esp. at night
- muscle cramps
- blurred
vision
- breaking
out in tears.
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- hypersensitivity to motion, sounds,
smells.
- decreased appetite
- nausea
- abdominal cramping,
diarrhea
- loss of appetite
- chills/ hot flashes
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Whereas
the symptoms in the right hand column are a nuisance, and the ones in the middle
column are barely tolerable, it is the left handed ones that redefine the
term nightmare. Their nature is such, that you will find yourself
questioning your sanity on a continual basis.
The duration of the withdrawal process seems to vary from individual to individual.
In my own experience, the worst was over after the first two weeks.
Still, three weeks into it, I was far from feeling ship-shape in
Bristol fashion. It took around six weeks for the symptoms to subside.
Although quite capable of
functioning at this point a year after discontinuing the drug, I am not certain whether I am
quite up to spec even now. A certain lethargy and a
depression that was not there beforehand seems to have
taken hold. Others have reported similar experiences.
Still, the link to Paxil probably cannot be proven until
long-term studies have been carried out and it is
important for you to note, that life does return to a
more or less normal state in due time.
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| Possible
Withdrawal Symptoms
It appears
that Paxil withdrawal can come in many
variations. The following symptoms
have not been experienced personally, nor
do they show up in letters sent to me on a
regular basis.
- fainting
- "scratching
sound" inside one's head
- constant
white noise in the ears
- tingling
sensation in cheeks, lips, tongue and surrounding
areas.
- heart
palpitations/ chest pain
- swollen
and sore eyes
- fatigue
- extremely
localized, bursting headaches
- lump in
throat
- rash /
dry, flaky and irritated skin
- grinding
of teeth
- difficulty
swallowing
- itchiness
- numbness
- speech
problems / inability to use or find
the right word
- trembling
- seizures
(reported once)
- involuntary
muscle twitching
- hallucinations
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