Treatments and self-care. A doctor will likely suggest that a person gradually tapers their dosage of Paxil. Tapering typically lasts for 4 weeks, but for Paxil, a doctor may suggest tapering the medication over 6–8 weeks to reduce the risk of symptoms.

The doctor may suggest switching to another antidepressant with a longer half-life, which may be easier to taper or cause fewer symptoms. They may suggest reducing Paxil by 10% of the last dose every 2–4 weeks using the drug’s liquid form.

Don’t use a knife or scissors to cut your pills in half. It’s available in immediate-release and extended-release forms. You should ask your doctor first because certain meds are timed released and can’t be cut.

Once you get to 20 mg, or a lower amount if you started with a smaller dosage, continue to take Paxil at that dose for 1 week. Then, stop taking it altogether. For instance, if you had been taking 10 mg a day, you’ll be able to get off Paxil faster, but you still need to reduce the amount gradually. Go down to 5 mg a day for 1 week.

Its the worst feeling I’ve ever had, and never want to experience it again. You would probably do better cutting to 15 and not 10 for a bit. Normally I would say a slight reduction in Paxil would not cause increased anxiety. In this case, however, 10 mg. is not a therapeutic dose and your symptoms could indeed come back.

Keep reducing the amount until you’re taking 20 mg a day. For instance, if you’re currently taking 40 mg a day, reduce the amount to 30 mg and take this amount for 1 full week.

While it is possible to experience withdrawal symptoms after stopping any antidepressant, some are notoriously worse than others. Paxil is among the worst offenders. This is to some degree due to its half-life, which means the amount of time it takes for half the drug to effectively leave your body.