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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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  • paige_98072
    paige_98072 Guest

    Posted

    I started seeing a naturopath to help me and she really helped me taper off the sertraline with a more holistic approach. I am taking a great multivitamin, probiotic and several minerals along with amino acids that she suggested for me.....my body was so deficient as the sertraline literally depleted me of all the good stuff it needed. Along with taking those, a nutritional diet and regular exercise I am feeling better than I have ever felt before! It made it so easy to get off of the sertraline! After ditching my conventional doctor, who wasn't happy about lowering my dose to taper off of the sertraline, I knew I needed a second opinion from someone that actually cared about fixing the root of the problem rather than covering it up with an antidepressant that was not only bad for me but also temporarily covering the problem up. It is the best decision I have ever made for my health and well being...SO much that I am looking into finding a "functional doctor". I've been reading up of functional doctors and and I am so intrigued by their approach. Sorry for babbling on just wanted to give you my experience with a nutritional approach to tapering off the drug as it really made it easier. Best of luck!

  • jenny46988
    jenny46988 Guest

    Posted

    Hi

    I know this is an old post but wonder if anyone has got any advice. I felt really depressed about a month ago I went to my doctors they put me on citalopram which didn't agree with me then sertraline that didnt really agree with me kept being sick, crying, feeling numb. My doctor had told me to come off meds for a week and come back Monday for a review I feel really disconnected from my partner from my life from everyone so numb it's awful I know my emotions are in the here somewhere but they're not coming back yet has anyone experienced this before please has anyone got any advice?

    • jenny46988
      jenny46988

      Posted

      As an update I've come off the meds completely but my ocd is up and down mood up and down still numb and disconnected at times does anyone have any advice how long does the numbness go away still doing talk plus counselling. I am eating again and starting to feel better just want my good happy loving emotions back I don't actually feel sad happy or anything really just a bit meh?!

  • lorraine70550
    lorraine70550 Guest

    Posted

    Please please can someone help me.

    i have been on Sertraline for at least 5 years and many other antidepressants before that.

    my doctor suggested they were so used to me so they are no longer working.

    i started on 50mg and in no time was on 200 mg.

    Over the last 5 weeks I have reduced my dose to nothing. I haven't taken any for over a week now.

    i feel dreadful I don't know if it's because I am off them or there is something wrong with me.

    i had a water infection and am on antibiotics I have been sick and feeling as if I have nothing to live for.

    . Did anyone else get this. I started feeling very dizzy so the Doctor has given me tablets for this. I have only been taken them for a day but still feel sick and dizzy. I am crying all the time and feel at the end of my tether.

    i am supposed to be going on holiday in a few weeks. Am I going to feel better by then. I know I am worrying my husband and family and I don't mean to.

    please can someone help me.

    • Pksarnia
      Pksarnia lorraine70550

      Posted

      Hi Lorraine

      I've been following the conversations to help me come off Sertraline. My GP is now supporting me to come off them at my own pace which is very slowly. I've been on 150mg Sertraline for over 20 years starting at 50mg gradually increasing every time I had a bad patch. Last year GP advised I should increase to 200mg but I refused to increase dose. Desperate to come off Sertraline and get back to being 'me', I discovered meditation and have been doing it everyday for nearly a year. I feel it is helping me very much and in January 2017 I felt confident enough to start cutting down my meds.

      I reduced to 125mg on each Monday for 2 weeks, then every 6 days for 2 weeks then every 5 days for 2 weeks gradually reducing until I was taking 125mg every day - then I went to GP to ask for support to carry on which she is doing. I am now reducing to 100mg every other day and will be on 100 mg daily soon. If I feel a relapse into depression coming on I do not reduce any further for a couple of weeks, then carry on when I feel better. This seems to be working well with few withdrawal effects.

      I used to try reducing more quickly and even tried cold turkey but with disastrous results, so the slower the better for me! I aim to take at least another year or so to come off them altogether. Even by reducing to 100mg has made a big difference to how I feel - and also meditating has helped with feeling more emotionally stable and happier.

      I hope my experience helps you to take time and reduce very slowly.

