jada Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Hey all, Was on 50mg/zoloft/day for 16 years-tapered off last spring-was completely off by July/15 so 10 months nothing. Was put on for anxiety not depression. so here i sit 10 months later and the rage/anger OMG! this is not me-Im scared...what can i do to help myself? its too much to bear. any little thing can trigger it and I mean anything...I have a supportive husband but still...I am out of control-very close to the edge...not sure which edge but ya....not a good place. My family doctor did tell me in Nov. 15 (he had just attended a conference) that it can take the brain up to 2 years to get over the long term effects of antidepressants!! 2 years!! for the brain to go back to normal!! omg!! so ok I think to self-Im almost half way there...hang on!! Is there anything I can do to stop or lessen the rage? omg it comes out of nowhere and there's no filter or stop line-very very scary place to be! Thanks for listening... feel so alone. Jada Oct 99 started 25mg zoloft/day for anxiety not sure how long it was maybe a year or 2 before it went up to 50mg/day-was on that dosage for 16 years! also I was on Trazadone for sleeping 50/100mg/day but mostly 100 for oh say 14 years give or take.(I should say the start of zoloft was because I was in nursing school and undergoing a diagnosis of MS-hence the anxiety. I was not put on it for depression) Last spring 2015 I weaned off the Trazadone first-that wasn't too bad-just had to pee ALOT!! but that passed fairly quickly. Weaning off the zoloft I had 25mg and 50mg so I just started reducing-say out of 7 days 1 day would be 25mg then the rest 50mg. then I just slowly replaced the 50mg with 25mg and then would drop the occasional 25mg day that sort of thing. It wasn't scientific but felt ok so just continued on...I guess I took a couple of months reducing the zoloft-I see now it wasn't slow enough probably. Mid July 2015 stopped all zoloft! Had the usual withdrawals-lots of crying, emotion, agitation, sweating, brain zaps..all that-for the acceptable amount of time-4-6 weeks I suppose. Then the uncontrollable anger hit I guess it was early fall when that started-mid winter. It has been 10 months with nothing-and the episodes are getting further apart-I can see that but....wow scary or what?! Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted May 20, 2016 Moderator Share Posted May 20, 2016 Hi Jada-- welcome to the group. I'm sorry to hear that you're in such a bad place right now. We have a lot of good experience here and should be able to help. We are going to need some more information. Primarily, how did you taper? My first guess is that it was way too fast and that has tripped off Withdrawal Syndrome, which is what you're feeling now. Very scary, but treatable. Here are some links that will help explain it all: What is withdrawal syndrome? About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms Why taper by 10% of my dosage? Those will get you started, give them a read and then ask us a lot of questions. If you would please add a signature block with all of your drug history, it would be very helpful to us: Please put your withdrawal history in your signature 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
jada Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 thanks! will get back to you in a day or 2 appreciate the guidance Oct 99 started 25mg zoloft/day for anxiety not sure how long it was maybe a year or 2 before it went up to 50mg/day-was on that dosage for 16 years! also I was on Trazadone for sleeping 50/100mg/day but mostly 100 for oh say 14 years give or take.(I should say the start of zoloft was because I was in nursing school and undergoing a diagnosis of MS-hence the anxiety. I was not put on it for depression) Last spring 2015 I weaned off the Trazadone first-that wasn't too bad-just had to pee ALOT!! but that passed fairly quickly. Weaning off the zoloft I had 25mg and 50mg so I just started reducing-say out of 7 days 1 day would be 25mg then the rest 50mg. then I just slowly replaced the 50mg with 25mg and then would drop the occasional 25mg day that sort of thing. It wasn't scientific but felt ok so just continued on...I guess I took a couple of months reducing the zoloft-I see now it wasn't slow enough probably. Mid July 2015 stopped all zoloft! Had the usual withdrawals-lots of crying, emotion, agitation, sweating, brain zaps..all that-for the acceptable amount of time-4-6 weeks I suppose. Then the uncontrollable anger hit I guess it was early fall when that started-mid winter. It has been 10 months with nothing-and the episodes are getting further apart-I can see that but....wow scary or what?! Link to comment
