Sertraline Withdrawal .. Does it go away?

Just have to say thanks for starting this thread.  I have been posting replies to others and I just finished my last pill this week.  I've got all the horrible side effects, yes, but like many my medical history is so compicated it is hard to know what is causing the problem! I cannot tell you how many doctors offices I sat in over the years watching the drug company sales people with their samples just pushing the doctors to DRUG us period.  The biggest problem here is they love to advertise on TV so people run to doctor because they have the symptom.  One thing I have learned is we the "patient" have to be our own advocate and remember medicine is a "practice" and it is certainly not perfect.  I just want to stop all the drugs and start over! Thankfully I finally found a doctor that listens to me and allows me to be the one who drives the "drug" bus.  It is not easy, no at times its been downright horrible, but I am determined and that is half the battle. 

I am trying and failing to get off Lustral. Like you I feel worse than I did before I ever touched it, I know many people in the same position. It's a disgrace that this is not discussed in the national press, or excepted by doctors who "accuse" us of lying. I feel trapped on it and doomed to be half alive.

Hi. I was on 100 mg for four years. Cold turkey for three weeks. Feel crazy at times..body juddering etc. Never again. A thousand and 1 withdrawrals. But I can see me at the end of it. PTSD is a nightmare but this drug nurses it 

My hubby was put on cymbalta for pain! He quit cold turkey after 8 months due to side effects. He's now been cymbalta free for 6 months. He's still on edge, blows everything out of proportion, and just generally negative and miserable. He's had a complete reversal in personality. Drs. have to be made aware of what these drugs due to many of their patients. It is indeed tragic!

It's a journey " kids" but we'll all make it! Hugs to all!

I have experienced the same. About a few months ago I had an unfortunate run in with oxycodone after a simple wisdom tooth extraction. I started having panic attacks sometime around this and the oxy took the stress away. I've never had any feelings of long-term stress in my life. Not even big things used to bother me. Now that I have been clean from the pain pills, I was put on setraline (100mg) to help alleviate the panic attacks. Due to some medical paperwork being filed improperly I have been without setraline cold-turkey for a week. This happened once before and the zaps set in around the three day mark accompanied with a feeling of sickness and restlessness. This time around it is the same.

My advice is to stay close to family and friends, even if it sucks the life from you. Being around caring people, even if for just an hour or so every other day, helps greatly. Being quite introverted, this was the hardest part for me, but I found that being around positive individuals offset the foul mood I was in and helped me to keep my chin up. Make sure they are well aware of your symptoms so that they can respond appropriately if you begin to act out of character.

Hope any bit of my advice helps. Be sure to keep your wits as I have personally had moments where I feel as if I am having a total psychotic break, not being able to clearly distinguish reality from my thoughts, but as long as you have good company to keep you grounded, the side-effects will hopefully wear off soon.

Hi everyone,

I never thought I would find myself posting on one of these sites! But it is fascinating to see how 'deep' all this stuff goes...it's very unnerving how this drug affects us. I was put on a very high dose of Sertraline - about 200mg I think - in April 2012 and I have been on 50mg for about a year, feeling balanced and well. I have just started coming off it after having taken 25mg every other day for what seems like months. For the past few days since my last tablet I have been having all the side effects that you all describe - nausea, brain zaps (great description!), dizziness, trouble focusing, sensitivity to light and sound - which, all combined, tend to make you feel as though you are going mad, and I am sure I have been behaving that way - quite manic really. Yesterday I thought I actually saw a rock moving...oh dear. I thought these sensations might only last a day or two since I was on such a low dose, so it's been interesting to note that it's actually more to do with how long you have been taking them. I am really hoping they don't last for 10 months as some of you report - I am an English teacher and the thought of trying to teach whilst having these effects is terrifying! Perhaps I will try the method you suggested, meteor63, of mixing a 25mg tablet with water and sipping it? It's so disturbing that this drug, and others of its type, are so insidious that the withdrawal symptoms are as bad as the side effects which are, in themselves, as bad as the initital symptoms! Please do reply with any suggestions or comments, and thank you all for your stories, too.

Hi,

I have been on and off antidepressants for the last 18 years, and for me Sertraline has been the best. I've just started back on meds after a year drug free as the depression came back with a vengeance, but I had successfully withdrawn from Sertraline so thought I would share my experiences:

- you need to reduce the dosage very slowly. It took me a year from start to finish. I reduced the dosage roughly every month.

- choose your dosage reduction day carefully. Make sure you have nothing to do that day or the next.

- don't half the dose. Reducing by 25% at each stage worked for me.

- expect some withdrawal symptoms and steel yourself for it. I had terrible brain zaps, nausea and mood swings.

- don't do alternate days. No idea why GPs recommend this, it is really unpleasant.

- eat healthily, exercise, drink plenty of water and take fish oil capsules.

- eating lots of chocolate really helped with the spaced out feelings - must be that chemical in cocoa that helps.

- ginger ale/beer/tea really helps with the nausea

hope that is helpful to someone!

I took zoloft in varying amounts for about 5 years. I was also off and on the zoloft, at my own discretion. (money for doc visit was insufficient, no insurance, wanted to see the difference, etc) Unfortunately I have always been on another med at the time, and was drinking alcohol fairly regularly so i never noticed any withdrawal symptoms. This time, I was tired of the anxiety (which caused a benzo dependence) and the simple truth was that i did not want to take this drug anymore. So this summer, I stopped taking my daily 100mg dose cold turkey. I have had and am continuing to have the WORST withdrawal off ANYTHING, EVER. Ringing ears, more like thunder in my ears, which caused my eyes to basically not function during the thunder spells, went to the GP, who referred me to an ENT and the ENT flat out told me it was zoloft withdrawal and i should be ok within a couple of weeks. Right now I am at about 9 weeks off and it is still terrible. Lightheadedness, diziness, nausea, migraines, still depressed, still anxious, memory is now practically non-existent, and so forth.

My weight is yo-yo-ing , atleast sex drive is back. Have an appointment with a psychiatrist in January so I can get to the bottom of all this and hopefully get on the med (or NO med!!! hopefully) that I need to feel normal. I still do not want to do anything ever, i am SO mean to my loving boyfriend, all i care about is what i am looking at that second, if i look away, i forget. This is hell, but I have hope. I have realized that I am SUPER sensitive to medicines, where as before I could take enough meds to tranquilize a hippo and still be functioning. Wish I had never gone on the zoloft. Honestly, id rather be depressed because it never even really helped anyway!!!

*sigh*

we will all get through it, hopefully time is all we need.

I am tapering off of Zoloft after being on for a little over 2 years.  It just recently became more bothersome as I've just tapered from 50 mil to 25 mil.  The 100 to 50 wasn't that noticeable.  But now, I am dizzy, nauseaus, have headaches, and have GI upset.  I think I have about 2 more weeks worth of 25 mil.  I accidentally dumped a week's worth down the drain.  :-(  I hope this goes away because it is very hard to deal with while working.  I work on a computer in an office all day, writing.  I guess it is better than having to stand and work in a factory or in retail dealing with customers. The worst is the GI issues.  Every time I eat I have to rush to the bathroom within an hour.  My stomach feels so sick.  I have been crying a bit more than usual as well.  I am also on lamictal for my bi-polar II which I need to stay on.  I hope you all get through this. I'm hoping to feel better by the new year.  I have 1.5 months to go.  Thanks for listening.