KayPedia: Just tapered off of sertraline, Wellbutrin

[KayPedia]

I was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder in 2002. Since then, I've been essentially maxed-out on my Wellbutrin dose (450 mg/day) and have had some supplemental SSRI treatment with Prozac, Zoloft and other psychotropic meds like Lamictal, Ambien, and Provigil (guess who was working a night shift!)

 

I decided to cut off the Zoloft (which was supposed to help with severe PMS) after a pretty acute manic episode in December that scared the hell out of me. I realized that I'd just had medication thrown at me for 15 years, since I was a sophomore in college. I'd always trusted the "adults" who told me I should take the meds - but should SAD be treated with such a heavy hand? It seemed like I was being grossly overmedicated.

 

Of course, I take some responsibility for this. I've moved from place to place during the past 15 years and haven't maintained good continuity of care between providers. This means that my health info largely fell through the cracks - and it led to physicians simply carrying on with the initial diagnosis and prescription, which became woefully outdated. Piling on more and more psychotropic medication didn't help.

 

Now, I'm done tapering off of sertraline, though it's been a painful process. I've decided to stop taking the Wellbutrin to see what I'm like off of the drugs. So far, after about a month, I'm making good progress. I feel more focused, clear-headed, and generally happier with the help of a proficient counselor. Looking forward to using this support network.

[Petunia]

Welcome Kay,

I'm glad you found us. This is the best place for good information and support with safely coming off psyche meds.

 

I agree that medicating SAD is not a good idea, most likely the drugs are doing more harm than good and there are healthier ways of managing seasonal mood changes. When you think about it, its probably normal for humans to go through these cycles as the weather changes through the year. Some people do seem more effected than others though.

 

Thank you for filling in your signature. How did you taper off Sertraline? Please would you add this to your signature. You will also need to taper Wellbutrin, but if I were you I would wait a while and let yourself stabilize from your sertraline taper. It can take a while for withdrawal symptoms to arise sometimes. Its fairly common to feel good for a few weeks, up to several months, and then a secondary stage of withdrawal can start with new symptoms. Of course this doesn't always happen, but its good to be aware that it sometimes does, especially if you have not tapered slowly enough. This is what happened to me. I tapered off Lexapro over 2 - 3 months, went through an initial withdrawal period and then felt pretty good for a few months. Then new symptoms began to appear and I started to feel very unwell. At the time, I didn't know anything about delayed withdrawal, so ended up getting a new diagnosis and more medication.

 

If you do get a delayed withdrawal reaction, its possible to reinstate a small amount and then continue to taper, but at a slower rate. But as I said, give it a bit more time, you may be fine and able to start your wellbutrin taper soon.

 

Here is the link to our wellbutrin tapering topic: Tips for tapering off Wellbutrin, SR, XR, XL (buproprion)

 

Once we know a little more about your sertraline taper, we will have a better idea of what to suggest.

 

Petunia.