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holli: messed up Zoloft tapering?


holli

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  • Administrator

You can try 5.4mL. Please let us know how you're doing.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

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6 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

You can try 5.4mL. Please let us know how you're doing.

okay good i’ll do that in the morning then! i’ll keep reporting with daily notes and hopefully this drop will help with the adverse reaction a bit more :)

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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here’s todays notes! i’m noticing i get some brain zaps and vertigo with drops. but thankfully they don’t seem to be anywhere near as bad as it was when i did the 25mg to 12.5mg drop, obviously because of the slow and smaller reduction. brain zaps back then were painful and scary, brain zaps now just feel like a little minor squeeze on my brain. i also remember vertigo during the big drop was so bad that i’d have to not move for hours and let it pass because any movement made it worse, but now it’s just half an hour maybe and i can still move my head and it’s not too bad. 

 

29th october:

12:30am - vertigo

2:30am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, achey and internal vibrations 

11:30am - took 10.8mg of liquid sertraline

12pm - dp/dr, ataxia sensations, slight tremors

12:30pm - snack, tremors increasing, tense neck, nausea 

1:30pm - lunch, struggled to keep it down, tremors about the same

2pm - tremors eased, heavy head and tense neck, still have nausea 

3pm - heavy head, uncomfortable/achey body, still have nausea 

3:30pm - still the same as above, head feels electrical also

4:30pm - snack, still the same but nausea has eased and so has aches a bit

5:30pm - slight brain zaps

6:30pm - dinner, slight nausea, electrical head sensations and stiff neck 

7:30pm - heavy head, getting hot, still have slight nausea

8:30pm - arms, back and head flushing with heat, nausea has eased

9pm - took birth control, still have the above, brain also feels like it’s been turned off 

10pm - cooled down

10:30pm - getting hot again

 

 

24/7 symptoms are: no appetite, jelly legs, increased heartbeat, not being able to stand/walk long, feeling very hot

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Administrator

This should even out in a few days, @holli Is that okay?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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15 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

This should even out in a few days, @holli Is that okay?

 

yep! i mean i don’t really see any other option than to just gradually decrease when appropriate and just get through the symptoms as best as i can. it’s what i’ve been doing the whole time, and i can keep doing it knowing that this will ease as long as i’m sensible with doses and gentle with myself.

 

i’ll follow whatever advice is given here since you’ve been a million times more helpful than what my doctor proved to be these last 2 years. so thank you for your work as always :)

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Administrator

You're welcome, @holli You have an outstanding attitude towards this.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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thank you alto! i think i’m able to stay so calm and reasonable due to the fact that i’ve gained so much information from this site that i know what’s happened and how to handle it. this site truly is lifesaving, thank you so much for creating it and keeping it going, along with everyone else!

 

i also have my mum who has been incredible helping me throughout this all, she’s my rock. my whole family are being very supportive and comforting, along with my friends who know what i’m going through and regularly check up on me. i’m extremely grateful for them all and they keep my spirits high :)

 

here’s todays notes too. early in the morning when i felt cold, i felt so happy which is incredibly weird to say, considering i usually hate the cold. but i get hot flushes at night so i’m usually trying to stay cool, and then that little period of time where i was cold and snuggled up in my thick, comfy pajamas and duvet was a moment of relief. i don’t even care that it didn’t last long, i’m just grateful to experience that coziness for a moment when most of my day is spent extremely uncomfortable. i literally fell asleep smiling.

 

30th october:

1:00am - actually feeling cold for the first time in ages, snuggled up and felt really happy to feel comfortable and cosy

2:30am - fell asleep

3am - woke up boiling, feeling hot was making me feel sick and dizzy 

4am - fell asleep again

11am - woke up, achey body

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid sertraline

12pm - slight tremors, head feels “off”

12:30pm - snack, gagged, tremors increasing, neck tense

1:30pm - lunch, nausea still there but i don’t feel like i’m going to throw up, heavy head and tense neck, dp/dr

2pm - tremors eased, body feels uncomfortable/achey, head tingles, head heavy and neck tense, occasional vertigo 

2:30pm - nausea is increasing, brain feels turned off 

3pm - head feels very electrical, body is uncomfortable/achey still, nausea still there

4pm - still same as above but nausea has eased, ataxia sensations strong

5pm - snack, symptoms have eased a little

5:30pm - dp/dr

6pm - brain feels like it’s gone but i’m doing some drawing

6:30pm - dinner, head feels heavy

7pm - continued drawing but i started thinking too much and made myself anxious about everything so i watched some funny videos to stay focused and distracted instead

7:30pm - electrical head 

9:30pm - head and body heavy, still kinda have electrical sensations in head 

10pm - took birth control, still the same as above 

10:30pm - feeling a bit restless and nauseous, bit of vertigo, feeling hot

 

 

24/7 symptoms are: no appetite, jelly legs, increased heartbeat, not being able to stand/walk long, feeling very hot

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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hello! happy halloween! today actually marks 2 years of me being on sertraline (well, apart from the month or so that i was on citalopram). it’s ironic that i started taking it on halloween because the experience has been scary! cant wait to be rid of this poison :)

 

here’s todays notes!

