Tips for tapering Zoloft (sertraline)

[Haap]

Thank you so much for this topic and helpful answers! We tried to make a solution with water today, and the taste was not at all as bad as expected. It was however, difficult to disolve it. I understand this is not necessary if you shake it hard before taking out the rigth dose. Do you however, know if it disolves better in milk? I also still wonder if the transition to water solution is smoother than the transition to mixture?

[Altostrata]

Please read How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

[indigo]

Hi Haap,. I am on the point of changing from Prozac Liquid to mixing my own with water.

When I started liquid prozac after capsules I had a heavy withdrawal response though I did not cut the dose.

For this reason I am anxious about switching to using my own mix.

Will be interested to hear how it goes. 

Wishing you the best. 

[Haap]

Thanks to both of you! I´m just doing research for now, so I´m not sure when or if we can report back. Sorry about that!

 

I wish you all the best!

[Goodname]

I wish we could get liquid Zoloft in Canada.  I could only break my capsule and guess at half doses of 12.5 mg.  I guess that's why my tapering has not gone well.  I feel that Canada big Pharma has purposely made Zoloft only available in capsules and smallest 25 mg so that we have to stay on it forever!

[Altostrata]

Please read this topic from the beginning. It contains instructions for making your own liquid.

[Brain]

I just asked this on my personal topic but feel it belongs here. What strategies have people used as far as when to drop to zero with sertraline? I'm still at 25mg but would like to start planning for the end game. Thanks for any thoughts.

[Altostrata]

Brain, it's quite a few months before you need to worry about going to zero. You need to see how you feel when you're under 5mg to make decisions about this.

[bubbles]

Just a quick note. I was unable to locate a liquid version of Zoloft here, or 25mg tablets, for that matter. My doctor suggested that we use a compounding pharmacy. That has been a really good - though a little more expensive - solution for me.

[Altostrata]

Excellent solution! I've revised post #1 accordingly.

 

What country are you in?

[bubbles]

Oh, I should have said - I'm in Australia. I've looked on the medicines website for Australia and only found scored tablets of 50mg and 100mg. I can't think of anywhere else to look but haven't yet asked my pharmacist. Certainly my doctor thought that once we were off doses that were easily achievable with whole or half tablets of those doses, it was best to go to a compounding pharmacy.

[SkyBlue]

Sounds like a good plan, Bubbles. 

[Fresh]

Bubbles , read this topic from the beginning. You can make your own liquid from 50mg tablets.

[bubbles]

Oh yes, all good. The doctor suggested this, and it's working for me - at least partly because having x weeks of capsules encourages me not to rush! You do make me think of something though - when I get right down to the pointy end, getting a solution (either made by me, or the pharmacy) might be a good idea. 

 

Cheers. 

B

[Altostrata]

Taking one's doses in a mixture of tablets and liquid (by prescription, DIY, or compounded) can ease the transition to all-liquid dosing.

[Rob66]

Old thread but reading through brought up a question. Could liquid doses of Zoloft be inserted into empty capsules and then swallowed? It could avoid the whole "drug sticking to the side of the glass" problem. Could prevent burning or foul taste problems as well. Just food for thought.

[Shirl1]

 

---

I’ve been given liquid sertraline to help me taper off more easily. I started taking it 4 days ago ,I fill the syringe and put the liquid straight into my mouth. The thing is I’ve been getting really bad heartburn. I’ve read on various sites that you should mix liquid sertraline in water but it doesn’t say to mix it with water anywhere in the instructions does anyone else take this straight instead of mixing with another liquid. Thanks for any info

[mammaP]

Taken from the patient guide at medicinenet   https://www.medicinenet.com/sertraline_liquid_concentrate-oral/article.htm

 

HOW TO USE: Read the Medication Guide provided by your pharmacist before you start using sertraline and each time you get a refill. If you have any questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.This medication must be mixed with another liquid before use. Just before taking, carefully measure the dose using the medicine dropper provided. Do not use a household spoon because you may not get the correct dose. Mix the dose with a half cup (4 ounces/120 milliliters) of water, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, lemonade, or orange juice. Drink all of the mixture immediately. Do not use other liquids to mix this drug. The mixture may appear cloudy, which is normal and harmless. Do not prepare a supply in advance.Take this medication by mouth as directed by your doctor, usually once daily either in the morning or evening. 

 

 As you are getting heartburn taking it neat you should try diluting it. 

[bubbles]

Hi everyone,

 

I believe that there is a liquid sertraline available in the US. If you've ever had it - what sort of expiry date does it have? I've googled but can't find this information, and as it isn't available in my country, I can't ask a pharmacy here.

 

Cheers
Bubbles

 

 

[bubbles]

Anyone with a jeweler's scale and a 50g zoloft tablet? Do you what what the full tablet weighs?

 

Thanks

B

[bubbles]

Sorry, 50mg not g.

[RachelSusan]

@bubbles

Hi Bubbles, 

this last bottle came with an expiration date 16 months from date of purchase. 

[bubbles]

Thanks RachelSusan, was that compounded?

 

[Altostrata]

Please note this information about mixing the liquid with another to drink it is included in post #1 in this topic.

 

One can always ask one's pharmacist questions like this -- and then share the information in this topic.

