My Positive Experience Quitting Zoloft

Hey thanks for posting your story here .It will give us an positive energy and help us to quit even harder with a strong desire..

This forum has been SO helpful, expecially this thread. Reading positive stories is motivating me even more. I want this stuff OUT of my system!

I have been on 75mg of Zoloft for 4 years. I feel really good about taking control of my anxiety and getting the extra 30 pounds OFF.

I started weaning 4 days ago, planning to take 50mg for this first week and then go down to 25mg.

The tips you all have given regarding Omega 3, B12, E, etc are much appreciated. I will continue to post progress.

To date, I have had no issues with reducing my dose. Just a little nervous that the side effects of withdrawals are going to rear their ugly head!

Hi everyone,

I cannot emphasize how happy I am to have found this website, especially given all of the horror stories out there on the internet. I have been on 50mg of Zoloft for about 10 years. A doctor prescribed it for moderate depression and anxiety. The doctor who prescribed it is a classic pill pusher with a horrible disposition. about a year ago, I raised the issue of quitting the drug, and he described the "weaning off" formula, but I can't remember it now. However, I chickened out and never went off of it.

I recently had a telephone appointment with Dr. Quack (I missed my regular appointment), and mentioned that I might actually be ready to try and taper off. Of course, he said he couldn't discuss this over the phone (despite already having discussed it in person last year), and now wants me to come in for an additional appointment.

To tell you the truth, I do not trust this doctor, and he almost seems pleased when I am going through tough things in my life (I'm not a paranoid conspiracy theorist -- he really is a jerk). It's amazing that I'm still going to him after 10 years -- I live in Los Angeles, and there are many doctors to choose from. However, the day-to-day craziness in my life with my job seems to prevent me from taking the time to find a replacement doctor.

Anyway, this is a long way of explaining why I have chosen to do this on my own. Although I've been fine on the Zoloft, I'm considering trying to have a baby (I'm 45 and still single, so I'm going to try before it's too late -- which hopefully it isn't already). Since I cannot remember the specific formula that my doctor described a year ago, I decided to go from 50 mg to 37.5 mg for at least a few weeks. Tonight is my 8th night on 37.5 mg, and with the exception of some mild headaches (which I'm not even sure are related), so far, so good. To tell the truth, for the first several days, I actually felt happier than I did before. Then, yesterday, I was a little bit irritable. However, I was with my mother, my aunt, and my cousin, all of whom have the tendency to be a bit annoying sometimes. So it's tough to say whether my irritability was because I was overdosing on their collective dispositions, or withdrawing from the Zoloft.

I will try to remember to continue posting on this website as I travel toward the path of being Zoloft-free. Reading the stories posted by others has been incredibly encouraging, and if I can do a little bit to encourage someone else, then it is well worth it.

Post Edited (Jamonit) : 12/10/2012 4:24:28 AM (GMT-7)

Well I have gone down to 25 mg for 4 days now and have not noticed any difference. It may have to do with the fact that I am on a very good multi vit. Nordic Nautrals Omega 3 and Vitamin Code Raw D 2000 IU. I am also eating very well to try and get some of the unnessesary weight off. So far much better than I could have ever imagined. I have lost all cravings for sweets already and I feel better than I have in a long time. Happier and have a lot more energy. I will keep all posted on the week that I stop. I have 8 more days of the 25 mg then NONE. We will see.

Hi so I have been off of the Zoloft for 1 week and 6 days and my withdrawals are gone. That was the worse week 1/2 ever. I had awful head shaking and was tired and one night very nauseas. I had blow ups a few times a day. So glad to be off of the stuff that is nasty. I feel so much better now. I am not bloated anymore I DO NOT crave sweets anymore. I eat a lot less. I have lost 4 lbs and I am cleaning and organizing like I use to. I am back to the old me again and I love it. It is not fun coming off of but it was worth the week and 1/2 of hell to be where I am now. Good luck to all of you!,

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to log in a quick post before drifting off to sleep. I've been on 25mg for 16 days now (reminder: I was on 50 for 10 years, then went to 37.5 for a few weeks, then bumped to 25), and I feel great! No issues whatsoever, except that I've been feeling a little more tired than usual. Still praying every night, and so far, so good. Hoping for the best for all of you. Xoxo

Castrobel -- from everything I have heard and read, going off Zoloft cold turkey isn't the best approach. Although I am doing it on my own without my doctor's oversight, I previously consulted with him about a year ago re: how to do it, and have done a ton of research on the issue. I have stepped down gradually and have experienced very few side effects thus far (I am in my fourth week of 25mg). You should probably consult with your doctor if you're still experiencing the side effects. Good luck!