31st october:

 

1:00am - going hot and cold

1:30am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, achey and heavy

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft, dp/dr

12pm - feeling really uncomfortable, anxious and a little bit nauseous

12:30pm - snack, really nauseous, tremors but not too bad

1:30pm - lunch, struggled to keep it down, heavy head and tense neck, minor zaps

2:30pm - really awful nausea, feel really uncomfortable and head is electric and heavy, slight tremors, internal vibrations, making my anxiety increase

3:30pm - tremors and vibrations eased, head still electric and heavy, nausea has eased but still not great, body aches can’t get comfy

4:30pm - snack, still feel really nauseous and body is still very uncomfortable and achey. head still heavy too

6:30pm - dinner, nausea has eased, head still heavy but i’m not as uncomfortable 

7:30pm - slight tingling sensations over legs and arms

8:30pm - electrical head sensations, head heavy, internal vibrations, slight nausea 

10pm - took birth control, head is heavy and brain feels like it’s been turned off. still slightly nauseous 

11pm - same as above but eased a little

 

24/7 symptoms are: no appetite, jelly legs, increased heartbeat, not being able to stand/walk long, feeling very hot

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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hi! checking in kinda late! sadly i don’t have full notes today, because as i was about to come here and post them, i accidentally pressed “cut” instead of “copy” and deleted all my timed notes… and unfortunately because it’s on the iphone notes app, there’s no undo button… so that sucks! lesson learned though, i’ll write my notes elsewhere!

 

i can give a brief overview though. took my meds at the normal time and threw up almost exactly an hour later, so that was unpleasant as always. 

i’ve also had a lot of horrible rush sensations today, almost like my nerves are burning? it’s hard to describe, but it’s like toxic chemical anxiety, all in my limbs and it comes in rushes which make me feel so uncomfortable and on edge. i’ve had it before, but not to this extent. it makes me just curl up and wait for it to pass because it’s such a weird feeling. i find the more i focus on it, the worst it gets, so i try distract to break that circle of “omg i hate this” to “omg it’s getting worse” and so on. i notice i had this a little bit with the last reduction i think, so maybe it’s just a symptom of my brain and body adjusting to the new dose since this is only day 4 of 10.8mg. i had it on and off all day, but the worst was at about 7pm-ish i think. all my symptoms eased at the usual 11pm-ish. so same as always!

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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i just found the old notes app i used to use and i completely forgot that i wrote a couple notes in it from june, before i began to skip doses and went to 12.5mg. it’s weird seeing what i wrote and realising that this pattern has happened for so long and i thought it was normal? or that it would go away? but i also realise as i read it, that i approach the day differently now. this is what i wrote on the 29th june 2021.

 

“going to sleep is the easiest part of my day, and even that is hard. waking up on the other hand, is a cold slap in the face, everytime.

 

i’m always half-awake at first, those moments are bliss. i forget the life i live, i forget what the day means and i stay in the limbo of dreaming, naivety. i usually fall back to sleep after for a while, rekindle dreams of a life i don’t live. i wake up the 2nd, maybe 3rd time, and i feel it this time. the dizziness. the nausea. the dread. the realisation that im awake now, which means it’s started again. it’s groundhog day and now im awake, i have to push through it to make it back here in 12 hours. 

 

it comes with instant anxiety sometimes, like a hit of electricity. it hurts, it’s disorientating and above all, it sucks. i miss the days where i’d wake up nd stay cosy, happily scrolling my phone for a while, not a care in the world. i took it for granted, but i guess i never saw this coming.”

 

i can see differences now though! i don’t wake up with that intense anxiety lately. in fact, when i woke up this morning i remember thinking “huh, i don’t wake up with fear anymore”. like i just wake up and stretch and i’m like “okay, bring it on”. maybe it’s because i’m so used to it, or maybe it’s because i don’t fight against it anymore because i know that worsens it. oh well! just thought it was interesting to share not only how long this has gone on without me realising, but also how minor things have changed or rather improved. because i don’t even wake up with that dizziness now either thank god!

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Moderator Emeritus
On 10/30/2021 at 5:28 PM, holli said:

i also have my mum who has been incredible helping me throughout this all, she’s my rock. my whole family are being very supportive and comforting, along with my friends who know what i’m going through and regularly check up on me. i’m extremely grateful for them all and they keep my spirits high :)

It's wonderful that you have so much support @holli!  You will get through this, and be just fine someday.  BTW I've been on a sabbatical recently, just thought I'd pop in briefly.  

 

11 hours ago, holli said:

 i find the more i focus on it, the worst it gets, so i try distract to break that circle

Excellent coping tool.  When I get overwhelmed by WD, I tell myself "this too shall pass".  It helps.  

 

11 hours ago, holli said:

i can see differences now though! i don’t wake up with that intense anxiety lately. in fact, when i woke up this morning i remember thinking “huh, i don’t wake up with fear anymore”.

Fantastic!  This is a significant improvement.  I'm very happy to hear this. 😀  Keep up the good work!  

Please do not private message me.  Only tag me for urgent questions about tapering and reinstating - thank you.  

 

***Please note this is not medical advice.  Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a doctor who understands psych meds and how to withdraw from them, if you can find one.

