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Hello, first of all, excuse me for my English, which is not my language. I’m a 50 years old man, long term SSRI/SNRI user who is trying to survive after a lot of mistakes made with this poisons. First SSRI was prescribed me in 1998: a psychiatrist decided to solve my panic attacks, anxiety and fears to be sick with a 20 mg of paroxetine. My journey with SSRI began: I took paroxetine from 1998 to 2008; then escitalopram from 2008 to 2010; venlafaxine XR from 2011 to 2016. During this period, 3 or 4 times I attempted to stop but after six months free I reinstated the drug; my doctor said that the difficulty to stop was a problem of mine because “SSRI don’t give dependence” and anyway said “if necessary you can use it for all the life”. For sure from 2006 for me was IMPOSSIBLE to decrease paroxetine under 10 mg!!! From 2017 drugs seem not work as in the past: my doctor tries firstly with escitalopram (from december 2017 to august 2018), sertraline (from november 2018 to july 2019) and finally vortioxetine (november 2019 to february 2020). On february the 6th I took for last time vortioxetine which was giving to me just problems More than nine months have passed since then during which I experienced extremely heavy symptoms that reduced my mental energies and threw me into a profound discomfort that makes it increasingly difficult to carry out my normal activities. Some of the symptoms are those that I have already known in the past (although they present themselves in a more severe way): agitated anxiety; insomnia (I have occasionally taken xanax which fortunately I have used very rarely in these 20 years) and sudden and agitated awakenings; obsessive search for information and explanations about my malaise (via the internet). Others are new: an unbearable mood swings; a certain emotional lability (I get very easily moved and angry); physical symptoms such as fatigue with pain in particular in the legs and frequent palpitations. In the background then there are distressing thoughts for the future: evolution of my malaise (fear of irreversible damage to my nervous system induced by prolonged use of drugs). What seemed surprising was requent change in symptoms from week to week. At the end I found this site and with it a little hope: I have learned many things, even about my mistakes, and discovered that I’m not alone. Now I’m just surviving and my days are (very) often hard to pass, but there are moments (1 or 2 hours in a day) when I feel this journey through the hell is a long and necessary way to live again, to see the stars again. My long journey to healing has started, and I hope you would support me with your advice.

Hi all, my story is so very long but the short story is i was on zoloft 50 mg for 15 years (only drug i was ever on). I tried multiple times to get off but would get severe discontinuation syndrome each time so i thought i just had to stay on it for life. I will go into those symptoms if you ask. Anyways about 4 years ago i developed benign fasiculations and resting tremor. It took seeing multiple docs and finally a second neurologist and he said this is common with zoloft. So i had to get off it but i was scared to death because of the severe discontinuation that i would compare to heroin withdrawal. So i was so scared i never went back to the doctor and thought maybe i can live with BFS and the tremor. But then my neurological symptoms got worse and led to parkinsons which was drug induced and dyskinesia. The facial grimacing was way more annoying than the fasiculations and it affected my blood pressure too, thats how parkinsons works, it affects the autonomic system so i had bad orthostatic hypotension and that was dibilitating but somehow i pushed through. I had many more issues, if you ask i can write about them. Anyways this time i was ready to get off zoloft so i go to the doctor and he says "wow you've been on it for 15 years" and i thought "WOW you idiot. Your office is the one who has been prescribing this to me all these years". They never once told me to make an appt if i hadnt been there in a few years, they just kept refilling it. They should require patients to have biyearly appts and check them for neurological signs and if the patient doesnt make an appt than they should not get a refill. I am very mad at my poor healthcare and management (total lack thereof) but again my story is so long i can write it if you ask. Anyways my doc said to wean off over like 2 months. That was too fast so i did it on my on and weaned off 50 mg over a 6 month period and for the first time i did not get discontinuation syndrome! I was scared to death but i did it and was shocked i did not get discontinuation. Weaning that slow is the answer. I only had some mild things like some mood swings, swollen lymph nodes which always happens when i wean off for some reason, headaches, i can go into detail if you ask. My neurological disorders are also going away. I am 20 days off zoloft and feel great and i would say my neurological issues are like 80% better and i hope to recover completely with time (i might have permanent damage). Anyways i am posting because i am very angry at the healthcare community for their lack of knowledge on how zoloft, though rare, does cause dyskinesia, BFS, and parkinsonism. Docs do not seem to know to look for these signs and put a stop to it before irreversible damage occurs which is a disability. They are too freely handing out these meds to your average person with basic stress that can actually manage without meds like seeking CBT, meditation, yoga, qigong, etc. i am one of those type of people. Patients are never checked up on on these meds. I know personally from working in gastroenterology for years that almost everyone is on anxiety or antidepressants and that to me is a crime because every single one of them are having unexplained problems with a lot of expensive negative testing and they are frustrated but no one is relaying it is the medication causing it and how imperitive it is to get off it. I am against all these meds (unless the patient has true mental disorder like bipolar or is in a stage of suicidal ideation etc). I am just very angry. For me, to address that, i want and need to raise awareness but i feel no one would believe my story because it is so rare but i think more common than we know because it is being unreported and doctors dont know enough to spot tardive dyskinesia etc so it takes years. Anyone else with a story like mine?

