My experience when coming off of Sertraline

I thought I would post something on here, just because when I was very concerned and didn´t feel like my GP was really able to give me more information, I found the informaiton others had written incredibly useful.  

There are a number of issues with this kind of system of course. For example, when someone buys something from Amazon and they think it is not very good, they are likely to comment. The same is kind of what happens on these sites. If you have no bad side effects from a drug then you will be unlikely to post, or even search for posts from other users of that drug. 

I was taking 100mg of Sertraline for Panic Attacks along with Mild Despression. I have confused feelings now. After being on it for 6 months I kind of wished I´d never have started as I ended up convincing myself that things had become a lot worse whilst on the drug. I was also having a small amount of counciling which I found entirely useless.  

The drug took far to long to work compared to other SSRIs I had taken. This was a huge issue, particularly as I wasn´t sure just how things could have improved if I was not to just jump straight on the medication. But it´s hard to really know what to do... you think about the long term and you just hope for changes as soon as possible. 

But anyway, what I wanted to discuss mainly were the side effects coming off the drug, which other users may be interested in. For me, these were unbareable at times. Even in a much more relaxed environment, I was feeling worse than ever, scared that these feelings would go worse and of course that they would never go away... the anxious person´s go-to position. 

I would just like to make it clear that I came off the drug as slow as I could have done. Reducing it to around 25mg for a number of weeks before finally stopping for good. 

The worst side effect was the intense hypersensitivity I experienced. This really made it difficult to go anyway and do anything. Any kind of noise was just mutlplied, so much so that I would have to leave even outdoor areas and parks where noise levels are usually not as extensive as those say in a bar or a cafe etc. 

I also had terrible headaches and on many days only a week or two after coming off the drugs, had to go to bed in the afternoons. I´m a person who never suffers with headaches so I can be sure that it was the SSRI that had the effect. 

With me going to bed earlier, but also as a side-effect, my sleep patterns were dramatically altered. This made it difficult to carry on with normal daily routines. My confidence at this time was really at an all time low. 

I think they were the worst things that happened, alongside of course feeling very anxious. I guess what I want to make clear is that my anxiety was as a result of coming off the drug on this occasion. Rather than the previous symptons reappearing. I want people who read this to be positive and believe that this will be the same with themselves. I think we all know we are not quite ourselves when on these drugs and how important it is to start reducing them as quickly as possible. So remember that very often the side-effects will appear to be awful, but think of them as just the last stages of an awful period - a final push to the finish line, of what is always an awful stage in peoples´ lives. 

I wish everyone the best of the luck in their individual struggles. 

1 like, 9 replies