Hollywood: Concerned about withdrawal symptoms

[Hollywood]

My 19 year old son just weaned himself off of Zoloft about 2 weeks ago.  The dr recommended that he cut his dose in half for a week then goncompletely off the following week.  He is now saying he feels super irritated and deep depression.  Does anyone have any encourageinf words or advice to lessen these feelings ?

[Songbird]

Hi Hollywood, welcome to SA!  I have moved your topic to the Introductions forum - please keep posting your updates and questions here on this topic and we will reply here.

 

Unfortunately many doctors do not understand antidepressant withdrawal or know how to taper off safely. 

You may find the following links helpful - there is a lot of information here: 

what is withdrawal syndrome

why taper by 10% of my dosage

 

How long was your son taking Zoloft?  What dose was he taking before he cut it in half and then stopped? 

 

If he has only stopped two weeks ago, there is a good chance that reinstating it could alleviate his symptoms (and potentially prevent them becoming worse).  Reinstatement tends to work best when it is done sooner rather than later.  It's a good idea to restart less than a full dose, to see how the body handles the reinstatement of the drug (as some people experience adverse reactions).  Please read this topic for more information about reinstating:  about reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Songbird