Zephyri: My experience with Zoloft

[Zephyri]

Hey there, I'm having a very hard time withdrawing from my medicine at the moment and am looking for anything that might put me more at ease with the worries I'm having.

I started taking Zoloft 4 or so years ago when I was 17. I have been struggling with anxiety my whole life but not known what it was with everyone telling me it was simply a 'teenage thing'. I've been bullied since kindergarten, starting me off with bad self esteem from the beginning. It got worse the older I got, and by the time I got to high school, it was so bad I was basically on autopilot the entire day, I didn't eat, was too scared to move from my seat, constantly shaking and cold, and slept through everything i possibly could. I was scared to walk around, scared to meet people, talk, anything. One of my teachers noticed this and told me to quit school immidiately and see a social worker. From him I was suggested to start Zoloft, and that's where it got worse. I wont get into detail, but getting used to Zoloft was the worst few weeks of my life that felt like years. I was in such a deep depression I can't remember much of the surrounding months at all. They included self harm, suicidal thoughts, hiding away, starving, paranoia, and the list goes on.

 

On to a positive note; after what I think was almost a year, I managed to get out of my depression. I don't know how, it just happened. One night, it simply stopped. Which was great of course, but my anxiety was still there with panic attacks etc. I went to many psychologists, with no luck and very little help from them. I got no coping mechanisms for my panic attacks, no meditation methods, no nothing. Just talk that made me feel worse and worse, and exposure attempts that made me feel no different. This went on for the reminding years, with the only thing that really helped me get better, being time, and myself.

 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I've never felt better. I was much more confident and felt like it was time to stop the medicine. I was tired of taking pills every day. I have forgotten pills for several days before without noticing any difference, so I thought I would be fine. My doctor agreed, and made me take 25mg for 2 weeks (was on 50g earlier, with doctors trying to make me take more), for then to completely stop after that. I did, and I regret it so much.

 

I've had many different phases since I quit. It started off easily enough, with a phase of dizziness, nausea, little appetite etc. I thought this would be easy. Next phase included no energy, small mood swings, and weird little tingly feelings in my fingers etc. The next one is the one i'm still struggling with. Its been about 4 weeks now? and the symptoms have not gone away. I cry many times a day for no reason at all, get these angry 'ticks' quite often, food tastes strange, I get angry and irritated very easily which to me is the most annoying part of this. I've never been an angry person, I never really get angry, and now I can't stop it. I also don't feel like myself. I don't know what I feel, but I'm getting back symptoms of depression and anxiety that I haven't had in years, and it scares me so much. I have a boyfriend who luckily is very understanding, but has to go through this with me, poor guy.

 

I don't know what I'm actually like.. I've been on medicine for what I feel like is so long, and I've been anxious all my life, so I don't know what its like not to be. People tell me the symptoms I'm having now are no longer related to the medicine as I've been off them for a few weeks now, and that this is apparently just what I'm like without them. If that's the case then I regret going off them. I'm really struggling. I can't go back to Zoloft as I would have to go through the process of getting used to it again, and that's not happening. I'm on a waitinglist for another psychologist, but have little hope for that. Is there anyone here with similar experiences that have any type of tips they can give? I was never shown how to handle panic attacks, breathing tecniques or how to calm down as I've seen others do, and was wondering what you guys do to cool down in a bad situation?

 

Could my current state still be caused by the medicine? or am I still this bad? I don't want to believe that its still this bad when I haven't seen any of these symptoms in years. This just means i will have to work my way through them, and I right now I don't feel like that's possible. How long will they last? Will they ever go away? Does anyone have any experience with this? Would it be wise to start the medicine again? I was doing so well, and now I'm all the way down at the bottom again.. It sucks.

 

I'm crying reading this to myself like a wreck, sorry if this was too long, and thank you if you read through it all. I apprieciate any comments or help and maybe I can even give some tips back that I haven't mentioned

 

If you want any more information about me of what I've been through feel free to ask. I'll answer.

