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Withdrawal from Sertraline 19 months off

Posted , 7 users are following.

lee99674
lee99674

Hello Everyone

My name is Lee (female)  I was on Sertraline for 9 years.  On December 3, 2011 my GP and I decided I should taper from Sertraline.  It took me a year and a half to get off it completely.  Thing is, Sertraline here anyway, comes only in capsule form, 25, 50 and 150 mgs. I had to taper 25 mgs at a time, albeit stayed on that amount for a good 4 months, then dropped another 25 mgs for another four months, and so on. 

On May 17, 2013, I was off completely.  While tapering I had a multitude of side effects which were mostly physical.  Pain in legs, groin, sciatica, IBS. I thought I was doing very well, but the worst of it started when I was off completely.  Started with head pressure, face pain, lightheadedness, migraines, they were mild at first, but when about 9 months off things got worse...I got some reprieves we call Windows, and the Waves are when you are in badly with WDs....around 11 months off.....things got even worse....visual disturbances depersonalisation, and all the above just got worse with anxiety and depression. 

I had a few Windows which were great...but now I am in another wave since two months now and It is one of the worst I have had....but I know through experience that this will pass too.

I hope this is not discouraging to some.  It is a very long haul for some. I am off 19months and still suffering....but it will get better, it is called discontinuation syndrome.  There are many success stories but for some it takes a good 2 maybe 3 years before we actually feel all better again.

So if you are in the same position I am...dont give up...you will get better..I have taken nothing to try to fix it....because really, in my opinion one best not try to take anything else to try to fix it.  I worked in a Psychiatric Hospital and believe me what I saw was not pretty.  People coming in with Life trials, trials we all face, divorce, deaths, losing a job, etc. only to be given antidepressants and then the trouble starts.  I have seen it.

Dont give up, and if you are taking antidepressants and are trying to get off them, please do it very, very, very slowly, never cold turkey.  And if you are on it and not intending to get off it, I wish you well on them.  No one should try to convince you to go off it.  That is only your decision and your doctors decision.

thank you for listen

If happy little bluebirds fly

Beyond the Rainbow

So can.......you.......and.....I

1 like, 23 replies

23 Replies

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  • maureen75524
    maureen75524 lee99674

    Posted

    Thanks Lee as I mentioned before, you and R.B saved me from so much anguish. You are my saviours I was worried sick as to what was wrong with me! This site has been a great source of support, finding others experience similar symtoms for forever!
    • lee99674
      lee99674 maureen75524

      Posted

      You will be just fine...I am here for you as much as I can be....trust me you will get better.

      Stay strong now    promise....and it is okay to cry because we only cry when we have been strong too long....then we pick ourselves up again....

      Love

      Lee

      xxxx

  • psl59439
    psl59439 lee99674

    Posted

    I just found this forum and I am shocked that other people have the same withdrawal symptoms I have. Actually I didn't realize I was having withdrawal symptoms till I started reading some of these posts!  I have been on sertraline for years and years. At one point taking 200 mg nightly, plus another antidepressant in the morning (can't recall the name). Plus ambien nightly for years and years. I am sick of all these meds so I started tapering myself off of them. Am off ambien for a couple weeks now, and thought I was slowly weaning myself off of 150 mg of sertraline down to nothing, but after reading these posts I think I may have done it too fast. I have been having horrible night sweats, have brain zaps, my balance is off and I am not sleeping well. I didn't realize all these problems were related to going off the sertraline! I am going to take 50 mg tonight to see if I can sleep. I have been buying different mattress, sheets, blankets, turning my heat way down, all to no avail. I had horrible nightmare the other night and woke up just shaking for a while. I thought maybe I had a temperature. I will be following these posts for a while as I taper off this drug more slowly. Thank you all for posting all of your side effects. Whew!
    • lee99674
      lee99674 psl59439

      Posted

      Please do not go of Sertraline to quickly.  You must wean very, very, slowly.  If you have the tablet form you can buy a pill cutter and remove 5 percent at a time and stay on this amount for a month or so and then slice off another 5 percent and stay on it for a month and so on.  It may take you a year or more....but well, well, worth it.....you have been on this too long to do it any other way. 

      Some doctors will wean you off too quickly.  Dont do it....please.

      Good luck to you.

      Love

      Lee

      Keep a song in your heart and I will too....

       

    • psl59439
      psl59439 lee99674

      Posted

      Thank you for your response. Should I go back to 150 and start over on tapering down? I was tapering down from 150mg to none over a month or so period. Yes I have a pill cutter.
    • maureen75524
      maureen75524 psl59439

      Posted

      Far too fast of a taper. I was on a 150 mg. My Dr. for what it's worth took me down 25 mg @ a time, for two weeks at a time. It took me three months, which could've been too quickly, who knows. Everyone responds to these drugs differently.

      Good luck on your journey, keep us posted.

    • lee99674
      lee99674 psl59439

      Posted

      Yes, go back to 150 and start again...like from 150 mgs to 145 mgs for a month then go from there..it is slow but the best bet... Really any antidepressant should be tapered very slowly....

      You have been taking it for years and years and for you and many others who have been on it should go very, very slowly.  Even if it takes two years....it is well worth it.....trust me. 

      Stay Well, and be patient.....

      Love

      Lee

      xxxx

       

  • godblessed
    godblessed lee99674

    Posted

    Lee, would you say that applies for me-I have been on 50mg sertraline for 7 months and started to wean myself off-25mg one day the next day 50mg=for 10 days. For next 10 days 25mg daily. For next 10 days 25mg every other day. Then finish? What do you think?

    Thanks Denise

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