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Am I having Sertraline withdrawal??

Posted , 6 users are following.

trevor95913
trevor95913

Hello!

I had a stroke in 2012 due to stress, and the day i was discharged from hospital i started to have anxity and panic attacks, thinking i am going to have another stroke !

It's taken me two years to get over it slowly and was originally prescribed Flupantixol in the beginning, which was ok at the start but didn't really stop the over thinking and anxiety..

I was recently prescribed Sertraline 50mg which I started to take in October 2014, I took the tablet up until two weeks ago Jan 7th 2015 , my doctor basically said to me start taking half the tablet for one week , then stop altogether ..

Two days after stopping altogether , I

Have started to experience what I can only describe as an heartbeat type pulse in my head, neck when moving my eyes and my head.. It is at its worst when I'm standing up doing general day to day stuff.. When im sitting down and focusing on TV or computer it doesn't seem to be that bad....

I have been googling so much about this, becuase of course this feeling is feeding my anxiety and causing a vicious cycle .. I just wondered has anyone else had this type of symptom? And is it a brain Zap?

Hope someone can shed some light !

Best,

Trev

0 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • suzanne1963
    suzanne1963 trevor95913

    Posted

    Hi Everyone,

    I'm on day 6 coming off Sertraline (lustral) and I'm in a mess! I took one every other day for a month as advised and then stopped. I am having terrible movements/vibrations in my head. It's almost like a car whooshing past me. It only lasts for 1 or 2 seconds at a time, but is increasing as the days go by. At first I accepted it as just part of the withdrawal process, but I really find it hard to focus at times. I have a job which requires good concentration and I'm worried about going to work on Monday if I still feel like this! It's definitely worse when I move my head, or turn around suddenly. Sometimes it feels as if my whole body 'shudders'. Again it's not for long periods at a time, but more frequent. It's so hard to describe, but sometimes it's like when you have a dream about falling and you suddenly wake up.

    I have still got some Sertraline left and wondered whether I should take half (25mg), just to see if there is a difference. Typically it's a weekend and can't see the GP and I really don't want to phone 111.

    I'm scared to drive too as it comes over me any time and when it does, I feel awful!

    I would appreciate any guidance from you

    Thanks in advance x

    • trevor95913
      trevor95913 suzanne1963

      Posted

      Hello Suzanne,

      I know exactly where you are coming from and you have described exactly what I was going through last week!

      What dose was you on, and how long was you on it for?? I was on 50mg

      I was on mine for three months , then tapered off 25mg every day for week then stopped, which was too quick I learnt, and two days after stopping starting getting them symptoms and they got progressively worse .. As soon as I started taking 25mg again more or less the brain zaps stopped ! By day two of taking half the tablet the withdrawal went away ..

      I can totally sympathise with what you're going through as it stopped me working for a couple of days!

      I'm not a doctor so can't tell you to take your pill but going from my experience , my symptoms stopped more or less straight away ...

      In the above post , theres a number left there to call this charity who specialise if anti depressants and they give good advice !

      Hope you sort it out !

    • Blu02
      Blu02 suzanne1963

      Posted

      Hi Suzanne, it does sound like you've come off them to quickly and not tapered down enough. I'm not a doctor so can't advise but I think if it was me I'd go for 25mg a day until I could see a doctor...

      Hope you feel better soon.

    • suzanne1963
      suzanne1963 trevor95913

      Posted

      Hi,

      Thanks so much for your reply. I was taking 50mg a day for about 4 years. They did help over this time, but I really wanted to stop taking them because I feel that life has moved on and luckily so much of the stressy stuff has got better. I'm in a much better place and thought it was time to sort myself out!

      I think I will take 25mg tonight, I don't think I can handle this. It's a shame, but hopefully it will make me feel more 'with it' for work.......bloomin hope so!

      Really appreciate your quick response!

    • suzanne1963
      suzanne1963 Blu02

      Posted

      Hi,

      Thanks for your reply. I have just taken 25mg!!!! I will make an appointment with GP on Monday (fat chance!), or at least ask for advice. I thought I could ride through it, but after seeing so many other comments, I'm not sure this is sensible! Thank goodness for this site. Just knowing there are other people who have experienced this, makes me feel better!

      I was extremely grateful to have Sertraline at the beginning because it did help me, but I wish I had looked into coming off them in more depth. I feel more positive now, so that's good.

      Thank you for your time x

    • trevor95913
      trevor95913 suzanne1963

      Posted

      I felt the same, finding this website helped my worry and anxiety! I didn't know what was going on until I posted on here and everyone commented saying I come off them too quickly!

      Let us know how you get on after retaking it !

    • suzanne1963
      suzanne1963

      Posted

      Wow! I took 25mg on Sat and again Sunday...........sooooo much better! I'm seeing gp on Tuesday for a repeat prescription for smaller dose. I was so worried about going back to work on Monday because I just wasn't thinking clearly, but thankfully, I had no problems at all.

      I really think it has to be a much more slower process. Sertraline has served me very well over the past few years and am thankful for taking it, but the time is right now.

      Hope everyone is doing ok, whether you are just starting Sertraline and those who are trying to get off them!

      Best wishes

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