Posted by 4WD on May 31, 2005, at 21:46:10
In reply to W/drawal or depression? » 4WD, posted by katia on May 31, 2005, at 14:55:15
> > That could explain why it's two and a half months now and I'm still living in fear )although better).
> >
> > Marsha
>
> I went off of Paxil about two months ago and I have not been the same since. I live in fear with anxiety like you. How long do the w/drawals last? Or is this just depression? How can you tell? I'm considering going on another AD b/c of this anxiety, guilt, dread, fear, negative thinking. I'm considering Cymbalta, but do not want to go thru' another terrible w/drawal like I've experienced on Paxil, Zoloft, and Effexor.
This has happened to me several time when I tried to switch from Effexor to a different AD. I am on Celexa now so I don't think it is depression - I don't feel depressed unless the terror becomes so great that I cannot bear it and then I feel terrible despair. If I take a small amount of Klonopin, the despair goes away. Usually. At least once a week, the fear is so intense that the Klonopin doesn't relieve it.How long were you on Paxil? Did you taper off it? Have you been on other ADs before? Do you feel lethargic and apathetic? Or is it just the fear alone?
If you were on Paxil a while and stopped it abruptly I can see that you might have rebound anxiety. I think that may be what is happening to me. You could either go back to a low dose and then taper off it, switch to a different AD if you feel depressed, or use an anxiolytic drug like klonopin to get you through it.
I don't know how long it might last. For me, I was off Effexor (and on Cymbalta) for three months and I was still full of fear. I went back to Effexor for a couple of months because of the fear but it no longer worked (it had stopped working for depression years before). So now I've been off it for two months again (and on Celexa). I believe I see some improvement. I will know more in a couple of months.
I read somewhere here that one member of this board had tapered off Effexor and it took four-five months before the rebound anxiety and panic finally went away. That gave me hope that if I can just wait it out, it will go away. Did you have the fear when you withdrew from Effexor?
Marsha
poster:4WD
thread:501604
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050519/msgs/506062.html