The withdrawal symptoms of an SSRI, like Luvox, do not appear (based on even the admission of the manufacturers of these medications) to be lessened even when tapering the dose. These "discontinuation" symptoms have been the subject of recent lawsuits and there are support boards specifically for people experiencing SSRI withdrawal. Personally, I went to the E.R. on one occassion because of SSRI withdrawal symptoms -- these can last for weeks to months.
My advice is to realize that although the withdrawal symptoms are disturbing, particularily the "brain zaps" (paresthesias), which have often lead individuals to the ER thinking they were on the brink of seizures, they will subside.
I wish you the best with your experiences. Remember, you are always in control of how you choose to handle your specific symptoms. Distractions are defintely a good way to deal with the withdrawal.
Here is a section of text regarding PAXIL discontinuation that may be useful to read:
Recent clinical trials supporting the various approved indications for PAXIL employed a taper-phase regimen, rather than an abrupt discontinuation of treatment. The taper-phase regimen used in GAD and PTSD clinical trials involved an incremental decrease in the daily dose by 10 mg/day at weekly intervals. When a daily dose of 20 mg/day was reached, patients were continued on this dose for 1 week before treatment was stopped.
With this regimen in those studies, the following adverse events were reported at an incidence of 2% or greater for PAXIL and were at least twice that reported for placebo: Abnormal dreams, paresthesia, and dizziness. In the majority of patients, these events were mild to moderate and were self-limiting and did not require medical intervention.
During marketing of PAXIL and other SSRIs and SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), there have been spontaneous reports of adverse events occurring, upon the discontinuation of these drugs (particularly when abrupt), including the following: Dysphoric mood, irritability, agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances (e.g., paresthesias such as electric shock sensations), anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy, emotional lability, insomnia, and hypomania. While these events are generally self-limiting, there have been reports of serious discontinuation symptoms.
Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing treatment with PAXIL. A gradual reduction in the dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible. If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously prescribed dose may be considered. Subsequently, the physician may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate.
Best,
David