[clearday]

Welcome -

 

Your symptoms are from Zoloft withdrawal. Frequent crying, irritation, anger, anxiety, and paresthesia are all to be expected during SSRI withdrawal. (paresthesia includes tingly feelings around our body). 

 

The early phase of SSRI withdrawal lasts for up to three months. 

 

Then delayed symptoms often strike between 3 months - 12 months off the drug.

 

Those later symptoms put us in what's known as "protracted SSRI withdrawal"; protracted means long-term.

 

You may or may not be hit with these later symptoms, but you should be aware of what can happen, since most people on here are in protracted withdrawal.

 

Plenty of doctors are aware that SSRIs like Zoloft cause long term withdrawal symptoms that can last a couple years.

 

Too many doctors - like yours - still think that SSRI withdrawal lasts no longer than six weeks.

 

Your doctor tapered you way too fast off Zoloft.

 

We recommend a 10% taper schedule to reduce the severity of withdrawal:

 

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

 

A moderator should be along to help you plan forward. You may want to reinstate (go back on) a small amount of Zoloft to reduce your withdrawal symptoms, and do a 10% taper after you stabilize. Sometimes reinstating helps, sometimes it does not. These will all be choices that you will make for yourself.

 

People who go through withdrawal from these SSRI drugs often go through difficult withdrawal for quite a while. But in the end, most largely recover from the damage caused by these powerful drugs.

 

Please go to "My Settings" and fill out your drug history signature, mine below is an example. It will help people help you better.

[Theon]

Hello Zephiry

 

I'm also quite young (i'm 22) and I took prozac last year for anxiety for 4 months.

 

After going off it, my anxiety came back worse than it was before taking anything, and it came back slowly but reached a pick about three months after stopping the prozac.

 

I went back to prozac thinking that it was my own condition (anxiety), and not withdrawal. But now I regret it, because I really don't want to rely on pills to live.

 

But as I am 22 I know I have a lot of time ahead and will be able to do it, such as you.

 

by the way, Norway is such a beautiful country!

[KT38]

Hi! You are definitely in withdrawal.  Do not let a psychiatrist try to tell you you are relapsing.  They have no clue! Someone had mentioned to wait at least a year to see if you really relapse because right now your nervous system is just trying to balance itself.  I am 8 weeks off cold turkey from only 2 months on these drugs and I am having a horrible time.  My head feels fried and I have intense anxiety and get into deep depression states.  This was NOT me before the pills.  I had racing thoughts on them and I am still having them off them.  I can't be alone, drive or go shopping.  You might get light or motion sensitive, numbness, weird head panic attacks like your brain does not know how to function.  This is all very normal with withdrawal.  It is not fun, so please make sure you have a support person who can be with you during this time. 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Zephyri.

 

You have withdrawal syndrome. Do you have any Zoloft tablets left? If I were you, I'd try taking 12.5mg right away, this might stop the withdrawal symptoms.

 

See

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

[Zephyri]

Hello Zephiry

 

I'm also quite young (i'm 22) and I took prozac last year for anxiety for 4 months.

 

After going off it, my anxiety came back worse than it was before taking anything, and it came back slowly but reached a pick about three months after stopping the prozac.

 

I went back to prozac thinking that it was my own condition (anxiety), and not withdrawal. But now I regret it, because I really don't want to rely on pills to live.

 

But as I am 22 I know I have a lot of time ahead and will be able to do it, such as you.

 

by the way, Norway is such a beautiful country!

 

Hi! That sucks to hear, I hope you'll feel better soon! I'm also 22 and I agree relying on pills isn't something I want to do either.

and that's a good point, there's plenty of time to get better, its just easy to think about all the lost time when you're feeling down. Have you gotten better after starting prozac again though?