Member cymbaltawithdrawal5600 Posted May 20, 2016 Member Share Posted May 20, 2016 A few of us have been reading this, written by a long ago member. His site is very good for explaining a lot of what happens during wd syndrome. https://npanth.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/dealing-with-anger-during-ssri-withdrawal/ We all struggle with it, it is something the brain goes through in its adjustment back to normal. You have to hang on as best you can and always remember it is an irrational response and you just have to control its expression the best you can so as to minimize damage. It takes as long as it takes, there is no timetable. It gets much better, but in fits and starts, way before any large chunk of time passes. Once you know what it is you are better equipped to handle it. You might want to read all we have to say about it on this site too. There is a topic called 'neuro emotions' that explains in more depth how we came to recognize the phenomenon. It is in the symptoms forum (or someone may have already linked it above.) Ah, here it is: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/9809-neuro-emotions/ What happened and how I arrived here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4243-cymbaltawithdrawal5600-introduction/#entry50878 July 2016 I have decided to leave my story here at SA unfinished. I have left my contact information in my profile for anyone who wishes to talk to me. I have a posting history spanning nearly 4 years and 3000+ posts all over the site. Thank you to all who participated in my recovery. I'll miss talking to you but know that I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines, suffering and rejoicing with you in spirit, as you go on in your journey. Link to comment
jada Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 ty so much! Oct 99 started 25mg zoloft/day for anxiety not sure how long it was maybe a year or 2 before it went up to 50mg/day-was on that dosage for 16 years! also I was on Trazadone for sleeping 50/100mg/day but mostly 100 for oh say 14 years give or take.(I should say the start of zoloft was because I was in nursing school and undergoing a diagnosis of MS-hence the anxiety. I was not put on it for depression) Last spring 2015 I weaned off the Trazadone first-that wasn't too bad-just had to pee ALOT!! but that passed fairly quickly. Weaning off the zoloft I had 25mg and 50mg so I just started reducing-say out of 7 days 1 day would be 25mg then the rest 50mg. then I just slowly replaced the 50mg with 25mg and then would drop the occasional 25mg day that sort of thing. It wasn't scientific but felt ok so just continued on...I guess I took a couple of months reducing the zoloft-I see now it wasn't slow enough probably. Mid July 2015 stopped all zoloft! Had the usual withdrawals-lots of crying, emotion, agitation, sweating, brain zaps..all that-for the acceptable amount of time-4-6 weeks I suppose. Then the uncontrollable anger hit I guess it was early fall when that started-mid winter. It has been 10 months with nothing-and the episodes are getting further apart-I can see that but....wow scary or what?! Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus SquirrellyGirl Posted May 21, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted May 21, 2016 Just so you know you aren't alone, jada: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/8097-coping-with-with-irritability-anger-and-rage/?hl=anger SG Started ADs back around 1995 after bad break-up, starting with Prozac. Switched to Wellbutrin, and then to Effexor in 2002 Effexor XR 2002-2014 up to 225 mg at one point, down to 37.5 mg towards end but back up to 75 mg in 2014; now realize I had W/D as I dropped down, memory very poor about history. Extreme emotions, poor concentration as I stepped back down, didn't connect the dots! Summer 2014 reduced to 0 very quickly, was sick of anhedonia/sexual dysfunction due to meds, depression never controlled if not worse. Didn't recognize WD since symptoms built slowly (thought I had ADD! and menopausal on top of it), starting with severe sweats, very bad cog-fog and memory issues, culminating in weight loss, severe anxiety and depression, panic, severe apathy and insomnia by eight months off. Saw p-doc who put me on Remeron, increased from 7.5 mg/day to 37.5 mg by May 22, 2015; still doing very badly though able to sleep. June 1. 2015 Reinstated Effexor XR 37.5 mg, Remeron dropped to 30 mg PM. Immediate relief of symptoms, like nothing had ever happened! Joined SA and began on advice of friend who recognized it was WD all along! Began tapering in July 2015. Been tapering both meds ever since, focusing on one more than the other or doing no more than 5% of each per month. 12 mg Effexor and 5.8 mg Remeron (mirtazapine SolTabs to make a solution with OraPlus) as of 5/4/2017 Update 3/14/18: 2.9 mg Remeron and 6 mg Effexor; 6/10/18: 2.6 mg Remeron and 4.9 mg Effexor My intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/9313-squirrellygirl-effexor-withdrawal-etc/page-2#entry196679 This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now