spm21 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I'm 24 years old and have been on antidepressants consistantly since 13 years old. I've been on Lexapro, a couple of other antidepressants and 25 mg of Zoloft as of now. Recently, I was surprised to know I wasn't covered under my parents insurance anymore. Being a broke college kid, I didn't think going off of Zoloft cold turkey wasn't going to be a big deal because I was on such a low dose. I've been experiencing insomnia, nightmares, brain zaps to the point of nausea, and unexpected suicidal thoughts. I cry at least three times a day. I know I shouldn't have went cold turkey now but what do I do now that I'm a week and a half down the road? At what point does it get better? I feel very alone right now and am afraid I will lose touch with things and do something I will regret. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted May 18, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted May 18, 2015 Hi spm , welcome to the site. I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Stopping zoloft cold turkey after 10 years on antidepressants is quite dangerous - you have the first symptoms of a withdrawal that might continue for a very long time. It sounds like you're feeling quite unsafe at present. Do you have any Zoloft left? You should find that reinstating will alleviate your symptoms. After a week and a half it's pretty likely. You can then get stable again , and taper slowly off in a safe way. Good to have you here , Fresh 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
spm21 Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Yes, I have about 12 pills left on Zoloft. Do you think it would be effective to take a pill and then continue to take less and less? Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted May 18, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted May 18, 2015 I really don't think 12 pills will be enough to get you through this I'm afraid. I understand that it will be expensive for you to get more. There's a thread about Patient Assistance Programs , I'm looking for it now. Once you are stable again , the site recommends tapering by 10% of your dosage every 4-6 weeks , in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms. So it's going to take at least 6 months. Try reading the topics at the top of the Tapering section. See topic: Getting Your Prescription Filled on a Budget (in Tapering) Altostrata suggests you phone the manufacturer and ask them about Patient assistance Programs. 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
nz11 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Hi spm , welcome to the site. I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Stopping zoloft cold turkey after 10 years on antidepressants is quite dangerous - you have the first symptoms of a withdrawal that might continue for a very long time. It sounds like you're feeling quite unsafe at present. Do you have any Zoloft left? You should find that reinstating will alleviate your symptoms. After a week and a half it's pretty likely. You can then get stable again , and taper slowly off in a safe way. Good to have you here , Fresh This. Is it possible to put your drug sig up. Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
Bellisimo Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I'm 24 years old and have been on antidepressants consistantly since 13 years old. I've been on Lexapro, a couple of other antidepressants and 25 mg of Zoloft as of now. Recently, I was surprised to know I wasn't covered under my parents insurance anymore. Being a broke college kid, I didn't think going off of Zoloft cold turkey wasn't going to be a big deal because I was on such a low dose. I've been experiencing insomnia, nightmares, brain zaps to the point of nausea, and unexpected suicidal thoughts. I cry at least three times a day. I know I shouldn't have went cold turkey now but what do I do now that I'm a week and a half down the road? At what point does it get better? I feel very alone right now and am afraid I will lose touch with things and do something I will regret. Hello I want to tell you this, quit cold turkey after that many years is bad. I have a friend who quit cold turkey after 12 years use, he is in so bad shape today (free over a year) that he cant do anything exept go in and out in hospital.. and being put on tests and all kind of scans all the time and doc try put him on many different medicines bc his body kinda collapsed totally! Cold turkey is dangerous, i agree with the first person.. 2007 - 2013: was on citalopram (tried to quit a few times, never worked, always went back on. max dose 40mg) 2012-2013: was tapering my citalopram all down to 2,5 mg then quit.2013/aug: Took my last pill W/D hit me bad after a few weeks off my medicine. 2014/August: 12 months off (much improved) 2015/April: 20months off. ( much improved, still some symtoms comes in waves, but not so intense.) 2015/june: 22months off. FELT different than before, all shakings suddenly stopped, feel much better. a fantastic feeling! 2016/Feb : 2 years and 6 months off, END of my suffering. I feel perfectly fine and back to normal. 2018/Oct: Iam still feeling great. It is hard to believe my own story when I read back, what I went through! Link to comment