Yes, it is! It's just as nice as it looks

[Zephyri]

Hi! You are definitely in withdrawal.  Do not let a psychiatrist try to tell you you are relapsing.  They have no clue! Someone had mentioned to wait at least a year to see if you really relapse because right now your nervous system is just trying to balance itself.  I am 8 weeks off cold turkey from only 2 months on these drugs and I am having a horrible time.  My head feels fried and I have intense anxiety and get into deep depression states.  This was NOT me before the pills.  I had racing thoughts on them and I am still having them off them.  I can't be alone, drive or go shopping.  You might get light or motion sensitive, numbness, weird head panic attacks like your brain does not know how to function.  This is all very normal with withdrawal.  It is not fun, so please make sure you have a support person who can be with you during this time. 

 

Hey, I have heard so many different things from psychologists etc that this is relapsing, and all these mixed messages are very confusing. I don't know what to believe. Your situation sounds a lot worse than mine, and I hope you're doing alright. Mine has actually gotten better than it was before I started, but has still given me back symptoms I had before taking medicine. and the ones you mentioned sound very familiar from the first few weeks off it. I do have a supportive boyfriend here with me, so I'll be fine either way I hope you're not alone in this either and will keep fighting through it too. The last few days for me have been a little bit better, though I have a constant slight pressure in my chest and get very easily emotional and/or anxious and stressed. If you're right, hopefully everything will keep calming down.

[clearday]

The more stories you read on here, the less confused you will be -

 

Almost every story on here is some version of the same story:

 

We were put on antidepressants to treat some “condition”;

 

Perhaps the medication helped, and we stayed on the medication for some time, often a few years or more;

 

Unknown to us, our nervous systems became extremely dependent on these medications;

 

The day came when we wanted to come off the medication, for any number of reasons;

 

We found out that coming off these medications caused unexpected, bizarre, and horrific mental and physical withdrawal effects;

 

Our doctors told us that these withdrawal effects were “a relapse of our original condition”, and that we “needed” to go back on these medications in order to feel better;

 

Things only got worse from there, and no one could help us out of the deep hole we had fallen into, we had no idea what had happened to us, thanks to an incredibly mismanaged modern medical establishment;

 

We stumbled on to these forums where it all became quickly clear that we had been severely harmed by use of these antidepressant medications, most often SSRI/SNRIs;

 

And this was very clear to us, because only WE had been on these drugs, only WE had experienced these horrible, almost unbelievable withdrawal symptoms firsthand;

 

And we saw that we ALL had experienced broadly the SAME basic withdrawal symptoms, getting struck down by them in basically the SAME manner, over the SAME lengthy time period, as we came of these drugs;

 

And that our doctors had failed to inform us ahead of time of the great risks of physical harm of taking these powerful nerve-altering drugs;

 

And they failed to recognize the damage themselves, and made the problem so much worse by pushing more medications on us;

 

And that it took a long time, but many of us healed once we got off these drugs.

[Theon]

 

Hi! That sucks to hear, I hope you'll feel better soon! I'm also 22 and I agree relying on pills isn't something I want to do either.

and that's a good point, there's plenty of time to get better, its just easy to think about all the lost time when you're feeling down. Have you gotten better after starting prozac again though?

Yes, it is! It's just as nice as it looks

 

 

Hello!

Yes I got better shortly after I started prozac again, but this time I have experienced some side effects that I didn't last time and that bother me, mainly emotional flatness... 

 

Anyway I am leaving it again this summer, and I have promised myself don't go back to it if my anxiety comes back.

 

Jeg håper at alt går bra til deg (jeg kan litt norsk fordi jeg studerte der for et år ) 

 

lykke til!

[Altostrata]

Zephri, please read this:

Welcome, Zephyri.

 

You have withdrawal syndrome. Do you have any Zoloft tablets left? If I were you, I'd try taking 12.5mg right away, this might stop the withdrawal symptoms.

 

See

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

[Zephyri]

A little update:

I've been seeing a psychiatric nurse after I asked my doctor to see a psychologist again for support. I've only been there twice, but she is positive she can help me organize my thoughts and leave my past in the past.

