AuraLee

[AuraLee]

Hello all- I am looking for more information about the best way to go off Zoloft (generic sertraline). I have been on antidepressants since I was 18 (am now 36) for anxiety and depression and want to try and experience life without the drugs! I need support with how to best reduce dosage (current 75mg daily) and what I can expect and what my partner can expect during this process. Also, my partner wants to know the best way to be supportive. 

 

I started with Clexa in college and tried to go off after two years and had withdrawal symptoms (dizziness, felt like my brain was sloshing around, increased anxiety and tingling limbs etc) the doctors told me it was in my head and suggested I go back in the meds. Here I am 16 years later 😕. 

 

I am currently taking 75mg daily (roughly, I can only get 50mg pill form where I live and am trying my best with a pill cutter) I seem to be “stuck” at 75mg (I have gotten myself down from 150 over the course of 2 years). Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!! 

 

❤️

[Gridley]

Hello, AuraLee, and welcome to SA.

 

Doctors know nothing about withdrawal (they don't believe it exists) and will tell you just what they told you.

 

To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

We recommend tapering no more than 10% of current dose every four weeks.  Some have to go more slowly.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

These links explain the importance of a slow taper.

 

Brain Remodelling 

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

This link is specifically about tapering Zoloft.  It includes information about how to obtain the smaller non-standard doses you will need for a 10% taper.  Just cutting the tablet and guessing is not a good idea.

 

There are basically three methods to get the smaller doses:

get your doctor to prescribe liquid Zoloft (I don't know if it is available in Mexico; make your own liquid (described in the link); or weigh your dose using a scale.  Many members uses the AWS Gemini 20 scale, available in the U.S. on Amazon.  Again, I don't know if you can order from Amazon in Mexico.  

 

Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

 

How are you doing?  Are you having withdrawal symptoms?  Symptoms are a normal part of tapering.  It's important to taper slowly enough that the symptoms are tolerable.

 

What is withdrawal syndrome.

 

Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list.

 

When we take medications, the CNS (central nervous system) responds by making changes over the months and years we take the drug(s). When the medication is discontinued, the CNS has to undo all the changes it made. Rebuilding the neurotransmitter production and reactivating the receptor and transporter cells takes time -- during that rebuilding process symptoms occur.  

 

This explains it really well:

   On 8/30/2011 at 2:28 PM,  Rhiannon said: 

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

These links are helpful in talking to your doctor.

 

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?
 
What should I expect from my doctor about withdrawal symptoms?

 

This is your introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community.  I hope you’ll find the information in the SA forums helpful for your situation.  I'm sorry that you are in the position that you need the information, but I am glad that you found us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AuraLee]

Thanks. I will see what I can do about finding liquid Zoloft in Mexico. Otherwise I will have to shell out on my next visit to the States ( no insurance in US as am currently living abroad 😕)

[Songbird]

Hi Auralee, please create a signature containing a summary of your med history, including all drugs, doses and dates (starting and stopping).  Your signature appears below every post you make, and helps us see your situation easily without having to read from the top every time.   You could look at my signature for an example.  Instructions for creating your signature are here: Please put your withdrawal history in your signature.  You can edit your signature here: edit your signature in Account Settings.