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Coming off Sertraline, any good advice ?

Posted , 10 users are following.

Tezes
Tezes

Hi

i have been taking 50mgs of Sertraline for approx two years following some very stressful life events. Culminating in being diagnosed with a neurological condition called dystonia. (Symptoms of dystonia began before I started taking Sertraline).

Dystonia also causes anxiety and is incurable but can be treated, I have been given clonazepam (muscle relaxant) and propranolol to reduce tremors.

i have to take these last two drugs for life so want to come off the Sertraline as 1. Life is more stable 2. Propranolol can also be used to reduce anxiety.

my GP advised me to reduce by half to 25 msg for two weeks then stop. This seems too drastic to me having taken them for two years.

is there anyone that has come off them successfully without having horrendous side effects I.e. can anyone tell me how they have reduced and over what period of time ?

many thanks

 

1 like, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • Zerodark
    Zerodark Tezes

    Posted

    I would say that sounds a little drastic I would do smaller steps
  • carmita50811
    carmita50811 Tezes

    Posted

    I was on sertraline for two years. Got prego so I wanted to get off. I was on 75mg. Went down to 50mg for a week and then 25mg for week and then was off. So no that dont sound to bad if your coming off 50mg.
  • jinny23
    jinny23 Tezes

    Posted

    Hi

    I am having difficulty with my Bowel habits so am going to reduce Sertraline to 25mg from 50 mg to see if it is the medication that Is causing my problem.

    When I come off Sertraline I shall take 25mg per day to 25mg every other day and continue in that way for quite some time to allow my system to let go slowly.

    I would probably reduce and stop over 2or 3 months; there is no hurry so why cause other issues.

    Hope you are successful.

    Regards

    Jinny23

    • Tezes
      Tezes jinny23

      Posted

      Thanks Jinny, yes I guess you've put in into perspective there is no reason to come off quickly. Incidentally I have read some other posts that have warned against leaving days out as it messes with the brain chemistry. A lot of people seem to have had bad experiences coming off so I'm hoping some will post positive, successful experiences,

      kind regards and good luck

    • jinny23
      jinny23 Tezes

      Posted

      Hi again,

      Not really thought about it like that before!

      I suppose Half a tab a day would make more sense but not noticed anything odd in the past when I have weaned myself off tabs.

      Maybe will make the effort when the time comes ...and cut tabs. in half 😍

      You have to do what you feel is right.

      Regard

      Jinny23 🎈🎈🎈

    • Colls10
      Colls10 jinny23

      Posted

      I don't see too much of an issue with the 25mg reduction for two weeks then stopping. As for the missing every other day, this has worked well for me on Effexor,prothieden,amitriptyline although they were slightly older a.d s, also did this on Prozac when coming off.

      Everyone is different thought. My dr once gave me Prozac at a low dose to help when reducing Effexor as Prozac has a lesser withdrawal. That worked too.

      Give it a go , and if it is to quick, just do it slower!!! Drink plenty of water and try to keep active . Best of luck

  • david49878
    david49878 Tezes

    Posted

    All I can add to this is that, at some point in my prescribed game of musical meds, I ditched propranolol, either because the dic and I decided to replace it with something else or I just quit cold turkey. I don't recall any problems as a result.
    • Tezes
      Tezes david49878

      Posted

      Thanks David unfortunately I will be on propanolol for life and clonazepam so want to stop the only one I have control over which is the sertraline,

      all the best

  • debbie96569
    debbie96569 Tezes

    Posted

    Tezes,

     I took 50 mg Sertraline  for 4 years and quit taking it cold turkey. Had withdrawal symptoms in week two of being off of it, symptoms lessened in week three now in week four and feeling good!  In week two I read a lot of the posts here and thought about taking it again n tapering it but I'm glad I didn't. It seemed to me that everyone has some symptoms regardless of the tapering. The longer its in your system the longer the symptoms. Good Luck! Hope yours goes as smooth as mine! 

    Debbie

  • kikidee76
    kikidee76 Tezes

    Posted

    Hi,

    Just wanted to add that I've recently began tapering myself. Been on 100mg for around 7 mths. I've gone down to 75mg (just bite the 50mg in half and add to 50mg) a few weeks back. I've not noticed anything too bad so far. I plan to do it very slowly - go to 50mg, 25mg and then stop, over months. I can't understand going cold turkey, unless you're having a dreadful time on it. Even every other day to me sounds like complicating things.

    I was on propranolol at the start of my sert journey as sert actually increased my anxiety. I found it to be very helpful, in fact to the point where I now see myself comfortably using it for 'special occasions' flying, interviews etc once I'm off sert.

    My conclusion from this experience so far (this is my first time on meds) is that sertraline helps with low mood and propranolol addresses physical symptoms of anxiety. My only negative re propranolol was that it did tire me out when I took it regularly.

    I wish you luck with it all but you seem to have your head screwed on anyway xx

  • colin_58991
    colin_58991 Tezes

    Posted

    Good Morning, I have just come off sertraline haaving been on them for 18  months in total. My doctor advised me to start reducing the dose back in January but not to do it quickly and aim to be off them for spring as the lighter nights can help your general mood. As I had the time to do so without the stresses that led to me being on them in the first place I reduced my dose by removing one tablet per week. ie first week miss a tablet on the 7th day second week miss every 6th day etc. When I reached missing a tablet every other day I started taking half tablets every other day and then reducing those over a periodd of weeks by half a tablet per week, In the end I was on half a tablet every 4 or 5 days when my tablets ran out. Personally I found that by doing it this way there were no nasty side effects and the "electric shocks " that I was getting gradually became less intense and noww appear to have virtually disappeared. Three weeks after finishing the tablets I feel really good. As with anything like this consult your GP before doing it yourself as every person is different. All the best and I hope you are successful. Colin
    • Tezes
      Tezes colin_58991

      Posted

      Thank Colin that's helpful, I did try to taper off them a few months ago by halting the dose to 25mgs a day but I got awful nightmares and felt really spaced out. I'm going to try again but over a longer period of time and by less degrees. So last night I took 3/4 of a tablet, I'll do this for a month then take 1/2 for a month then a 1/4 for a month then try every other day etc. I'm glad you have managed to come off successfully, thanks again for your input, it's much appreciated, there are so many horror stories on here,

      theresa

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