It's been about a month and a half now, and I'm still having some strange happenings I'm not used to. I still have terrible mood swings that are slowly tearing me and my boyfriend's relationship. I can't stand not being able to control my emotions, and I really don't know how/when they will go away. I'm also having a lot of stomach pains, no matter what I seem to eat or not eat. TMI maybe, but I'm also having strong period pains that I haven't had in yeeeears. I'm wondering if all of this is caused by stress, seeing as I'm having one anxiety attack a day on average + a lot of stress and worrying. Do you guys have any similar experiences? Did you have any physical problems with your stomach etc? and/or mood changes you can't control? Is there anyone here who have completely beaten their symptoms? I'd love to hear more stories

I'm still hopeful, but this is getting very tiring as new problems seem to pop up constantly.

[Altostrata]

Many women with withdrawal syndrome report their menstrual pain and mood swings are much worse.

 

Did you read this?

Welcome, Zephyri.

 

You have withdrawal syndrome. Do you have any Zoloft tablets left? If I were you, I'd try taking 12.5mg right away, this might stop the withdrawal symptoms.

 

See

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

[Zephyri]

 

Many women with withdrawal syndrome report their menstrual pain and mood swings are much worse.

 

Did you read this?

Welcome, Zephyri.

 

You have withdrawal syndrome. Do you have any Zoloft tablets left? If I were you, I'd try taking 12.5mg right away, this might stop the withdrawal symptoms.

 

See

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

 

Yeah, I did! It's nice to see you're not alone. I don't really know who to trust about symptoms and 'treatments' though, as everyone says different things. I will have a talk with my doctor, but he doesn't seem to think something like reinstating is even an option.

[Altostrata]

Yes, you will have a difficult time finding a doctor who knows anything about withdrawal syndrome, or tapering for that matter. That is why this site exists.

[tjs19]

It sounds like what you have experienced is consistent with withdrawal symptoms, and as a former Zoloft user, I experienced many of the symptoms you have after I stopped Zoloft - although it was not really until Month 4 that the emotional/psychological symptoms of withdrawal started for me. I recall that stress was very bad for me from Months 9 through 18; I still get unreasonably stressed from time to time but it is definitely less intense now, and I handle it better (Month 22), and not only that, but the former bouts of sadness/crying I experienced are also much less intense, to the point where I rarely cry anymore.

 

This site has lots of great advice and knowledgable people - you will want to take Alto's and others' advice.

[Aliwill]

The more stories you read on here, the less confused you will be -

 

Almost every story on here is some version of the same story:

 

We were put on antidepressants to treat some “condition”;

 

Perhaps the medication helped, and we stayed on the medication for some time, often a few years or more;

 

Unknown to us, our nervous systems became extremely dependent on these medications;

 

The day came when we wanted to come off the medication, for any number of reasons;

 

We found out that coming off these medications caused unexpected, bizarre, and horrific mental and physical withdrawal effects;

 

Our doctors told us that these withdrawal effects were “a relapse of our original condition”, and that we “needed” to go back on these medications in order to feel better;

 

Things only got worse from there, and no one could help us out of the deep hole we had fallen into, we had no idea what had happened to us, thanks to an incredibly mismanaged modern medical establishment;

 

We stumbled on to these forums where it all became quickly clear that we had been severely harmed by use of these antidepressant medications, most often SSRI/SNRIs;

 

And this was very clear to us, because only WE had been on these drugs, only WE had experienced these horrible, almost unbelievable withdrawal symptoms firsthand;

 

And we saw that we ALL had experienced broadly the SAME basic withdrawal symptoms, getting struck down by them in basically the SAME manner, over the SAME lengthy time period, as we came of these drugs;

 

And that our doctors had failed to inform us ahead of time of the great risks of physical harm of taking these powerful nerve-altering drugs;

 

And they failed to recognize the damage themselves, and made the problem so much worse by pushing more medications on us;

 

And that it took a long time, but many of us healed once we got off these drugs.

[Aliwill]

Whoops. I think I've copied this a couple of times. I want to copy and paste it to my thread. How do I do that. It is one of the best pieces written.