 

Lexapro   Started Apr 15 2010 - 10 mg;  started taper August 2017, recent taper info: Apr 2 '20  0.18 mg; Jul 16  0.17 mg, Aug 23  0.16 mg, Oct 7  0.15 mg, Nov 8 - 0.14, Jan 16 '21 - 0.13, Feb 7 - 0.12, Feb 22 - 0.11, Mar 26 - 0.10, May 21 - 0.09, June 15 - 0.08 Aug 16 - 0.07, Oct 6 - 0.06, Nov 21 0.05, Dec. 17 0.04, Jan 14 '22 0.03, Feb 19 0.02, Apr 18 0.01, May 15 0.005,  Jul 8, 0.00.  Psych Drug Free as of July 8, 2022!!  Woohoo!!!

other meds: Levothyroxine 75 mg

magnesium in small amounts at 4 AM, before bed

suppl AM: fish oil, flax oil, vit C, vit E, multivitamin, zinc

suppl 8 PM: magnesium 350 mg, extended release vitamin C, melatonin 2 mg

 

Paxil 2002 - 2010, switched to Lexapro 2010 

Trazodone 50 mg. 2002 - 2019, fast tapered in 2019 

Xanax 0.5 mg as needed 2002 - 2019, up to 3x weekly 

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hello @getofflex! thank you for popping in, i hope you’re doing well :)

 

1 hour ago, getofflex said:

When I get overwhelmed by WD, I tell myself "this too shall pass".  It helps.

i do this too!! it’s either this or i repeat “this is temporary”. it really helps ground me and remind me that it will pass.

 

1 hour ago, getofflex said:

This is a significant improvement.  I'm very happy to hear this. 😀  Keep up the good work!

i’m really glad that waking up for me has improved, i now get a decent hour after waking up where i feel calm and i really appreciate that hour and don’t take it for granted. whereas i used to wake up intensely anxious and then the adverse effect would come and make everything so much more overwhelming. now, even though the adverse effect is still bad, i at least have that time before to just breathe and wake up gently :) 

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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here’s todays notes! i noticed a moment today in the evening where i just kinda felt… more hopeful than usual despite everything? it was nice! i cant explain but i just felt a shift? like a tiny, tiny improvement… i hope for more!

 

2nd november:

1am - noticing that i’m thinking about foods that would make me nauseous to thinking about in the daytime (slight appetite?)

2:30am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, achey

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid sertraline

12pm - head feels "off", slight nausea, slight tremors

12:30pm - snack, tremors increasing, head is heavy, nausea increasing

1:30pm - lunch, hard to keep down because of nausea, feeling uncomfortable in whole body

2:30pm - hot, head is heavy and electrical, body still feels very uncomfortable 

3:30pm - still the same but it’s eased a tiny bit

4:30pm - snack, dp/dr, nausea gone

6pm - dinner, hot, heavy head 

7pm - hot and cold, heavy/pressured head, had a moment where i walked and it felt like i stepped onto a moving boat

8pm - did some reading for uni, could barely concentrate and got frustrated

10pm - took birth control

10:30pm - heavy and electrical head

 

 

24/7 symptoms are: no appetite, jelly legs, increased heartbeat, not being able to stand/walk long, feeling very hot

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Administrator

Do you feel ready for another small reduction, @holli? Maybe to 10.5mg?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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8 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Do you feel ready for another small reduction, @holli? Maybe to 10.5mg?

yeah! i’ll have to reduce tomorrow though because i’ve seen this after i’ve already took my 10.8mg dose. the adverse reaction is still quite strong so another reduction will hopefully help more.

 

is it possible to do 10.4mg? just because it’s easier on the syringe because it’ll be 5.2ml?

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Administrator
4 hours ago, holli said:

is it possible to do 10.4mg?

 

Sure.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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todays notes! i think my sleep was messed up because i got too hyped and awake listening to music that my brain had trouble staying asleep? but i don’t think it’s affected me too much, today wasn’t any worse than any other day. so note to self, maybe don’t go crazy at midnight jamming out to music! 

 

i’ll start 10.4mg tomorrow morning so this is the last notes from 10.8mg!

 

3rd november:

12am - little bit of vertigo but i’m listening to music and having a good time!

2am - drift off to sleep

3-4:30am - in and out of sleep, each time i wake up i feel achey and nauseous. i fall asleep around 4:30 and stay asleep

11am - wake up, a little bit anxious and head is "off"

11:30am - take 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12pm - tremors, nausea, dp/dr, vertigo 

12:30pm - snack, same as above 

1pm - tremors eased but same as above with head pressure

2:30pm - feel oddly emotional, like i could suddenly burst into tears, body really uncomfortable 

3:30pm - everything's eased apart from heavy head and dp/dr, brain just feels gone

4:30pm - snack, doing okay just having to keep head still because of heaviness and vertigo 

6pm - dinner, slight nausea, getting hot, still have above 

7pm - trying to do more uni work, once again frustrated because i cant concentrate on the words and no information is going in my brain

8:30pm - snack, body is achey and heavy, mood has dipped 

9pm - feeling hot, head is electrical feeling

10pm - took birth control, cooled down but head still heavy/electrical

10:30pm - dp/dr, brain feels gone

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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here’s todays notes! first day on 10.4mg, feeling quite out of it and “flat”, especially in the evening. hopefully it doesn’t last too long!

