Tez1 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 New on here today - My signature says it all in a nut shell. Last night I shaved a little bit off my half tablet instead of cutting it in half will try this for a month and see how I go, I'm ok on it but given that my other drugs are for life I want to come off this one if I can. I'm hoping my other drugs will perform a similar function to the sertraline anyway. Wish me luck x Sertraline 50mgs for anxiety R/X approx 2years ago Was diagnosed with dystonia and Cons Neuro R/X clonazepam and propranolol so I suggested to my GP I come off sertraline GP told me to half the tablet (Lustral) for a couple of weeks then stop them altogether. After halving I had horrific nightmares etc so upped back to 50. End of last summer I had another go by dropping a quarter of the whole tablet for a month then by another quarter . However I became anxious again after about 3 weeks so rode it out and stayed on the half tab and that's where I'm stuck. 25mg for the past 4 months. Gender Link to comment
Tez1 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Oh my signature info hasn't shown on my post , how do I get it on ???? my sig is enabled Many thanks Sertraline 50mgs for anxiety R/X approx 2years ago Was diagnosed with dystonia and Cons Neuro R/X clonazepam and propranolol so I suggested to my GP I come off sertraline GP told me to half the tablet (Lustral) for a couple of weeks then stop them altogether. After halving I had horrific nightmares etc so upped back to 50. End of last summer I had another go by dropping a quarter of the whole tablet for a month then by another quarter . However I became anxious again after about 3 weeks so rode it out and stayed on the half tab and that's where I'm stuck. 25mg for the past 4 months. Gender Link to comment
Tez1 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 As you can see have worked it out, just a quick summary, phew Sertraline 50mgs for anxiety R/X approx 2years ago Was diagnosed with dystonia and Cons Neuro R/X clonazepam and propranolol so I suggested to my GP I come off sertraline GP told me to half the tablet (Lustral) for a couple of weeks then stop them altogether. After halving I had horrific nightmares etc so upped back to 50. End of last summer I had another go by dropping a quarter of the whole tablet for a month then by another quarter . However I became anxious again after about 3 weeks so rode it out and stayed on the half tab and that's where I'm stuck. 25mg for the past 4 months. Gender Link to comment
AliG Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Hi Tez. Welcome to S.A. You will receive lots of support & information here. I'm not sure why your signature has not come up . Maybe if you could tell us a little more of your history here first, we can start to help . Here is the link : Please put your withdrawal history in your signature How long have you been on the Zoloft? What dose are you on ? What other drugs are you on ? I know you have already put this in your drug history signature, but in the meantime, it will help to get an idea of where you are situated. Thanks, Ali Many SSRI's and SSNRI's over 20 years. Zoloft for 7 years followed by Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac, Cymbalta, Celexa, Pristiq, Valdoxan, Mianserin and more - on and off. No tapering. Cold turkey off Valdoxan - end of May 2014 Psych Drug - free since May 2014 . Link to comment
AliG Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Tez, I can see now, that you have been on 25 mg for the last 4 months and wanting to taper off. We recommend the 10% taper method, which is a 10% dosage reduction every 3-4 weeks , with the 10% calculated on the last dosage. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/ What symptoms are you having at the moment? This is your thread to ask questions and keep track of your progress. What other questions and concerns do you have. Ali Many SSRI's and SSNRI's over 20 years. Zoloft for 7 years followed by Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac, Cymbalta, Celexa, Pristiq, Valdoxan, Mianserin and more - on and off. No tapering. Cold turkey off Valdoxan - end of May 2014 Psych Drug - free since May 2014 . Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted January 6, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 6, 2016 Hi Tez1 , welcome to the site. Good job working out your signature. As Ali wrote ,the recommended way to taper and to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms is to decrease a maximum of 10% at a time. As you found out , things can go downhill quickly when you decrease too much. That means your first decrease will be to 22.5mg. Please read the following threads to help avoid difficulties: Why Taper by 10% of my Dosage:http://survivinganti...0-of-my-dosage/ and Important Topics in the Tapering Forum:http://survivinganti...-forum-and-faq/ and How to make Liquid From Tablets or Capsules: http://survivinganti...ts-or-capsules/ If you click FOLLOW at the top right , you'll receive an email each time someone posts. Best wishes , Fresh 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus KarenB Posted January 6, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 6, 2016 Hello Tez, The others have given you some good links to start with. I just wanted to note that the recommendation on this site is to reduce each 4-6 weeks. The suggestion above of 3-4 weeks would be a little fast. The idea is to give your central-nervous-system time to adjust and recover as you go. It should limit the w/d symptoms you get. Here's Tips for Tapering Sertraline Wishing you luck Karen 2010 Fluoxetine 20mg. 2011 Escitalopram 20mg. 2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS. Effexor 150mg. 2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants. Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms). 8 month hold. 2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent). 2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well. Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea. 2023 December - Now on 5 micro-beads Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops. Symptoms begin to increase. 2024 April - Updosed to 6 microbeads - immediate increase in symptoms for 4 days. Decreased to 5 microbeads. 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.' Dr Gabor Mate. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus apace41 Posted January 6, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 6, 2016 The suggestion above of 3-4 weeks would be a little fast. The idea is to give your central-nervous-system time to adjust and recover as you go. It should limit the w/d symptoms you get. It's quite interesting, Karen, because I think many might agree with the notion that 3-4 weeks is on the "fast" side, however, if you read the following: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/ that is, in fact, the protocol that Alto references up front. I think that the approach many view as best is based on the "occupancy" theory which would suggest that the early stages of a taper will be easier than the later stages of the taper since the first amounts of the meds are the ones that have the greatest impact. When tapering, in reverse, those are the hardest amounts to drop. At the end of the day, it is HIGHLY individualized and 10% every 3-4 weeks might be great for some and rough for others. Starting at or about that rate is a good place to begin with the notion that YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) being a guiding principle as well. Best, Andy Sertraline 50mg and Clonazapam .375mg from 2000 -- symptoms of dizziness Spring 2012 increased to .5 Clonazapam and 100mg Sertraline -- no improvement Benzo microtaper from November 2012 to November 2014 (followed benzo sites "taper benzo first") Started Sertraline taper in December 2014 cut by 25mg to 75mg; 62.5mg 1/1/15 and 50mg on 2/1/15 Held at 50mg through April 5 to use liquid Reduced dosage in 10% or less drops from 50mg to 25mg -- at single tablet of 25mg on 10/5/15 Transitioned to all liquid for accuracy while tapering -- Horrible insomnia -- back to 25mg liquid and held until October 1, 2016 10/16 -- 11/18 tapered very slowly to 10.6mg. No real improvement and never really stable so updosed to 12.5mg (1/2 a pill) for convenience and long hold. After 8+ months of holding with no noticeable improvement decided to add .4ml of liquid Prozac (about 1.5mg) to see if that improves the situation Supplements, Magnesium, D3, Omega 3, curcumin, Valerian, 81mg Aspirin, L-Theanine, Vit. C, Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted January 6, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 6, 2016 Good points Andy. At the end of the day , the "throw away the calendar and listen to your body" seems to work best. I'd suggest waiting until the symptoms of a decrease stop , then give it minimum another 2 weeks before cutting again. I'm cautious 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
Tez1 Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Thank you for all the post, sorry for the delay in posting but as I hadn't had received any notifications I thought no one had commented ! . I've clicked the follow tab now. Doh After I posted last week I have started to 'shave' a little off the half a tablet I was taking, the pharmacist said that's 50mg is the smallest tab available. That's why I cut down a quarter first then halved the tablet. I'll continue to reduce the half for about six weeks then shave more off for another six weeks. It's guess work I know but I've done ok so far by going down a quarter of the tablet at a time and it's better than going from 25 - 12.5 mg. I'll update as I go along, I'm pretty stable at the moment Sertraline 50mgs for anxiety R/X approx 2years ago Was diagnosed with dystonia and Cons Neuro R/X clonazepam and propranolol so I suggested to my GP I come off sertraline GP told me to half the tablet (Lustral) for a couple of weeks then stop them altogether. After halving I had horrific nightmares etc so upped back to 50. End of last summer I had another go by dropping a quarter of the whole tablet for a month then by another quarter . However I became anxious again after about 3 weeks so rode it out and stayed on the half tab and that's where I'm stuck. 25mg for the past 4 months. Gender Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted January 11, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 11, 2016 Please read the suggested links Tez - you may want to get a digital jewellers' scale to measure dosages more precisely , or even make a liquid with your tablets. 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
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