Hi there. I came off of sertraline three months ago. I was on 25mg for ten years. My doc told me to skip a day, the. Two days, then three, then four- so I did this for six weeks. I was also on low dose naltrexone at the time at 1.5 mg, I’ve since come off of that too, when I tried to up the dose to 4.5mg and had intense depression and suicidal thinking. After coming off I have had intense depression and mood swings. I’ve played around with other pharmaceuticals since coming off sert and I feel as though my brain is so out of balance now. I have all the dates and amounts in my signature. I tried Wellbutrin but it only intensified the depression and suicidal thoughts, so I stopped after three days, and did this twice. I also tried gabapentin but this was a nightmare- while I felt high on it, it cause immediately withdrawals and also intensified the depression. I feel as though I’ve been in sertraline withdrawal with has made me adversely react to all other meds.

Hi! I just started to taper and I am in my second week of reducing from 20mg escitalopram. I already cut off 10%. What I find confusing: 1. Does it matter if I just take on ONE randomly chosen day 10% less (which I did already) or do I have to distribute the 10% cut throughout the 2 weeks? I can't see how the latter would be possible, given the infinitesimal amount that needs to be reduced this way, but I thought I will ask anyway :)> 2. Whilst I am aware of the huge variability in individual histories, I wonder if anyone here has been experiencing gradual tapering (as advised per medication here) and had withdrawal effects that were bearable and short-lived? In other words, if one does it right, generally speaking, and assuming that one is only on one antidepressant and all other variables are more or less constant, does it help avoid the worse of withdrawal effects? This is something that I am confused about. It is important for me, if any data, anecdotal or scientific exists in regard to this matter. Where can I look for this kind of information? Many thanks.

Hello, I'm a mum to my 13 year old son and have gradually come to the conclusion, that most of my health complications are due to psychiatric drugs, most recently sertraline. I've been prescribed a few in the last 10 years and no one warned me of dependency issues. I found out by researching with other patients. I would like to be able to give up work but can't afford to. I have been gradually reducing since 2020 and have been having terrible low mood including hormonal issues. Sadly I feel the medication has caused fertility issues now and I'm now 44 so it's too late. I hope this group helps me to keep going as the last few days have been awful. I have watched and researched into psychiatric withdrawal and how to taper and really want to come off this drug. I've had lots of therapy which helped but the medications caused far too many side effects.

Hello everyone. Nice to e-meet you. I'm a 35 year old male who started taking Sertraline 50mg in 2016 after a bad period of work stress and bullying. The medication definitely worked - my low mood, anxiety and panic attacks all stopped and I got better. I never intended to take the medication for so long, but I failed to stop it 3 or 4 times over the years. Each time I failed because of unpleasant side effects, particularly stress and feelings of deep sadness. However, I stopped again about 8 weeks ago after a gradual and slow taper over a year, each time waiting for the brain zaps to resolve before further adjustments. I felt like I was in a good place to try and stop about 8 weeks ago. I managed the waves of sadness and dark thoughts with exercise and meditation, and mostly kept them at bay. I can cope with the brain zaps, mood fluctuations, hot flushes and occasional akathesia. But what is really frightening me is the brain fog and lack of mental clarity. I'm coming towards the end of a PhD, and need my mind to work for writing and giving presentations. The work is intellectually taxing and did used to be interesting. But now i find I'm struggling to read properly - the words keep getting jumbled up, like I've just developed dyslexia. My short term memory is poor. And the computer programming work / writing takes me a long time and causes me headaches because of how hard I have to think to get through the mental fog. I also have a toddler at home who needs my time and attention, and I'm very frightened that I'm never going to get the person I used to be back. In six months time I finish the phd and return to work as a doctor, which will be hard, tiring, stressful and will need me to have a working brain. I think I'm here because I need to know that I haven't permanently lost my mind and therefore my livelihood. I need to hear from someone that the mental fog will slowly dissipate and get better. Thank you, Random Forest.