 

4th november:

1am - minor zaps

2:30am - fell asleep 

11am - woke up, achey

11:30am - took 10.4mg liquid zoloft

12pm - slight tremors and vertigo 

12:30pm - snack, nausea, still same as above too

1:30pm - lunch, tremors gone, nausea increasing (not as bad as it has been previous days), body uncomfortable, electrical head

2pm - same as above but nausea in waves and heavy pressured head

3pm - tremors back in waves, nausea increasing

4pm - internal vibrations, body feels tense, nausea eased 

4:30pm - snack, dp/dr, brain feels gone

5:30pm - dp/dr feels a bit more intense 

6:30pm - dinner, fireworks outside making me on edge

7:30pm - body feels uncomfortable and tense 

8:30pm - snack, getting hot, electrical head, felt like bursting into tears 

10pm - took birth control, head and body feels like it’s filled with lead, mood is low just want to sleep

11pm - dp/dr, heavy head, feeling hot

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Moderator Emeritus

As you decrease your dose of Zoloft slowly and carefully, the adverse effects should decrease.  The trick is to do it slowly enough so we don’t incur withdrawal symptoms from reducing too fast.  Overall are you feeling any improvements at all since you started reducing in October?  

Please do not private message me.  Only tag me for urgent questions about tapering and reinstating - thank you.  

 

***Please note this is not medical advice.  Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a doctor who understands psych meds and how to withdraw from them, if you can find one.

 

Lexapro   Started Apr 15 2010 - 10 mg;  started taper August 2017, recent taper info: Apr 2 '20  0.18 mg; Jul 16  0.17 mg, Aug 23  0.16 mg, Oct 7  0.15 mg, Nov 8 - 0.14, Jan 16 '21 - 0.13, Feb 7 - 0.12, Feb 22 - 0.11, Mar 26 - 0.10, May 21 - 0.09, June 15 - 0.08 Aug 16 - 0.07, Oct 6 - 0.06, Nov 21 0.05, Dec. 17 0.04, Jan 14 '22 0.03, Feb 19 0.02, Apr 18 0.01, May 15 0.005,  Jul 8, 0.00.  Psych Drug Free as of July 8, 2022!!  Woohoo!!!

other meds: Levothyroxine 75 mg

magnesium in small amounts at 4 AM, before bed

suppl AM: fish oil, flax oil, vit C, vit E, multivitamin, zinc

suppl 8 PM: magnesium 350 mg, extended release vitamin C, melatonin 2 mg

 

Paxil 2002 - 2010, switched to Lexapro 2010 

Trazodone 50 mg. 2002 - 2019, fast tapered in 2019 

Xanax 0.5 mg as needed 2002 - 2019, up to 3x weekly 

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14 minutes ago, getofflex said:

The trick is to do it slowly enough so we don’t incur withdrawal symptoms from reducing too fast.

how will i know if i’m seeing an uptick in withdrawal symptoms and i should slow down? is it if after a dose, i get worse and it doesn’t stabilise?

 

im terrified of going too fast and making it worse, but this adverse reaction is also still quite awful… like you said previously it really is between a rock and a hard place!

 

17 minutes ago, getofflex said:

Overall are you feeling any improvements at all since you started reducing in October?

honestly, it’s really hard to say right in this moment because i’m feeling the dose reduction right now. before the reduction though, i feel like the adverse reaction isn’t as intense, for example i noticed that yesterday and the day before that my tremors were not as intense and didn’t last as long. i also find that i’m not hot for as long anymore and as a result i can sleep comfortably in a normal amount of layers at night. 

 

i also noticed a couple days ago that for one day my nausea wasn’t as bad in the day and it was completely gone by the evening.

 

however, i’m still non-functional and staying in my bedroom out of comfort, being able to get cool with the window and because my symptoms exhaust me. i’m also still throwing up every couple of days, i threw up today pretty suddenly without warning and it left me feeling so awful for hours.

 

so there’s like really minor improvements, i don’t feel that anything has worsened either so hopefully it stays that way. hopefully once this dose reduction evens out i’ll see more improvements, but i’m guessing it’ll take quite a few more drops and time to see significant improvements right?

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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here’s todays notes, it was quite a rough one not gonna lie! throwing up came without much warning (i had nausea but not as bad as it has been) which shocked me, then left me feeling pretty rough all day. plus vertigo and hot flushes… it’s just been a bit rougher than usual, i don’t know whether that’s dose reductions catching up or if it’s just a general worse day.

 

5th november:

2:30am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, achey

11:30am - took 10.4mg liquid zoloft

12pm - head feels off

12:30pm - snack, nausea, slight tremors. 

12:35pm - without much warning i threw up pretty bad

1pm - nausea eased, tremors still, head is heavy and body is tense, dp/dr

1:30pm - lunch, tremors increasing, nausea in waves, anxiety in chest 

2pm - hot flush, vertigo 

3pm - cooled down but feel very uncomfortable, heavy head, nausea

4:30pm - snack, body aches, still the above, anxiety back in chest, electrical head

5:30pm - still feel really uncomfortable and tense, head still very electrical, feel like i could burst into tears 

6:30pm - dinner, hard because nausea was getting a little bad (not as bad as earlier in the day) 

7:30pm - symptoms have eased a little, just feel tired 

8:30pm - feel flat, body feels like it’s filled with lead, getting a little hot 

10pm - took birth control, cooled down but still feel flat and heavy

10:30pm - dp/dr, getting hot again, electrical head 

11pm - full hot flush, quite uncomfortable 

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Moderator Emeritus
3 hours ago, holli said:

how will i know if i’m seeing an uptick in withdrawal symptoms and i should slow down? is it if after a dose, i get worse and it doesn’t stabilise?

