The slow taper

Hi dodo, Fully normal (No) but I can handle my Anixity better I hope. when I say not fully normal I mean there is still something at the back of the mind that is hard to shake but while I am on sert I just dont know if its the tablets doing this to me or what so thats one of the reasons for coming off sert, also while I have been on them It felt like that they were holding me back, eg not been able to think straight, spaced out, lack of motivation and drive ect ect. Now that I have been tapering and on a low dose I am beginning to get these things back in a small way and I mean a small way but getting there. I have had some pretty bad days, one or too good days and a few ok days but the wd can be like that I guess. I have to say sert was just not for me but everyone is different but saying that I am a lot better than I was this time last year.

Yes you r right , sometimes I don't know if the med is making me think and obsessed or its me?!! But I'm not ready yet to come off it .im really scared of the tapering off process.

Honestly the thought of tapering is much much worse than it is

if you follow the 10% method you should be fine, combine with talking therapies or CBT x

 

how have yiu guys been feeling as you have been tapering? I'm really interested to know as I want to do this but not for another 3 to you months I think? and I'm really scared

This is my 2nd attempt, the first time I tried was last summer my GP advised me to half the dose for 2 weeks then stop !!!!

this was a disaster for me, even after a few days on half I suffered horrific nightmares and numerous other withdrawals so I just put myself back onto the full dose. I did some research and took advice from this site ( look at 'sertraline withdrawal, does it go away').

once I felt more stable I started the 10% taper method it's taken me 6 months to get to the stage I'm at but I have avoided the worst of the W/D effects that people describe on here such as brain zaps. 

I had one occasion where I stayed on the same dose for 2 months as it took me more than a month to stabilise after the reduction.

in general I have kept well through this process, I've had the random sharp skin sensations that make me jump and have sometimes felt down and or sad but I've worked through it by telling myself it will pass and it does.

my opinion is that if you can manage to come off it you should it's a nasty drug, I took it for two years but it just numbed me it didn't help me solve my problems.

the good bit is that I feel as calm and am coping as well as I did when I was on the full dose and hope this will continue.

good luck like you I made the decision to come off them about 3 months before I plucked up the courage to start the process. I have to say the GP and the advice he gave me was terrible, generally it's better talking to pharmacists.

Hi Tezes thank for getting back to me so quick, yeah I just decided that I would follow you and cut the 12.5 in half and see how it goes, I will stick with that for the next few week and see after that. Can I ask what where you on sert for and why are you coming off? how has WD been?

thank you tezes I'm really scared, I don't want to have that down feeling again 😢 and what do you mean about skin sensation?

Hi lattifa, last night I couldn't sleep and had panicked a lot , I don't know what is happening I was feeling great and sleeping good but last night was horrible. I have this constant fear of insomnia and when I'm late to fall asleep then panic hits me . I'm on 100 mg since January 2016 and was on 50 mg from November 2015 till the upped dose . Can u advice me what to do . I have my next appointment with my doc April 4 .

No of course not it's horrible feeling like that. I can only suggest CBT or similar therapy to address the reason/s why you needed them in the first place. The drugs only mask the feeling and help you cope but obv if the 'problem' still existing you will need other strategies to cope when you no longer have the drug.

the skin sensation is random and feels like someone just pricked you with a pin that's what make me jump, I haven't had that for a few days now it's. Nothing to bother about. 

Hope that helps x

hi was wondering why you upped the dose ?? Has your sleep pattern been more disrupted since the increase ? 

i knew the probs with these type of drugs so resisted increasing from 50 mg and kept to that for two years, took the edge off and my body adjusted to that level. It took a good three months to stabilise my mood.

getting off to sleep was a problem for me too, I used to take it at night Some people recommend taking it in the mornings, don't know if that makes any difference to sleep pattern.

that' one of the problems with these drugs, you take one then have to take others to counteract the effects of the first one and so on. I used to take herbal sleeping tablets, I can't function without a proper nights sleep.

My sleep was great and I used to have Ativan if my sleep is bad but last night was the first time taking Ativan after 3months , since upping my dose . Do I need to take 150 or what ? This med is working for me and I can cope now with my thoughts and fears but last night I had to take Ativan again to sleep . My feeling now is like obsession from insomnia.😔

Well I wouldn't increase the sertraline dose any more than you need to to stabilise your mood. If anything I'd reduce it back down if possible (with a slow taper of course). Sounds like you would benefit from CBT to address the obsessional thoughts, if the Ativan is working stick with it x

Thanks a lot for your reply . I'm up and down with mood I took the 100 mg bec the 50 wasn't working as much but the 100 worked well with me although I have this scary thought that I will not sleep which makes me panic at night . So I think the doc might up my dose as I'm not feeling ready to stop this med yet .

May I ask you tezzes did u have the cpt before ? And how does it help ?

Hi yes I've had CBT before it helps you develop strategies to cope and more importantly alter the way you think/react to stress/ situations etc.

 

So it's helpful?

Definitely