Hi there, I'm planning ahead for my taper from Sertaline (previous 3.5 year hell from venlaflaxine) I'm just wondering what peoples views were on shaving/weighing tablets VS dissolving in water and reducing??? Which is more accurate and less time consuming? Thanks RebekahJoy 2015 1.5 years venlaflaxine 3.5 years tapering off 2023-present Sertaline

I would like to say hello and thank this website for giving me hope. I have spent the last few days reading a lot of the posts and have found them to be full of information and great advice. The success stories are wonderful to read. I have never been in a medical situation like this and I was feeling lost and alone until I found Surviving Antidepressants. I was put on Zoloft (50 mg then upped to 100mg) in February 2016 due to depression over a long-term illness that at that time was still un-diagnosed. I got a diagnosis for my illness in April of 2016. I was hospitalized for that illness both in April and March and it was eventually brought under control. Once I got home from the hospital (both times) I was very weak and I had very confused thinking. I had multiple at-home treatments and medications to keep track of. Somewhere in there I messed up my Zoloft and either went cold turkey or was only taking it intermittently, but did not realize it at the time. Starting in May and ramping up in June I had all sorts of symptoms, which nobody in the medical field could figure out, including me. I was put on Gabapentin (600mg then upped to 900mg) to help with the symptoms. My symptoms included headaches, nausea, feeling hot and sweating but having a low body temperature, as well as the feeling of internal tremors in arms and legs, and actual external tremors. I also had jerky arm movements. I had what I call “vertigo light”, the whole room didn’t spin, just the floor moved when I tried to walk; I felt like I was drunk. I had brain zaps, motion sickness, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, and pressure in the ears like when flying on a plane. My memory was also bad. After endless nights of searching the Internet with my symptoms I realized I had withdrawal. Counting the actual amount of pills in the bottle and looking at the day it was prescribed confirmed that I had not been taking my medication. Once I realized what was going on I contacted my psychiatrist and I went back on at 50mg, which was twelve days ago. A dosage that high might be a mistake after reading about “reinstating” here on this sight, I don’t know yet. Since reinstating the brain zaps and vertigo have disappeared, and the other symptoms have gone down in intensity, however I am getting them more frequently. I’m now getting them every day, for at least a few hours and sometimes all day. Before going back on Zoloft they were really brutal but only for a few hours at a time, none of this all day stuff. Klonopin seems to help however my psychiatrist has suggested that I use it sparingly, he said that the Gabapentin should be helping with the symptoms. By the way, I feel I have an excellent psychiatrist. He did warn me when he put me on Zoloft not to go off of it without talking to him first and that there was tapering involved. He also responds to my frequent and desperate e-mails on a timely basis. I do recognize though that I need to be proactive when it comes to my health. This is my first time with a drug in the SSRI class. At this moment my goal is to stabilize. Eventually I would like to get off, but right now I just want the physical symptoms to go away. By the way, the depression, which was acute in February, seems to have disappeared, both while on and off the Zoloft. I am open to opinions, questions, and suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Hi all, I was recently put on sertraline (50 mg) by my family doctor/GP for anxiety (mostly health anxiety and OCD). The first pill I took was 9/29/2023 and I immediately got strange symptoms. Had a panic attack, which I had not had in many months, only a few hours after my first dose. I kept taking the pills for 4 days total so that my last pill was on 10/2/2023. I called my GP and was instructed to stop taking them due to the side effects. I am so nauseous I can barely eat, low on electrolytes, having crazy diarrhea, and having waves of rolling panic attacks. I am also having muscle twitching, heart palpitations... the works. I don't feel stable at all and was not bad off when I started the sertraline. It is worse in the evenings, but I feel like I am constantly in fight or flight. Last night, on 10/7/2023 (so 5 days after my last 50 mg pill) I ended up in the ER. Had a massive panic attack, a super elevated blood pressure (140/106 at the max), low resting heart rate (dropped to the 50s) and had the worst headache of my life. I am 32, female, and have no long-term health issues beyond my medical anxiety. Can this all be related to the sertraline? I am taking ativan to help when things get at their 'worst', but the symptoms are not subsiding. They started when I took them and are just getting worse it seems...or at least not better. But I only took 4 50 mg pills I am so fearful this will be permanent. I am going to a psychiatric help center tomorrow to see what they would advise. The ER said it can still be the sertraline which is still in my system - that some people process it slowly.

Hello all. I am currently off Sertraline for 8 weeks. I have had consistent tingling in legs and feet. Wondering when this will go away and what I can do to help relieve it. Also 10 days ago my tailbone/butt gets sore when sitting....(the first day this occurred my legs started tingling up to my butt). Ugh. Thinking about acupuncture? Anyone else? advice or thoughts? I appreciate being a part of this forum.

