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Stopped Sertraline 2 weeks ago...

Posted , 3 users are following.

amanda03285
amanda03285

Hi,

Please could somebody offer some help from experience or advice...

I was taking 20mg of Citalopram for approx 4 years and did a straight swap over to Sertraline 50mg as the Citalopram were no longer working. I was on the Sertraline 50mg for 6 weeks but felt awful and every day seemed worse than the last so I decided (with my doctors advice) to stop taking the Sertraline by reducing to 25mg for one week and then stopping. That's was 2 weeks and 2 days ago. My doctor said to me I shouldn't experience any withdrawal as I was only on the Sertraline for a short amount of time (7 weeks in total) but I suffer from really bad health anxiety and although I think the first 10 days were ok I'm beginning to think I'm having withdrawal symptoms and haven't managed to leave the house for 7 days now.

I feel sick constantly and suffering from depersonalisation and some brain zaps. I have been reading all the horror stories on this forum of withdrawal lasting months or years and I think this has made me worse.

I'm hoping someone could tell me:

1. when they stopped taking Sertraline at what point did the withdrawal symptoms start?

2. How long did they last?

Would it be odd to start having withdrawal symptoms 2 weeks after my last tablet and for then to be getting worse?

I don't know if my symptoms are all anxiety and in my head or if they are real. I have a really bad fear of vomiting so that is my main concern. Do you think I would have vomited from withdrawal by now if I was going to?

Please any help would be appreciated

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • nicola97364
    nicola97364 amanda03285

    Posted

    I honestly don't think the withdrawls wouldnt be that bad. you might have the shakes and be a bit uneasy, not sleeping that sort of thing. I would think vomiting would be extreme. But I honestly havn't read anything on the withdrawals so I could be totally wrong sorry I can't be of more help. Just my opinion. X

    • amanda03285
      amanda03285 nicola97364

      Posted

      Thanks for responding, I was thinking the same thing myself until I had read some horror stories on here so not sure if I'm just convincing myself of it now!

      Thanks for taking the time to respond x

  • GodsServant
    GodsServant amanda03285

    Posted

    Hi Amanda, with the exception of being on tofonil in my younger year and one freaky day on Prozac, I have been on and off only Zoloft all my life, so it's hard for me to answer this with relation to Cita and then z. So, my response is just for z. 

    Whenever I get off z, I experience the symptoms right away, usually by 3rd or 4th day without med, not after two weeks. My guess is, if anything, is that you are experiencing cita withdrawal symptoms cuz you were on it a much longer time that Zoloft, 4 years so cita is much more in your system than the 7 weeks of Zoloft in your system. 

    Either that or you are experiencing anxiety because there is no longer any meds in your system, neither cita nor Zoloft.

    My zoloft withdrawal side effects usually last for 2-3 weeks with decreasing withdrawal symptoms as time passes....until I crash. 

    I think you should visit a doc to see if you need to get back on med, be it cita or z or something else, to help with the anxiety.

    Take care.

    Xx

    • amanda03285
      amanda03285 GodsServant

      Posted

      Thanks for responding. It's great to hear from someone who has been on and off z before. I didn't have any symptoms for 2 weeks- maybe a bit of a fuzzy head after a couple of days of stopping but it's been the last 3 days which have been the worse which is why I wasn't sure if it was withdrawal or a relapse.

      Thanks so much for taking the time to respond xx

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