SonnyEvans: Trying to quit Zoloft / sertraline

[SonnyEvans]

So I started taking Zoloft around 7 years ago after my GP prescribed them after I explained about having low mood, generally discontent with my life. In hindsight these things were not worth the plunge of ADs as I feel theyve made the situation worse overall. 
 

anyway so I took them for about 2-3 years. Its a little foggy on how long it really was as I only journal very sporadically sometimes daily for months sometimes once or twice every couple months. 
i began tapering down As my GP said it would be okay to reduce from 100mg to 50mg over a 2 week period which I did. At this point I didnt notice much of a difference, if anything I felt better after going down to 50mg. I took this to mean that id feel even better it I got off the med, so my GP said that I could just quit cold turkey at that point. His reasoning was because he knew of other patients taking 200mg doses anything less than 50mg isnt a ‘therapeutic dose’ so there shouldnt be a problem

with quitting since my dose was so low. 
 

fast forward 2 months and im starting a new job. Day before the job I get sick and dont think much of it. After 3 days of working it became apparent i was not sick but was having panic attacks and crazy anxiety I had never had prior. I lost the ability to sleep more than 2 hrs a night and woke up every morning puking/dry heaving. This led to me having to quit the job as I was embarrassed by all of this. I then asked my GP to put me with a psychiatrist and he had to put me

on a 12 month waiting list. After finally meeting with him he tried me on Effexor which made me want to hurt myself. I was on that for about 6 months, then we tried Lamactil but I couldnt handle the side effects so we eventually settled back on Sertraline. Now ive been on it again for a few years and cant really afford them anymore as my insurance ran out when I turned 27. I never wanted to be on them so I figured it was a good time to taper. I am down to 25mg a day and thought that was a low enough dose to quit on. But after about 3 weeks of not taking any sertraline im having a resurgence in anxiety. Going to start taking my dose again and work out how I can reduce the dosage. Its just hard as its powder in a capsule. I dont believe these meds helped me Much but not being on them/quitting them incorrectly has caused me alot of issues and has mostly put my life on hold while I deal with this. 
 

thanks if you took the time to read, it was alot. 

[Onmyway]

Dear S, 

welcome to SA. I am so sorry that you have had such a hard time with these drugs. You are in good hands now and we can help you taper with minimal disruption to your life. This will be a long process but you can do it. 

 

What is happening to you is common. These drugs are most potent at the lowest doses and and so it is natural  that you may not see withdrawal symptoms until you come down quite a lot on your dosage. The second link below shows you why that is the case. 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage? - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants

Why taper? SERT transporter occupancy studies show importance of gradual change in plasma concentration - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants

 

We also find that people who have quit ADs once or more then become sensitive to their reintroduction or the reintroduction of other psychiatric drugs or substances including supplements such as St John's Wort, alcohol, pot, street drugs and even some vitamins. This is likely what happened to you with Effexor and other drugs. 

 

And below is  some information on what you can expect during withdrawal: 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants

What is happening in your brain? - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants

 

Here are some of the success stories of our members. Note that most people who recover don't come back, so there are fewer success stories than introduction topics but that doesn't mean that people fail to come off of these drugs. 

Success stories: Recovery from psychiatric drug withdrawal - Surviving Antidepressants

 

Since you have stopped taking the drug for 3 weeks, we would recommend that you reinstate at a lower dose than 25mg as your body has made some adaptations in the meantime. I'd suggest that you try 15mg for a few days and see whether it takes care of the symptoms that you have. If you tolerate that dose but don't see enough improvement you can go up further after 3-4 days. 

 About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants

 

This link will help you figure out how to get the right dosage now and especially when you start tapering eventually. It is very important to take your dose every day at the same time. Please don't taper by skipping days.

Tips for tapering Zoloft (sertraline) - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants

 

Also, please can you create a drug signature? It helps us help you faster as we can quickly glance at your history when your thread becomes many pages long. How to List Drug History in Signature - Introductions and updates - Surviving Antidepressants

 

Hope you start feeling better soon, 

OMW

Edited February 16, 2022 by Onmyway

[SonnyEvans]

How would you describe feeling ‘stable’

 

Hey all, ive been on here for about 2 weeks. I reinstated 25mg sertraline after quitting for 2 months and began experiencing what I considered to be withdrawal symptoms (increase in anxiety, irritability, suicidal ideation). 

i believe I am doing better now as I am not having crippling anxiety but I have alot of self doubt and I am sleeping way too much. If i dont get 11-12 hrs of sleep I feel super tired but if I do sleep 12 hrs I feel groggy and like ive wasted the whole day. 

 

just wondering what you guys consider ‘stable’? Will it be when I can sleep 8 hours and feel okay? Or when the self doubt goes away? Its hard to tell where my personality starts and where the symptoms end. 

thanks. 