Has anyone recovered from cognitive issues and by that I mean, difficulty finding words, doing simple tasks, being able to process what's being said to you, memory problems, blank mind etc. I've been struggling with these symptoms for about 4 months now. I get brain pressure whenever I try to concentrate and also have insomnia. This symptom is bothering me the most as I'm struggling to do my job. I fast tapered from 200mg sertraline, 70.g elvanse and 100mg atomoxotine. I just want some hope that it's possible that it gets better. I literally can't live me life like this if its permanent

Hi all, I recently joint SA. My history: - Latest episode started in June 2020, when I started Sertraline on 50mg. I usually respond well and quickly to medications.. - During the course of 2020 and 2021, I was stablizing and gradually increased dosage to 100mg per doctor's advice to increase treatment efficiency. - Doing well throughout 2022. At some point I reduced to 50mg, still doing well. - Starting from 2023, I wanted to start tapering the medicine. - I started off by 50mg - 25mg alternating for 3 weeks (not recommended--I know), doing well. - The WD came when I switched to 25mg daily on 14/04: one week into such dosage, I started clear WD (irratability, fatigue, etc). Luckily, I held on to it and the the WD passed just after around 2.5 weeks. Since then, doing well. - HOWEVER, since 09/06--that's almost 2 months since the last dosage change--I started to feel low again (irritable, tired, low energy, low appetite, etc). This time, I cannot tell whether it's WD or relapse. The symptoms I'm experiencing now is not exactly the same as the WD in April--back then it was more intense and followed right after a dosage change; this time I feel "a bit low", with less intensity but resembling depression symptoms. So am I having a relapse while still on (a lower doasge of) sertraline--is it possible to have relapse while still on AD? Or is it ANOTHER wave of WD--is it possible to have another wave of WD months after the dosage change?

Kernol's benzo topic Hi everyone, I was doing so well on my sertraline tapering over the last few years which i originally took for anxiety 10 years ago. It was only as I quit completely 6 weeks ago after doing my best to measure down from 25 mg to 12.5mg then 7.5mg - i must have gone too quickly as after 2 weeks completely off it I was hit with out of the blue anxiety attacks that seemed off the scale compared to anything I had experienced in my 10 years on it. I am now really struggling with these adrenaline rushes and so the doctor suggested that I go back onto 25mg to see if it was because I did it too fast. I have now been taking the 25mg for 1 week and the anxiety attacks are still very bad and frequent. I feel like I have been plugged into an electric socket. I am now starting to really panic about panicing and my biggest fear is - have I done the right thing going back on it like this? And if this anxiety doesn't settle in a week or so - then what? I am scared stiff after reading forums of people saying these drugs can cause permanent brain issues - what if I never get my anxiety under control again due to this drug. I am scared witless of people talking about months of hell of withdrawals. I just want to be stable like I was for the 10 years I was on it. I am just looking for help, guidance anything that will let me know if this should settle - could it be that this anxiety is the anxiety like when you start the drug originally? I really am scared - please somebody help me.

Hi everyone. I am hoping to get some much needed (and very much appreciated) advice on my situation. As you see, I had been on Sertraline for almost 2 years, or around the two year mark, before I began a too fast taper in 2016 which lead to my withdrawal syndrome in September 2016. My doctor had me taper in 6 weeks completely off Sertraline, jumping off at 25mg and not even tapering the 25mg, just cold turkeying the 25 per his instruction. Well, I was feeling some withdrawal symptoms, I just didn't realize what they truly meant, and my doctor had told me not to worry 'they will clear up in a few weeks" well they didn't really clear up, but actually got worse two-three months later. I want to make this as short as possible so it is easy to read, but long story short, I ended up reinstating Sertraline at 12.5mg first week, at the same time tapering the 30mg of buspirone my doctor had tried to test out on me for almost two weeks. Each week, he upped my dose of Sertraline during my reinstatement, until I reached 57mg and my body rejected anything above the 57mg. However, I did not know anything about withdrawal or tapering back then, and realize that I was put on way too high of a dose for reinstatement. This has me very scared and very anxious, I try hard not to be, and most of it is likely neuro related, but I wonder what I can do if I feel it's too high? I've got the anhedonia, but I've had this since December, and it actually was brought on more or less by my doctor trying to put me back up to 75mg, maybe that was just a coincidence, but I am not so sure. Each adjustment of the sertraline left me with worsened insomnia, worsened panic, trembling and what I can only describe as body jolts every morning for four months straight. And trying to sleep at night I felt like I was having seizures almost, where my body would jolt me awake just as I was drifting off to sleep, heart would be racing, fear and panic would run rampant and worsen in the morning. I still have mild teeth chattering every morning and especially when the anxiety or stress comes on. I reinstated pretty quick, where I reinstated as soon as my withdrawal symptoms started getting worse, I didn't wait it out even though I really wanted to. I didn't want to go back on the medication after what it had done to me, but didn't know what else to do. Then, everyone I trusted, my doctor especially, had me convinced I had developed several new mental disorders in a matter of three days. I was so so scared, and my anxiety was through the roof. I really stressed myself out a lot trying to figure out "what was wrong with me" because I did not know at the time. On top of that I had the professionals I trusted assuring me it was my "symptoms coming back" (they actually said that right after I already told them I never ever had these symptoms before in my life, not even one of them.) Then I happened to find SA, during my research into my symptoms and the ssri I was taking. I learned a lot in one night, and my jaw dropped. My gut had been telling me all this time it was the drug, it was withdrawal. But I ignored it and listened to the "experts" instead. HUGE MISTAKE!! Now I am stuck in a situation that makes me fear for the future, and not sure what I can do now that I am back on a higher dose. If I would've known better, I would not have allowed my doctor to titrate me up so high. I would've sat at the lowest possible dose, even the 12.5mg. My withdrawal symptoms had really settled down a lot for the last two or three months now though. My appetite came back, libido came back, depression lifted almost instantly upon reinstatement, the anxiety and panic took a while to lift but that has really settled down a ton and only sporadically (maybe lasting a second or two) I'll feel a blip of panic and anxiety (typically when under a lot of built up stress), and my biggest gripe for withdrawal symptoms as of now is the anhedonia, but even that was beginning to lift where I'd get moments of joy or contentment or my interests peaking through the veil of anhedonia. My sleep actually went back to normal in the last week or two, and I haven't been waking with the dread or anxiety for the past three months now, and I have been feeling pretty good except now I got back into this wave and I think it's because I'm stressing over tapering and my dosage after what I read last night. I read on SA someone said that being on too high a reinstatement dose can permanently damage your brain, where you will never heal from it. So I am really scared... I really need advice or wisdom on where to go from here. At this point, I worry I'll always feel this way and I'll never recover any further than where I currently am. I'd be fine if I felt somewhat normal, where I could handle the withdrawal symptoms temporarily until they pass, and I do admit that on my better days I certainly can handle them. But I feel like reinstatement was pointless or worse for me than just muscling through the withdrawals after what I read about high dose reinstatement. I feel like A) it's going to take forever just to stabilise on this dose and B it's going to be painful trying to taper when the time comes, due to that I may have permanently damaged my brain with my reinstatement. I guess what I am wondering now is, do I stay on this dose and wait for the anhedonia to completely go away, or how do I know when I am ready to begin tapering? At this point I am just feeling very confused and afraid about my dose and tapering in the future. I feel lost. I'd really appreciate any help! Thank you!

