[drunksunflower]

Well ... as I guess is obvious I am a little bit of a yo-yo about meds n stuff.

But I have had some really good results taking paxil of late, I had the dose at 30mg (which isn't that high? but it helped a lot). Anyway, I got a *lot* better over a short period of time, like maybe 3 months in total (the last few weeks were the best after upping the dose) and would go so far as to say that I am almost back to normal.

Soooo I stopped taking it for a few reasons, i just think i should be fine without drugs (if not much of a drug helped a lot) and also i feel i am on top of things again, i have quite a busy/stressful job and finally it is going really well, with my manager suggesting yesterday a promotion is possible soon. also it might sound lame but i want to have a few drinks and stuff with my friends/family over new years and new years is a time that we maybe party in a few other ways that wouldnt really be good with ADs.

so ive been good the last couple of weeks without any ADs. the only thing i have had in the last few days or so is weird random just kinda losing it a bit and getting upset/crying. luckily it has just been when i have been by myself, little things being too upsetting. EVERYTHING else is fine, my concentration etc. its nothing like being 'depressed' as i was kinda before.

i just want to know what some good strategies are to not get into the crying phase and make sure it doesnt get any worse. i am kinda enjoying life more again and i dont want to end up a mess and if i can stop this symptom right now that would be good.

so ... maybe its not really a drug question but ... what do people do if they just *start* feeling ugggh? do you distract yourself or exercise or what?

i would really appreciate some advice ...

thank you

[Lexicon78]

You can use distractions, exercise, keeping yourself busy, listening to music...all of that. My concern lies in how you are gonna be ok if you really start going downhill. At first when you go off your meds you may seem ok, then you start to notice little things that are not of the norm when you are on meds. And then more and more things are noticed. What I'm saying is that at first you may not notice much difference, but the longer you are off the medications, the more downhill you will go.

I think this is a very bad idea. I don't want to see you go downhill at all. And just for a few drinks and other activities? I don't think it's worth it. I just want you to be ok. If you want to risk your mental health for some alcohol, what else would you risk for something else?

[Azalysa]

I'm on a whole host of meds right now, one of them being Wellbutrin. For a short time, each added med would give me a boost in mood, but then go back to where it was. So, when Lamictal was added last month, my pdoc cut my Wellbutrin in half. About two weeks later, I was crying uncontrollably...about nothing. I was crying in the shower, crying at movies, even cried at a party I went to. And it was the kind of crying I couldn't stop.

So I put in a call to pdoc and he went back to my original dose of Wellbutrin and the crying went away almost immediately.

I agree that without going off meds with your Dr's advice and slowly, it may "seem" like everything is ok....for awhile.

[drunksunflower]

i dont know, i just want to have a normal brain again without drugs.

ive been SO good until last couple of days.

dr is like, well i couldn't get to see her cos of work (i was away in other cities and stuff doing research and interviewing) so i asked for 2 more weeks, she just gave me three months more (left a prescription at reception for me to grab. So i figure she didnt take me too seriously if she didnt think it was necessary to even follow up from getting the pills in the first place.

and if she doesnt think its major what is the problem with oging off them? i only took a little higher dose cos she said i could at the initial appointment (about 4 months ago) if it was necessary.

so maybe im just a drama queen. lol.

[drunksunflower]

how long does it take for something like paxil to get out of your system?

i want to know if there is none in my system right now ... i kinda lost it a bit again over something dumbbut maybe it was work stress.

thank you for the replies.

[Larry_Hoover]

According to the official drug monograph, the half-life is 21 hours. It is "conventional wisdom" that it takes 5 times the half-life for there to be so little drug left, that it is, for all intents and purposes, gone from your system.

Thats 5 times 21 = 105 hours, or 4 days and 9 hours.

However, to account for how variable that 21 hour figure is, let's round it up to one week, to be sure.

Lar

[drunksunflower]

Thank you Larry

is well gone then.

[samsara]

Hi -

Just be aware that your brain adapts to the presence of most psychoactive drugs - that is why they often "poop out," and why dosages have to be increased over time.

So even though the drug may be gone, your brain may still have some adjusting to do in the other direction - this can occur over a period of months and you may find original symptoms coming back or "side effects" emerging, e.g. anxiety

This is the reason why very slow tapers off psychoactive medications, where feasible, are easier to stomach and more effective. You don't get too far ahead of your brain's ability to make changes in response to the reduced level of the medication. Like a soft landing rather than a hard landing.

Paxil is a tough one to kick fast. It can have a bit of a bite, I understand, so pay attention to negative things if and as they occur. You may need to restart and work your way down more slowly.

Sounds like you are doing well ... just pay attention to yellow flags before they become red flags. Number one reason for people who respond to meds getting sick again is stopping too soon and/or too suddenly. It's like a diabetic getting their diabetes under control with insulin and then deciding that they are doing so well they don't need insulin any more.

I applaud the "no-med" objective, but you *may* be hurrying things. Just be careful

[Larry_Hoover]

well said, samsara

Lar

[drunksunflower]

ty for teh responses

I have been good-ish, i don't feel any weird side effects at all. Not perfect but I am sure some more sunshine (it is summer here) will fix me.

I don't want to have to take drugs and I don't want to have to try and stay 'normal'. I haven't got any reason to be depressed or whatever

[samsara]

Hi - Just an FYI. I recently had to taper off Wellbutrin XL over a 6 week period (starting at 450 mg per day) due to side effects emerging. My last dose was December 2nd. Elimination half life is about a day, so it was gone to all extents and purposes within 4-5 days.

22 days later, yesterday Dec 24, I had to restart (at 300 mg per day) because of re-emergence of depressive symptoms serious enough to not ignore for fear they would get really bad and I would be unable to catch the falling knife, as it were, by restarting drug at that point.

About two years ago I asked my then pdoc, a very accomplished neuropsychopharmacologist, if I would always have to be on medications. He said if you go symptom-free for one year we can talk about it. I'm still on day 1.

I don't want to take drugs either. I don't try to be normal. And I don't have any particular reason to be depressed at the moment, other than being depressed

Tread carefully, and wisely. Don't let pride hand you a big setback.

One other thing. I felt like I was on top of the world from the first week of December (no more side effects!) until just a few days ago. I actually felt guilty about "being depressed" - i.e. I wasn't really depressed and would have to give that up. Then, whammo, my brain caught up to what was going on.

[drunksunflower]

I can see what you're saying, and thank you for taking the trouble to post.

I have had a crappy time with a few different ADs which I have never managed to last longer than a few months. A dosage of prozac that actually worked made me really sick, celexa made me put on a shocking amount of weight, paxil is actually sweet except that i don't sleep that well.

and ive had all the 'take it for a year at least and see what happens after that' and i guess the whole thing just doesn't sit that comfortably with me. i find throwing myself into work has helped a lot and mostly once i get out of bed i can have a pretty normal day. i dont want to have to take drugs to maintain normality.

[samsara]

I am rooting for you, just sounding a note of caution.

Most anti-depressants suck in one way or another and if you can get through life without them, terrific. Better than terrific.

All the best. You will be in my thoughts.

[drunksunflower]

Thank you, that is very sweet.

I guess what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger ...