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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Are Extreme Side Effects Post Paxil Withdrawal Normal?

I have been on 10 mg. of Paxil for 21 years. About 2 mos. ago I tried weaning off as follows: 3/4 pill for 1 month, then 1/2 pill for 1 month. Last Monday I went down to 1/4 pill (2.5 mg.) and couldn t make it through the week. Insomnia, anxiety, dizziness, crying jags, felt like I was going crazy. Yesterday I took another 1/4 and I slept fine last night (after also taking a Xanax). Is 21 years simply too long to taper down over 3 months? I consistently have felt manageable side effects, but yesterday I was scared how bad I felt.
Tue, 8 Mar 2016
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Addiction Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
There are different patterns of withdrawal with paxil and the most common is that the depression and/or anxiety comes back when it isn't treated. Signs of depression / anxiety would include " Insomnia, anxiety, dizziness, crying jags, felt like I was going crazy" this won't change with a different pattern of lowering doses and if someone came in with those symptoms they'd be put on an antidepressant.
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Are Extreme Side Effects Post Paxil Withdrawal Normal?

There are different patterns of withdrawal with paxil and the most common is that the depression and/or anxiety comes back when it isn t treated. Signs of depression / anxiety would include Insomnia, anxiety, dizziness, crying jags, felt like I was going crazy this won t change with a different pattern of lowering doses and if someone came in with those symptoms they d be put on an antidepressant.