Hello: I am new to this forum. I am tapering zyprexa. I was put on 10 mg in the hospital at the beginning of December. In the first week of January, I cut down to 8.50, then 7.5. for 10 days. Right now I am at 6.25 mg, and have been at that level for 1 week. They decided to put me on zoloft in the hospital as it "works fast" the doctors said, and is being used "until the zoloft kicks in". I am very impatient to get off zyprexa, and figured if I join your group, I would get support from people to help me be patient and wait enough time between cuts. Still figuring out how to do the signature. Will add it when I do. I am also on a whopping dose of 200 mg Zoloft, also given in the hospital. Before that, I had been 6 months free of Zoloft after tapering it for at least 3 years or even more. It was a huge disappointment to end up in the hospital and to have to go on it again.

Thanks for reading its a long story bear with me. I’m 2018 after horrible pregnancy and birth and surgery I was placed on 50mg of Zoloft for PPA. Looking back it’s wasn’t anxiety I was physically just exhausted. Get little fuzzy here because my memory sucks. But at some point in 2020 I started forget to take my meds so missing days here and there. To the point Id only remember to take them around my cycle when my PMDD started up. I was feeling great so I decided to stop taking them. I’m thinking that was around the beginning of 2021. In October of 2022 my PMDD symptoms come back (or could have been withdrawals idk). So I started back up on 50mg of Zoloft. After second pill I started feeling feelings (now I know it was anxiety) I had never felt before and chest pains. Went to urgent care for them and did EKG and everything was fine. So I went home and continued taking the Zoloft. The anxiety started working its way into mild panic attacks. I message my GP and she says just give the meds time. December comes and I have check up with my GP and she asked how the anxiety I tell her is the highest it’s ever been ( seeing how I never experienced intense anxiety or panic attacks before). Should also state my life is great no stressors. Great family and very supportive friends. My GP decided to up my dose to 100mg. This is where I go from barely functioning to not functioning. Day 2 of the 100mg I was in full panic nonstop all day all night. I couldn’t sleep couldn’t eat. Chest pain was so bad i was rushed to ED by ambulance. I was in cardiac distress. At the ED they did full cardiac work up for hours. Said I was stable go home follow up with cardiologist. Not even 24 hours later I beg my husband to take me back. This time I demanded them keep me. I hadn’t eaten or drank in days I couldn’t move my body. Finally after. Long ED visit they decided to admit me to the mental health department. This was a Friday. So Friday I didn’t not take any Zoloft. Saturday they get me settled in and with no psychiatrist on that weekend they has to call one in which didn’t come until Sunday. So at this point I hadn’t had Zoloft Friday or Saturday and slowly staring to feel better. So I talk with doc on Sunday and she puts me back of 50mg of Zoloft. I take it mid morning and by that evening I was in full panic again. So the doctor the next morning cut me CT off the Zoloft. She diagnosed me with SSRI induce panic disorder. She decided to place me on gabapentin to manage the PMDD symptoms. After 2 days I was feeling good and sent me home. 3 days into gabapentin I started have tremors. I was told to wait it out take 4 weeks for it to start working. After 22 days of more hell. I finally told them I was weaning off. Researched new doctor and found one I love. Should also state started seeing a therapist just after release of hospital. I was in really rough shape on the verge of going back to the hospital every day. So my doctor prescribed Ativan .5 mg as needed to help calm my nervous system. I have PTSD from taking the Zoloft so starting meds are a real struggle. I final took the Ativan on a really bad day and that did help. I currently only take as needed because I’m afraid of becoming addicted and going through more withdrawals. For most part things have been manageable until my PMDD kicks in around my cycles. At these times I get severely depressed with intrusive thought. (Again nothing i experienced before the Zoloft). My new doctor is a holistic and a medication specialist. So last cycle we upped my b12 and folic acid to help with the cycles. It has help some with symptoms but still are so terrifying. So shes suggested trying buspar as needed around my cycles. This is the first med she ever suggested to me. She know I have PTSD from Zoloft. So that brings me up to today where I’m sitting 10 weeks off Zoloft wondering if I should try the buspar or will that restart my withdrawal symptoms. I’m sooooooo scared. I have young kids and feel like I’m watching them through a tv and not present at all. I hate all this so much. I have hard time leaving the house and can’t be left alone. I feel so bad for my amazing husband and kids. Thank you for reading this far. kelsears

