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Sertraline taper from 200mg per day

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Pidgey
Pidgey

Hi folks, first time poster here, hoping to get some advice on coming off Sertraline.

I've been on 200mg per day for just around 2 years and 3 months for anxiety, and after seeing my doc today he wrote me a script for a taper going down by 50mg every 4 weeks i.e 200 > 150 > 100 > 50 > 0.

However I'm a little apprehensive that this might be too sudden, if not in total duration of the taper (12 weeks) then the level of drop at each interval - for example, from 100 to 50 to 0. Consequently my plan is to modify this taper slightly by reducing by 25mg every 2 weeks instead of by 50mg every 4 weeks, so it would be 200 > 175 > 150 > 125 > 100 > 75 > 50 > 25 > 0. This only increases the total duration slightly (14 weeks instead of 12 due to the extra 25mg per day interval) but I'm hoping it will mean a smoother reduction.

Does anybody have any experience or advice about reducing like this? Unfortunately the pharmacy issued me with 50mg tablets, however they are scored so I was planning to break them in half to get to 25mg, assuming the dosage is evenly distributed?

Many thanks!

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Hoopz
    Hoopz Pidgey

    Posted

    I'm no expert but I've always broke a 50mg in half to achieve 25mg with no problem ..but I've never decreased only increased lol. I've read about tapering kits though which reduce you extremely slowly. May be worth a Google.

    Good luck

    🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄

  • dylan78236
    dylan78236 Pidgey

    Posted

    Yes this sounds similar to a tapering method that was suggested to me. After being on it for over 2 years its best to make the dose changes smaller. Best regards. 
  • james97025
    james97025 Pidgey

    Posted

    Hi I found that reducing the dose by 10% every two weeks worked really well for me. I had dips in mood for a day or two after each reduction but did not suffer any other side effects. In my opinion large percentage reductions in the daily dose has the potential to trigger some of the more severe and less pleasant side effects. Aslow reduction will take longer but is best in my view.
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