Help please

[[Li...]]

Does it have to be the exact time everyday of dosing? What if I'm off by a half hour? Or wake up at a later time?

[[Li...]]

Every 6 hours sharp?  I'm just nerveous if I miss a specific time . For instance if I wake up later , etc

[[Pa...]]

You're going to do just fine, your body is not a clock but it can tell time, especially when it comes to interdose withdrawal so just plan on doing your best to take your doses as close to the appointed time as possible.  A half an hour won't make much difference so try not to worry.  This is going to be your new normal and it takes a little while to get into new habits so use reminders to take your dose when its time.

I can see you're fearful and this is common, it was one of my worst symptoms, I was afraid of everything!

[[Li...]]

Thank you Pamster this is truly kind of you.  I'm also on Paxil for about 2 weeks 10mg. I'm assuming I just dose this as usual? Or do I come off of the SSRI as well.  1 more question do I contact this thread back when ready to taper? In a few days I assume? I have no idea how to taper. Thank you for helping so many people. 

[[Li...]]

Hi, is anyone on this thread? I also want to add the interdose withdrawal makes me feel Nauseous all day and I cannot eat. Brain fog like I'm going insane. 

[[Pa...]]

Please don't make any changes to the Paxil for now, in fact, I don't think I realized you were so newly on it.  You should really allow time for the Paxil to work before making any reductions so once you get on your new dosing schedule, it might be a good idea to wait a few weeks.  Making changes is rough on our bodies, we need to change only one thing at a time and do things methodically and slowly because our brains crave consistency. 

What times of the day have you chosen to dose?

When you're ready to taper, you can start a thread on the taper forum. Benzodiazepine Taper Strategies (Planning) - Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Support (benzobuddies.org)

[[Li...]]

7 AM, 2 PM, and 9PM. I'm feeling So nauseous and panicky in between doses.. any tips on how to eat? Because I can't and I don't know if that's normal.  I usually will get an appetite later. I've been tracking my symptoms since last night. Brain fog as well and quite a few more

[[Li...]]

How do I know when I'm ready to Taper? Just saw that last part. 

[[Pa...]]

Those look like good times to dose but it sounds like you're really struggling with symptoms. 

Things should begin to settle down a bit once you get a few days of the new dosing under your belt but my concern is the Paxil, have you ever taken it before, do you know how you react to it, do you know if some of the symptoms you're dealing with could be from it?  Also, have you spoken with your doctor about how long it takes for Paxil to become effective?  I just don't think its a good idea to begin your taper until you find out how the Paxil is going to affect you.  Antidepressants have their own set of issues and we believe things work better when we only make one change at a time. 

[[Pa...]]

Most of us lose weight while going through this, I ate what I could when I could, I stuffed food into me even though I was nauseous and used natural therapies like ginger tea to combat the nausea.

[[Li...]]

I will be speaking with my doctor tomorrow. The reason she gave me Ativan was for panick attacks and she was waiting for the Paxil to kick in.  It's a low dose of 10MG. and I don't plan on coming off paxil yet. Is this going to affect me tapering off of atavin.? I believe all my symptoms are from Ativan since I'm not even on a  normal therapeutical dose for paxil. I was supposed to go up in dosage  but i'm not. 

[[Pa...]]

But @[Li...],we can't rule out the Paxil causing some disruption just because its a low dose, you've been prescribed two psychiatric medications in a short time so it seems wise to wait until your body acclimates to the Paxil before beginning your taper of the Ativan.  These medications change the way your brain works and when two are added at the same time, its tough to know what is causing what.

I don't want you to stay on the Ativan any longer than necessary but I don't want you to be unstable either, do you think you can start a rapid taper off of the Ativan in your current condition? 

[[Li...]]

Thank you for responding so quickly.        Not today, no. I just don't want to be on the Ativan any longer Prolonging this. I was hoping for a taper in the next 1 or two weeks. I'm scared the longer I'm  taking them the worse the withdrawal symptoms will get?? 

[[Li...]]

Just another question would  I be doing a  rapid taper or a mid to slow one? Just asking in terms of my previous post, as I'm a bit nerveous about the withdrawal 

[[Pa...]]

I think beginning a taper in a week or two sounds doable, hopefully your symptoms will cooperate and you'll feel more confident about beginning a taper. 

As for the speed of your taper, I'm hoping you can start out with a very small reduction just to see how its going to go, then hopefully, you can graduate to larger ones.  Its all about what you can endure, I expect your taper is going to be challenging but I'm hoping you'll be able to keep pushing through the symptoms.  