Hello, I quit drinking alcohol 11 years ago and a doctor at that time thought the anti depressant Zoloft would be beneficial for my "anxiety" from quitting. This is how I started using these drugs. It has taken me forever to finally quit. I'm a 43 year old male. I've quit Lexapro 2.5 mg 24 days ago and have had the worst three day stretch to date. I feel extremely tired and fatigued. I feel symptoms of brain fog, memory failures, cognitive decline, crying spells, sadness, slight headache, head pressure, eyes tired, some body ache, and slight brain zaps. I'm trying to stay positive and day to day but this is brutal. I feel like a zombie and would just want to sleep. I also have mild sleep apnea in which I have started using a cpap machine a week ago but have found no relief. I think I'm going to stop using the Cpap machine for a month to rule out the machine being the cause for recent three day stretch. I want to believe that the withdrawal symptoms are what is causing me to feel this way but I'm unsure now. I have always had some of the described symptoms on a day to day basis before. These symptoms went as far back as the last two to three years. They weren't nearly as severe. I haven't heard of anyone having the described symptoms as a result of actively taking the antidepressant drug. If this is something that can be confirmed I would feel much more at ease as I would have to wait out the withdrawal process. I guess I am looking for words of encouragement and hopefully some validation that these symptoms are from the withdrawal and this is a normal process. Last night I started myofacial exercises as an alternative to the cpap. I know it will be sometime before I see any benefit from them. I also ran 2 miles yesterday. This morning I practiced some Pranayama and will continue this daily. I'd appreciate any feedback and thank you for reading my story. Matthew

Hi all, would appreciate advice if anyone else has had a similar experience I've recently stopped venlafaxine. Now 6 weeks off after tapering down to 37.5mg over a few months then stopping completely. Prior to that I had been on venlafaxine for 8 years doses between 150mg and 75mg. I stopped as felt flat on it and that did not need it any more. first few weeks I had bad physical symptoms - flushes, sweats, nausea, vertigo, brain zaps, nightmares and shakes. In the last week I've had intense panic episodes/general feeling of dread. Incredibly tearful, ongoing insomnia and severe feeling of restlessness despite feeling exhausted. My doctor has put me on 50mg of sertraline in the hope it helps. Has anyone else had this experiencing with venlafaxine and came through the other side? I'm starting to lose hope of ever feeling normal again.

hi My name is Karen, I’m 46 and been on and off Zoloft since age 16. i was off once in my 20s and 30s for about 6-7 years and that was a hard and horrible time. Then I went back on about twelve years ago and have been on them ever since. I did lots of work cutting out alcohol and smoking plus now I’m non dairy, non gluten, low grain, high protein (as much as possible) with a ton of supplements for a mast cell disorder and osteoporosis. Fourth months ago I started tapering very slowly from 200 mg and just this past month I started having nightmares, high REM asleep, sleeping 10-12 hrs on weekends, horrible PMS, nearly got fired because of my crazy impulsive antagonistic behaviour and am driving my best friend insane…she hasn’t ever had mental health issues like this so she cannot relate very well even though she is generally sympathetic… today I went back up to my full dose. I got scared because I have been feeling suicidal and so “off” that I was feeling that I wanted to die. I was not going to act on it, I was just having ideation. But…I finally realised my tapering is not working. I HATE depression, well, for obvious reasons. I can stand physical pain much better than the pointlessness, worthlessness, anger, and despair that gets on me when I spiral down. in that four months, I only tapered down to 165 mg so I think it was slow enough… what did I do wrong… im so tired.

