Detoxing from Paxil and Wellbutrin

[smirkymonkey]

Any good sites? I have stopped taking both about a week ago, and so far feel fine, other than being sick w/ the flu.

I am seeing a Japanese healer/acupuncturist who has encouraged me to discontinue the drugs saying that I would be fine w/ out them.

I was wondering how long the whole process takes and if there are really bad w/drawal symptoms that I just haven't experienced yet.

I tried google, but I couldn't really find what I was looking for, nothing talked about actual withdrawal from discontinuation. Thanks in advance for your help/advice.

[dolo amber]

1. I stopped taking Wellbutrin

a month or so ago, and am completely brain-dead. Oh, and I started smoking again, too. :(

But good luck with that! :hi:

[noonwitch]

5. I've heard that tobacco is a good antidote to Wellbutrin dependency!

I'm just kidding.

[funkybutt]

20. why did you stop?

a month ago seems a more appropriate time to START taking those meds.

[molly]

2. Did you get them from your doctor?

these drugs build up in your system, so it takes a while for them to exit.

[smirkymonkey]

13. Yes, and I have asked if I could taper off, but he is kind of a

drug pusher (he's a psychopharmacologist). I ran out before Thanksgiving and couldn't get to the pharmacy before I left, so it was kind of inadvertent. However, I feel like since the withdrawal isn't so bad, I would see how it goes.

[slutticus]

29. Can you get a new doc?

Not trusting the person who is giving you the meds is a bad situation.

Trust me...i've been there.

[freeplessinseattle]

37. dear god, I just hope you don't crash hard like I did, but you'd probably

be feeling it by now, though for me personally the 10th day of cold turkey off paxil was a veer for the worse, and I thought the week before was bad! but I justw anted to "ride it out" into purifying myself, but the body balance got all out of whack suddenly, much better for yoir overall health to taper off, trust me (though I made the mistake of waiting 5 days til I could to my doctor when I ran out of effexor. now I'm on the effexor/wellbutrin combo, but when I thought it'd be ok to run out of wellbutrin for a few days bc that shit is so damn expensive, I thought I'd be fine bc of the effexor. not as bad as before, but not good, lethargic, out of touch, just "not myself".

It's no picnic, don't make yourself tough it out, it will only make your body more out of balance, though I know how it si to try to tell a doc you don't want to take such and such anymore. maybe you can order a small supply off an internet site? not that I advocate that, but better be careful if ordering from Canada-they might kill ya, ya know!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. Paxil is the real hassle.

Due to the way it titrates to effective levels and the way it leaves the body, once you stop taking it.

Ar you stopping it cold turkey? It is often preferable to reduce dosages by half every three-four weeks.

How much were you taking? Paxil or Paxil CR?

[smirkymonkey]

14. Paxil CR

I had been kind of going every other day-ish for a few weeks.

[HuckleB]

24. OK.

If you were only taking 20 mg every other day then it's not too surprising that you haven't had side effects.

[smiley_glad_hands]

4. I tried Wellbutrin for smoking cessation.

I had no withrdawal when I stopped. That stuff is hard on the liver though---thats what my doc said anyway.

[smirkymonkey]

16. That's what I am worried about, I am also on thyroid medication

which I have not gone off, but the more I see of pharmaceuticals and the long term effects it has on people (look at the elderly and the massive amounts of meds they are on - I think it destroys your liver and actually becomes more deadly than the original problem)

Also, just in the case that I no longer have health insurance, I don't want to be dependent. I could never afford them if I had to pay out of pocket.

[candy]

6. I doubt that there will be withdrawal symptoms if you haven't---

had them after a week.

Going cold turkey,as you did,can often be tricky but you were lucky.Tapering off is a better idea.

Now that you are off of them,stay off of them. The damn pharmaceutical companies would like to make a pill for everything and most of them aren't needed.

I remember when Big Pharma could not advertise and no one took many drugs. They are truly evil.

[no name no slogan]

7. I've gone off both-- but not at the same time

I went off Paxil, then went on Wellbutrin, but dumped that six weeks later after I tried to kill myself.

