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Sertraline

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adrian54
adrian54

Hi there. Am weaning off sertraline. Was on for past 12 months. Was down to 50mg per day before starting weaning off in January. Doctor advised take for 2 days then miss a day and repeat that cycle for the month.

Have found the last month very hard, increased anxiety, quick to anger and feeling spaced out.

Have read here people suggest reducing by 10% each month.

Any advice on how to continue reducing as do want to get off this medication. I can only get 50mg tablets so how can I reduce by 10% when I have 50mg tablets??

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Tezes
    Tezes adrian54

    Posted

    Please visit 'sertraline withdrawal, does it stop' on this site they give good advice on how to do it.

    i was on 50 mg for two years and have been reducing over past 3 months. I estimate the 10% by measuring what's left and  ' shaving' it down by another 10% month by month.

    some people weigh the bits of tablet to be more accurate or even ask for liquid sertraline and a syringe. 

    Ive got down to approx 20mg without too many noticeable effects so I'll keep going like this until it's finished. I wouldn't recommend missing days as it may throw your system into confusion due to its length of activity.

    Good luck

     

  • betsy0603
    betsy0603 adrian54

    Posted

    Hi Adrian, 

    I am sending you a link for how to taper sertraline.  

    To do the 10% taper, you will need a way to measure more precise amounts.  Sert comes in liquid form which allows measurement with an oral syringe.  It must be diluted in another liquid because it is so concentrated.Talk to your doctor about that.

    You can also make your own liquid from the pills, which requires measuring cups, a way to powder the pills, and dosing syringes.  You could powder three 50 mg pills, add them to a known volume of water, and then syringe up the amount that you need and add that to a beverage.  I always add rinse water to the glass afterwards and drink that to make sure I got all the drug.  

    You can make enough for three or four days, but it needs to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, wrapped in foil to block light so the drug isn't degraded.

    This information is contained in the link I'm sending you, but there's a lot more there.

    It's a pain to go to these lengths to do a proper taper, but many who weren't willing to go to the effort had their nervous system suffer for it.  It is much better to do a too-concervative taper and keep yourself comfortable and functioning than to be cavalier and run into trouble.  You can updose, but for some folks that doesn't work and then you are in a real mess!

    • adrian54
      adrian54 betsy0603

      Posted

      Hi betsy

      Thank you so much for your reply. It makes sense. I just want off these meds but the last month has been rough....and I was following my docs advice!!! Can't wait to be finished with them but do realise I need to be sensible about how u do it.

    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 adrian54

      Posted

      What dose are you on now, Adrian?  You might try updosing since we are still in January - it hasn't been that long.  Since you are still suffeirng, an updose should bring you some relief, and then after stabilizing for a good 3-4 weeks, you can commence with the 10% taper.  Just need to know when the last time was that you took 50 mg, and what the strategy was from there.  What were the cuts to, and for how long between cuts?

      One should never do another cut while stilly having withdrawal symptoms from the previous cut!  Destabilization on top of destabilization!  

    • adrian54
      adrian54 betsy0603

      Posted

      Was on 50mg per day which was 350mg per week. Doc advised to take for 2 days then skip a day and take for another 2 days. That meant I dropped from 350mg per week to 200mg per week in January. Wasn't sure what to do this week as starting into February tomorrow...
    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 adrian54

      Posted

      That would put you on average about 29 mg/day.  The alternating schedule is not advised because the half life is 26 hours.  It's like doing a cold turkey on the off days and taking the full amount on the on days, very destabilizaing and confusing to the nervous system.  It is ideal to keep the blood levels steady so taking the same amount every day.  

      If you were to do a 10% taper, that would be dropping to 45 mg per day for 3-4 weeks. Since you are still feeling bad, I'd updose -  If you could get a pill cutter and get the pill down to 3/4, that would be 37.5 mg.  I would start there and see if that makes you feel better, and then get organized on how you will do the cuts from there on out.  Where are you located?  You can buy oral syringes of various sizes on Amazon. Check with the pharmacy, too.  Ideally, you want ones that can dose 0.1 ml increments.

      The alternative is to get a jeweler's milligram scale and weigh the doses.  Those can be found cheaply on Amazon as well.

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