Adjusting to my new meds

[Luna-blade]

My psychiatrist told me to stop Zoloft gradually and put me on Seroxat 20 mg with gradual increasing doses and kept me on Venlax 75 and Depakine 500 mg chrono. However, I feel like withdrawal symptoms either from Zoloft or from the new medicine. It’s flashes of heat mild nausea emptiness in my head feeling like a zombie. Yesterday I woke up feeling numb. Will it get better on Seroxat (Paxil) with time because it’s not a nice feeling at all. It’s like being anesthesized and not being able to feel anything inside you... I heard some people went suicidal on it... Any advice please?

[Solenodon]

So sorry! Withdrawal when changing or stopping anti-depressants is such a challenge! I have been coming off of Paxil and the withdrawal has been very difficult. I had to decrease my doses super super slow because the withdrawal symptoms were really unbearable. I got a small scale that weighs very tiny amounts so I could reduce by very small amounts every two weeks. That really helped a lot. You might consider that with the Zoloft. Look for a scale that can weigh between 1 and 20 grams. You'll also need a pill cutter and a razer blade. The pill is larger than the amount of active ingredient but I assumed it was relatively evenly distributed throughout the pill. I am down to a very small dose. You can ask you doctor what they think will be a good reduction strategy. Alternatively, your doctor might be able to prescribe something that can help with the withdrawal symptoms. Hang in there!

[Luna-blade in reply to Solenodon]

Thx for your support. When you started taking Paxil did you experience a weird feeling of numbness like being sedated and annoyed. I newly started with the medicine upon my psychiatrist prescription but it’s making me a bit nauseous and emotionally depressed. Is that normal?

[sligoguy in reply to Luna-blade]

Any and most pills have issues ,going on them or coming off them ,we are all different in our chemical makeup what suits some ,knocks others for six . That is the way drugs work ,I got off all medication ,it helps to helps you get a bit of peace in the beginning, but I found talking in a safe environment with.others that can relate to the ocd ,,,,better than any pill ,there are foods that contain the ingredients to keep your serotonin levels normal and natural ways to get the foods the brain needs to function ,remember we have all got stuff going on you are not alone ,I struggle with this cruel illness even though I'm giving others encouragement and tricks to get through ocd flare ups ,,,,,but if we all help each other we are doing a great service to help get this monkey off our backs

[Luna-blade in reply to sligoguy]

Thanks for your support. Indeed Ocd is a traumatizing illness but I wish I could handle it without meds. I tried to but with no success. I have pure ocd with changing obsessive thoughts that cause me severe panick attacks. I do admire your courage to come off meds and as you said support works the best since we are all in this and together we can fight it better!

[sligoguy in reply to Luna-blade]

Yep your spot on ,I have pure ocd as well with every topic under the sun,I question everything and anything,did I do this ,what ifs ,the whole 9yards .yes it's a pain in the back side but it has a name ocd ,I'm not really brave .just fed up of the crap ,,,,,I accept I'm gonna get thoughts and all that goes with them,and that is the key for me . Everyone here knows the story nothing will shock us we have thought every thought and pulled it apart put it back together and done it again with the new one waiting in the wings ,you have come to the right place the pills did not bring you here YOU came here ,well done friend you are learning how to treat your self with the tools we have as a team .the corner is turning for you well done

[Luna-blade in reply to sligoguy]

Yeah I came here because I know that it’s the only place where I could be understood and where others like me do share the same pain. I’m sick of ocd as well and the hell it makes one go through. Wish it could get better but till then talk therapy could do a lot better.. Tried to accept the thoughts but they always win over and I end up taking pills and benzos to control my freaking mind.. Thx my friend... Sending positive energy your way

[sligoguy in reply to Luna-blade]

No worries keep your head up ,the thoughts and compulsions will not win ,you are part of a team that is fighting this on more than one front ,even if it does not feel like it right now ,ocd is useless without fear ,so together we will all loose the fear ,not in an instant but gradually we lose the fear and panic attacks peace and love

[Luna-blade in reply to sligoguy]

💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💜💜💜💜

[Solenodon in reply to Luna-blade]

Yes, I definitely experienced the numbness!!! I didn't experience the depression or feeling of annoyance though. Just the numbness. And the nausea, but that did go away. I was on it for several years and I have to say it really, really helped the OCD but the numbness never went away entirely. Actually Paxil is the most effective med I've been on for OCD. And the side effects weren't necessarily worse than other SSRIs, except for the numbness that never really went away. Now that I'm practically off of it I can really see the difference and it's huge. It's like being out of a fog. But many days I actually miss the fog since it helped keep the thoughts down. But it took a while to get used to when I first started taking it.

