KT38: Quit Zoloft after 3.5 weeks - dizziness/sea sick, agitated, etc...

[KT38]

Hello! I wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Katie and am 38.  I was a completely happy, carefree woman until Thanksgiving when my 5 yr old daughter was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, the deadlist brain cancer.  After getting two opinions, Drs said she will probably only live another year.  Well, I started to get panic attacks in mid-Dec.  I was scared and did not know what was going on with my body.  They gave me Xanax and .5mg would calm them down.  A few days later my GP put me on Zoloft....12.5mg for a few days and 25mg for a few more.  It was the WORST experience and I got heart palpations, my GP took me off cold turkey.  So, the day after I was dizzy.  The dizziness went on for 4.5 weeks until I got on Prozac because everyone was saying "it must be anxiety causing the dizziness".  I know NOW that it was withdrawal, even though I was on for a short time.  The reason I know this is because I am going through withdrawal NOW AGAIN!  I tried Prozac, Lexapro and Zoloft (again) for about 3-4 weeks.....each one gave me agitation, intense 24/7 anxiety, an angry and depressed heightened state, etc...  I ended up in the psych ward for 3 days because I was scared and didn't know what was going on with my body and they took me off Zoloft.  They said my body does not metabolize SSRIs right.  I KNEW IT!!!!  Ugh, so now she took me off COLD TURKEY last week and have been dizzy and feeling seasick every since.  The seabands you get in drugstores do wonders for stopping the sick feeling if any of you need this advice! Anyway, so the 1st week off was tolerable and now I am 24/7 wired/agitated with anxiety.  Nothing can stop this feeling, it's the same feeling I had while ON the antidepressants.  Does withdrawal go through different stages?  I was only on 25mg (2.5 weeks) and 50mg (1 week). I don't want ANYTHING to do with SSRIs every again.  They are poison!!!!!

Edited January 5, 2017 by scallywag
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[Laura1981]

Hi KT!

 

Welcome! I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through!

 

GPs seem to have no idea about antidepressants. They should be prohibited from prescribing them.

 

I have been through something very similar. I was on Effexor for only 5 days, had horrific withdrawal, thought I could rescue myself with a small dose of Zoloft and now I'm going through the stuff again.

 

I think your doctors are right. Our bodies might not metabolise this stuff.

 

Some moderator will come along soon with more experience and tell you more. I wouldn't reinstate based on what I experienced.

 

This will pass.

 

You'll look back at it from a distance and say 'what a disaster, but it's over'.

 

Try to eat well, natural foods. Lots of fruit with antioxidants.

 

Wishing you lots of strength!

 

Laura

[Lookingforhope55]

Hi Katie. Welcome to this community. Lots of great people. My good friends Daughter was diagnosed with glioblastoma, so I can empathize with what you must be going through. You will get great support. We are lucky to have this place to come too.

[LoveandLight]

I'm so sorry for your suffering xxx

[Petunia]

Welcome KT38,

I'm sorry to hear about everything you have been through.  It sounds like you are suffering from the adverse effects of multiple SSRI type drugs trialled over a short period of time.  Are you taking any other medications at the moment? Are you still taking any xanax?

 

Please would you put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature. Putting a short version of your drug and tapering history in your signature helps people understand your context, it appears below each of your posts. Here are instructions for how to do it:

 

http://survivinganti...your-signature/

 

Your nervous system will heal in time, but it may take a little while.  In the mean time, have a look through our symptoms and self care section for more information.  Especially see this topic for ways to manage your symptoms as you continue to recover and for non-drug ideas to treat anxiety:

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

You will find a lot of friendly help and support here.

 

Petunia.

[luv2knit]

Welcome KT38. Sorry for your suffering. I believe you will find much help and support here. I wish you much success in your recovery.

[AmyK]

I am so sorry that you have to go through this while caring for your daughter.

You were'nt on ssri for long, I think and hope you will feel much better soon.

[KT38]

Thank you everyone! It's so great that I have found people like me going through this.  It is not so great that we all have to deal with this withdrawal nonsense! I just updated my signature, which shows all the antidepressants I tried in the 2 month period.

[luv2knit]

KT38, by the way, I am your friend from the Zoloft board. Looks like you're off to a good start. Hope you like it here!

