Whistlebiscuit - 0mg Zoloft since 1 October 2024

[Whistlebiscuit]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks so much for all the information, support, and care provided on this site. I decided to sign up as I am 3 weeks post 0mg Zoloft (tapered from 50mg over 8 months after 9 years) and am feeling pretty wobbly. My taper was slow from my doctor's perspective, but in hindsight too rapid given the guidelines provided here. My physical withdrawals (brain zaps, fatigue, tingling, headaches) have pretty much resolved, but I am having a hard time emotionally and psychologically, with daily intrusive thoughts, anxiety spikes, ahedonia, emotional lability, irritability, crying spells, loss of confidence, and a general feeling of not being myself. This is making life very hard for me and my husband. The good news is that the sexual blunting I experienced on Zoloft has lifted, and in a way, my emotional lability does seem to make me more empathetic to others.

 

I'm keen to learn more about how to stabilise my nervous system to give it time to heal. At present, I find that spending time with my pets and in nature helps, and that academic work and social isolation doesn't. All through my taper I have been taking Theracurmin (curcumin supplement) and 1000mg fish oil daily, though I plan to double my fish oil intake and eventually try magnesium glycinate. Any advice or suggestions about how to deal with intrusive thoughts and low mood is very welcome. 

 

Thanks for reading, and very best wishes to you all,

Whistlejacket

[Emonda]

Welcome @Whistlebiscuit

 

So the moderators can best help you, please complete your drug signature by following these instructions. Adding a signature ensures your drug history appears at the bottom of every post, making it more efficient for those trying to assist. This link should go directly to your own signature: Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

Reading your info behind the scenes, I gather you jumped from 5mg to 0mg on 1 Oct 24. Is that right? If so, that is a large dose to jump to 0mg from.

 

4 hours ago, Whistlebiscuit said:

My physical withdrawals (brain zaps, fatigue, tingling, headaches) have pretty much resolved, but I am having a hard time emotionally and psychologically, with daily intrusive thoughts, anxiety spikes, ahedonia, emotional lability, irritability, crying spells, loss of confidence, and a general feeling of not being myself.

 

These all sound like typical WD symptoms: Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF).

 

4 hours ago, Whistlebiscuit said:

I'm keen to learn more about how to stabilise my nervous system to give it time to heal.

 

I'd start by reading these two links:

About Reinstating and Stabilizing to Reduce Withdrawal Symptoms

Kindling

If this is something you are open to, this should be discussed here further. It is best to reinstate very low and see how you go.

Recovery from ADs and tapering is not linear. There are good days and not-so-good days/weeks/months. This is referred to as the Windows and waves pattern of stabilization.

4 hours ago, Whistlebiscuit said:

Any advice or suggestions about how to deal with intrusive thoughts and low mood is very welcome. 

These two links are worth reading:

Emotional Spirals

Non-drug coping strategies

4 hours ago, Whistlebiscuit said:

All through my taper I have been taking Theracurmin (curcumin supplement) and 1000mg fish oil daily, though I plan to double my fish oil intake and eventually try magnesium glycinate.

 

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

Magnesium

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

Avoid alcohol.

Once again, welcome to S.A.

Emonda