You would feel worse overall, in addition to the symptoms you are getting from the adverse effects. 

 

3 hours ago, holli said:

before the reduction though, i feel like the adverse reaction isn’t as intense

Good, this means that reducing the drug is helping you lessen the adverse effects.  

 

3 hours ago, holli said:

i’m guessing it’ll take quite a few more drops and time to see significant improvements right?

It could possibly be, but it sounds like you are already seeing some minor improvements.  These things take a long time to resolve.  Everyone is different.  Hang in there, eventually this will come to an end.  You are doing a great job.  Keep up the good work!  

Please do not private message me.  Only tag me for urgent questions about tapering and reinstating - thank you.  

 

***Please note this is not medical advice.  Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a doctor who understands psych meds and how to withdraw from them, if you can find one.

 

Lexapro   Started Apr 15 2010 - 10 mg;  started taper August 2017, recent taper info: Apr 2 '20  0.18 mg; Jul 16  0.17 mg, Aug 23  0.16 mg, Oct 7  0.15 mg, Nov 8 - 0.14, Jan 16 '21 - 0.13, Feb 7 - 0.12, Feb 22 - 0.11, Mar 26 - 0.10, May 21 - 0.09, June 15 - 0.08 Aug 16 - 0.07, Oct 6 - 0.06, Nov 21 0.05, Dec. 17 0.04, Jan 14 '22 0.03, Feb 19 0.02, Apr 18 0.01, May 15 0.005,  Jul 8, 0.00.  Psych Drug Free as of July 8, 2022!!  Woohoo!!!

other meds: Levothyroxine 75 mg

magnesium in small amounts at 4 AM, before bed

suppl AM: fish oil, flax oil, vit C, vit E, multivitamin, zinc

suppl 8 PM: magnesium 350 mg, extended release vitamin C, melatonin 2 mg

 

Paxil 2002 - 2010, switched to Lexapro 2010 

Trazodone 50 mg. 2002 - 2019, fast tapered in 2019 

Xanax 0.5 mg as needed 2002 - 2019, up to 3x weekly 

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todays notes! pretty awful day, threw up once again and just felt really rough and run down the rest of the day. plus my anxiety seems to be worse, i haven’t really felt that calm today. i’m hoping this is something that will clear in a couple days once i adjust to the drop? or am i reacting too bad to drops? it’s hard to understand.

 

also, with the vomiting, it comes on pretty fast. i feel nauseous about 10 minutes before but i do on days that i don't throw up anyway, but the sign that i know i’m gonna throw up is my stomach churning. all i did today was move to open my window and this made my stomach just reject and i threw up with no warning. and then once i’m done throwing up, my stomach feels fine… so my body really does not like that zoloft dose some days. 

 

6th november:

2:30am - fell asleep, had a lot of short random dreams that were confusing

11am - woke up, don’t feel rested, achey, bit of vertigo

11:30am - took10.4mg liquid zoloft

12pm - little bit of nausea

12:30pm - moved to open my window and threw up with barely any warning

12:40pm - snack, tremors

1:30pm - lunch, nausea increasing again, feeling hot, feel uncomfortable/restless, body aches

2:30pm - still the same as above with dp/dr, whole body is tense 

3:30pm - head and body feels like it’s filled with lead, nausea still there, still hot, just feel generally rough

4pm - tremors are now internal vibrations, still the same as above. anxiety making my stomach feel unsettled 

4:30pm - snack, still all of the above 

5:30pm - finally feel calmer, things have eased a tiny bit, just very tired 

6:30pm - dinner, feel very heavy, slight nausea, still just feel very rough and tired, dp/dr

8pm - anxiety came back for a while, nausea eased, still feel heavy with a little bit of dp/dr, really hot and notice my left ear is burning?

9pm - still hot but had to shut my window because the fireworks are making me jump

9:30pm - cooled down a bit

10pm - took birth control, hot again, body aches, electrical head, slight nausea

10:30pm - anxiety is increasing

11:30pm - still feel uncomfortable and hot, trying to calm and cool for sleep

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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checking in with todays notes! i’m not sure whether i should updose back to 10.8mg, i felt i was improving a little and ever since i dropped to 10.4mg i feel like i’m getting worse? is it too early to tell? i’m not quite sure what to do. today was just so awful and i’m looking forward to sleep but i’m dreading tomorrow :(

 

i also read a thread earlier on cups of tea potentially messing with symptoms and i realised i always drink tea about half an hour before i throw up… i’m gonna not drink my midday tea tomorrow and see if i feel any better. i also drink tea in the evening but i cant tell it it really does anything to me then. i guess i’ll make some adjustments and see. 