[leahy]

Hi Kt,

Welcome! I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. I will keep both of you in my prayers. I also had a very bad reaction to prozac, effexor and many more - I can't remember. They made me feel extremely anxious and agitated. That wasn't helping at all. So I ended up on xanax and Remeron. It's so difficult to withdraw from these meds. I feel like no one outside of this forum understands or even believes how difficult it is. It's just plain scary. Anyway, I'm sending you warm wishes. I hope this message helps a tiny bit to know you have support and gives you the strength you need to cope.

 

Best,

[Altostrata]

Welcome, kt.

 

There are some people whose bodies do not get along well with SSRIs. They have adverse effects from the very start. It sounds like you are one of them.

 

Whether you have the consequence of exposure to drugs that caused adverse reactions or withdrawal syndrome, the results are the same: Your nervous system needs to settle down. This will be very gradual. You'll need to be kind to it and yourself, especially in this time of distress.

 

Please see our Symptoms and Self-Care forum for suggestions. How are you sleeping?

[KT38]

I am sleeping fine.  Sometimes I get these intense fear/internal shaking moments that can last a couple hours.  Nothing triggers them, they just happen and it feels like I was on the antidepressants.  It happens worse when I am alone, which is why I can't be alone.  I still can't drive due to all this.  It feels like my mind is in a heightened state and my nervous system is shaking inside, but my body does not look like it's physically shaking.  It's scary, like something has taken over my body.

[Songbird]

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter, with that kind of major stress the panic attacks are not surprising.  It is a shame you just got pills thrown at you, when some good counselling or therapy might have been a better option.

 

I think you had an adverse reaction rather than withdrawal.  They are different but can have a lot of the same symptoms.  Everyone's metabolism is a little bit different, and some people's systems just cannot handle SSRIs/SNRIs.  (I'm actually quite impressed that somebody in the psych ward recognised this, that isn't the usual story we see here). 

 

There isn't anything you can take to fix this.  You need to leave your system well alone so that it can sort out the jumble it has got in, which may take some time, so be very patient.  The internal tremor feeling is very unpleasant, but won't hurt you, so do your best not to fear it.  Try to avoid anything stimulating (caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, scary movies, etc.) and do calming things like relaxation exercises, meditation, yoga, gentle walks, etc.

[KT38]

Thank you so much for understanding! Throughout this whole process I have lost faith in mental health professionals and psychiatrists.  Psychiatrists don't want to tell you anything bad, so they can't get sued.   Yes, I truly believe my system will not take SSRIs after all of this.  I am just nervous as to why I am getting the same symptoms as I had while on the drug still after the end of 2 weeks off.  I get nervous that I will never get better. 

[leahy]

Hi KT,

The advice that is given here on SA has helped me more than any of my doctors. Bubble noticed I had stopped xanax too quickly, while reducing an AD (remeron) too rapidly as well; and suggested small doses on a regular basis - every 4-5 hrs.

 

As a result, the past two days are the first days of relief from nausea and headaches that I had for 37 days straight. This helps me to focus on a healthy taper. Slow taper is really key. Stopping abruptly is not so helpful when taking these medications.

 

You will be getting better. It takes patience, though, which I know is tough. Take baby steps.

[Dane22]

Welcome KT. My brother just passed yesterday from glioblastoma multiform stage four, after 3 months and 21 days. I am glad to have that extra time with him.

 

I am off of Prozac after a battle lasting many months. I have felt many of the same things. I'm not sure if I was having withdrawal at times or reacting to the restarting of the medication ( I went on and off several times).

 

I can say, life is better now. Still recovering, but so much better. Please keep us posted.

[Songbird]

Slow taper is really key. Stopping abruptly is not so helpful when taking these medications.

 

I would agree with this approach for withdrawal, but for someone who had a very bad adverse reaction right from the start, which never settled down (some adverse effects at start-up are fairly normal for SSRIs, and usually subside within a few weeks), I would not recommend putting any more of those chemicals into their body, which clearly cannot tolerate them at all.

[leahy]

Sorry about that. I was thinking about the xanax when I said, "The advice that is given here on SA has helped me more than any of my doctors. Bubble noticed I had stopped xanax too quickly, while reducing an AD (remeron) too rapidly as well; and suggested small doses on a regular basis - every 4-5 hrs."

