moonlily: Sertraline is MEAN, Tapering Tips?

[moonlily]

Hello! I'm 25 and new here. I came to get some feedback, educate myself, and empathize with many of you here. In July 2021, I was prescribed 50 mg Sertraline (Zoloft) after a year of having anxiety attacks everyday. After a day I decided to take 25mg every other day because 50 mg was way way too strong. I didn't have any issues starting the medication besides the occasionally wave of anxiety but overall there were no setbacks. I decided to come of it in January 2022 after doing more therapy, mindfulness techniques, and working out. My doctor recommended me to taper off by skipping days every 2 weeks, even after I explained to him how sensitive I was to drugs in general. He ignored my apprehension and tried to reassure me to do it his way. Big mistake!!!  I started tapering:

 

January 2022 1st 2 weeks -> 25 mg every other day

January 2022 last 2 weeks -> 25 mg every other 2 days

February 2022 1st 2 weeks -> 25 mg every other 3 days

February 2022 last 2 weeks -> 25 mg every other 4 days

March 2022 1st week -> 25 mg every 5 days

 

During this entire time I've had terrible withdrawals: severe brain fog (I can barely think and remember things), muscle fasciculations, chills, occasional brain zaps, and burning sensations throughout my whole body. I feel like an electrical fence being charged with my brain constantly sparking and twitching. I expressed these withdrawal symptoms to my doctor, he acted so shocked and didn't know what else to do, which I am very upset by, as I told him his tapering was very fast. He has recommended me to see a psychiatrist who won't be able to see me until 2 months from now so I'm on standby wondering what I should do. I have been doing research about tapering off of sertraline. During the 2nd week of March I went back to taking Sertraline 25 mg every other day to stabilize my body. After my body stabilizes (I hope!) I will then try tapering off 5% every 4 weeks. Does this sound like a good idea? Overall tapering has been debilitating in my life and I'm seriously praying I don't feel this way forever. I've been taking Ashwagandha and Now Food's Mind Focus supplements everyday to ease the withdrawal for now, if anyone has any other ideas it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance💙

 

[getofflex]

Hello, and welcome to SA.  We are a volunteer-run community of people who have been or are getting off of psychiatric drugs.  You have come to the right place.  I can very much understand why you are upset with your doctor.  Did s/he know of your every other day dosing schedule?  We do not suggest people ever take psych meds on an every other day, every third day, etc dosing schedule.  This causes uneven levels of the drug in the blood stream, and tends to confuse and destabilize the nervous system.  It is very important to take the same dose each and every day.  Let me explain some basic principles, then I will get to your specific situation with suggestions. 

 

Can you please give us specific information in your signature about your drug history for all drugs you are on and have been on, especially for the past 18-24 months?  It would be especially helpful to have the details of your drugs in a concise vertical list (no symptoms), only drug names, specific dates (as best you can say for example early March if you don't recall the day) and dosages of each medication decrease or increase.  Use this format:

 

Drug name: date, dose, date, dose, date, dose…

Drug name: date, dose, date, dose, date, dose…

Etcetera

 

Please read the link below for instructions.  This will allow us to give you the best guidance.  

 

How to List Drug History in Signature

 

Here is some information about how these drugs actually work.   This explains why we get symptoms from going off of these medications, and why it's so important to taper slowly and carefully, and be very cautious about changing our doses: 

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

 

This helps you understand what withdrawal syndrome is: 

 

Video on Recovery from Psych Drugs

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

 

Tapering is best done extremely slowly, and we generally taper by 10% of the current dose no more than once every 4 weeks, so that the reduction becomes exponentially smaller.

 

 Why Taper by 10% of my Dosage  

 

Tips for Tapering Zoloft

 

Here is a link with checklists of common WD symptoms: 

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen Withdrawal Symptom Checklists

 

 

Here are some techniques to cope with symptoms: 

 

Non Drug Ways to Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Stability is really important when we are tapering off psych meds.  Please read the link about stability:

 

Keep It Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

 

We don't suggest many supplements, but 2 that many of us find helpful are magnesium and omega-3 fish oil. Here are the links for info about those. It is suggested to add one at a time, and start with a low dose to see how it affects you. 

Magnesium

Omega 3 Fish Oil

 

My suggestion to you is, instead of taking 25 mg Zoloft every other day, please take 12.5 mg every day, at the same time of day each day.  No skipping or missing doses.  I assume you are taking a tablet?  You can get a tablet splitter at a local pharmacy to split your tablet.  It sounds like your brain is pretty unhappy at this time, since you describe it as "sparking and twitching".  It is important to try and help it to settle down.  Please try and take it easy and be as gentle on yourself as you can.  Stay on this dose for a good long time, to achieve stability.  I would give it a good 6 to 9 months or so.  See how you feel.  Avoid any other mood altering substances (pot, alcohol, etc).   

 

Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.  

[getofflex]

Here is more information about the sparking and twitching of your brain.  We call this brain zaps.  

 

Brain Zaps

 

"I've been taking Ashwagandha and Now Food's Mind Focus supplements everyday to ease the withdrawal for now, if anyone has any other ideas it would be greatly appreciated!"

 

We suggest you stick with magnesium and omega-3 for supplements, and avoid the rest, unless your have sleep issues, melatonin is usually fine.  Even supplements can have a bad effect on the nervous system of people in withdrawal, because the nervous system is usually extremely sensitive.  Please see this link: 

 

Supplement, Vitamins, etc.

Edited March 15, 2022 by getofflex