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My experience of coming off sertraline

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I have found this site very helpful during the period that I was taking sertraline and felt I should share my experiences of coming off the drug, in the hope that they may be of help to others.

I was diagnosed with depression last year and have been on 200mg of sertraline for approx 10 months. I also had some therapy during this period and recently took the decision (with my doctor's support) to come off the medication. Wary of repeating the experiences some other posters on this site have had I resolved to reduce my dosage gradually over a period of about a month (more gradually than suggested by my doctor).

Each week I reduced the dosage by 50mg a day. So week one I went down to 150mg a day, week 2 100mg a day etc. The first two weeks were fine with no real changes. By the end of week 3 I began to feel a bit light headed, with hot sweats and dry-mouth also returning. As a result I remained on this dose another week instead of stopping altogether in week 4.

I have now been 5 days with no sertraline and have found the experience of quitting surprisingly easy. I still feel a little light-headed now and again, but other side effects I suffered during the full dose (yawning, tiredness, sexual dysfunction) have all but gone, and although I kind of miss the 'wrapped in cotton wool' feeling I am glad to be back to life without medication.

For what its worth I would suggest that gradual reduction of dosage is the most effective way to avoid the worse of the side-effects experienced when coming off sertraline and that the good news (for me anyway) has been the speed at which the side-effects disappeared.

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  • alison7582
    alison7582 Guest

    Posted

    Ive been on sertraline for 5 days with really bad side effects so have stopped taking them as can't take it anymore and I've now upped my propranolol so hopefully they work

  • zoe_18196
    zoe_18196 Guest

    Posted

    Hi there I read about how you came off sertaline. The last 2 years I have been oh 200mg of sertaline a day. A week ago the doctor took me off them -there was no weaning off them or gradual dose lowering). They put me on some new strong anti depressants. But the withdrawals from the sertaline are aweful!! It's been a week now and I constantly feel faint, I get electric shock pains all down my arms, I feel shaky, wobbly and like everything in my head is being shakes around. Can anyone elts relate to this experience? And if so how long do these symptoms last. Xx

    • Alice1968
      Alice1968 zoe_18196

      Posted

      Hi Zoe - I came off 100mg and was told that I should have gradually cut out.  I had quite a few low symptoms like feeling a bit dizzy . If your doctor has changed your meds then that might be why they cut out your 200mg but I think with the symptoms you describe I would be heading back to the GP's ASAP - Even google reviews of Dr's in your area. Good luck . And the reason I came off them was that the more I am learning about gut health and diet my anxiety etc has lessend 10 fold - Bloody hate relying on medications - look into Reishi Mushroom etc for calming and great health benefits - I no longer trust wht the medical profession has been taught as much as I used to - Good luck Al

    • zoe_18196
      zoe_18196 Alice1968

      Posted

      Thank you for the reply alice. I will take your advise. I found it really hard and strange
  • zoe_18196
    zoe_18196 Guest

    Posted

    Is it normal that my doctor has taken me off my sertaline 200mg a day without lowering my dose first. He told me to stop taking them completely and put me on some new medication but the withdrawals are evil. All of the people above talk about how they came off their medication gradually. Is it wrong that my doctor did not advise me to do that?
  • dave89526
    dave89526 Guest

    Posted

    I'm taking 100 mg I stopped cold turkey. Worst thing I ever did.iv decided to take 100 mg one day and 50 the next for a few weeks. Or a month even. Then I plan to drop it down to 50 a day. But very gradually. You can't just stop. And unless advised to don't try. Iv had enough of this constant tiredness head aches. Sweats at night.

    • zoe_18196
      zoe_18196 dave89526

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply Dave. I found it and still am finding it very very hard suffering with dizziness, light headed and generally feeling awful.
    • dani222815
      dani222815 zoe_18196

      Posted

      Hi Zoe, id say that sounds a bit silly for a dr to get you to stop cold turkey, especially from 200mg. But then I obviously have no idea what you do when you change meds?? Anyway I was only on 50mg, eased off on one every other day for 2 weeks then stopped but had to start again as the side effects were too much. (Dizzy, brain zaps etc) So I started taking half when I felt weird, at first every other day, and within about 2 weeks was every 3 days. I'm now into month 3 and still at that point. I wonder sometimes whether to push through, but I just feel too weird and swishy so it's hard to function normally. It's crazy stuff!! Scary really, but I'm hoping it will end soon. I'm feeling really good and happy though. I hope that is a bit helpful, but I agree you def need to go back to your dr or see another one. All the best xx