 

I noticed that KT was taking xanax as needed. That was something that Bubble noticed I was doing and when I did what she suggested small regular doses of xanax, it helped me a great deal. I was overjoyed by the relief I got using that approach and wanted to share. I am very sorry that I wasn't clear in my post about that. I didn't mean to suggest this approach at all for the SSRI's given the bad reaction. My apologies.

[KT38]

I was on a few antidepressants for 2 months and the hospital psychiatrist took me off cold turkey on April 7 because they were making me go mad.  I have experiences extreme rage, extreme anxiety due to now an over sensitive nervous system, deep depression, crying spells, apathy, dizziness, heavy head, and fear to be alone.  One month into the withdrawal I had some crazy panic attack caused by some weird brain wiring crash.  I thought it was a seizure, but I don't know.  It happened a few days after I started getting the dizziness bad.  Like my mind couldn't keep up.  I still have that.  Everyday I wake up hoping the day will be different, but it's not.  It's very saddening.  How long does this go on for?  I cannot believe psychiatrists and their "1-2 week of withdrawal" lies!!!!

[KT38]

(whoops, cold turkey on April 8th not 7th)

[clearday]

Since you were on these medications for a relatively short time, withdrawal should not last too long for you compared with others on here.

 

Your symptoms should improve over the next few months.

 

For people who have been on these drugs for more than a year, withdrawal often lasts a couple years, and can be extremely difficult.

 

You are absolutely right, most modern doctors do not understand how long SSRI withdrawal can actually last, and how severe it can be.

 

Many doctors do realize it, and are publishing research to try to get the public and other doctors informed about this.

 

Until then, more and more people such as yourself are going to get harmed by using these drugs without being informed of the risks.

 

Just realize that even though the symptoms seem to never go away, they will, and you should eventually heal.

 

Symptoms usually come and go, and over time, they go away.

 

You can read about the "windows and waves" pattern of recovery that most of us are going through:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/82-the-windows-and-waves-pattern-of-recovery/

 

Another member was on an SSRI for seven weeks and is in protracted SSRI WD:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/8209-outdoorsman15-intro-and-experience-with-effexor-wd/

[Mort81]

Welcome KT38,

 

Like clearday said thankfully you were only on the meds for a short period of time , I also think your symptoms will get much better soon. Dont worry its gonna get much better. All the best 

[KT38]

I cry everyday because there is never a break from this high cortisol surge that getting off has created.  The meds made me worse (I could feel my nervous system being affected 3-4 hours after taking a pill everytime and should have stopped taking them, but I figured that was supposed to happen).  So, I feel guilty that I cold turkeyed off them.  The hospital psychiatrist told me to come off cold turkey because these were doing more harm than good.  I am also light/motion sensitive as well now and can't go anywhere because my head is so messed up.  If you look at my signature with my med history, do you think it was dumb going cold turkey?

[clearday]

It's better to wean off slowly, a 10% taper is recommended to reduce the severity of withdrawal:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

But  since you are unusually sensitive to using these medications - they affected you adversely while on them - IMO you would have been adversely affected no matter how you came off them.

 

All of your symptoms are very typical for people coming off SSRIs, including those who have taken them for years.

 

Even those who slow taper encounter withdrawal symptoms during their taper.

 

And since you were on for such a short time, staying on for a few more months and tapering would mean doubling your time on these drugs.

 

So you can decide whether you want to go back on a small dose to try to reduce withdrawal symptoms, or stay off and "ride it out".

 

Keep in mind these drugs are powerful even at low doses - that's why they can help at a low dose to reduce symptoms if you go back on, or going back on might make things worse. 

 

People recover from using these SSRI drugs whether they cold turkey or do slow taper.

 

A moderator may suggest different options for you as you proceed forward. 

[Laura1981]

Hi KT38,

 

welcome! I had strange effects from the drugs, like you, from the sta.

 

I made the mistake try and combat the withdrawal from 5 days on Effexor with doses of under 1mg of Zoloft for 10 days. This turned out to make things much, much worse. Now I feel dumb for having done it.