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by ChessieCat
added Intro topic title before merging with intro topic

[ChessieCat]

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

See:

 

Stability

 

WDnormal

 

And Brassmonkey talks more about it here:

 

tao-of-the-brassmonkey

 

[SonnyEvans]

Thanks Chessie. Theres alot of really great information here.
Putting into words alot of the processes that doctors dont talk about. Do they not know? Or is the research just too uncertain for them to share the findings? 

The approach of this site really suits me— I am naturally an overthinker so I love to absorb as much information about whats going on as possible. Explaining it in terms such as the nervous system needing to adapt makes so much more sense to me. Doctors sort of just beat around the bush and give the most basic explanations about how these meds work on our bodies. 
 

i really hope I can get back to feeling like a person— its been so long I dont really think its possible but reading the stuff here gives me hope. Thanks. 

[ChessieCat]

One thing to understand is that we also need to learn non drug skills for coping with life in general.  It is normal for anybody, even people who have never been on a psychiatric drug, to have periods where their mood is lower, or when there are additional stressors in their life that they need to get through.

 

I have found that many of the skills I have learned whilst going through withdrawal and tapering are very useful now.

 

54 minutes ago, SonnyEvans said:

i really hope I can get back to feeling like a person— its been so long I dont really think its possible but reading the stuff here gives me hope.

 

Check out success-stories-recovery-from-psychiatric-drug-withdrawal

 

We have several members who had been on drug cocktails for many years and have managed to get off them and recover.  Even if you do not read through their topics, just have a look at the drug signatures for these 2 members:

 

GiaK

Shep

[SonnyEvans]

Titled:  Trying to taper 25 mg sertraline(powder in a capsule)

 

As the title says— does anyone have any experience tapering powder in a capsule? Its really frustrating trying to eyeball powder out of the capsule. 
 

doctor wont give me any other form of the medication so this is what im stuck with.

 

i feel like this makes my only option after a certain point trying to cold turkey. I can remove roughly half the powder but trying to remove any more is just a complete guessing game. 
 

before this I thought going from 50mg a day to 25mg a day went well. But then I just tried to go from 25mg to zero and felt alright for a while, but now im feeling quite unstable. 
 

thanks for any advice anyone can give. I understand i probably need to update my signature. 

Edited January 3 by manymoretodays
merged and added title

[manymoretodays]

Hi SonnyEvans, @SonnyEvans

Yes, tell us a bit more.  Have you been holding on 25 mg of sertraline?  And what date did you reinstate that?

Just go to AccountSettings/signature to update or edit, make clearer

 

And now that you are back here,( and do post here in your topic, with questions regarding your taper), you can review the sertraline tapering topic.  And the harm reduction 10% or less taper protocol.

 

Most will weigh or go with a liquid for ease of measurements when tapering.  Liquid is perhaps the most precise and easiest to manage if having WD symptoms already.  So that is an option.

 

Do a cross-over please if you do a switch from solid to liquid form, while not doing any reductions.  See this topic:

Cross Over: Changing form(eg tablet to liquid) of drug OR .....

 

How are you doing at present?  Did your WD symptoms abate completely with your reinstatement?  Do tell more.

Looking forward to hearing your update.

And then, ask away please if further questions.  Right here, in your topic.  Thanks.

 

Best, L, P, H, and G,

mmt

 

[SonnyEvans]

The powder within capsules is all I have available to me and I have found weighing the powder and then getting it back in the capsule an extreme challenge so I just empty the pill to a line on the side of the pill that appears to be roughly half. 
 

i see alot of people on this website are able to be more precise with their reductions and tapering but Im too broke to afford to purchase a new scale or buy liquid. I get 180 25mg capsules per bottle(only taking 1 pill a day) so ive managed to make that 50$ bottle last me 6 months. 
 

im not exactly sure why I am back on here as it seems you guys really focus on tapering and I dont believe I can taper any further with any accuracy. 
 

i guess im mainlg here looking for some support as I have no support. Also would appreciate some help navigating the withdrawal/discontinuation symptoms. I was doing really well until about a month ago but now I am very easily set off by almost anything. 
 

i have no lingering anxiety or depression, but often when I attempt any task or if anything goes wrong in my day (which it usually does) im cascaded into anger and stress. 
 

I am normally fairly mellow and easy going but lately I have been wanting to claw my eyes out. 
 

thanks for listening, again I dont know if tapering any further is possible as I have no tools to split up the 12.5mg powder within the capsule any further. 
 

[SonnyEvans]

I guess I should add that I attempted to ween from 12.5 mg to nothing over the course of the past few months(beginning in Sept 2022) until around December. Then I stopped taking the pills altogether. 
 

I find i don't have the capabilities to taper any further and desperately want off these meds so I was willing to put up with some negative side effects. 
 

however now I just am unable to deal with anything so im reinstating 12.5mg for now.