You may want to check out the DU Mental Health Group-- lots of folk there probably have some info for you.

Good luck, and hope you are well.

[smirkymonkey]

17. Thanks! I just noticed that there WAS a DU mental health

group - probably should have posted over there - but it is great to know about.

To be honest, I have been actually feeling this heaviness (emotional) lift in me over the last week. I wonder if it's possible that I was incorrectly medicated in the first place.

[no name no slogan]

26. That could very well be it...

Wellbutrin didn't do sh!t for me, except make me overly-sensitive to smells and extremely nauseous. The Paxil, OTOH, worked well before it stopped. Unfortunately, I also gained 80 lbs on it, so that sucked :(

[smirkymonkey]

27. It's funny, but it's only been a week and I feel like I have lost

at least 5lbs and everyone keeps telling me my face looks a lot thinner. I was actually normal weight, but I always felt bloated and heavy for some reason.

[C.C.D.]

8. Luckily for you, the flu may be masking other icky feelings! (m)

What has your healer suggested? I would think accupuncture would be helpful as well as lots and lots of water and exercise to flush your system.

[smirkymonkey]

18. Lots of water, and normally I take a healer's recommendation

w/ a grain of salt, but this particular healer has already done some amazing things for me, so I have decided to give it a shot.

Other friends of mine who have gone to him are completely medication free and cured of their former ailments.

[jukes]

9. good link

a search engine for pharmaceuticals, listing side-effects, w/d symptoms, dosages, chemistry, etc:

http://www.rxlist.com/

[RebelOne]

10. I'm taking Wellbutrin now.

And I doubt that you will have any withdrawal from it. Sometimes, I forget to take it for a few days, and have no withdrawal symtoms.

[dljordan]

11. detox

Be careful! If you were on a high dosage a sudden stop could possibly kill you. Every doctor seems to want to get people on these killer drugs these days. I took Paxil for a while for extreme job stress and it really messed me up. In some cases it permanently alters your brain chemistry. Do some reading! My final solution was to guit my job which helped immensely.

[smirkymonkey]

19. Fortunately, my dosage was pretty low - 20mg Paxil CR

and 150 Wellbutrin SR. I am sorry to hear about your horrible experience. So much of my stress and depression has been job related. Even my blood pressure & cholesterol would drop significantly 6 months after I have left nightmare jobs.

[The empressof all]

12. PLEASE -- Everybody elseTalk with your prescriber before you do this

Wellbutrin, Paxil and any anti-depressant medication should be titrated down when you withdraw. You should not just stop taking it. You are leaving yourself very open to dangerous reactions. By all means-it's good for some to stop these meds. Just do it carefully and slowly. Your prescriber can also give you info on any reactions you may need to be aware of.

What you did could be very dangerous.

[HuckleB]

23. YES! Thank you.

And it would be wise to be in therapy at the same time, so you can explore where you're at and work on any encroaching symptoms through other means. Of course, if your depression or anxiety are in need of medication, then they're in need of therapy, as most studies show.

[bicentennial_baby]

15. With Paxil

It depends on your current dose. You absolutely have to speak to your doctor b/c Paxil withdrawal can be a very rough time if not done correctly.

[medeak]

21. here's detox site for pesticides..

would probably help?

http://www.thebestcontrol.com/bugstop/author_detox.htm

[HuckleB]

22. Discontinuing Paxil is often difficult.

You should go slow, under the care of a psychiatric professional, and you should be seeing a therapist at the same time to watch for symptoms and deal with them as best you can through therapy. Acupuncture can be wonderful for depression, anxiety and sleep issues. I would never discourage anyone from treating these with acupuncture. However, I would be wary of anyone who tells you to just stop taking Paxil cold turkey.

[progressoid]

25. I tried Wellbutrin for SAD and had headaches for first two weeks

introduction. ANY time I missed a day I would get a huge headache by about 2:00 in the afternoon. I made the mistake of thinking I could just cold turkey off of Celexa a few years ago. BIG MISTAKE. Dizzy, wierd body aches, insomnia. With Wellbutrin, just headaches. But it's different for everyone.

