Sertraline Withdrawal .. Does it go away?
Posted , 276 users are following.
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
maureen75524 meteor63
Posted
I found a cymbalta forum where a medical Dr. noted she could not believe the withdrawls one of her patients experienced! She was aghast and tried all sorts of holistic approaches to help her.
My husband was put on cymbalta for knee pain. he was on it eight months, the pain subsided, but the side effects were nasty. He quit " cold turkey" FIVE months ago and is still an aggressive BEAR! It's been a total personality change.
There are many stories out there. I'll try and find the article from this Dr. to share.
angieblue maureen75524
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maureen75524 angieblue
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Ask your questions we are all here to help one another.
claire335 meteor63
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Hi how are you feeling now ?
please tell me you got through the withdrawal effects.
im in a complete mess. Took citalapram for 9 years. Decided to come off them gradually this summer.
got down to 10g started experiencing terrible withdrawal effects. Went On seratine as adviced by doctor reduced these over a period of 5 weeks. 8 weeks of withdrawal symptoms the worst ever. Put back on seratine - extreme sickness.
the doctor doesn't know what to do so has left me for a week without anything.
Evil memedication any advice gladly received
meteor63 claire335
Posted
er, I'm not sure my reply will help you much. I wish I could say I was better. Some things have improved a bit. My situation is more complicated though because I had a severe adverse reaction to citalopram last year. It made me so very ill. I was then on sertraline and quetiapine. I was taking lorazepam on and off too so I think I'm getting withdrawal from all three drugs. Not only that, I reinstated sertraine and came off again. I've only been properly med free about 3 months.
the surviving antidepressants website may be able to advise you better than me.
everyone says this gets better in time.
take care.
patricia44234 meteor63
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You wrote in another thread somewhere (which I can't find now) asking me if I've ever read Angie's akathisia blog. I haven't and I don't knw how to find it. Could you help, please?
P.S. My son was on Sertraline for about 10 years and, reading that you were on it and reading about your symptoms, I wonder if Sertraline was the primary cause of my son's akathisia. You mention your sinus problems. My son, especially on his worst days, makes constant sniffing, snorting, grunting noises at the back of his nose in his throat. He doesn't seem to have any sort of cough or cold and he doesn't seem to have any control over these noises and movements at the back of his throat. It goes with the constant walking and constant pointless moving about. When he makes the grunting noises I know he's having a bad day from the akathisia point of view. Is this what you mean by sinus problems or are yours the conventional sort of sinus problems (i.e. not central nervous damage i.e. akathisia)?
meteor63 patricia44234
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my sinus problems are definitely not normal sinus problems. I had issues for years on and off with blocked sinuses before taking and psych meds and what I have now is way different. It's a horrible drug induced version. It's drug withdrawal related.
nicole20129 meteor63
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Has anyone else had this experience for months afterwards where you have become overly anxious due to the withdrawal? Does it go away?
meteor63 nicole20129
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nicole20129 meteor63
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I'm doing a lot better now, thank you. I've been journaling and keeping track of my anxiety levels and what seemed to cause my anxiety. The job is going well and I think for the past week I finally got into the swing of things and am feeling a lot better. The crazy thing is I started having anxiety only when I was at home, mainly in the morning, and not while at work. I really think it was my brain still reacting to not having sertraline in my system anymore, and the anxiety would happen more so in the morning when I woke up (that's when it was the worst) and then sometimes when I wasn't keeping myself busy. This is the first couple of days that I've been able to actually relax and not wake up at an 8 out of 10 feeling nausous. I believe there is hope, it's just getting further and further away from being on these meds I think. I hope you're feeling better as well!
laylanadine meteor63
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meteor63 laylanadine
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marie31094 meteor63
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meteor63 marie31094
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jackie84424 meteor63
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Yorkshire jackie84424
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There are other conversations on here which are more of a success story.
I am currently weaning off my sertraline and am finding it fine, a lot easier then I thought. I was scared after reading things online but actually it's been ok. I have had a couple of side effects (numb teeth & irritability) but nothing compared to before I went on them or the first few weeks on them. X
usaguineapig jackie84424
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