 

So looking at your history and given what I experienced, I think going off cold turkey or not, you would probably suffer approximately the same symptoms sooner or later. And each day of not taking the drug will bring your recovery one day forward.

 

Cheers,

 

Laura

[KT38]

Thank you everyone. I just feel so handicapped. Clear day, did your symptoms all start within the first couple months or did new ones arise? Laura, I can't believe you got withdrawal from 5 days with Effexor! Actually I can because I tried Zoloft once in Dec for one week and got massive dizziness which led to trying these meds again 4 weeks later after everyone thought it was anxiety causing my dizziness. Ugh! So mad! How are you two feeling now?

[clearday]

On Prozac 6 yrs - cold turkey - ok for four months then hit hard with withdrawal. Typical tardive (delayed) onset of symptoms. Lasted a long time.

 

Eventually recovered. Never knew it was Prozac that caused it thanks to clueless doctors and 4-month delay of symptoms.

 

Years later, on Lexapor 5 yrs - cold turkey - some acute symptoms; a few months OK, then seven months later got hit with the real withdrawal. Very difficult. 

 

I am getting slowly but surely better over time. My life is very tolerable right now, symptoms are subsiding.

 

This video gives a great explanation of what most of us experience as we recover from protracted SSRI WD:

 

[ikam]

Thanks for this video, it makes more sense...

[Altostrata]

Welcome, KT38.

 

It does indeed seem that you are one of those who are extraordinarily sensitive to SSRIs. Having gone on and off antidepressants repeatedly in the last several months has stressed your nervous system even more.

 

Although you probably are recovering from severe adverse reactions, rather than withdrawal syndrome, the symptom pattern and recovery is similar to withdrawal syndrome. It will take time for your nervous system to gradually stabilize and heal. Read

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Recovery

 

Important topics about symptoms, including sleep problems  and other topics in the Symptoms and Self-Care forum.

[Fresh]

Hi KT38 ,  it's quite common for new , different symptoms to start any time until around the 12 month mark.  

For myself , the first 6 months were okay , and then things became worse.

Don't be alarmed if things change , it's what you need to go through to come out the other side.

 

Perhaps one of the moderators can join this with your other thread , so your intro. is all in one place.

 

Best wishes ,  Fresh

[KT38]

Silver Star, I just came by your story on this site.  I was searching for something on Google and your story came up and I was like Silver Star sounds familiar!  I read that you, too, went cold turkey.  I cannot believe everything you have been through!!!!! Your story gives me hope, since you said you started to turnaround and get better at 6 months. Do you know the name of the book you read by Dr. Breggin? Altostrata, is there a link you can provide me to read your story?  You guys have really inspired me to keep holding on and that what I am going through is temporary even though we don't know when it gets better. 

[KT38]

Whoops, sorry, I just realized there are many Silver stars.  It was someone else's story.

[Petunia]

Hi KT,

I merged your new topic with your original one, its one intro/update topic per member. You can use this thread as your ongoing journal to track progress, write about symptoms, ask questions and communicate with the community, add to it whenever you want. Bookmarking it will make it easy to find.

 

I'm not sure who's story you read, but the book by Dr. Breggin we sometimes recommend is Your Drug may be you Problem by Dr. Peter Breggin

[KT38]

Thank you!!

[Laura1981]

Hey KT,

 

just wanted to check in to see how you're doing. You're one of my fellow victims of short-term AD use, so I identify with you.

 

I actually came off the last bit of Zoloft on 6th of April, so we even have the same time-line.

 

I wanted to tell you something that may cheer you up a bit: This will honestly get better with time. I'm still a long way from normal, but I had some significant improvements already. Especially the agitation and the racing thoughts are mostly gone. 

 

Wishing you lots of healing,

 

Laura

[KT38]

So happy you are doing better!!! I had a couple days a few days ago with less agitation and racing thoughts....I was actually belly laughing with my kids. It was so normal it scared me! Then yesterday I have what I call one of those brain locks/mini seizure type things where your brain wires just get mixed up. And the interval vibration/shaking is back like crazy. My mind can't take anymore. So, for the nice little window I had I had a very big wave. It disgusts me it has been almost 9 weeks off and there is no relief! I can't stand the 1-2 week withdrawal people and then they r fine. Ugh!!! Hope your lucky streak continues and never stops!