Mr Toad: tapering sertraline

[Toad]

Hey everyone! I hope you are well! I'm a 26 yr old male in the process of withdrawing from sertraline. At my highest I was on 200mg, I have since come down to 75 mg. But I am struggling! I was wondering if you guys could offer the benefit of experience and maybe some encouragment. I have tried coming off before but I always hit this barrier. As soon as I drop below 100mg my breathing becomes very difficult. It is the physical side effect of anxiety even if I'm not anxious about anything in particular. I 'm also getting terrible sweating every now and again, which get's worse when I worry.So I sweat, worry I'm sweating and sweat some more! I am also ravenous! I just can't stop eating! I used to eat loads on the meds and have put loads of weight on, maybe 2-3 stone but I wasn't this hungry! Has anyone else had similar side effects. How did they steel themselves through and s there any outlook they can give me! All the best!

 

Mr Toad 

[mammaP]

Hi Mr Toad, welcome to SA, you need to stay where you are or even up your dose a little because you are suffering from withdrawal.  How long did it take you to get to 75? My guess is that it was rather fast, but don't worry, most of us have done that and ended up here wondering what on earth  is happening!   As you have had problems under 100mg I think I would go back to 100 to stabilise then restart when symptoms have been minimal for a month or so, but that depends on how fast you have tapered to 75

 

We recommend tapering no more than 10% of the current dose with at least 4 weeks between cuts to allow the brain to catch up and adjust to the lower dose. 

Here is the topic for tapering sertraline 

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1441-tips-for-tapering-off-zoloft-sertraline/ 

 

The 3 KIS, very important read for tapering... http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6632-the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable/

 

It would help if you can add your drug history to your signature, here is how to do that.   http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 Those are the basics, others will be along to add their thoughts and expertise, I'm not too great myself right now and can't concentrate so have probably missed things! 

[Songbird]

I have tried coming off before but I always hit this barrier.

 

If you have had previous unsuccessful taper attempts, your best bet is to try a much slower taper, i.e. smaller dose drops with longer holds in between.  As MammaP said, drops of no more than 10% of each dose, waiting at least 4 weeks until stable before dropping again.  If you are really struggling at 75mg then you may be best to updose, say to 100mg, and then wait at least a few weeks to stabilise.  Once stable, you could restart your taper, going a lot slower.  In general, the slower you taper, the milder the symptoms.  I think it is better to take longer to get off the drug with bearable symptoms than try to tough it out feeling like a complete wreck.

[Toad]

Hello Mamma P and Songbird! Thank you for your responses and hank you so much for moving my post Mamma P, there is a lot of kindness here on this site!

 

I started sertraline about 18 months ago. Dropped down to 100mg 6months ago and tried to go lower but found I couldn't breath! It took me about three weeks to get from 100 to 75 with the aid of an exacto knife and I have now been on 75 for a further 3 weeks! 

 

I find it amazing to think how difficult i found it coming on the medication. Life was a living hell for a long time all I wanted to do was give up and not take it. But now it's my safety/comfort zone and I can't breath without out (literally!). The body has an incredible capacity to adapt and that gives me a lot of hope because I know there will come a day when I'm off and taking a pill will make me feel terrible again. It's just a battle to get there! Funny how noone warns you how hard it is going to be to come off tese drugs once your body gets used to them in orthodox psychiatry!

 

How are you two getting on? 

 

Mamma P you said you weren't too great at the moment. Something I have been doing recently which has encouraged me is to to map my anxiety/depression/withdrawal difficulties out on a chart, out of 100. Every week I mark a cross, and what you begin to see is that on avergae, even though it may be very slow, the anxiety IS coming down. I then drew an imaginary line through all of my previous marks and extended it which gave me a rough idea of how long it would take me to stabilise. Seeing that line cross zero is very inspiring! I wouldn't be able to tell you were struggling. you have been really helpful! 

 

How are you Songbird?

 

I will update my signature-it's a very good idea. Best 

 

Jack 

[Songbird]

Thank you for asking, I am doing pretty well on the whole, as I am doing such tiny drops.  In general, the slower you taper, the easier it tends to be.  I think most of us would never have started taking these meds if we'd had any idea they would be so difficult to get off.

[Toad]

Since dropping my dose in sertraline I'm experiencing hunger all the time! Has anyone else experienced this and how did they cope? I have already put on a lot of weight from the medication I don't want to put more on coming off! 

 

Best 

 

Toad 

[Petunia]

I moved the above post to your own introduction thread here. Please add information and updates about your changing circumstances, and ask questions here.

 

We have a discussion topic you may wish to read and add to:

 

Increased Appetite?

[Altostrata]

Welcome, MrToad.

 

Please read the links mammaP gave you above.

 

Psychiatric drugs often disturb the blood sugar mechanism. Are you getting regular gentle exercise? This can help regulate it.