taperthatkeespsgiving: Zoloft update- 14 months off

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Hi everyone! 

 

I am a 26 y/o female who was put on Zoloft at age 20 in 2016. I originally was put on the medication for stress and a suicide attempt (that happened a few days after I was put on Lexapro, but that's a story for another day). In 2021 I decided I wanted to be free of the Zoloft and live a med free life to focus on other health issues- extreme fatigue, stomach and constipation issues, and vision decreasing. Oh man I thought it would be so easy (as previously I had gotten off adderall after using for 7 years with barely any side effects). At first I felt fine tapering off the Zoloft- I started in Nov 2021 and got from 50 mg to 25 by Dec 2021, by Jan 1 2022 I was fully off the meds. Oh and let me mention my psychiatrist advised this schedule was fine lol. 

 

The past year has been soooooooooo hard for me. I have never felt like this in my life. I first started noticing random memories of childhood come up and thought huh weird, then the brain fog, the anxiety, and the tiredness kicked in. And then the awful depression that I've never experienced like this before. I am still fighting but starting to feel lost and worried mainly about the low moods. My mood can go from happy and ok to severely depressed in a matter of minutes which really scares me. 

 

I write this post because I am considering going back on a LOW dose of Zoloft to see if I can get some kind of relief as the past 14 months have been quite literally awful. What would be the recommended reinstated dose? I would want to go in super low so I don't have to go through this ever again. Any thoughts super appreciated! 

 

TIMELINE: 

 

2012-2018- adderall 20 mg

2015-2016- lexapro 20 mg

2016 Nov- 2021 Nov Zoloft 50 mg 

2021 Dec- Zoloft 25 mg 

2022 Jan 1- med free 

2022 April- 10 mg Zoloft (did this for about 14 days and then stopped because I thought it didn't help) 

 

Edited April 30 by manymoretodays
name to topic title

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

 

Hi everyone! 

 

I am a 26 y/o female who was put on Zoloft at age 20 in 2016. I originally was put on the medication for stress and a suicide attempt (that happened a few days after I was put on Lexapro, but that's a story for another day). In 2021 I decided I wanted to be free of the Zoloft and live a med free life to focus on other health issues- extreme fatigue, stomach and constipation issues, and vision decreasing. Oh man I thought it would be so easy (as previously I had gotten off adderall after using for 7 years with barely any side effects). At first I felt fine tapering off the Zoloft- I started in Nov 2021 and got from 50 mg to 25 by Dec 2021, by Jan 1 2022 I was fully off the meds. Oh and let me mention my psychiatrist advised this schedule was fine lol. 

 

The past year has been soooooooooo hard for me. I have never felt like this in my life. I first started noticing random memories of childhood come up and thought huh weird, then the brain fog, the anxiety, and the tiredness kicked in. And then the awful depression that I've never experienced like this before. I am still fighting but starting to feel lost and worried mainly about the low moods. My mood can go from happy and ok to severely depressed in a matter of minutes which really scares me. 

 

I write this post because I am considering going back on a LOW dose of Zoloft to see if I can get some kind of relief as the past 14 months have been quite literally awful. What would be the recommended reinstated dose? I would want to go in super low so I don't have to go through this ever again. Any thoughts super appreciated! 

 

TIMELINE: 

 

2012-2018- adderall 20 mg

2015-2016- lexapro 20 mg

2016 Nov- 2021 Nov Zoloft 50 mg 

2021 Dec- Zoloft 25 mg 

2022 Jan 1- med free 

2022 April- 10 mg Zoloft (did this for about 14 days and then stopped because I thought it didn't help) 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @taperthatkeepsongiving

 

What are your current symptoms? Are they better at any particular times of day? How has your symptom pattern changed in the last 6 months? How's your sleep?

[taperthatkeepsongiving]

Hi! Current symptoms are: depression, lack of motivation, crying spells, intrusive thoughts, panic attacks and akathisia which leads to suicidal ideation. I would say they normally come later in the day. In the morning I am fine, but as the afternoon comes the depression gets unbearable. 

 

I would say the past 6 months has been pretty much the same symptom wise with the intrusive thoughts and lack of motivation, but only in the past week has the akathisia gotten unbearable.

 

Sleep is good and energy is way improved since coming off. Thank you for your help ❤️ 

[Altostrata]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:32 PM, taperthatkeepsongiving said:

Sleep is good and energy is way improved since coming off.

 

Appears you have seen some improvement since going off your drugs January 1.

 

The other symptoms are typical of protracted withdrawal syndrome. What do you mean by "akathisia"? How has this changed in the last week?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.