[Luna-blade in reply to Solenodon]

I see. Are you on a different medicine now?

[Solenodon in reply to Luna-blade]

I'm holding on a very low dose of Paxil trying to decide whether to go back on a larger dose or try something new. It took me so long to wean off the Paxil I'm reluctant to go back on it, but it did work pretty well. I'd been hoping to find something that didn't have such a huge negative impact on my libido. Paxil had a really bad impact on that to the extent I could hardly stand even being touched or hugged. Not great on a marriage. Other SSRIs have almost the same effect, maybe not quite as much. Before the pandemic, I was doing pretty well so I was hoping to try managing with just CBT. With all the stress of the pandemic I wish I hadn't gone off Paxil but I started the process over a year ago.

[Solenodon in reply to Solenodon]

That's how I ended out finding this site. I feel a bit lost with what to do next. The OCD is slowly getting worse and I'm finding it hard to decide what path to try to halt it.

[Luna-blade in reply to Solenodon]

It depends on what type of ocd you’ve got. If the obssessions do not affect your life seriously or cause you severe panick attacks where you’d be forced to take benzos to calm down, then I think it’s better to use therapy.

[Luna-blade in reply to Solenodon]

Well if you can manage without medicine or a low dose of it, it’s certainly better. After all all of the antidepressants have side effects. I do wish I could wean off myself from medicine but since I have severe pure ocd I’m afraid this is impossible. I inherited my ocd from my grandfather I guess who I never knew but my dad told me that he suffered from depression and ended up dying alone in the forest. At that time meds and ocd diagnosis weren’t popular. I also suffered from childhood trauma my father having himself untreated psychological problems which translated into fits of anger, yelling, domestic violence... that impacted my life and ocd started to develop in my teenage years when I began to have obsessive thoughts I could not get rid of. It wasn’t till I was 29 that I got diagnosed after going through addiction for six years on lexotanil almost killing myself with it. Having lost mum to cancer when I was 22 my situation worsened and my addiction too. Recovering from addiction I was put on antidepressants which I’ve been taking for ten years now. However, I never experienced peace of mind or psychological stability ever since. I also developed fear of commitment and marriage because I feared no one would accept me with my case. So running away was the easiest thing to do. Sorry for my long message but sometimes I feel I’m living a nightmare not a real life as of every day is another burden I have to carry. Despite that I’m ready to offer support to you and everyone else because we do share the same case...

[Solenodon in reply to Luna-blade]

Thanks! I agree! I'd rather just do therapy. With the pandemic, my CBT options are limited but I'm still looking. Keeping an eye on things because I can be doing so so and then overnight be overwhelmed without warning. Once things get bad, it's harder to turn it around. I developed OCD around 6 (childhood trauma also and a family history), but didn't get diagnosed until my early 20's. The last 2 decades have been on and off meds, in and out of therapy. I lost one marriage to my OCD and a second is not doing well so I completely understand your fear of commitment. I am reading a book called "The Man who Couldn't Stop" that has some of the latest findings. I am hear for you! It's nice to be able to talk to others and not have to explain how and why your brain malfunctions!

[Luna-blade in reply to Solenodon]

I’m very glad you shared this with me because it’s hard not finding someone who completely understands what you’re going through. It’s a hard condition but together we can at least alleviate the fear and pain Remember what’s most important is your well being regardless of what anyone thinks about it. Your husband and kids are important but your well being is more important because it’s the one that will let you survive! Stay strong and we are here to support each other xx