Sertraline Withdrawal .. Does it go away?
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Hi. I just wondered if anyone had been through sertraline withdrawal and got better? I look on the internet and can't find anything positive about ssri withdrawal, particularly sertraline. I guess when people stop posting, it means they've got better. All I seem to see is posts from people who've been suffering for months or longer. I just want some hope.
I was on citalopram last year (first ever anti depressant) and came off it after 2 months because I had terrible reactions to it. A week later I was put on sertraline and reacted terribly to that too (I'm still suffering the side effects).
I took my last sertraline 3 weeks ago. My top dose was 100mg and I was going nuts. I dropped down to 50mg for about 5 weeks, 25mg for 2 weeks and 25mg every other day for a week.
Since then (and during titration) I have been having brain zaps all day every day and every time I move my eyes. I'm more exhausted than I've ever been in my life. I have sweats. I have worse sinus problems than I've ever had. I have loads of pressure behind and around my left eye. I can barely look at the television or read. I have long crying bouts. All this on top of the existing hideous and ongoing side effects which are worse than withdrawal.
I was on sertraline for a total of about 3.5 months and have been off 3.5 weeks. I've heard the average for withdrawal symptoms is around 6 weeks but can be much longer. Given my extreme sensitivity to medication, I'm afraid that I may be one if the unlucky ones. I was much better before I took any meds.
I'm taking loads of fish oil and magnesium, eating healthily and drinking lots of water. I was trying to be positive but am becoming less positive by the day.
Anyone else experienced this and recovered? I can't bear the thought of going on any more meds because I can't tolerate them.
Thank you.
31 likes, 714 replies
meteor63
Posted
These meds are scary. I feel way worse now than I did before I took them.mive had akathisia since I went on citalopram, only to have it worsen on sertraline. I still have it, although it's not as bad as it was. I feel like my brain is no longer able to produce seretonin and I now how horrid withdrawal symptoms too. Feel like something's sitting in my head behind my eye and it's impossible to watch television or read. I pray these things will all clear up.
I was only on meds 6 months. (I spent most of that time begging doctors to help me off them, unsuccessfully.) Hopefully my brain chemistry will return to normal now I'm no longer poisoning my body.
e37242 meteor63
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don45258 meteor63
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alex1979 meteor63
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Was pssd part of your wirhdrawal? If so, did your sexuality recover eventuallyy?
Thanks
Alex, PSSD sufferer
madie79230 e37242
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Do you feel completely fine now? No tearyness, no feelings of deard, nothing?
I am so looking for someone who can honestly tell me that they are 100% fine now after Zoloft...
Tezes madie79230
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had been taking it for nearly three years and tapered off 10% each month over 7 months with no W/D effects
good luck
sharna74725 madie79230
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I have been off zoloft 50mg for 1 month and am starting to feel better and better I have no withdrawals and i think that the Vitamin B complex and fish oil have worked wonders, my sleeping is back to normal and i am not so tired, I do get a little tearyness still but less and less and no feeling of dread and if i feel slightly edgy I am able to control it so as it dosent get crazy. I also smile more uncontrolably like i get that smiling feeling in my cheeks that i have not had for so long. I think everthing takes time and eveyones experience will differ, are you thinking of comming off your medication? or have you started ?
Kind Regards
Sharna
Resigned2B
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You can step off this med with your doctor's understanding and help.
I recommend drinking lots of pure water (at least two quarts or eight glasses a day), a good diet, good protein, whole wheat, fresh veggies, fruit, fiber, etc.. This side effect should pass. You weren't taking them long and that should mean a quicker recovery time with less permanent damage. Many times it is too late and these meds cause PERMANENT muscle movement disorders. My doctor put me on 1000 units of Vitamin E. Check with him/her and see if that is okay for you to try. Research has shown Vitamin E is helpful in healing the neuro-pathways that control movements. It took six months for me to stop shaking. It was very scary since Prozac, and all psyche meds can cause the same issue. I had been on Prozac 14 years. It was not the offending med in my case.
There are other ways people have been successful in treating issues such as depression. Maybe you could d
o some research and see if any of them might work for you. In connection with talk therapy, even with a good friend, will be helpful. Try not to isolate yourself from friends and family. This is so common and very destructive to healthy mental healing. Be gentle with yourself and tell close family and friends that you need their support and understanding at this point in your life.
Try to relax and remember this has a good chance of healing since you've caught it so early. Some days will be better than others until finally, every day will be a day with little or no symptoms. Good luck...
usaguineapig Resigned2B
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deeebeee usaguineapig
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A very good thing for detoxing (which I think after taking these drugs is necessary) is charcoal powder in some water, not very appetizing but it soaks up the toxins.
If you need another anti-depressant to get you through this, don't turn thumbs down as you may simply need it for now.
If you know any holistic doctors and can afford them, that would be a help. It's so hard when we're in this state to do everything on our own.
I've been on Sertraline for 20 years ... long story, but after trying Nardil which was GREAT (an MAOI Inhibitor) and deciding with my doctor's OK to slowly get off it, as I felt betterl, I plunged several months later into a hellish clinical depression. Long story short, nothing worked except Sertraline.
BUT now I can't sleep at night and that's hell enough for me to think of (very scary) slowly tapering off Sertraline with my doc's OK.
Were you not prescribed any anti-anxiety meds? You sound like you're raw and could use something to ease the anxiety. As I said above ... a therapist who could give you support would surely be appropriate now.
Your body will take awhile to detox ... see if you can find gentle detoxins. Like the charcoal and water, etc. Don't give up.
Hugs and Hope
deeebeee
bonnie55046 usaguineapig
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Grateful to have found this site. In desperation, I searched sertraline withdrawal on the off chance that this is what I've been going through. (Previous longterm history of Cymbalta also, as well as Imipramine, Trazadone, parnate, Paxil, Welbutrin, and, most recently, Sertraline. Thirty-some years worth.) i am certain I have been poisoned and feel determined to clean out my body and brain. But feeling so sick. Debilitating malaise, body aches, heavy-headed, nausea, mental fog, insomnia.I have read about seratonin syndrome and, now, sertraline withdrawal. I've been sick like this for three weeks maybe, and am so fearful it will not pass. I pray and pray. I have Essential Tremor, but the shakiness I get is more than ET. Tomorrow is Monday, so will try to see my regular doctor, but my appt. with psych doctor isn't until Wednesday. Will get some Vitamin E also.
Thank you for your post. And all the posts. You're the only people who understand. God bless you. God bless you all. May we all be healthy again one day. 💗
e37242 bonnie55046
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e37242 bonnie55046
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e37242 usaguineapig
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Vegas05 usaguineapig
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betsy0603 Vegas05
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