Naturelover: Switch to new medication timeline + taper questions

[Naturelover]

I am unsure what to do and looking for advice/suggestions. 

I started 25 mg of Zoloft April 2023 after feeling like I wouldn’t be able to sustain my liquid Prozac taper/ a PCP convincing me to give another SSRI a try for anxiety.  Increased Zoloft to 50 mg last month. Side effects have gotten worse. My PCP suggested decreasing Zoloft to 25 mg over the next week and then starting 5 mg Lexapro (I was on Lexapro years ago and my side effects weren’t terrible). I guess my questions are- Is that too quick of a taper off Zoloft and then onto Lexapro (I just don’t trust that PCPs know what they’re doing with these meds anymore…)? And then thinking down the line- will it totally throw my body out of whack if I start the Lexapro 5 mg, get adjusted to it, and then begin a gradual taper in a few months? My thinking is that I’d rather be on Lexapro with less side effects while gradually tapering versus having these horrible side effects from Zoloft and then sticking out a 1 year+ taper on it. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by manymoretodays
name to topic title

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @Naturelover

 

We offer peer support for people who want to reduce or go off their drugs. We don't provide advice about drug switches, that's your doctor's job.

Every antidepressant switch carries the risk that the second drug will not substitute for the first drug and you'll get fairly intense withdrawal symptoms.

 

It appears that you reduced from 10mg Prozac to 5mg Prozac -- too much of a reduction -- and got withdrawal symptoms, then your prescriber helpfully talked you into a different drug, which failed, and now is talking you into a third drug. At what point do you want to give up on drug switches?

 

Why do you want to switch to escitalopram, a completely different drug, when you can taper Zoloft down to a tolerable level? Or go back to Prozac 10mg?

 

That you don't trust your doctor about this switch from Zoloft to escitalopram should tell you something.