Hey guys!
I loved reading this thread. I, like some of you, am an SSRI veteran, and I've quit them once and for all. Sadly, I am only 26 but have been on and off (mostly ON) antidepressants of every kind since I was 16. I am a believer in them for the most part, but like the original poster said, my body began tenaciously telling me it was time say goodbye to the meds. I gained 25-30lbs during the course of taking zoloft, which this most recent time was about 2 years. I knew it made me gain weight, as I had taken it before and gained weight seemingly for the 1st time in my life. I was 20 when I tried zoloft, and I had been between 115-125lbs since freshman year in high school. I'm 5'5 with a small athletic build. I was a gymnast and cheerleader most of my life, so I always weighed more than I looked. At 20, I started Zoloft. Within 2 months I was weighing in at 140lbs! I spoke with my doctor about my concerns and believe it or not, he told me right away it wasn't from the Zoloft, and that I could stand to gain 5 more lbs even. THE NERVE! Nevertheless, I continued taking Zoloft because I felt it was helping. A year later I weaned off by myself over the course of just 1 month (did tons of research) and I lost the weight about 2 months after that. I changed none of my eating or exercise habits.
Back to this most recent time...
I was not feeling depressed anymore and hadn't for some time. I felt like I had kind of come into my own in the last year. I could've remained on Zoloft, sure, but I knew the weight gain would destroy any progress I'd made in myself. Then I started seeing little red lines on my upper thighs. STRETCH MARKS! I freaked. I started thinking seriously about stopping the meds. What finally got me to hunker down and DO IT was the realization that I'd almost completely lost my creativity. I'm a portrait photographer, I love to write and read, i love to paint. I love "philosophizing". It came to my attention I could no longer do any of those things. I got serious with myself and started weaning down. A little bit more each day. I was at a whopping 200mg of Zoloft at the start, and I went down 25 mg every few days/week. Before I knew it, Christmas was here and I'd gone from 200mg down to about 12mg. Christmas day was the last time I took Zoloft. It's been exactly 1 month today. The first week completely off was amazing. The second week was weird. Dizzy, disoriented and such. The third week was about the same. Now, I feel like my old self (a good thing, come to find out!) and I've somehow managed to lose almost 15lbs by doing absolutely nothing. I cried. I slept a lot.I wrote in a journal. Whenever I started to feel strange or tired or moody, I'd sit down and remind myself that it was because I stopped Zoloft, nothing else. I found that as long as I kept myself aware of my emotions, reminded myself often of what I was doing, and got plenty of sleep, I continued to thrive. I feel absolutely fabulous now. I feel this huge range of emotion and I love it. I'm so glad I did this. I wish you all only the best of luck. You CAN do it! If you have any questions or just want to vent or whatever.... I am here!

I think this post is helpful for anyone who wants to come off of a medication, not just Zoloft.

I'm currently in a situation where I need to decrease Seroquel and it's scaring me to death even though I know it will help in the long run.

Reading this helps me, especially the advice about just talking to yourself that what you're feeling is the withdrawal effects and not freaking out about it.

Thank you for posting your experiences.

Av

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to check in and give the update. I cannot emphasize how critical it seems to be to do this slowly. I started at 50mg (which I had been on for about 10 years), and have gone down 1/4 for about a month each time. So after a month at 37.5, and a month at 25, I am now on 12.5, and have been on it for about a week. The amazing news: not a single brain zap, no increased irritability, no serious side effects to speak of at all. So although you may want to be OFF of it immediately, I think slow and steady is much better. And of course, I'm still praying every single night. Blessings to all of you out there.

I have also found this forum very encouraging. I am 3 days away from being off of zoloft completely for a month. The weaning process, that was explained by my doctor, was to cut down on the milligrams over time. I think I may have done it too quickly. It has been a challenging experience. I have been on a roller coaster ride of emotions. I had been on Zoloft for about 10 years. The reason I decided to stop is because the latter part of 2012, I felt it did not help my OCD but started to make it worse. I spoke to my doctor in which it was increased from 50mg to 100mg. Big mistake, I was on 100mg for a week and I felt worse. I took it mainly for obsessions and not compulsions. Once I started feeling something was wrong, I started reading about Zoloft more than when I first started taking it (side effects explained allot.) This medication does not seem to be a good choice any more, and something was just telling me to get off of it. My wife has been very supportive, but my main rock has been God.

For those of you who have stopped Zoloft and are trying to see a light at the end of the tunnel, it is there. Believe me, quitting Zoloft after 10 years has not been easy and I feel the road is a little longer. Some days have really been hard and I have found myself wanting to get back on 50mg, I need to keep learning to accept the good with the bad. No one’s life can be 100% perfect without trials and tribulation, we just have to pray and work through it. I have started taking omega 3 tablets and a multi-vitamin. I feel our bodies need good food to heal, such as leafy greens, broccoli, fish, etc. along with exercise. I see medications advertised on the television that say it may help people but then have a long list of side effects. It’s almost like saying, “I can live with the side effects of blurry vision, boils, itching, rashes, and night sweats as long as I can move my shoulder without it hurting”  . I just don’t know if the tradeoff is that good.

Post Edited (disciple4life) : 2/14/2013 1:07:26 PM (GMT-7)

I want to thank everybody for posting about the ravenous eating and weight gain. My 29 yr old son is on Zoloft after having a brain injury. He has no short term memory so we were blaming that fact on his uncontrollable eating. He doesn't remember eating so he thinks he is really being starved. Today it got to the point where we are contemplating putting him in a nursing home because we are so stressed by constantly trying to keep him out of the kitchen. I decided to research his medicine and ended up here. He has only been on Zoloft for about 8 weeks. He has definitely gained weight. He used to have a flat stomach. Now he looks like he is 4 months pregnant. And that is after only 2 months! We joined a gym to give him something to do but he doesn't really have an interest or the energy. Wherever we go, he keeps saying he is starving and has no interest in anything except finding something to eat. He used to be the type of person who could never sit still. He was always riding a bike or anything else outdoors. Now he sleeps a lot. When he is not sleeping, he is eating. He also has occasional night sweats. He has woken up totally drenched. He also has an intense case of acne on his back. I put prescribed medication on his back but we are going through tubes quickly and it is not helping very much.
The worst part is the non-stop eating. It is tougher with him because he does not have the brain function to tell him he is overeating. But he is also a good example of how this drug causes the food craving.