Greetings and salutations once again dear readers! When we last saw each other we had left off at the end of a very touchy subject, for myself as well as the many, many others who have ever tried to stop taking Paxil (or any other anti-depressant/anti-anxiety) medication.

Now to tell you the truth dear readers, we didn’t even get to scratch the surface of what could happen should you decide to stop your medication without the help of a qualified physician.

Once again, I am making a DISCLAIMER here and now that this is not to speak ill of Paxil or any other medication that is on the market today that is for fighting anxiety or depression.

In fact I am all for anything that will help a person feel better in their own skin.

The following is just a recount of my own personal experience of what can happen to a person when they try to stop a medication cold turkey, especially when that medication alters certain levels of chemicals in the brain.

About a year ago I was having a very, very busy time with my two kids and my husband, a newly married woman who was used to being on her own with her kids. I was supposed to pick up my prescription for that month and could not afford it, so, being a mom I said to myself that I could last until the twentieth of the month and then I would pick them up, no big deal right?

Wrong! This was on the second day of the month, there were 18 days to go. Folks, if you think that not too much could go wrong in that amount of time you are seriously kidding yourself. The following is a breakdown of my symptoms up until the twentieth of the month when I finally got myself back on the Paxil.

Day 2—Only 2 days off the paxil, I thought I was doing ok, just a little irritable.

Day 4—I was getting very cranky with my family and I was starting to cry a little. I still thought, ok I can handle this.

Day 8—Now I am starting to start fights with my husband because everything that he did annoyed me. As for my kids, they tended to stay away from me. I was starting to get cold sweats and heart palpitations.

Day 10—One of the worst days. I tried to roll myself a cigarette and when I could not get the roller to work I flipped out and threw it across the kitchen. I was constantly crying, sweaty palms, heart palpitations were getting much worse. My husband was starting to get really worried about me.

Day 12—I can’t even sleep through the night any more. I was waking up every half hour on the hour. Finally I would give up and start my day at 2am. By the time 8am rolled around, my children could not wait to get out of the house away from me.

-My parents try to get me to go to the emergency room. Still very weepy and getting worse.

Day 14—From this day on I get worse and worse, shutting myself into the house and not wanting to talk to anyone. Every time I tried to say something, a lump would form in my throat and I would begin to cry uncontrollably.

-No sleep, irritability, heart palpitations were at the max and I seriously had thoughts of killing myself. My husband kept a close watch on me until the night of the 16th day. He then got so tired of seeing how torn up I was.

-My complexion was pasty grey, my eyes were dazed looking. I couldn’t eat and as I said, the lump was always there. I finally went in that night and the doctor put me on paxil right away, not before they gave me a healthy dose of ativan to calm me down.

Two days later, when the paxil was circulating throughout my body, I was back to normal. This was just a run down of the hell that I endured. I would never wish this on my worst enemy. Hopefully my personal story will help any of you out there that are contemplating going cold turkey. Don’t do it! Until the next time dear readers, stay safe and take care of yourself and your loved ones!