[Bogart McKilo]

I have been taking anti depressants for 19 years, and the one I currently am weening myself from is Paxil. I was taking 60 mg. per day and was physically addicted to it. Could not stop or I would get gravely ill. It's a terrible addiction.
Before that it was Zyprexa, maximum dosage. That drug made me feel extremely depressed and hopeless.
I am now in the process of using Prozac to get away from Paxil. It's a freakin mess, like a vicious circle. Sweating, nausea, "up" feeling, then down. For how long I don't know. I just want to stop.

Anyone else been through this? How did you cope? Sometimes when I smoke it magnifies the ill feelings. Anyone have any tips for getting through this? People I am just sick. .

[Big K R]

You have to get off the depressants. Ween yourself off slowly. I was on paxil and lexipro. It took me about 3 weeks to do it. I feel so much better. God bless

[Sharkey]

I went through this too about a year and a half ago. it took me about 6-9 months for all the terribleness to stop completely. I was lucky enough at the time to be able to surround myself with people who cared about me to help me whenever (at any hour) I needed it.

I also found a really good therapist who didn't want me on meds at all (actually I found out I was misdagnosed and really didn't need them in the first place. 10 years of my life I was heavily medicated on all kinds of pills) to see me a few times a week to help cope with it.

The physical pain was terrible. I went through a period after the pain stopped of throwing up all the time. This lasted about a month and almost put me in the hospital. The doctor suggested I not eat anything raw during that time - just alot of soft cooked vegetables and soups. That helped.

something else I noticed once I was off of everything was that food tasted differently to me. I used to love sweet stuff and eat ice cream for breakfast. Now I don't like sweets as much, but it's coming back after about a year to where I can enjoy a coca cola again.

I did smoke alot to help with the nausea and to knock me out a little when I was feeling overwhelmed.
Don't smoke sativa. it makes stuff worse. If smoking anything at all makes things worse then don't smoke. I found the smoking helped me more with my nausea than anything else.

But, it won't last forever. I promise you it gets much better. The first month is the hardest after you've stopped everything completely. You're essentially rehabbing/detoxing yourself so make sure you eat healthy so your body can process all those residual chemicals and get them out as efficiently as possible.

[Bogart McKilo]

Sharkey, thank you for your suggestions. It has been 5 days since I took my last dose, and was naive enough to think it would taper off from there. This is so ridiculous, and I swear I have to stop taking this shit. I know it helps many people, so I would never flush it down as worthless...but you have to be matched exactly with the right meds or it's a nightmare.

[The Urban Spaceman]

Originally Posted by Bogart McKilo

Sharkey, thank you for your suggestions. It has been 5 days since I took my last dose, and was naive enough to think it would taper off from there. This is so ridiculous, and I swear I have to stop taking this shit. I know it helps many people, so I would never flush it down as worthless...but you have to be matched exactly with the right meds or it's a nightmare.

BOgart- everything Sharkey had to say is pretty much the way it was for me - i was misdiagnosed as being Bi-Polar II and i was on anti-depressants AND "mood stabilizers" (Depakote). I had to wean off of the depakote first and then the prozac...
if ya can hang in there you should be fine once you're "clean".
a little therapy can help... but having a friend to talk to can be as good.
if you ever need or want to talk, i am here for ya as are many others i am sure!
you're right on about being matched to the proper meds AND dosages, i was like a zombie for almost a year!

good luck brother! the psychiatric pharmaceutical industry would love to keep you addicted AND mentally enslaved!

peace
Spacey

[Bogart McKilo]

Right on every count. Thank you brother.

[Nepeta]

Originally Posted by Big K R

You have to get off the depressants. Ween yourself off slowly. I was on paxil and lexipro. It took me about 3 weeks to do it. I feel so much better. God bless

Through the years they've treated me as a guinea pig on the anti-depressants and I have to say coming off (and being on) the paxil was the worst. I did better with a combo of zoloft, effexor and ativan. Well.. taking that many pills drove me nuts and I weaned myself off them one at a time. Do it slow, and adjust your MMJ dosage to accomadate as necessary.

I'm completely off pills and feeling much better. Half those meds caused me other problems.. which in turn meant more pills. When the docs got me up to 7 different meds a day was when I said "enough is enough"

[stanley]

Originally Posted by Nepeta

Through the years they've treated me as a guinea pig on the anti-depressants and I have to say coming off (and being on) the paxil was the worst. I did better with a combo of zoloft, effexor and ativan. Well.. taking that many pills drove me nuts and I weaned myself off them one at a time. Do it slow, and adjust your MMJ dosage to accomadate as necessary.

I'm completely off pills and feeling much better. Half those meds caused me other problems.. which in turn meant more pills. When the docs got me up to 7 different meds a day was when I said "enough is enough"

This was my experience as well. The VA BURIED me in pills. To a degree they worked, I wasnt having the MONSTEROUS depths of depression... then again, I wasnt having much of ANYTHING... I was totally numb. For years thay had me on heavy doses of Trazedone, Paxil and ativan...

I decided to try life again, so one by one, very slowly, I weaned myself off of all of them.... And carefully substituted MMJ as needed. I have rage issues as a result of PTSD, so I avoid sativas that can agitate me... I use indicas, and have been using edibles and as a result I find I actually CAN have emotions again, without them necessarily being negative....

The trick is slowly and methodically, and with LOTS of support from those around you...

[Sharkey]

Originally Posted by stanley

I decided to try life again, so one by one, very slowly, I weaned myself off of all of them.... And carefully substituted MMJ as needed. I have rage issues as a result of PTSD, so I avoid sativas that can agitate me... I use indicas, and have been using edibles and as a result I find I actually CAN have emotions again, without them necessarily being negative....

The trick is slowly and methodically, and with LOTS of support from those around you...

It's amazing how many of us have had the same experience. I always felt relatively alone.

Bogart, just make sure you find a doctor that will help you through this and agrees with what you're doing. Keep searching until you find one on your side. Depending on your situation, diagnoses and medication levels you may have to have some things like your heart monitored if you go into major withdrawal. I'm not a doctor but it was just something I thought of.

When you're ready, I would take all your leftover meds and put them in a bag and give them to someone you trust to hold onto them or stick them away in a closet. It helped me to know I had access to them if I needed them, but I was also mentally putting them aside. I still have all my meds stashed away at a friend's house even it's been a year and a half and they're probably not effective anymore.

Anyway, you have a whole support group of people here, so keep us updated on how you're doing.