 

7th december:

1:00am - finally cooled down, ataxia sensations, uncomfortable

2:30am - fell asleep but kept going in and out

5am - slept fully

11am - woke up, achey and hot

11:30am - took 10.4mg liquid zoloft, anxiety

12pm - tremors, dp/dr

12:30pm - threw up, tremors really intense, very hot, stomach upset, head feels awful

12:45pm - had a snack, keep getting hot flushes that make me dizzy/lightheaded and my whole body feels like it’s on fire

1pm - everything still very intense, body hurts from tremors, chemical anxiety feels like my nerves are electric 

1:30pm - lunch, extremely hard to keep down because i still feel sick, stomach still very upset, everything is still intense

2:30pm - tremors finally easing a little, still hot, head feels electrical, exhausted and body hurts, dp/dr

3pm - tremors increasing again, still feel very sick

3:30pm - tried to have a nap because i’m exhausted but i can’t switch off, nausea still awful, slight tremors

4:30pm - snack, still feel sick, tremors are now internal vibrations, body aches from tremors

5:30pm - nausea has eased a little, dp/dr strong

6:30pm - dinner, hard because of nausea increasing again, still have bad dp/dr, getting hot

7:30pm - body aches, feel exhausted, nausea is still bad and i thought i was gonna throw up again

8:30pm - snack, still hot, anxiety rushes and head feels “off”

9pm - cooled down a bit

10pm - took birth control, head still feels off, body aches 

11pm - getting hot again, anxiety, electrical head 

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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i just realised, i wrote december on those notes instead of november… yesterday really was quite bad huh.

 

i’ve also updosed back to 10.8mg today, i think going to 10.4mg was too fast and my body didn’t like it. i can tell i’ve gotten worse because usually i wake up gently in the morning, but this morning i am a shaking mess. hopefully i can get some relief by going back to 10.8mg and maybe i need to go a bit slower in the future?

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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another bad day today sadly. my nausea, tremors and anxiety has been so bad. i can barely eat and keep it down because my stomach churns. i think i’m just gonna have an early night because i feel so sick and hot. it really sucks, i was feeling improvement a week ago and now i’m really struggling quite bad. i don’t know what to do.

 

8th november:

3am - finally fell asleep after being restless

11am - woke up hot, anxious, tremors and slightly nauseous. low mood also

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12pm - tremors increasing, still very hot, stomach upset, nausea increasing

12:30pm - snack, hard to keep down, still the same as above

1:30pm - lunch, threw up about 5 minutes in (could feel my stomach churning and couldn’t stop it)

2:30pm - still have tremors but not as intense, still feel sick, still feel really hot

3pm - thought i was gonna throw up again, tremors in surges, cooling down a bit, body really uncomfortable and achey, heavy/electrical head

4pm - body feels like it’s filled with lead, tremors have eased, head is heavy/electrical, still have bad nausea 

5pm - snack, still the same as above but with anxiety and dp/dr, internal vibrations too

6pm - still the same, things have eased only slightly

7pm - dinner, really struggling to eat it because of nausea 

8pm - still feel awful, nausea and exhausted, electrical head, feeling hot, just want to sleep and wake up better 

9pm - snack but it was hard to keep down, tremors are suddenly back, anxiety is bad, really hot it’s making me dizzy, still very nauseous

10pm - took birth control, still the same as above

10:30pm - tried to eat a little snack but took two nibbles and i could feel my stomach churning, feel very sick still, anxiety strong

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Administrator

I'm sorry, @holli You're having adverse effects from Zoloft and withdrawal symptoms from moving too fast, too.

 

Please hang in there. Updose to 10.8mg should even out in a few days. When it does, perhaps reducing by 0.1mg at a time would be the plan.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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20 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Please hang in there. Updose to 10.8mg should even out in a few days. When it does, perhaps reducing by 0.1mg at a time would be the plan.

i already feel a tiny bit better today after upping the dose yesterday, so i think i definitely went a bit too fast. yesterday was probably the sickest i’ve felt in this whole thing so far, it was really awful but i actually got to sleep early for once and got a solid over 10 hours which i think was much needed!

 

here’s todays notes :)

 

9th november:

12:30am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, really hot and anxious, slight tremors

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12:10pm - threw up, not as much as usual (was literally just a bit of water) 

12:30pm - nausea, tremors, really hot, dp/dr, anxiety

1:30pm - lunch, struggled to keep it down, still the same as above, stomach keeps churning, restless

2:30pm - still about the same 

3pm - tremors now internal vibrations, whole body aches/feels uncomfortably tense, exhausted, heavy/electrical head, still feel nauseous and hot

4pm - still the same as above, cooled down for a while but hot again, just feel really gross/groggy

4:30pm - snack, ataxia sensations, body feels tense and uncomfortable still, brain feels gone 

5:30pm - still the above but nausea increasing a little

6:30pm - dinner, struggled because of nausea

7:30pm - anxiety isn’t too bad but body feels hot and uncomfortable still

8:30pm - snack, anxiety is back, still have nausea, internal vibrations and getting hot 

10pm - took birth control, getting restless, still hot, electrical head

11pm - calmed down a little but still very hot

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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still a bit rough and feel quite awful, really hoping that the updose kicks in and eases stuff a little more. i at least hope it eases the nausea so i don’t throw up everyday, because this is a new thing since the dose drops. i used to just throw up every couple of days… it sucks. but here’s todays notes :)

 

 

10th november:

2:30am - fell asleep after tossing and turning for ages

11am - woke up, headache (left eyebrow)

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12pm - tremors, still have the headache, anxiety 

12:30pm - snack, nausea increasing

1:30pm - lunch, trying my hardest to keep it down 

1:45pm - threw up, hurt my throat, tremors intense, very hot

2:30pm - tremors still there, body is really uncomfortable, still hot, feel awful

3:30pm - feel rough and exhausted, still feel very nauseous, heavy head, achey/uncomfortable body

4:30pm - snack, same as above, dp/dr

5pm - ataxia sensations, brain feels gone, still feel very sick, just want to sleep, electrical head

6:30pm - dinner, nausea isn’t too bad, still feel rough almost like a hangover 

7:30pm - ataxia sensations, dp/dr

8pm - anxiety increasing, feel very uncomfortable 

8:30pm - anxiety still bad, slight tremors, restless, electrical head

10pm - took birth control, calmed a bit from earlier but still have strong dp/dr and feel uncomfortable 

11pm - above eased a little more

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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here a bit late with notes! thankfully i didn’t throw up today so i broke the daily streak thank god!! hopefully that means my cns is adjusting back to the updose again :)

 

 

11th november:

1:30am - restless and hot

3am - keep dozing off but waking hot and nauseous 

4am - fell asleep and stayed asleep

11am - woke up, body aches 

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft 

12pm - slight tremors, anxiety

12:30pm - snack, nausea increasing, tremors increasing

1pm - feel drugged/drowsy, heavy head

1:30pm - lunch, nausea making it hard, still same as above

2pm - tremors have eased a little, feeling hot, still feel very drugged 

3pm - feel uncomfortable, drugged feeling has eased a little bit, nausea still there 

4pm - body aches, uncomfortable, nausea still bad

4:30pm - snack, internal vibrations, still the same as above

5:30pm - still have internal vibrations, electrical head, body aches still there but nausea has eased. mood low, i keep thinking about how cruel this is and how time is being robbed from me 

6:30pm - dinner, nausea not too bad

8pm - dp/dr, getting hot

9pm - feeling cold for once but still sweating

10pm - took birth control, dp/dr

11pm - uncomfortable hot flush, anxiety 

11:30pm - moment of vertigo

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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another day of not throwing up or nausea being persistent! however, i’m not enjoying the uncomfortable sensations i get midway through the day and sometimes it feels like my whole brain has disconnected. this has been more intense since the whole drop and back to updose, but hopefully my brain is still sorting itself out and it’ll ease again. 

 

12th november:

1:30am - ataxia sensations

2:30am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, body aches

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12pm - slight tremors, body tense

12:30pm - snack, same as above but with nausea 

1:30pm - lunch, nausea increasing, head heavy, anxiety increasing, body tense but tremors not too bad, dp/dr, getting hot

2:30pm - head pressure, body feels uncomfortable, internal vibrations, nausea still bad, anxiety is a little more bearable, still kinda hot

3:30pm - nausea has eased a little, cooled down a bit but still have head pressure and uncomfortable body. also keep getting moments where i get really tearful

5pm - snack, body tense, getting hot again, strong dp/dr and ataxia sensations, feel really uncomfortable, head feels disconnected 

6:30pm - dinner, above eased

8:30pm - feeling hot and just overall tired

10pm - took birth control, same as above

10:30pm - getting hot, uncomfortable/restless 

11:30pm - same as above, little bit anxious 

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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really not enjoying the uncomfortable anxiety i get a couple of hours after the dose now, it’s an anxiety i’ve never felt and it’s really hard to describe. makes me super uncomfortable and feels like all my nerves are alive? and i have to keep everything simple and quiet because noises or having to hold a conversation makes my brain buzz so much that it feels like it’s going to explode. but it seems to have replaced the intense nausea and tremors, both of which have kinda eased (still bad but not as intense) so it’s really strange how symptoms morph.

 

also i will be so thankful for these hot flushes to ease whenever that will be… it seems to only be the upper part of my body that gets hot, feels like my skin is burning. i just want to snuggle for winter :(

 

13 november:

1am - vertigo, still hot

2am - finally cooled down but i cant sleep because i’m ruminating about how i wish i could function and i wish i never took these meds and ruined my life 

3am - in and out of sleep, waking up nauseous and hot each time

4am - finally fell asleep

11am - woke up, achey

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12:30pm - snack, anxiety and slight tremors

1:30pm - lunch, nausea, anxiety increasing, head heavy, strong drugged feeling, getting hot, internal vibrations

2pm - still hot, nausea increasing, anxiety calmed a little but still quite bad, head still heavy/drugged feeling, body feels uncomfortable 

2:30pm - anxiety got really overwhelming for a while, head tingling, tremors, going hot/sweating, nausea increasing

3:30pm - flu-like symptoms (feel run down), anxiety has eased a little but still feel very sensitive and overwhelmed, cooled a little 

4:30pm - snack, about the same as above but with internal vibrations 

5:30pm - same as above, a tiny bit eased

6:30pm - dinner, feeling hot and a bit nauseous

7:30pm - internal vibrations and feeling uncomfortable, still hot, head pressure/electrical sensations

8:30pm - snack, anxiety starting to increase, still have the above

9:30pm - still the same as above, very uncomfortable anxiety

11pm - getting really hot, anxiety still there

 