**TW: mental health/“s” Hi all, My name is Sarah and I’m a lifelong AD user and have used benzos for 10+ years. Decided to be an idiot in a state of panic & quit both meds CT. Scared of being judged but everyone here seems nice & people on Benzos Buddies have been so kind. Current prescription: 2 mg Xanax XR/day 100 mg Zoloft/day Quit cold turkey 1 months ago & having awful withdrawal - severe anxiety/panic, neuropathy/crawling ants sensation in limbs, cannot concentrate, restless, suicidal ideation, SEVERE tinnitus/zapping in ears, brain zaps (separate from ears), etc. Went to Dr way too late (around 21 days in) and he would not discuss taper. Wanted me to reinstate no changes except dropping to 1 mg Xanax XR. Said I wasn’t withdrawing despite vomiting for days straight at the beginning. Said you can’t go though long withdrawal no such thing - tried to explain but was told I’d need to find a new Dr if I don’t reinstate as planned. Don’t blame bill entire I was non compliant and I’ve messed up w meds before. Was uncomfortable w/ his plan so made appt w new Dr. Problem is soonest appt is 8/31 - I should have tried harder to find someone else that had sooner appts. Psychiatrists are usually booked about as you all know but I should have tried. Have gotten variety of responses regarding reinstating benzos. Some say reinstate/taper, some say don’t get back in bc it’s been a month & kindling is a issues and you will have to go through withdrawal again w/ taper and it might not help symptoms would even make worse. Was told to post here regarding Zoloft since it’s an SSRI. Does anyone mind sharing their knowledge on pros/cons of reinstating and safest say to do it? Regret ever starting it was on Prozac and I was fine but experienced acoustic trauma which has left me housebound and my meds weren’t keeping up w increased anxiety. Went against junk guy and switched to Zoloft. I think it might have had role in spiking my tinnitus to insane levels when I quit. Might have been the benzos too. Was desperate for relief so I switched. Should have found another solution. Upset that no Dr said anything about me being on these meds so long. Had no idea Xanax was built for short term - why did they let me stay on and even increased my dose w/ no warning!! Thanks everyone, and I truly appreciate you and any advice you have. Afraid this will never end and I’m on the edge of losing it. Already housebound now it’s 100x worse. It’s self induced torture and I’ll never forgive myself for the CT. I KNEW BETTER. Best, Sarah

Firstly hi, i wish someone can guide me, may 2021 i started on paxil 10 mg then 20 mg to the end of mars then i switched to zolof 50 mg then 25 mg but it gave me insomnia and lost my appetite so i switched to lexapro 5mg after 7 weeks on zoloft.. Lexapro always made me lose my appetite so i just stopped then i got into withdrawal so i used prozac to get rid of them after one week like this : one week 5 mg prozac One week 2.5 mg One week 1.25 It got rid off dizziness and zaps but nauaea it still there after i finished prozac ( when i was on it i didnt have much appetite too ) Its 10 days ago So what should i do now plz help me Tough it out ? For how long ? Or reinstate lex 2.5 mg but it will make me lose my appetite anyways Can i taper if i wasnt stable on it and still give me side effects ? Plz help and opinions and thanks..

Hello, First of all, I'm incredibly grateful for this site as it has really helped me to navigate my process of attempting to go off both Zoloft and Trazadone. Before recent taper I was on an SSRI (and briefly an SSNRI) for over 22 years in total. I titrated down off Zoloft over a 5 month period (starting dose 50mg). It was challenging but I was able to manage (I'm aware that I may have done this too quickly). About two weeks after my last dose of Zoloft 6/19/23 (I used liquid to go down to 1mg before discontinuing) I began experiencing GI distress that has been persistent since (daily diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain). For the past four weeks I've been experiencing tachycardia, arrhythmia, dizziness, some issues with breath, significant anxiety, and panic symptoms (which are not a typical manifestation of my anxiety). This is complicated by the fact that I (most likely prematurely) started titrating down off of Trazadone. I've been taking 100mg for a few years nightly for perimenopausal sleep issues. Some of the more intense heart rhythm issues and anxiety started up after I lowered my Trazdone dose (I did not use the 10% rule and went down 1/4 which I now realize was too quickly and I had not given my nervous system to adjust to being off Zoloft). Because I did these changes close together it's hard for me to have a sense of what is happening. I do believe I'm having protracted withdrawal symptoms from Zoloft the are probably being compounded by adding the Trazadone taper. So, my main question here is about whether or not reinstatement of a low dose of Zoloft (even 1mg) might be advised based on these symptoms and the amount of difficulty they are causing me. Or would it make more sense for me to go back up to 100mg Trazadone (from 75 - ongoing dose for years - or possibly less) to see if this helps. The level of anxiety I'm experiencing in addition to dizziness, heart rhythm issues, and GI issues is becoming incredibly difficult to manage along with normal life stressors. Side note: I do have an appointment for an EKG, heart monitor, and other lab work to further explore heart issues. Thank you for reading and I hoping this message is clear/makes sense!

