WavyK: sertraline taper

[WavyK]

Hello. This is my first post. Over the past 20 years I have cycled through Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, and most recently, Zoloft (for 6 months, 100 mg / day). Convinced the medicine was causing more harm than good, I began tapering under MD supervision 6 weeks ago. My MD dropped me from 100 mg / day to 50 mg/day for 3 weeks. Then to 25 mg /day for 2 weeks. Now to 12.5 mg /day (in first week of this). I have had some withdrawal symptoms - brain zaps, heightened emotion, feeling of dying, body pain - but these have largely moderated. I have read that this is much too fast of a taper. I am curious if I should reintroduce back to a higher does and taper more slowly, or stick with where I am for a good while. Any thoughts from this group are welcome. Thanks to all, and thank you for this forum. I was so happy to find it, and admire all of you fighters for staying with it.

[Carmie]

Hi WavyK, 

 

Welcome to SA. I’m sorry you are going through withdrawals. You have been tapering way too quickly, as you know. The recommendation is no more than 10% a month. I’m actually tapering about 4% every month and a half or so now.

 

A little bit of an updose might help, there are no guarantees though. Sometimes it doesn’t work, a few people have felt worse, but it seems like a lot of people have benefited from doing so, myself included. It’s the only thing that may help if you’ve tapered too quickly. 

 

I’ll ask the other moderaters what they suggest as regards the best amount to updose to. Please don’t taper anymore. 

 

Could you please fill in your drug signature too. Just go to the Read This First Section, there’s a thread there entitled “ Please Put Your Withdrawal History In Your Signature.” Thank you. 

 

What date did you go down to  12.5mg of Zoloft?

 

You said you started on Zoloft six months ago, but you were on quite a few other meds before that. What other medication were you on just before you started the Zoloft? How did you taper that? 

 

Are you on any other medications or supplements now? 

 

Please keep us updated as to how you’re doing, sending hugs🤗

[Songbird]

Hi Wavyk - your doctor's taper plan was way too fast.  For some people severe withdrawal doesn't hit straight away and I'm concerned you could be at high risk of severe problems from this rapid taper.  If you have only been at 12.5mg a few days and have enough sertraline , it could be a good idea to go back to your previous dose of 25mg and hold there for a good while to give your body a chance to catch up.  It's best to do this sooner rather than later, before your body has much time to react to the new dose - updosing later after severe withdrawal hits can be higher risk for adverse reactions.

 

Also, 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 allows us see your situation easily without having to read your topic 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.

 

Why were you convinced the drug was doing you more harm than good?  Were you having side effects?

 

 

 

 

[WavyK]

Many thanks for the kind responses Carmie and Songbird. I have added the signature (I think) - thank you for the suggestion. If it does not show up, I will try again. In response to your posts (and I am sorry if this is not the most efficient or clear way to respond - not sure if quoting helps or hurts):

 

(1) @Carmie - I went to 12.5 on Zoloft 5 days ago (after two weeks or so at 50 mg)  - this morning I went back to 25 mg. If other moderators have a suggestion on up-dosing, I am glad to hear all thoughts - I have learned this is much more tricky than I would have guessed.

 

(2) @Carmie - prior to Zoloft, I was on Celexa (40 mg) and Clonezepam (1 mg / day). I discontinued Clonezepam without tapering in January 2018. I tapered from Celexa over 4-6 weeks while introducing Zoloft per my physician's instruction. I did not notice any withdrawal symptoms (though given what I have read, I suppose some of the side-effects I attributed to Zoloft could have been withdrawal symptoms from Celexa). I do not take any supplements, but do take medication for blood pressure and cholesterol. 

 

(3) @Songbird - thank you - I have gone to 25 mg and plan to hold here for a while. As for why I think the meds are doing more harm for me than good right now - it is because of the side effects. Celexa stopped being effective for me, so we switched to Zoloft. Then I started sweating like crazy, gained more weight (I was already above a healthy weight, so this is problematic), and generally felt crummy. While I know that these meds help people, the fact that they can cause me so many side effects has me freaked out.  I am very confused by the literature -- I tend to think that forums like this one provide the real intelligence, and some of the medical literature is questionable (e.g. that withdrawal symptoms don't exist if one tapers for 4 weeks, and that antidepressants do not cause weight gain - I can personally debunk both of those even though multiple MD's have told me that).

 

Thank you both so very much for the kindness of reading my post and providing thoughtful responses.

 

 

[Songbird]

Thanks for creating your signature.  The Celexa likely pooped out - you were on a very high dose for quite a few years.  Sometimes switching meds can work okay for people, but some people find switches difficult as the new med doesn't always cover very well for the old one.  If you always felt "crummy" on the Zoloft, it's possible you may never completely stabilise on it, however it still should be tapered slowly to avoid severe withdrawal problems.  Since you've come down so rapidly from 100mg I would hold at 25mg and not taper again for a good long while.  If your doctor is currently assuming you'll be completely off soon, will you be able to keep getting Zoloft prescriptions so you don't run out?