roadback1 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Hi spm, You mention that you are taking zoloft, which is the brand name, and it is quite expensive, even with good insurance. Could you possibly try and get your Dr. to prescribe sertraline instead, which is the generic ,and is a LOT cheaper ? Then you could follow Fresh's advice safely. Please follow the good advice on this forum.No one here wants to see you suffer needlessly ! We all care. Best wishes, Roadback **I started taking Zoloft 100 mg. in 1996 for a panic disorder with agoraphobia and depression, which worsened after a car accident. I have had these symptoms since age 11 . ** In September 2009 , the Zoloft was upped to 150 mg and .5 mg Xanax was added as needed for extreme anxiety due to my Father's illness and death from cancer. Successfully tapered off the Xanax in November 2009. ** I started my Zoloft taper in September 2011,and,in July 2012, reached 75 mgs.(went to 68.5 mgs,but went back up to 75mgs due to withdrawal related depression /anxiety symptoms . ** I started tapering again in September 2014 ,and, as of December,2014, I was holding at 50 mgs. Zoloft until February,2015, when I tapered in two cuts to 37.5 mgs. Due to protracted withdrawal symptoms, have up dosed to 50 mgs. Zoloft on 5/18/2015 and holding there. **Also started .25 mgs xanax at bedtime in September,2015, due to alerting/jolting awake/anxiety and not sleeping because of heart related issues,now resolved.I tapered completely off in Oct. 2015 (too fast ) had withdrawal symptoms and updosed to .12 mgs Xanax once a night. ** After dry cutting till I couldn't do it accurately, I have been on compounded doses. Am on 0.069 mgs compounded Xanax as of 6/21/17 once per night, as prescribed by my Doctor. Link to comment
bluebalu86 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 If I were you I'd reinstate immediately and wait a looong time to stabilize. Then start a slow taper. I suffer from depression, anxiety, pure-o ocd, and panic attacks since 2004. Been on multiple different psychiatric drugs since 2006. Never had a significant WD problem before, only brain zaps for a month and then I'd be fine...............Been on Cipralex (escitalopram) 15 mg and Fluanxol (flupentixol) 1 mg since Sep 2014. Stopped taking the Cipralex after a fast 20-day taper.Took the last 5 mg Cipralex on Feb 5th, 2015. Then took Seroxat (paroxetine) 10 mg for a week, and stopped it too. Severe WD started suddenly on Feb 16th. RI 5 mg Cipralex on Feb 18th, 2015. RI worked and was relatively stable for a while................April 7 - decreased Fluanxol from 1 mg to 0.5 mg and took it at this dose for a week. - BIG MISTAKE; April 13 - WD starts creeping in; April 14 - RI full dose of Fluanxol 1 mg => severe muscle twitching and jerking when trying to relax and fall asleep, overwhelming sense of doom, dread, terror, and horror, insomnia, hoping to stabilize.Tried doing a 10% cut off Fluanxol in the end of May for a few days, but quickly updosed to full dose because the twitching returned.Experiencing waves and windows in the following months.Unsuccessful brief taper attempt of Fluanxol by 5% on November 1st. Symptoms hit the next day. Too scared to continue tapering, reinstate full dose.Severe crash in November after stupidly trying a barbiturate on November 9th. Grave mistake. Sense of unshakable inescapable internal torture, like my soul is in hell being tortured, terror/horror/dread/doom (probably akathisia?) that gets especially bad when trying to relax and fall asleep, muscles twitch, jerk and move on their own, shaking, insomnia, can't eat, confusion, disorientation, brain not working normally. Never felt so bad in my entire life. Never experiment with other meds while in WD! Praying to God I stabilize and get back to my baseline.December - things getting even worse. January - unbearable suffering Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted May 18, 2015 Administrator Share Posted May 18, 2015 Welcome, spm. You can probably make those Zoloft tablets go further by making a liquid and taking 5mg rather than 25mg. Surprisingly often, a very low dose is enough to reduce withdrawal symptoms. For instructions, see Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline) Then you would stabilize for some time, a couple of months or more, and taper very, very carefully from 5mg. Generic Zoloft can be very inexpensive, less than $5 per month, from a large drugstore such as Walgreen's. If I were you, I'd do what I can to take some of that Zoloft as soon as possible. (Fresh, if you copy the title of a topic from the topic list, you will also capture the link when you paste it in a Reply window.) 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. Link to comment
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