[slutticus]

28. You should never stop taking meds without consulting your doc...

...
Esp Wellbutrin!

I had most of my side effects when I started taking it. When I finally stopped...I slowly ramped down the dosage and everything was fine.

But seriously, abruptly stopping meds like that could have even worse side effects than the meds themselves.

Just be careful.

[davsand]

30. I just went off Wellbutrin this month.

I began taking it in late October to quit smoking. I quit on election night, and have not had one since then. The big issue came for me when I went in for my follow up after I quit smoking and my blood pressure was pretty high.

They wanted me to start on high blood pressure meds right away...

I came home and was reading about Wellbutrin and found several cites where it was mentioned that it can raise blood pressure.

I called the Doc the next day and said I'd be back in six weeks, I'd bring a log of my blood pressure readings with me, and I wanted to go off the Wellbutrin.

They were not thrilled with me about that, and argued that the Wellbutrin probably was not the issue. I stuck to my guns and asked exactly what I needed to do to go off the Wellbutrin (knowing that a lot of references suggest tapering off of it.) The Doc said, "Well, I think you can just stop taking it..."

I cut the dose by half for one week then stopped taking it completely.

I had no real issues with stopping it, but I will admit that I've had some very intense cigarette cravings since stopping the meds. So far, I've been able to live thru the cravings and not smoke. I expect I'll be fine as long as I remember I am an addict and can never smoke again--EVER...

My blood pressure has dropped a great deal since the Wellbutrin cleared my system, and it continues to decline even today.

Just my two cents...

Laura

[DUgosh]

31. I take the generic Buprohin

It's saved me from sure death at my own hands.

[TexasBushwhacker]

32. Oddly enough, chocolate may help

I'm sure that's not a news flash (chocolate helps EVERYTHING), but chocolate actually has a chemical in it (phenylethylamine) that is a "chemical cousin" to Wellbutrin. So feel free to indulge.

Also, the amino acid tyrosine is a precursor to all the neutotransmitters that are involved in depression, including serotonin, norepenephrin and dopamine. You may find tyrosine supplements helpful, especially if you are a vegetarian. It's difficult to get enough tyrosine from a vegetarian diet unless you eat a lot of wheat germ.

[Liberaltarian]

33. i stopped with the wellbutrin over a year ago.

i got better.

anybody remember the movie: "what's so bad about feeling good?" with george peppard and mary tyler moore?

kinda like that.

[American Tragedy]

34. If you taper it off gradually, it should be easy. Please be careful.

I switched from Zoloft to Wellbutrin with no problems whatsoever. Do not stop any psychoactive medication abruptly. I cut myself off from my Adderall(dextroamphetamine) for a few days as an experiment, and I literally became psychotic. I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside. You need to give your body time for adjustment. No medical professional in America would advise you to quit suddenly.

Actually, you really shouldn't be taking pharmaceutical advice from an acupuncturist. How is he qualified to say whether you need medication?

Do what you feel is right, but don't let some naturalist con you into believing that you just need to think happy thoughts or eat more herbs or whatever. Depression is a real condition caused by a chemical imbalance.

[Ima]

35. Oh wow

I was trying to quit smoking so I took Wellbutrin. That was the worst crap I've ever taken.I stopped after a week. I was dizzy, disorientated, sick to my stomach and couldn't sleep right.

[Der Blaue Engel]

36. Obviously you shouldn't take our advice

without talking to an actual medical professional.

However, contrary to what a few have indicated here, Wellbutrin (aka Zyban) is one of the rare antidepressants that does not have to be stopped gradually. I've done it in the past with a doctor's approval. Only negative effects were, of course, increased depression.

[__Inanna__]

38. Just started Wellbutrin

But I have been on it before. I am never good at staying on meds. Did anyone happen to notice a thinning of their hair while on Wellbutrin? Seems mine did, otherwise I had no complaints with it. Just don't like taking meds.