[bubbles]

From this document: https://www.drugs.com/mmx/sertraline-hydrochloride.html

 

"Absorption:

Slow ^{{09} {15} {28}} but consistent ^{{09} {15}}. Bioavailability and absorption rate are increased if sertraline is taken with food ^{{07} {26}}. "
 

" Half-life:
Elimination:
Sertraline: 24 to 26 hours ^{{07} {09} {26}}.
N-desmethylsertraline: 62 to 104 hours ^{{07} {26}}. "

[RachelSusan]

@bubbles

Bubbles, it was not compounded. It was liquid Zoloft purchased from the drug store with prescription and came from manufacture. It is available in US. Some doctor in US don’t know it’s available, and like you said Bubbkes, not available in all countries. 

[bubbles]

@RachelSusan

 

Thanks. Much appreciated. I've looked it up and it looks like 1ml = 20mg. So to be on a "normal" dose of 100mg, you'd use 5ml. It says that there is a graduated dropper for dosing, but I can't find any information on it. Is the graduated dropper that comes with it enough for the fine dosing that I'm likely to be doing? My calculations are looking like some doses would want 0.36ml and similar (well, I've rounded that, it said 0.3645). I'm about to phone my pharmacist and see if he can import it. Probably not, but no harm in asking. Thanks. (Hopefully this is my last question!)

 

[bubbles]

I don't know why that 0.3645 is there - it is the cell that I inadvertently copied from my excel spreadsheet. I can't delete it.

[bubbles]

Hi everyone

 

Another question - I've looked, but can't see an answer.

 

For those of you who mix up your own liquid zoloft/sertraline, how long does it keep? I've got 50mg tablets, so - at present, I'd be taking a bit under a fifth of that, so I'd want a liquid to last a week for now. Ideally, as I get lower, I'd hope it would last longer so as not to waste too many tablets. I guess once I'm at 1mg, I'm happy to toss the leftovers after a month. Any thoughts? Or is this answered somewhere else?

 

Compounding is getting expensive, and I'm at a bit of a nitty gritty stage now. I've been content to go down in whole milligram drops, but now I'd like a finer taper, if I can achieve it easily.

 

Cheers!

B

[bubbles]

I see in the liquid thread something to the effect that they'll keep for a few days. Guess I'm hoping that someone knows that zoloft lasts longer, or I'll have to just call it, say 3 days, to be safe.

 

[Tattycorum]

On 5/27/2018 at 6:52 AM, bubbles said:

I see in the liquid thread something to the effect that they'll keep for a few days. Guess I'm hoping that someone knows that zoloft lasts longer, or I'll have to just call it, say 3 days, to be safe.

 

I saw that Altostrata posted the following regarding suspensions in general (not specific to sertraline) in 2016 in this thread: how to make a liquid from a tablet

 

Quote

My rule of thumb has always been no more than a week, unless I get explicit stability information from a pharmacy or online.

 

This applies to suspensions made with distilled water or pharmacy liquid.

 

The major risk is spoilage from bacteria or mold, as with other opened foods in the refrigerator.

 

But I also read someone else who perceived that the strength of their solution was going down over the next two days after the first day it was mixed. Hmmm.

[bubbles]

Thanks.

That bit about perceiving the effectiveness going down is worrying. 

 

[Altostrata]

2 hours ago, Tattycorum said:

But I also read someone else who perceived that the strength of their solution was going down over the next two days after the first day it was mixed. Hmmm.

 

This depends on the drug and the storage conditions, none of which we know.

 

If you think the strength of your home-made suspension deteriorates, discard it sooner.

[ChessieCat]

Diluting prescription sertraline liquid:

 

On 10/20/2018 at 6:04 AM, Terry said:

Recently I've noticed a white film on the bottom of my glass container.  I've tried shaking the container really hard, but the sediment won't go into solution.

 

4 hours ago, brassmonkey said:

It's possible that the additional water is forcing the drug out of solution and causing the film. It has a fairly low solubility rate in water.  It has a much higher solubility rate in alcohol so possibly adding a bit of vodka to the mix would help. Worth a try. 

 

3 hours ago, Terry said:

You are so right!  I still had my dilution with the floccular sediment which I was going to toss out today, so I added a few drops of vodka and it cleared immediately.  When I make my next dilution I think I'll try using 1/2 or 1 ml of vodka and the rest water.  I think going with the smallest amount of alcohol that works is safest.

 

Thanks, brassmonkey!

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by ChessieCat

[AJ716]

Just trying to put my mind at ease. 

 

Is putting a Zoloft tablet in an empty capsule alright?  They taste badly.  Is it alright if the pieces are broken before putting them into the capsule?  I'm not doing that yet but thought I might down the road. 

 

There isn't anything specifically within this thread and various medication websites state not to crush, cut, or chew them.  It doesn't say why though.  Thanks in advance 😀 

[ChessieCat]

7 minutes ago, AJ716 said:

 

There isn't anything specifically within this thread and various medication websites state not to crush, cut, or chew them. 

 

 

Yes there is.  From Post #1 of this topic:

 

On 11/14/2011 at 11:18 AM, Altostrata said:

 

Cutting up tablets

According to FDA information at http://www.drugs.com/pro/zoloft.html, Zoloft comes in scored tablets of 25, 50 and 100 mg dosages.

The scoring on the tablets indicates they can be split. Cut them up with a pill cutter, available at any drug store.

 

 

Zoloft is not mentioned in the following topic, but there is an explanation of why some tablets cannot be cut/crushed.

 

which-tablets-or-pills-may-be-split-or-crushed

 

8 minutes ago, AJ716 said:

Is putting a Zoloft tablet in an empty capsule alright?  They taste badly.  Is it alright if the pieces are broken before putting them into the capsule?

 

This is discussed in this topic:

 

using-a-digital-scale-to-measure-doses