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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a particularly bad day sadly. threw up after not throwing up for 3 days and i’ve had horrible uncomfortable anxiety pretty much all day. to top it all off, i feel sick and have vertigo in the evening and it’s making it hard for

me to eat. really frustrating, i’m so tired of feeling like this and not functioning at all :( 

 

 

14th november:

2:30am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, body aches

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12:15pm - snack, heavy head, internal vibrations

1pm - lunch, suddenly very nauseous, getting hot, anxiety increasing

1:15pm - threw up, intense tremors, hot, intense anxiety

2pm - tremors eased but still around, still hot, anxiety eased but still around, head heavy, feel tired and groggy, still very nauseous 

3pm - tremors in surges, cooled down, feel very uncomfortable, anxiety has eased a bit, nausea eased a bit but still bad 

4:30pm - snack, tremors have eased, feel tired and drained

5:30pm - same as above

6:30pm - dinner, nausea made it hard, getting hot and head is heavy/electrical, internal vibrations

7:30pm - still hot, head and neck tingling sensations, internal vibrations, anxiety

8:30pm - snack, anxiety increasing, feeling uncomfortable, same as above

10pm - took birth control, still same as above plus vertigo

10:30pm - hot flush, suddenly felt very sick, tremors, anxiety bad, head tingling intense. took a couple bites of a snack and thought i was gonna throw up

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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well, i thought i wasn’t gonna throw up today but i suddenly got really sick tonight and threw up way later than usual. it’s incredibly annoying because i cant stop throwing up once i feel my stomach churn, like sometimes i’ll feel nauseous and i can still eat and it’s easy to ignore, but if my stomachs churning with the nausea then i can’t do anything to not throw up. very annoying :( 

 

also this anxiety is crippling, it’s not even really accompanied by anxious thoughts, it’s just a physical reaction that i can’t seem to calm down.

 

 

15th november:

12am - achey body

12:30am - slept, woke up several times in the night but fell asleep again quick each time

11am - woke up, achey

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12:15pm - snack, slight tremors, anxiety, nausea, heavy head

1pm - lunch, nausea increasing, feel drugged/drowsy, tremors, heavy head, getting hot

2pm - same as above but body feels really heavy now too

2:30pm - uncomfortable waves of panic in the body, really nauseous and hot, anxiety bad, tremors 

3:30pm - body feels really uncomfortable, head feels groggy, exhausted but cooling down, anxiety eased a bit, nausea eased but still bad

4:30pm - snack, still the same as above but nausea and anxiety have eased a little more

5:30pm - same as above

6:30pm - dinner, still the same as above, nothing worsening

8pm - ataxia sensations, feel really uncomfortable and getting hot

9pm - snack, still same as above plus anxiety increasing

10pm - took birth control. really nauseous, hot and anxious 

10:30pm - threw up, still feel nauseous and hot

11pm - still the same as above

 

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

Link to comment

slightly better than yesterday in the sense that i didn’t have bad anxiety tonight so at least that’s a positive.

 

@Altostrata i’ve been at 10.8mg for a week now and while i’m not as bad as a week ago, i’m still nowhere near functioning or feeling well. should i stay here for a while? updose more? reduce by 0.1mg? it’s really tricky to know whether i’m doing more damage still getting adverse reactions but then i don’t seem to tolerate reducing well… i feel very stuck. 

 

here’s todays notes:

16th november:

12:30am - restless

1am - fell asleep

11am - woke up, achey, hot and dizzy

11:30am - took 10.8mg liquid zoloft

12:15pm - snack, nauseous, slight tremors

1pm - lunch, really nauseous, getting hot, tremors increasing 

1:15pm - threw up, tremors intense

2pm - still very nauseous, hot and have tremors, head heavy

3:30pm - tremors are now internal vibrations, anxiety has eased, cooled down a little. just feel tired and nauseous 

4:30pm - snack, still same as above with dp/dr

6pm - dinner, slight nausea, dp/dr

8pm - snack, nausea has eased, just feel very tired and achey

10pm - took birth control, nausea back a bit, getting hot

11pm - little bit of nausea, hot, heavy head, body aches

- prescribed zoloft 25mg for panic/agoraphobia oct 2019 aged 19 (side effects instantly, never went away)

- from oct ‘19 to march ‘21 i kept changing doses (doc instructions) from 25mg, 50mg, 75mg & 100mg

- fast cross tapered to citalopram 10mg in march ‘21. immediately upped to 20mg by doc when i reported worsening symptoms. dropped to 5mg for one day and experienced SI. 

- direct swap back to zoloft 25mg in may ‘21

july ‘21 began to taper under docs instruction (alternate doses and get off in 4 weeks). crashed very hard at 12.5mg so i held for 3 months

- liquid zoloft taper 19/10/21 11.2mg, 28/10/21 11mg, 29/10/21 10.8mg, 4/11/21 10.4mg, 8/11/21 10.8mg, 18/11/21 10.7mg, 30/12/21 10.6mg

 

also on the birth control desogestrel 75mcg since jan ‘21

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  • Administrator
5 hours ago, holli said:

reduce by 0.1mg?

 

This is a good idea. If it goes well, you might be able to do this every few days.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

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