Abyss: First post Dsythmic depression

[Abyss]

Hello fellow members.

I've been diagnosed with dsythmic depression with social anxiety.

I'm currently taking 200mg of Zoloft and 3 mg of valium, cutting back on the valium every month by half a mg.

I was originally given 15 mg daily as a start dose and continued at 10 mg after a month.

I'm extremely worried about agitation. I become very frustrated with zero patients. I'm unable to focus or concentrate and end up self medicating with marijuana.

I'm at a point where I don't know what normal is. After taking multiple AD's for 12 years, I'm horrified by studies showing
The chemical imbalance these meds help correct leave an imbalance that's worst then the original depression lasting years.

I'm scared if I stop smoking weed I won't be able to tolerate agitation from the valium. Worst yet if I try to stop the Zoloft I won't be able to hold down my job and family life.

I tried quitting AD's and the symptoms are unbearable and leave me non functional.

Stuck In the abyss

[scallywag]

Hi Abyss -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)
 
I'm glad you found us early in your process of tapering Zoloft and Valium. Many people have recovered full function after psych meds, especially after a gentle, gradual taper to reduce the dose and go off them one at a time.
 
For details about gentle, gradual tapers, please read:

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

You may want to make smaller steps than 10% and hold on a dose longer than the month we suggest. It's best to let your symptoms guide the pace, not a calendar. To track symptoms, many folks here have found a checklist useful:

Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list

While your thinking about and planning your taper, this topic will be relevant:

Taking multiple drugs? Which to taper first.

Also it's important to check for interactions between drugs. When a someone is taking multiple medications, we ask that that you post an interactions report. Follow the link below to enter ALL your medications (prescription or not, psychiatric and others) get your report. Just select the text, copy it and paste it in a post here.
Drugs_dot_com Drugs Interactions Checker.

A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-18 months particularly? Any drugs prior to that can just be listed with start and stop years. Please put your withdrawal history in signature
 
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This is YOUR introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community. Please read the links posted above.  Come back to this topic and ask your questions!