Sc995: Wish I’d I never took sertraline

[Sc995]

I’m a 26 year old male from England was very confident and optimistic before setraline, I have had ocd and anxiety since about 17 and have been able to get over the anxiety through therapy, I still was suffering with ocd and lockdown only made it worse I went to see a private doctor in April 2021 who happened to prescribe me setraline as it had barely no side effects (funny joke) I agreed to take without any research as he was a doctor and we’ve been made to believe doctors are always right, I began taking setraline which made my ocd worse then a bit better as time went on and made my anxiety a little less than what it was which was not much as it was basically gone before setraline, I had an arrangement of side effects while on the setraline one of the major ones being suicidal thoughts which I had never had before , in December 2021 I did a rapid taper from 200mg to 50mg in a month and then went for from 50mg to nothing and then came on the withdrawals brain zaps, fatigue, depression (which I never had before setraline), suicidal thoughts, increased ocd worse than before setraline, increased anxiety to worse than before setraline also, Anhedonia never had this before setraline either, I am now 5 months in to withdrawals and I am hoping to come out the other side at some point in the near future thought it seems like a long journey ahead, but also don’t know whether re-instating and then tapering properly would help,

open to comments on the Matter 👍

[getofflex]

Hello, and welcome to SA.  We are a volunteer-run community of people who have been or are getting off of psychiatric drugs.  I'm glad you found us.  How is your sleep?  How is your eating?  Are you able to function in your day to day activities, like job, caring for family, etc?   The symptoms your describe sound like withdrawal from psychiatric drugs. 

 

On 6/7/2022 at 11:24 AM, Sc995 said:

I had an arrangement of side effects while on the setraline one of the major ones being suicidal thoughts which I had never had before

What other side effects did you have while you were on sertraline besides suicidal thoughts?  We can possibly talk about a reinstatement, but first need to know more about the side effects, which could indicate an adverse reaction to the drug.  

 

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 important information about how these drugs actually work.  This explains why we get symptoms from going off of these medications.

 

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

 

 

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

 

When we know more, we can give you specific suggestions about possibly reinstating in the future.  Please know that as long as you take proper care of yourself, you will recover this.  The keys are patience, and time.  

[RachelSusan]

@Sc995  Hello, I am not a moderator, so I won't be giving you any suggestions on what to do. I did however want to say hello. I am someone that was on setraline, went off too fast, reinstated and then slowly got off. I had many of the physical symptoms you described and some others as well. It was indeed horrible but the good news is that one can find relief and return to a normal state. I want to send my best wishes in what must be a very difficult time for you.

 

Rachel

[Twinmom]

Hi - I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Also here just to say I'm on the other side having recovered from being prescribed sertraline for probably the better part of a year before going off. Had so many bad adverse reactions, and went off too fast, but didn't go back on, and got through. I wish you the best on your healing journey. Hope you get lots of great advice here.

[Sc995]

@RachelSusan   @Twinmom

thanks for the messages, I appreciate it, could you possibly tell me how long it took for you too withdraw completely and did you just feel less symptoms one day or did it happen over a prolonged period?

[RachelSusan]

@Sc995

 

I went off the first time in June or July of 2016.  I did a sudden stop of the Zoloft and was very ill with lots of awful symptoms.  I reinstated and it took me a while to reach some sort of stable state, but I still had symptoms, they just weren't as bad as when I went cold turkey.   I would say I had symptoms the first two or three years of tapering although all through that period I did have a slow diminishing of those symptoms, they weren't nearly as bad as at the beginning. So yes, recovery from the symptoms were over a prolonged period but it did get better.  If I did too big of a drop then the symptoms would be bad again and it would take a few weeks for things to settle down. The final year, 2021,  was great.  I had very few symptoms and they were so minor it didn't really bother me.  I completely stopped the taper on Jan 1, 2022. I haven't had any symptoms or problems since I stopped.

[Kaervin]

On 6/7/2022 at 12:24 PM, Sc995 said:

but also don’t know whether re-instating and then tapering properly would help,

It seemed like sertraline was causing you a lot of problems while on it. Reinstating this late would probably give you startup symptoms on top of the symptoms you are already feeling. Plus there is no guarantee you will get relief or have a paradoxical reaction to it.

 

The depression and suicidal thoughts were the worst part of withdrawal for me. My brain was suicidal but my spirit wanted to fight and live. 4 months into my benzo recovery my mental state went downhill fast and I had a horrible several weeks where I fought tooth and nail to overcome the dark deep despair that came over me. Then just like that, I came into a window and was so overjoyed. 

 

Make sure you utilize the information/links that were posted above. They will help. The more educated you are about this ordeal the less scary it will be. It's all about passing time too. Do your best to distract yourself, whether it be walks or watching silly cartoons on TV. Accept that what you are experiencing is normal for a brain repairing itself.

 

It is scary now, but you will come out of this ordeal a lot stronger than when you went in. My first withdrawal back in 2011/2012 cured me of anxiety induced panic attacks as overcoming that made me lose fear over normal anxiety symptoms. Never had one since. That is something no med was able to accomplish.