Today marks the first day of the last week of the first four week phase of withdrawaling from Paxil. Did you get all that? lol

There are four phases of withdrawaling from Paxil. The first two are each four weeks long. The last two are two weeks each. I’m officially beginning the final week of phase one.

During this phase, I’ve been rotating between 40 mg/day and 20 mg/day. The first week was pretty horrible and I was really sick. By the end of the first week I was beginning to feel better but unfortunately, insomnia came next and that lasted about a week as well.

The third week has actually been pleasant and I expect this week to be the same.

After this week, my dose will officially be half of the original dose and that’s pretty big progress.

I’ve had a few people make comments about how I’m only coming off of Paxil. It’s not like I’m withdrawaling from heroin or something. Let me try an explain just how bad coming off of Paxil is for a good portion of the people withdrawaling. It’s fucking horrible.

When I say it’s fucking horrible, I mean fucking horrible. I spent a large part of the first week or so in bed much of the time. My entire body ached like a terrible case of the flu. I was sick my stomach and had a massive headache that just wouldn’t go away.

I don’t know what it’s like withdrawaling from something like heroin, but I imagine it’s pretty fucking awful. Here’s the thing. Withdrawaling from anything that makes you that sick is fucking horrible.

Unfortunately, no one tells you how terrible it will be to come off the meds when they prescribe them to you.

Don’t get me wrong, antidepressants are a godsend but when it comes time to stop taking them, it can seriously mess you up for awhile. It’s so important to make sure you’re doing this with the guidance of your doctor and that you never, ever quit cold turkey.

Outside of that, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m beginning to feel like myself again. It’s a process and I have another three plus months to go, but it will be worth it in the end.