Coming off Zoloft

Hi and welcome ScottyDogs:)

It sounds as if you have a supportive husband, helping you find this site and all...that is great!

I commend you for doing something that you believe will help you to be more engaged with your family. I do wish you the best in the change. Hopefully you will be comfortable and adjust well, but remember that if things start to get too difficult, you can and should talk to your doctor/therapist about it immediately. There may be alternatives in medication that you could discuss...a lot has changed in 10 years...IOW, you may find something that helps you and allows you to feel what you want to feel.:)

I know that it is hard to carve out time for therapy. I was going when my daughter was younger, and I did not like to be away from her! For me though, it was necessary and worth it. Yes, I had to gone, but she got a mommy who was getting well, and not panicking every day.;)

I am sorry to hear that this time of year is a challenge for you, as it brings out feelings of loss. I do hope that you can find some peace in jouyful times with your husband and daughter.

I am sorry that I can't answer your questions regarding withdrawl side-effects. I am sure that someone with experience with this will post soon. I can recommend the fish oil. It is good for over-all health, and may be beneficial for anxiety issues...so go for it.

Post anytime with questions and sharing. We understand what you are going through, and will help however we can!

Take care,
Scaredy Cat

Hello Scotty and welcome to HealingWell.

You have received tremendous advice already and I just wanted to post a link for you.  Many of our members are now visiting this site when they are weaning off  medications.  Of course working with your Dr. is always my  best advice.

 

The Road Back: http://www.theroadback.org/zoloft-withdrawal.aspx

Joining this forum is like finding family that understands where you are coming from and what you are going through.  I do hope you keep on talking with us.

Holiday blessings,

Kitt

Wow, so supportive. THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!!! It's so nice to just talk via typing to people and getting things out this way. I know I do need to make time...I've been seeing a therapist on and off (different ones) for 12 years and I always know it's time to go back when I keep saying in my head, hhhhmmm "maybe" i should go back. So, I will do this. Next week I'll call to make an appointment the first of the year.
I will def. check out that link, thanks stkitt.
Well, this is very cool.... I'll try and keep up to date and let you all know how things go.

Merry Christmas to you all.
I hope it's a joyous time for you all. :) Def. feeling very grateful right now. THANKS!

I was put on Zoloft 100mg 9 years ago when I started pre menopause. I had general anxiety that was causing me to be claustrophobic. (Couldn’t drive over bridges, felt very uncomfortable in small spaces). I traveled a lot for work at the time, and never had such a problem before. The Zoloft and hormones cured all of my premenopausal symptoms. For the past few years, I often wondered if I even should be on Zoloft anymore, because I hadn't experienced any anxiety attacks in years. I was reluctant to change my meds because I felt so good. I wasn't sure if it was the Zoloft or the hormones. Unfortunately, I started feeling a lot different about 6 years later. I thought that it was just the menapause, because I was so physically active, skiied, hiked, climbed like a monkey, worked out 4-5x a week, and didn't realize that my slowing down had anything to do with Congenital heart valve disease. I was in heart failure in March 2011, and underwent open heart surgery to repair my mitral and tricuspid valves, 4 weeks after being diagnosed. After surgery I developed A-Fib/Flutter, was cardioverted and put on Multaq. Concerned that Multaq would cause lung damage as it is so very close to Amiodarone, my Doctor ordered Pulmonary Function Studies. Unfortunately the results showed reduced diffusing capacity and the beginnings of interstitial lung disease. I had only been on the Multaq for about 7 months and will be sharing my results with the FDA.  My Father, a retired OBGYN died from Amiodarone Induced Pulmonary Toxicity, so I would never take Amiodarone, but knew that because Multaq (Dronedarone) being so new, the Pharmaceutical Company won't be reporting the lung adverse effects for several years.  My fear about Multaq causing interstitial lung disease became a reality. My Doctor immediately took me off of Multaq and put me on Rhythmol. Zoloft causes an increased blood level of Rhythmol, so I needed to get off it. I have weaned off it, per my Doctor's recipe, over the past 6 weeks and I just started getting very dizzy about 2 weeks ago. It has been a week since I have been completely off of the Zoloft.  I had no idea that the Multaq was causing me to simply feel that I was never going to feel normal after my heart surgery. 2 weeks after the switch, I felt like a completely normal person, now this dizziness. I just want to feel well. Any suggestions as to how I can control the dizziness?  It is starting to consume me a bit and scares me to drive. Will this pass?  If I am sitting working, looking straight ahead I do not notice any dizziness. Everytime I move up or down or turn my head or while walking (which I need to do 30 min/day) I get  dizzy. Not motion sick dizzy, or the weird dizzy you experience with heart disease or hypoglycemia, seeing stars, getting short of breath dizzy. It is a different dizzy. It stops you in your tracks.