      Be patient and kind to yourself and get all the support you can from family, friend and GP - you are very much worth it! x

  • mariathere
    mariathere Guest

    Posted

    Hi everyone. You don't know how much thankful I am in discovering this 8 yr old thread. I've been in sertraline for at least 5 yrs. It really helped me go through a lot of painful challenges in my life. There was a time when I seriously considered staying with it for the rest of my life. But I realized I need to learn to cope with depression the healthy and natural way. An so I finally started tapering off meds by reducing my dosage gradually. My problem is that I live on my own and I don't have a family. My only family, my mom, passed away a year ago and I don't have a stable support system that I can go home to. Plus my work requires me to travel to different places all the time. Am scared I wouldn't be able to do it successfully. Do u have any advise for me? And how are u all doing so far without the meds. Thank u and God bless all of us! 😊

    L

  • cindy20577
    cindy20577 Guest

    Posted

    I went of 3 days without refilling my RX and I got so sick it caused me to look up side effects. Since starting sertraline in Nov. I have gained 9 lbs., I have tingling in my leg and down into my toes, sometimes feels like something crawling on me, dizzy, followed by tingling a d a hot flash feeling and itching. I am going to begin reducing my 1oo mg in 3/4 pill for a week. 50 for a week then 1/4 for a week. I don't want this in my body any longer. My doctor never said anything about these side effects. I appreciate any advise.

  • rosetea
    rosetea Guest

    Posted

    Thank you to everyone above me, all your experiences and thoughts are so valuable even years after you posted. I’ve read through this thread from start to finish.

    I’ve been on 100mg of sertraline daily for 4 and a half years for anxiety and panic attacks, but it’s effectiveness has largely worn off and I can no longer cope with the constant tiredness for so little benefit. If anything I think it’s actually contributing to my anxiety, because I just don’t have the energy to pursue hobbies and projects that I want, which makes me feel helpless and unfulfilled.

    A week ago I dropped to 50mg a day, and within 2-3 days began to experience jitteriness, racing thoughts (when I’m trying to sleep mostly), increased mental fatigue (which might be because my sleep is disrupted) and irritability. It’s all pretty manageable though.

    I’m planning on staying at 50mg for two weeks, then dropping to one 50mg dose every two days and assessing how long I might need until I take the leap to nothing.

    I’m doing this off my own research and without my GP, because I had to work out myself that the overwhelming fatigue I was plagued with was caused by the sertraline – no GP figured that one out, so how can I trust them with this? I’m going to stop by my pharmacist tonight though and get his thoughts as he’s always reliable. Will also be grabbing B complex vitamins, and making sure I get a lot of amino acids into my diet.

    When I got on sertraline initially, my only significant symptoms were severe insomnia and appetite loss for three weeks. This sounds like it’s at the easier end of the spectrum compared to what some people went through, so I’m hoping my transition off the meds will be similar.

    I have been in therapy on and off for about 8 years now and have learnt to be very conscious of my emotions and thought processes, so I think with these skills I am ready to fight my way through this. I’ll try and update when I’ve gotten further into the process to report how it goes…

    • rosetea
      rosetea

      Posted

      I'm back! It's been about 7 weeks since I started to come off Sertraline and I can report that there is hope. 

      Week 1 & 2: tapered to 50mg. A lot of mood swings. Insomnia to the point that I wasn't sleeping at all most nights, or maybe getting 1 - 2 hours of light dozing. 

      Week 3: tapered to 25mg. Emotional instability began easing up a lot. I felt fine mentally, but physically this week was awful. Insomnia continued to resist magnesium, melatonin, valerian root. I even tried temazapam, but it only worked if I took it with alcohol - which is not safe and makes you feel terrible the next day, so would not recommend!! I was going to stay at 25mg of Sertraline for another week, but the physical symptoms (the zaps and the insomnia) were already so bad I decided screw it, might as well go a little faster to get to the end.

      Week 4: I took two 50mg mg pills three days apart this week. The brain zaps and insomnia were still awful.

      Week 5 & 6: I stopped taking it entirely. More brain zaps and nausea, but weirdly you kind of get used to it so I just went about my life. The doctor tried me on phenergan and I finally slept!

