Pinkstars28 - Starting slow micro-taper off Zoloft 200mg

[pinkstars28]

Hi everyone,

I've been a visiter on many forums before but have never joined as a member, so this is a bit new for me. I was so delighted to find a current forum community that has such detailed and useful information regarding withdrawls from antidepressents, and is set up so well by such kind people! I have already learned a lot just through hopping around different threads and reading other people's experiences. IMO, I am getting way more useful information here then I would have ever received from my doctor (even though I have a conscientious and caring doctor). I'm already so grateful to everyone who has shared their stories and to the moderators/admin for how they organize/run the site. I'm still learning some of the etiquette/lingo/abbreviations for this type of communication, so please let me know if something's off

[brassmonkey]

Hi Pinkstars-- Welcome to the group, I'm so glad you found us.  As you are in the planning stages we have a ton of good information for you to look at, and we are always happy to help distill it into a personal plan.  You might have already found them but I would suggest looking at these threads as a good place to start.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Preparing to taper

 

 

The slowness of slow tapers

 

Micro-taper instead of 10% or 5% decreases

 

Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

 

How's that for information overload?

 

Thank you so much for filling in a signature block it really helps us see what is going on.

[JanCarol]

Pinkstar, I think that it is awesome that you are looking for information BEFORE you change your drugs.  Why are you making this choice?  Are you suffering effects from the drug that you hope to discontinue?  Have you tried to discontinue before?  Will going off the drugs change your disability status?  (In the US, if you are not on meds, then you must be "too well for disability.")

 

Too often, here at SA, we are confronted with the pain of what someone has already done, and we try to scramble to make suggestions on how to fix a broken thing.

 

You are in a position of control, a position of power.  This is the time to gather your support around you - look at people in your life - who can you tell and share with?  (that may change over time) Look at your practices - I'm a big fan of the sun (you may not get much) and exercise - but more than that, a fan of "practice," that is, a regular thing which is grounding, centering, and stills your emotions while working your body.  For me, that's martial arts, yoga, coloring books, and now qi gung.  For you, it may be meditation, or craft, or bicycle riding.  But look at your "practices" and work out something that you take comfort in, that helps your stability.

 

By choosing a slow taper, you have much better control over your symptoms.  I'm not saying you won't have symptoms, odds are, you will.  But you will learn how many days after your taper the symptoms are worst, and at what point they get better.  The first few tapers you may not feel anything at all!  But your body will teach you, over time - and if you have a stressful event - a sick child, a job change, moving house, or even a bad sinus infection - you can delay your taper until you feel better.

 

There is a lot of good advice here:  http://www.theicarusproject.net/alternative-treatments/HarmReductionGuideComingOffPsychDrugs  (except they recommend 10% tapers of original dose, where we recommend 10% tapers of current dose, because as the dose gets smaller, the effect becomes more sensitive), and I shared with my hubby and others this video by Will Hall:  

 

The only other thing you may wish to consider is - what will your Doctor say?  This is one of the greatest challenges:  finding doctors who are partners, not dictators.  Sometimes when you challenge "conventional teachings" doctors get all bent out of shape and try to control the situation.  This does not bode well for you.  You either need to gently educate your doctor, or find another one.

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2746-what-should-i-expect-from-my-doctor-about-withdrawal-symptoms/

 

What do you mean by "micro-taper?"  What is your plan at this stage?

 

Let us know what your next step is, we'll be happy to join you in this journey!

[LoveandLight]

I'm envious of your position, I have to say..being educated about all this before you go off, it's great .

 

Good luck.