Hi everyone I'm in my pre-taper phase of going off 20mg of Lexapro, which I've been on for 5 years. I've got an appointment to get Lexapro in liquid form to aid the taper in a couple of weeks. I've tried this before, and not succeeded, but am determined to get off them this time. At the moment I'm spending a few weeks setting myself up to have a good run at this. I'm: * filling up my freezer with home made meals for bad days.. * getting really organized at home. * taking a good multi, folate, magnesium and fish oil. * lining up some distractions, like audio books and a (hobby) evening course. * getting enough sleep. * cutting out caffeine. * doing clinical pilates as a way to transition into some more exercise. * getting some sunshine and fresh air every day. * introducing mindfulness meditations as a daily thing. * might start that tapping EFT thing I've seen at Dr Mercola's website - just can't hurt! At this stage I expect to start my taper at the end of the month. Or so... Bubbles

Hello, I'm new to this site and have only recently become aware of antidepressant withdrawal and the use of slow tapering. I've been on antidepressants since february 1996 and as far as I can remember have never had a review by a doctor. I feel I was just prescribed and forgotten. Following watching a documentary about antidepressant withdrawal I decided to give it a try. Previous attempts to come off the drugs have come to disastrous results over a relatively short period of time and a hasty return to a new prescription, trying a new drug to myself, sertraline 100mg, at the beginning of 2022. On August 1st 2023 I reduced my dose to 95mg by diluting a 25mg tablet into 5mls water, discarding 1ml to make 20mg and adding a 50 and 25 mg tablet to make a total of 95mg. I have no idea of the efficacy and accuracy of this method which seemed to be working for the first few days. However over the last seven days or so I've noticed startling and really frightening withdrawal symptoms such as fairly extreme emotional instability, anxiety, panic, agitation, lack of tolerance, loss of appetite/weight loss, sweating, slight tremor, vivid dreams, agitation and irritability. I'm genuinely feeling pretty overwhelmed and think perhaps I should return to 100mg until the withdrawal stops or find a more efficient method. I tried to obtain liquid sertraline from my doctor but it's not used in my county of Worcestershire, UK so I was prescribed 25 and 50 mg tablets. I would greatly appreciate some advice and support on exactly what to do. Does anybody know an alternative liquid drug I may be able to get prescribed? Is my method of tapering extremely poor? Is it usual to have severe symptoms from a relatively small taper? I'm desperate to get off sertraline, I don't even recognise myself anymore, Thanks for your kind attention, Jamer17

When i started using zoloft and how i became clean. i started using zoloft in 2017 at 16 years old. now since june the 6th i came clean. what i experiences was weight gain . brain fog, and zombie feeling. impossible to break certain patterns. Worsening depression. now spark in the eyes after year 2 hormone imbalance that caused breast growth it was slowly, first i barely noticed anything only after year 2 i started noticing bad things happening. The decrease and tappering of from zoloft was pure hell and nothing more, i experienced depersonalisation, mania, worsening depression, dizzeyness, alot of mental stress, racing toughts. from 25mg till 10 mg i barely noticed anything, only when passing 10 a slightly discomfort until 5. then every mg down was a 2 days of hell. Withdrawl symptoms i got. Heavy mindfog. Depersonalisation and dissacotiation POIS like symptoms after sexual intercourse(mild) no libido or extreme high libido, racing toughs(alot) Autopiloted/impulsive behaviour. now i finally came clean, i noticed slight improvements. Positive outlook on the future, less brainfog (only after dopamine detox) Spark in the eye returned. breast growth decreased alot. Depersonalization goes away sometimes. i started to recognize my toughts again. My libido came back. Extreme rise in testosteron But i'm now about 6 weeks clean but i still suffer sometimes alot of these symptoms mostly because of dopamine rushes or anxiety, and confrontations. Heavy brainfog Racing toughts depersonalization and dissacotiation Depression and negative tought patterns Very impulsive behaviour and emotional. Agression especially towards my doctor or zoloft manifactioner it feels almost as if i became dumber or something. atleast it feels like it. My question is how long until my brain is completly healed, and how long till i can have dopamine rushes again? it goes better but i get these waves/cycles sometimes, but after the waves i see this light path that i hold on to and i feel awesome for a few moments of the day or the whole day. Almost bipolar. This is my first post, and i'm also not from a english speaking country. but i truly want to have advise or tel people my story