taperthatkeespsgiving: Zoloft update- 14 months off

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Hi everyone! 

 

I am a 26 y/o female who was put on Zoloft at age 20 in 2016. I originally was put on the medication for stress and a suicide attempt (that happened a few days after I was put on Lexapro, but that's a story for another day). In 2021 I decided I wanted to be free of the Zoloft and live a med free life to focus on other health issues- extreme fatigue, stomach and constipation issues, and vision decreasing. Oh man I thought it would be so easy (as previously I had gotten off adderall after using for 7 years with barely any side effects). At first I felt fine tapering off the Zoloft- I started in Nov 2021 and got from 50 mg to 25 by Dec 2021, by Jan 1 2022 I was fully off the meds. Oh and let me mention my psychiatrist advised this schedule was fine lol. 

 

The past year has been soooooooooo hard for me. I have never felt like this in my life. I first started noticing random memories of childhood come up and thought huh weird, then the brain fog, the anxiety, and the tiredness kicked in. And then the awful depression that I've never experienced like this before. I am still fighting but starting to feel lost and worried mainly about the low moods. My mood can go from happy and ok to severely depressed in a matter of minutes which really scares me. 

 

I write this post because I am considering going back on a LOW dose of Zoloft to see if I can get some kind of relief as the past 14 months have been quite literally awful. What would be the recommended reinstated dose? I would want to go in super low so I don't have to go through this ever again. Any thoughts super appreciated! 

 

TIMELINE: 

 

2012-2018- adderall 20 mg

2015-2016- lexapro 20 mg

2016 Nov- 2021 Nov Zoloft 50 mg 

2021 Dec- Zoloft 25 mg 

2022 Jan 1- med free 

2022 April- 10 mg Zoloft (did this for about 14 days and then stopped because I thought it didn't help) 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by manymoretodays
name to topic title

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

 

Hi everyone! 

 

I am a 26 y/o female who was put on Zoloft at age 20 in 2016. I originally was put on the medication for stress and a suicide attempt (that happened a few days after I was put on Lexapro, but that's a story for another day). In 2021 I decided I wanted to be free of the Zoloft and live a med free life to focus on other health issues- extreme fatigue, stomach and constipation issues, and vision decreasing. Oh man I thought it would be so easy (as previously I had gotten off adderall after using for 7 years with barely any side effects). At first I felt fine tapering off the Zoloft- I started in Nov 2021 and got from 50 mg to 25 by Dec 2021, by Jan 1 2022 I was fully off the meds. Oh and let me mention my psychiatrist advised this schedule was fine lol. 

 

The past year has been soooooooooo hard for me. I have never felt like this in my life. I first started noticing random memories of childhood come up and thought huh weird, then the brain fog, the anxiety, and the tiredness kicked in. And then the awful depression that I've never experienced like this before. I am still fighting but starting to feel lost and worried mainly about the low moods. My mood can go from happy and ok to severely depressed in a matter of minutes which really scares me. 

 

I write this post because I am considering going back on a LOW dose of Zoloft to see if I can get some kind of relief as the past 14 months have been quite literally awful. What would be the recommended reinstated dose? I would want to go in super low so I don't have to go through this ever again. Any thoughts super appreciated! 

 

TIMELINE: 

 

2012-2018- adderall 20 mg

2015-2016- lexapro 20 mg

2016 Nov- 2021 Nov Zoloft 50 mg 

2021 Dec- Zoloft 25 mg 

2022 Jan 1- med free 

2022 April- 10 mg Zoloft (did this for about 14 days and then stopped because I thought it didn't help) 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @taperthatkeepsongiving

 

What are your current symptoms? Are they better at any particular times of day? How has your symptom pattern changed in the last 6 months? How's your sleep?

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Hi! Current symptoms are: depression, lack of motivation, crying spells, intrusive thoughts, panic attacks and akathisia which leads to suicidal ideation. I would say they normally come later in the day. In the morning I am fine, but as the afternoon comes the depression gets unbearable. 

 

I would say the past 6 months has been pretty much the same symptom wise with the intrusive thoughts and lack of motivation, but only in the past week has the akathisia gotten unbearable.

 

Sleep is good and energy is way improved since coming off. Thank you for your help ❤️ 

[Altostrata]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:32 PM, taperthatkeepsongiving said:

Sleep is good and energy is way improved since coming off.

 

Appears you have seen some improvement since going off your drugs January 1.

 

The other symptoms are typical of protracted withdrawal syndrome. What do you mean by "akathisia"? How has this changed in the last week?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Just to give an update. I ended up reinstating at 6.75 mg and got up to 12.5 mg. I did pretty well on the 12.5 mg but I was still experiencing major depression. Oct 2023 my psychiatrist recommended going up to 25 mg. I have now been on 25 mg for the past 4 weeks and the anxiety has vanished but my depression is worse. My suicidal ideation and hopelessness are worse. At this point Im unsure of what to do as the thought of changing the dose again petrifies me. Im hoping that if I hold out on this dose I will adjust and feel better. Any advice welcome 

[Altostrata]

No further discussion until you put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

I have updated my signature 

[Altostrata]

What is your question related to tapering or withdrawal symptoms?

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Would you advise I hold at the 25 mg since I reinstated almost 2 months ago? I’ve contemplated going up even higher on the medication just because the symptoms are so unbearable at times and I’m in such a deep depression 

[Doctorsrcrap]

Hiya. Just wanted to wish you luck on your journey. 

It could be that maybe you have reinstated too high and you would have settled at a smaller reinstatement. With these drugs more is not better. 

I'm sure alto will suggest whst to do next as I'm not a mod. 

I hope you can find some relief soon 

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Thank you so much for your response! Appreciate the support 

[Altostrata]

On 11/26/2023 at 8:29 AM, taperthatkeepsongiving said:

Just to give an update. I ended up reinstating at 6.75 mg and got up to 12.5 mg. I did pretty well on the 12.5 mg but I was still experiencing major depression. Oct 2023 my psychiatrist recommended going up to 25 mg. I have now been on 25 mg for the past 4 weeks and the anxiety has vanished but my depression is worse. My suicidal ideation and hopelessness are worse.

 

The anxiety probably was a withdrawal symptom.

 

On 12/15/2023 at 4:06 PM, taperthatkeepsongiving said:

Would you advise I hold at the 25 mg since I reinstated almost 2 months ago? I’ve contemplated going up even higher on the medication just because the symptoms are so unbearable at times and I’m in such a deep depression 

 

What do you mean by "depression"?

 

You seem to have a strong belief that more antidepressant lessens depression.

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Thank you for your response. The depression symptoms are hopelessness, suicidal ideation, violent intrusive thoughts, inability to feel pleasure. I am just trying to get to a more stable place where I am not scared for my life daily. I just feel stuck and unsure of what to do next. I am not sure if more medication will lessen my symptoms so I can stabilize or make me worse off. I just feel so scared right now and not sure where to turn