General Cold Turkey

[amethist]

Hubby has gone cold turkey off his medication and is now on day 4 without it.

He was taking 40mg of Paroxatine each night, and after reading up about the withdrawal effects, I am quite worried.

There is nothing I can do though, as he is determined to do this and is refusing any help or support from anyone except me.

Has anyone else had to see there sufferer do this and how did they manage. ?

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

Has anyone else had to see there sufferer do this and how did they manage. ?

I can't answer that as I was the one taking paroxetine. But I took it for two years and then suddenly quit, just like your husband. For me it worked out well, I didn't have any bad withdrawal effects. Actually I felt more happy than I had felt in a long time, because finally my feelings were allowed to be more intense again.

I was in a good spot at the time, suposse that's important with these kind of decisions. Maybe your husband just needs to see for himself how it goes off medication for a while... I hope he did the right thing, maybe somebody else can help you with your actual question :) Good luck anyhow

 

[ms spock]

He didn't wean off it?

Good luck to you both with it.

 

[amethist]

No Ms Spock, he just stopped taking it 4 days ago, but the way he is feeling right now I think he will go back on it and do it the right way.

Well I am hoping he will, as I have just told him all I have read about coming off this particular medication slowly.

 

[Everhopeful]

Yes, Amethist. My spouse stopped taking his Tegretol CR and Lamotrigine 3 weeks ago. Said it makes him drowsy, low energy and lazy. It was prescribed for suspected epilepsy and Bipolar Mood Disorder. I just take the approach of "live and let live" lately. What else can one do? I will not prescribe to anyone what to do and how to live their life.

So yesterday, he had a follow up psychiatrist appointment, and she witnessed his tics and stuttering episode first hand. He's been getting lots of those. On his left hand upper body. His neck and head twist and his shoulder shrugs and spasms and he also gets facial twitches on that side.

So her verdict was, go straight back onto the meds please. She reckons he sustained brain damage as a neonate when his mother abused drugs while carrying him to term. The tics and shrugs she saw, she says are indicative of a type of epilepsy due to brain damage.

And then, later on he had a seizure in public and although some people helped him, some others stole his mobile phone.

So now I guess it is back to the meds.

I am writing this with no exasperation and no hostility. You know, I totally respect that he wants to be well and be able to cope without the meds. He was saying, whether he takes the stuff or not, he still feels the same. Plus, his liver count is very high from we suspect the Tegretol. Now I think he realises that he does have a problem with epilepsy, so he had best stay on them for the protective function.

So experiential learning and counting the cost of being on versus being off a certain medication, I guess, is sometimes necessary.

 

[ms spock]

No Ms Spock, he just stopped taking it 4 days ago,

To state the obvious - that is so dangerous.

All my meds were thoroughly discussed and monitored since last July. It has been hell. If I had mucked around with them on my own. Gosh I don't know how I would be now.

 

[ms spock]

[DLMURL="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248320"]Antidepressant[/DLMURL] drugs were then tapered at the slowest possible pace and with appropriate patient education. Patients were assessed with the Discontinuation-Emergent Signs and Symptoms (DESS) checklist 2 wk, 1 month and 1 yr after discontinuation. Nine of the 20 patients (45%) experienced a discontinuation syndrome, which subsided within a month in all but three patients who had been taking paroxetine for a long time. Discontinuation syndromes appeared to be fairly common even when performed with slow tapering and during clinical remission. In some cases disturbances persisted for months after discontinuation.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/94224.php

 

[ms spock]

Discontinuation syndrome
See also: SSRI discontinuation syndrome
Many psychoactive medications can cause withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation from administration. Evidence has shown that paroxetine has among the highest incidence rates and severity of withdrawal syndrome of any medication of its class.[59] Common withdrawal symptoms for paroxetine include nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness and vertigo; insomnia, nightmares and vivid dreams; feelings of electricity in the body, as well as crying and anxiety.[60][61] Liquid formulation of paroxetine is available and allows a very gradual decrease of the dose, which may prevent discontinuation syndrome. Another recommendation is to temporarily switch to fluoxetine, which has a longer half-life and thus decreases the severity of discontinuation syndrome.[9][62][63]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroxetine

 

[ms spock]

Withdrawal from paroxetine can be severe, warns FDA

http://www.bmj.com/content/324/7332/260.1?tab=responses

 

[ms spock]

[Paroxetine withdrawal syndrome].
[Article in French]
Belloeuf L, Le Jeunne C, Hugues FC.
Author information
Abstract
Withdrawal syndrome after discontinuing serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, especially paroxetine, is largely unknown to most physicians. Variable incidence has been reported. Our aim was to stress the main clinical features of this syndrome. Serotonin re-uptake inhibitor withdrawal syndrome generally begins within 24 to 48 hours after discontinuing the drug. Signs reach their maximum on day 5 and usually resolve within 2 to 3 weeks. Withdrawal syndrome is more common with short half-life drugs (paroxetine, fluvoxamine). The intensity of the clinical signs depends on the daily dose and how long the drug has been given. The main signs are dizziness, vertigo, headache, nausea, and flu-like symptoms as well as anxiety, confusion, irritability, excessive dreaming and insomnia. Risk factors usually stressed are poor treatment compliance, previous withdrawal syndrome with another drug, concomitant medication and alcohol consumption. The syndrome can be prevented by tapering off the dose and patient education. When a withdrawal syndrome is present, it is advisable to reintroduce the drug then withdraw gradually.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10855379

 

[ms spock]

Discontinuation syndrome risk among SSRIs is highest for paroxetine, intermediate for sertraline and fluvoxamine, and lowest for fluoxetine.[DLMURL="http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/article_pages.asp?AID=2078&UID=14468#bib4"]4[/DLMURL] Citalopram may cause a mild and transient discontinuation syndrome.[DLMURL="http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/article_pages.asp?AID=2078&UID=14468#bib8"]8[/DLMURL] Citalopram’s long elimination half-life (30 to 35 hours) and fewer and much less-potent active metabolites[DLMURL="http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/article_pages.asp?AID=2078&UID=14468#bib9"]9[/DLMURL] may explain its relatively low risk of discontinuation symptoms.

Link Removed

There is a lot of information out there.

 

[ms spock]

Which I now see you have been researching yourself and didn't need information for me. Sorry a bit tired and not with the program.