Took Paxil For 1 Week, Haven't Been The Same Since

[fitnessgirl]

Hi everyone,

Short intro: 24 y/o female, have never taken any drugs or medications in my life. Don't smoke/drink. Usually lift weights 2-3 times a week but am more of a party type of girl tbh. Normal weight no health complaints.

Recently though, i had started feeling really bad and down. I went to my doc and he suggested to try Paxil (Paroxetine/SSRI). I agreed and took 20mg/day for a week. Literally after the first day of taking it i already felt like crap. Nausea, sweating excessively, constant boredom and extremely drowsy. I kept going for a week and it just kept getting worse so i called my doctor and i quit taking it. I also had severe night sweats all week and nightmares/sleep paralysis where i'd wake up kicking my legs etc.

My doctor gave me low dose Xanax for sleep now which feels really good and relaxing (i think it lowers cortisol).

I still feel awful though and i'm not sure where to go from here. Kind of feels like anhedonia. I can't seem to enjoy or focus on anything at all ever since i took Paxil. My sex drive is also completely gone.

Any advice on supplements/diet would be great, thank you for reading :)

 

[Sulcuscentralis]

How is your sleep? Do you wake up and go to bed at regular times? You mention you're a "part type girl" which implies nights out which means messed up sleep schedule. Circadian rhythm disruption is been linked to depression - I witnessed it first hand and getting it right made a huge difference, along with good food and limiting alcohol/drugs. Fix your sleep first if it's not good already. Xanax only should be used sporadically, because it's physically addictive meaning you will get heavy withdrawal symptoms once you get hooked and it's not fun. Get your sleep environment in check: room should be dark, cold (20-22 Celcius) and quite. Avoid blue light and bright lights in general 1-2 hours before going to bed. A red light device can help to calm the mind before sleep. If you have roommates that could be challenging. Turn on wifi, any devices close to your bed and put your phone on airplane mode. It will take up to a month to get the sleep right. For your SSRi withdrawals - cyproheptadine worth a try, although it will cause anhedonia in bigger doses, but it might help with your symptoms and sleep too. Try getting more protein and magnesium (before bed is useful). Get your B-vitamins.

 

[Astolfo]

Probably you got PSSD. Welcome to the club.

 

[Grapelander]

Benedryl 50 mg. Baking soda at night. B vitamins (especially B1). Progesterone.
It will take a while to feel better.
Doctors generally confuse low thyroid with depression - I know it happened to me.

 

[thomas00]

Progesterone, pregnenolone, DHEA, cyproheptadine, benadryl, thyroid:

[Decreasing SSRI dose] It takes time to adapt to decreasing those drugs, keeping sugar up and inflammation down, including bag breathing, should help. Starting with a little, a sixth or fourth of a tablet, of cynoplus in the evening would be the best way to try it.

[Weaning off anti-depressants] Keeping the metabolic rate and cholesterol up is important, so that repair and adaptation will be quick. Progesterone reduces pain and anxiety, and pregnenolone would be the most convenient supplement for men, but it's hard to find products without allergens. Combining progesterone and DHEA or testosterone can produce the stabilizing effect without suppressing the libido. Benadryl and cyproheptadine are probably both helpful. Withdrawal from morphine and SSRIs and migraine involve some similar processes. (Reference)

[continued] It depends on how much pregnenolone you can assimilate. People would use progesterone in amounts needed to stop the withdrawal symptoms, but pregnenolone doesn't have the powerful effects of progesterone, even in multi-gram quantities, so it's just a matter of seeing what it can do. As I understand the mechanism (migraine, withdrawal, etc.), estrogen-histamine-serotonin rise on a background of hypothyroid liver malfunction, cytomel (and/or sugar, selenium, B vitamins) allows the liver and other detoxifying systems to lower them, and the lower they are, the less progesterone or pregnenolone it takes to block the symptoms.

https://raypeatforum.com/wiki/index.php/Ray_Peat_Email_Exchanges#Anti-Depressants

 

[Pufa-Puffin]

Sounds like xanax side effects to me. Make sure your complaints are not caused by xanax before trying anything else.

I wouldn't take that drug if I wasn't in life-threatening situation.

 

[ww3not4me]

I am guessing it messed your gut biome up not your brain chemistry in that short time frame.

Nothing get's your body to reset like a short 7 day water fast. The first 3 days are hard after that easy. Give the state your in the first 3 days you will likely be worse. If the magic is going to happen you will know it by day 5 usually. If your not feeling focused and very clear headed, calm but energetic by day 5 strong chance it is not the right cure!

Why the short water fast? I know of no faster way to get all your hormones inline, get inflammation inline, get excess fluids out of the body, get cellular turn over going on and get growth hormone up. It is neuroprotective and encourages new growth in the brain. It get's insulin down in the peripheral tissues and the brain. It is short enough that refeeding issues are not really a thing.

While your doing that 7 day water fast read all of Ray Peats articles and seriously consider his stance on Serotonin and food. Consider pregnanolone for mood instead of prescription drugs and see if that is a better path for you long term. Some people are really helped by SSRI's and NRI's but some people are destroyed by them.

Be careful with Xanax it is fantastic stuff when used with caution but is very addictive. I would not use it more than 7 days with out a break from it. I would only use it a panic attack was in progress and not responding to grounding and breathing techniques or if I absolutely needed it to sleep for a few days.

Trying to wean off of benzo's once addicted is hard, painful and can even be deadly and disabling.

Since it is early on in this situation habits bad habits have not been formed yet. I would try either guided meditation for sleep like a progressive relaxation sort of thing or even consider something like binaural beat's/isochronic tones program to help sleep. Load this onto your phone or an mp3 player and give it a try and bed time you will need some headphones it only works with headphones.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TD9SM-5XSk&t=1724s


If you want a guided progressive relaxation try this only 15 minutes long.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HUcX8ZtAk


Just some free ones to try.