I decided to quit Paroxetin because I’ve been taking it for 14 years and I no longer feel any positive effect from it.
About four years ago, I tapered off too quickly. Since then, it feels like the medication has completely stopped working, and I only kept taking it because I wanted to avoid the withdrawal symptoms from hell.
Over the last two years, I slowly tapered down from 20 mg to 12 mg — extremely slowly, I know. Ever since that failed withdrawal attempt, I’ve become extremely sensitive to even the smallest dose changes.
Eight weeks ago, I went to a clinic to finally get off the remaining dose and to switch to Fluoxetin. During that time, I managed to reduce the Paroxetine down to 6 mg, but with some pretty severe withdrawal symptoms.
Now I want to taper the remaining 6 mg by reducing the dose 1% daily using a liquid taper method.
What do you think about this plan?
u/PlayfulTraffic7532
Hello everyone,
I’m reaching out because I’m honestly feeling quite unsettled and hoping to find someone who has experienced something similar.
I’ve been taking Paroxetine for about 14 years. For some time now, I’ve been struggling with symptoms that are really affecting my daily life:
Pressure on my eyes
Visual disturbances
Difficulty focusing / seeing clearly
A feeling like I’m “looking through a veil”
Dizziness
Headaches
Constant pressure in my head
The visual issues are the scariest part for me, because everything feels kind of unreal and I can’t seem to properly focus my eyes anymore.
I keep asking myself:
Are these typical SSRI symptoms? Or has anyone experienced this specifically with Paroxetine — maybe after long-term use or during tapering/withdrawal?
I would truly appreciate any experiences or insights. Right now, this feels quite scary and hard to understand.
Thank you 🙏