weighing tablets

[Lotty]

at 6 mg:
liquid or tablets, when, after taken many years, even you are tapering very slow, suffering appears brutally at morning, do not search logical reasons, they do not exist, it is illusion; it is normal that approaching the last quarter, the body reacts strong, he has been poisoned since years, many chemical changes in bowels, bones, muscles, joints etc
you have to continue slowly until you will be meds free

I'm tending to agree with Stan on this one.
I've stopped looking for logic in my withdrawal - it's just hell and unpredictable I'm sorry to say.

GrandmaD, yes the 10mg pills are smaller. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, say, below 3mg or so...it will get very tricky then.

[grandmaD]

Stan is saying that each taper is brutal with suffering. He tapered in 11mos which is pretty quick. Here I am doing over 5 or 6 years! Should it be MUCH EASIER? Why is it so hard? When I was told do 5% taper it was with the expectation that life would have much more quality. I can't say that. I am confused. Am I to expect this suffering and put up with it? I am still considering a 2.5% taper, but then arguments with self over twice as long .... AAAAggghh!!!

[Luc]

Though we're all different and we react to things in sometimes very different ways, I have a feeling that going off of the drugs in a super-slow fashion (5-6 years or more) may only carry a risk of prolonging the suffering. In no way am I pushing you to speed it up if you are not ready. I'm just offering a better vantage point. :) Let's see what others think about it.

[grandmaD]

I guess you are right Lotty/Stan - there is no logic! I think I keep looking for logical answers.

Luc I appreciate everyone's advice even if it all different! I take in (what I can remember - so remind me if I forget!) what everyone says and try and balance it all up. At this point, I am leaning towards experimenting with the 2.5% drop next time in the hope I can drop sooner (after say 8 weeks, instead of 10-12 weeks).

[Luc]

The absolutely most important thing, GrandmaD, is to choose the path you feel is the most comfortable for you. At every point after changing the strategy, (whether it'd mean slowing the taper or speeding it up) you can always revise it to fit the circumstances. This way ot that way, or still another, you will eventually be free from those pills. No doubt about it.

[Junior]

I believe that the aim is to get off Paxil and that quality of life, as much as is possible, is the main thing to strive for during the process. I know when I first started I just wanted to be OFF the damn things but now it really doesn't bother me. I know it will happen. Eventually. In the fullness of time. At the appropriate juncture (think Yes Minister, for those who have seen it :D)

Unfortunately for some the process is harder because of the sensitivity to the changes. I wish there was an easier way for those people but unfortunately there isn't. So I guess my motto would be "no pain, no gain".

[grandmaD]

Thanks Junior, I guess it is go as fast as you can with the quality of life you can cope with and that's going to take some trial error from now on. I am starting to see that it is not always an easy process, like I thought it was going to be.
By the way, how much weight have you lost now?

[Chris]

I'm so happy! I got my gemini 20 digital scale in the mail today. Under $30.00 from amazon. I had thought about making a suspension and various other ways to taper very gradually and accurately. But this seems the best way for me. It measures milligrams--tiny specks of power. I'm no good at math, but the absolute measure doesn't matter. As long as I know the measure of the pill I'm starting from and then taper down from there in very small increments, I know how much I'm tapering and its consistent in a relative sense to the starting weight of the pill (before I start shaving). (i also got a mortar and pestal today)Anyway, this method makes a lot of sense to me.Now I'm dropping by milligrams! The way I look at it is if you're taking less than you once were and you're on the way down, you 're winning!

[Luc]

Awesome, Annie!

[Sheila]

That's great, annie! Isn't it crazy what we have to do? Remember, you're healing with every drop. Give your body time to adjust. Going slower can paradoxically help you heal faster.