      It's now Week 7, and things are going well. I feel emotional a lot more, which at times can be overwhelming, but I'm getting used to it. I can finally get some sleep without medication, though it's not super good quality, so I'm taking phernergan every third night to help. The brain zaps have stopped unless I drink alcohol, though I do get a little bit of a headache/nausea around 3pm every day (desk job probably doesn't help). I've also noticed I now seem to get drunk waaaaaaay quicker and on less alcohol, and I get flushed cheeks if I have even just one beer, neither of which was the case until the last few weeks. Weird.

      I just want anyone reading this to know there is light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully faster than you might think. Don't give up! 

    • ally21
      ally21 rosetea

      Posted

      Thank you for sharing your withdraw symptoms. I've been on serataline for a while now. First celexa for 2 years then off for 8 months then back on for 3 years. Dosage of 20mg. I still had issues with anxiety and depression but i could deal. One day it just stopped working 😔 and they put me on zoloft. Started me on 50mg then up to 100mg. Seemed to help in the beginning until i started getting bad jitters! Sucked. I so wanted the feelings of anxiety to be GONE so I could feel normal. I mean that's why we go on the dang medication to begin with........right?? Wrong! It's been a little over 3 years of being on zoloft and I did lower my dosage to 75mg and jitters are gone but I have other issues. Night sweats, blurry vision, restlessness, bouts of spontaneous crying, weight gain of 50 pounds, sugar carvings, i eat like im hungry 24 7 and i have fear of the unknown. Which brings me to this forum because I have wanted to be off my meds for a while now but I'm AFRAID. I cry at the thought of going off of zoloft. Thoughts race and I can just see myself a HOTT MESS. I've been prescribed ativan and only take it if I ABSOLUTELY have to. I don't have an addictive personality so my doctor says that's a plus but at times I feel like taking more than normal dosage of 1mg so I feel better QUICK. With that being said lately I've been feeling bad like my brain and medication are duking it out! Does that make sense?? Not sure but I feel like it's time to come off the zoloft. I feel BAD. No energy and I could sleep my day away. I know if won't be ez but it's now or NEVER! Somebody suggested benadryl, omega 3 and vitamin b. I'm hoping that I can get thru this and I thank you for following up with your withdraw symptoms. 😊

  • kristina20665
    kristina20665 Guest

    Posted

    I am in the same boat. Im newly pregnant and dont feel comfortable taking medicine. I did 25 milligrams for a week and then stopped and i am beyond aggitated, light headed, angry, p****d off at the world. I suddenly hate my boyfriend and the dog. Im hoping this is not permanent. Im just trying to remain present and tell myself this isnt me... and itll be over soon. It makes me regret taking it.
    • rosetea
      rosetea kristina20665

      Posted

      The thing that sucks is that no one on here has reported back about how long it took for their symptoms to stop...

      I'm have the same feelings as you. Angry at the drop of a hat, very light-headed, annoyed at people I love's existence for no reason. I feel like a raw nerve. It's been 2 weeks on 50mg for me (half my dose) and I'm starting on 25mg today... I guess it's only gonna get worse for a while... stay strong!

      And if someone out there is able, please tell us how long this is gonna last!!

    • dani222815
      dani222815 rosetea

      Posted

      Hi guys, I'm hoping to help you with some info about how long it's going to last. My experience was that I was on it for 6 months and it took me 6 months for the symptoms to stop. Someone had said to me that however many months you've been on it is how long it will take to get off it. Maybe a coincidence but that's just what happened. It was really really hard, dizziness and zaps the whole time, but they became fewer and further between and I am so happy now I'm off it!!! Don't give up, it's a long road but so worth it xx

    • lattifa7777
      lattifa7777 dani222815

      Posted

      I’ve been on it for 2 years, so will it take two years ? 🙁😫

    • dani222815
      dani222815 lattifa7777

      Posted

      Hi Latiffa, I certainly hope not, it is a long time, I was only on 50mg for 6 months and I tried to wean myself off slowly over the first few months, but in the end I just went cold turkey and it probably took I'd say a month or 2 after that for the dizziness and zaps to stop. So I would suggest maybe trying similar but expect it to be a bit longer since your dosage was higher and you've been on longer x

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