  • cheryl83254
    cheryl83254 Guest

    Posted

    I have been on sertraline for 5 weeks and wanted to come off based on other's experience getting off sertraline.  I skipped one dose last week and skipped 5 doses this last week.  I started getting anxious around wednesday but perservered.  I did take B6 with 5 HTP wednesday and Thursday but then read you shouldnt take sertraline with 5-HTP.  I was very anxious Friday but today was the worst!  I took 12.5 mg of sertraline today because I had read on another website that if you stopped taking it less than a week, you should go back on your original dose and after 2 weeks, taper it to 6.25 mg.  I've also read that you should taper 10% every 2 weeks so that would involve me getting a liquid zoloft.  Today I was so anxious and having continuous panic attacks, crying incessantly, and feeling hopeless and basically not able to function.  I was going to keep up the dose of 12.5 mg for a couple weeks and then try to taper more.  L- theanine made me more anxious and GABA doesn't seem to work for me and may make things worse.I am taking Magnesium Citrate, B complex and fish oil with EPA.  today I tried Benadryl with no effect and clonapen 0.5 mg with no effect.  I was so tense that I could not relax my hands and my stomach hurt because it was so tense.  Any suggestions would be so appreciated!   

    • paige_98072
      paige_98072 cheryl83254

      Posted

      Try talking to a doctor about how much 5-htp you should be taking and when. I am taking tryptophan and a few other amino acids along with vitamins, probiotics and minerals that my naturopath suggested for my symptoms. A naturopath or someone in that field could really help you as they did for me. When I was tapering off of sertraline I had to wait 6 hours before I could take the tryptophan. 5-HTP is the next molecule in the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin and is the direct precursor to serotonin
  • Cblueyesx1
    Cblueyesx1 Guest

    Posted

    I've been taking 100mg of Sertraline and am quitting cold turkey. How long until the side effects stop and energy is back again. It's been 2 weeks since last pill.

  • Stacy143
    Stacy143 Guest

    Posted

    I'm 9 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I have been taking Zoloft 200mg for 11 years. I am actually very surprised it's been that long. If I didn't count the years I would swear to 5/6 years.

    Well I found out I was pregnant when I was 4 weeks along. Right after I got home that night I took 100mg instead of my normal 200mg. I knew I shouldn't have started that low, but I really wanted to get it out of my system for my baby. A few days later I lowered it to 50 mgs. I did that until my medication was finished probably 5 days later. After the bottle was empty I never refilled it. I know it's not healthy to take the dosage into your own hands and not confront your doctor. It's just I knew he was going to reassure me it was safe from a study that was conducted years ago. I don't care about the study. I do not want drugs in my baby's system.

    Well now I'm really regretting not taking it slower!! I thought I could really do this and kick the withdraw symptoms. It's not that easy when you're pregnant, because done if the symptoms are the same as morning sickness. Now I don't know which is which. But I do know Zoloft is to blame for 3 weeks of a migraine. Numbness and Electricity feeling on my lips and tongue. Pressure behind my eyes. Very hard to concentrate, and focus on a general conversation. I'm constantly sitting and needing to take breaks from standing.

    You see this is the part I'm having trouble in which is which. Is it pregnancy symptoms or is it zoloft withdraws also..

    Migraines, fatigue, restless leg syndrome, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to smell, sensitivity to taste, bloating, constipation, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, hot sweats cold sweats

    Yes I have most of these everyday. Especially migraines and nausea. I can't figure out which is which and I'm not sure what to do. Should I continue to stay off zoloft and finish the withdraws? Do I have months of this or a few more weeks? I can handle a few more weeks, but I'm not so sure about months. How would I even start back on zoloft to wing myself back off? Should I just keep moving forward? I don't want to cause stress to the baby and cause a miscarriage. Any advice? BTW I'm not depressed anymore.

    Thank You!

  • garry53693
    garry53693 Guest

    Posted

    Glad for your good response from getting off sertraline I am coming off after 5 years, the weight gain was terrible and my blood pressure went through the roof, I keep very fit but the whole weight gain thing was not good, all SSRIs make the same side affects and they do eventually stop working, one quick way or coming off is to take Prozac for a week then stop as Prozac leaves the body fast.
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