 I don't think you need to worry about your withdrawal symptoms getting worse while waiting to stabilize, long and short term users can and do have the same intensity of symptoms, the difference between the two is recovery time.  Short term users can hopefully recover in weeks and months, long term users are looking at months and years, we just don't know if your body will cooperate with a rapid taper, not all short time users can do that. 

I want to mention something about your doctor.  She's probably had great success with other patients by using a combination of an antidepressant and benzodiazepines but you're reacting differently, this is why a lot of doctors don't believe us, they think we're either making it up or we're in need of an additional psychiatric diagnosis.  This is how our members end up on numerous psych meds, our doctors don't believe its the drug because we don't fit their experience with other patients.  Don't let your doctor try to pin another label on you.  I don't know where your original panic attack came from but I absolutely believe what you're dealing with now is due to the benzodiazepine you were prescribed.  

 

[[Zi...]]

2 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Those look like good times to dose but it sounds like you're really struggling with symptoms. 

Things should begin to settle down a bit once you get a few days of the new dosing under your belt but my concern is the Paxil, have you ever taken it before, do you know how you react to it, do you know if some of the symptoms you're dealing with could be from it?  Also, have you spoken with your doctor about how long it takes for Paxil to become effective?  I just don't think its a good idea to begin your taper until you find out how the Paxil is going to affect you.  Antidepressants have their own set of issues and we believe things work better when we only make one change at a time. 

 

[[He...]]

I wouldn’t taper or mess with your Paxil until you talk to a doctor. Not someone on here. 
 

to be newly prescribed everything and for you to experiencing all of this is of some concern. If you have never taken a benzo before being prescribed the Ativan and only taking Paxil for two weeks, this needs to be addressed in person by a professional. Without knowing your complete drug and medical history at this point, the situation you’re describing yourself in I don’t believe will be resolved here. 
 

If you have an appointment with a doctor tomorrow I suggest you take all of your medicine as prescribed until then. Get  a referral for a psychiatrist if you can. 
 

best wishes. 

[[Le...]]

5 minutes ago, [[H...] said:

I wouldn’t taper or mess with your Paxil until you talk to a doctor. Not someone on here. 
 

to be newly prescribed everything and for you to experiencing all of this is of some concern. If you have never taken a benzo before being prescribed the Ativan and only taking Paxil for two weeks, this needs to be addressed in person by a professional. Without knowing your complete drug and medical history at this point, the situation you’re describing yourself in I don’t believe will be resolved here. 
 

If you have an appointment with a doctor tomorrow I suggest you take all of your medicine as prescribed until then. Get  a referral for a psychiatrist if you can. 
 

best wishes. 

reads like satire to me. 

[[Li...]]

I dont want to rush a taper either because im really scared of the symptoms... The good news is I'm feeling much better and a bit more stable after the second dose today at  2. It's almost 7 pm now, and  I was able  to actually, get out and do what I do as far as running errands and eating. A major shift from last night.   I don't know if this means anything??                 I wasn't on any meds when I had my  panic attack. I think it came from stress and the anxiety I have always suffered from when under stress.  I hope this helps.

[[Li...]]

Ok. Now I'm getting scared with two different opinions on here. I truly hope I will ok along this process 

 

[[Pa...]]

1 hour ago, [[H...] said:

I wouldn’t taper or mess with your Paxil until you talk to a doctor. Not someone on here. 

I agree with you @[He...], I believe her doctor needs to be involved in these decisions, that's why I asked this question. 

3 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Also, have you spoken with your doctor about how long it takes for Paxil to become effective?

 

[[Pa...]]

57 minutes ago, [[L...] said:

I dont want to rush a taper either because im really scared of the symptoms... The good news is I'm feeling much better and a bit more stable after the second dose today at  2. It's almost 7 pm now, and  I was able  to actually, get out and do what I do as far as running errands and eating. A major shift from last night.   I don't know if this means anything??                 I wasn't on any meds when I had my  panic attack. I think it came from stress and the anxiety I have always suffered from when under stress.  I hope this helps.

I'm not suggesting you rush your taper, this is why I mentioned making a small first reduction, to see how you do.  If it goes well, then a larger cut might be next, if not, then we'll keep making small ones.  

Do you think your added dosing during the day is beginning to stabilize you?

[[Le...]]

I would trust the people who have been around a while and gone through this like pamster. 

[[Li...]]

Definitely.  Family members and my partner both said I looked and sounded better today. I will give it a few more days 

[[Li...]]

Definitely.  Family members and my partner both said I looked and sounded better today. I will give it a few more days. Paxil can take 2-6 weeks