     Hi everyone - this is my first time posting on this site. I went searching on google for some kind of support or blogs that could possibly help me with my recent experience of coming off Zoloft. I have only been on it for about 4 years, nothing compared to 10 years, but regardless - I don't like the feeling. I was taking 100mg, then started breaking it in half to take 50mg every day, then started taking the same 50 every other day. This has been over a month and a half period, and I just now started taking the 50mg once every 4 or 5 days.

     Most of the days I feel ok, but I have a funny feeling in my head, almost like a dizzy feeling. I can't exactly explain it, but it doesn't feel right. That's about it as far as the physical issues.

     The emotional effects are another story. I am crying a lot more, over trivial things. I am more worried and paranoid over little things. I feel like I am becoming a different person.

     What I'm wondering is if all this is normal, and how long this lasts. I know there are worse things I could be going through, but it's been affecting my life in a significant way. I am looking for some reassurance that I am not alone in this, and that hopefully it will subside.

Thanks for listening!!

 

Thank you for the reply scaredy cat!

My doctor did recommend going from 100mg to 50mg within a 2 week period. Then he suggested going to 25mg for 2 more weeks, and monitor how that went as far as my emotions and whatnot. I didn't have the 25mg pills to take and couldn't break the halves, I started taking the 50s every other day. My rationale was that it would be like taking 25/day. I'm not sure if this was a mistake, but it had been going ok. Now that I'm taking them at longer intervals, I'm havibg some of the issues I described. I am definitely interested in the website you mentioned! Thanks again:) - SteelersLady

Hi,

I have been on zoloft for four weeks or so now. I found it to have worked wonders for me, I had none of the start up side effects that people mention - it was all good, from day one. I have just got a second prescription for it, only 14 of the 50 mg tabs. I am currently only taking half of one of these a day now.. 25mg and plan to come off / discontinue it in a few weeks.

Reading this has worried me!! Did all you guys who had bad side effects from coming off it, also have bad side effects when you firsts started? At what point did your side effects start - was it once you cut down or a week or after you stopped? Is there anyone here who didnt have a hard time coming off zoloft? I know everyone is different but would like to know more about what I might have to expect ... soon !! Hopefully I wont be affected in the same way...some of what ye went through sounds dreadful - sorry you guys :(
Any info appreciated...

Dakota, I am new to the forum, but wanted to chime in.  I experienced no negative side effects when I started taking Zoloft 4 years ago.  Quite the contrary.  I felt like I could manage day to day without losing my mind!

What I have not seen anyone mention, and the reason I am currently weaning off of it, is the weight gain. I have been struggling over the past 6-8 months with getting even a pound off.  I knew, early on, that any medicine in the SSRI (I think that's right) family could cause weight gain, but did not realize the gaining would be slow, ongoing, and near impossible to get off while still taking the mediciation. In the past 4 years I have put on 30 pounds.  For my mental well being, I have to get them off.  My mom went through something similar due to taking Prozac for depression.  She continued to have the weight gain/retain problem, which led to high blood pressure, more depression, type 2 diabetes, and eventually gastric bypass.

I am THANKFUL for eveyrthing the other members are posting b/c I am in my 1st week of weaning.  I am looking forward to learning how to cope without meds and losing some weight so that I can feel better about myself again. There are many benefits to medication that can aid in anxiety.  I am currently exploring natural remedies and would love to learn from anyone else's experiences.

Have a great day!

Hello Everyone, I'm also new to the forum and wanted to share my Zoloft story as I'm in the process of reducing my dosage. I've been on 75 mg of Zoloft for 4 years due to Anxiety and Agrophobia I started to suffer which came out of the blue.
My introduction to Zoloft was very bumpy, it took many months for me to settle into the dosage and I suffered from the worst body aches, headaches, extreme memory loss and some of the strangest vivid dreams.
I never wanted to go on medication but the severity of my condition meant I couldn't leave the house, and confined myself to my room, I was previously a very active surfer, snowboarder and a very social person who traveled for work all the time. Pretty much overnight my life changed after my first panic attack and things went downhill from there until I was unable to carry out the simplest function.
It was always my aim to come off the medication even though every doctor was telling me I should consider being on Zoloft for the rest of my life and not to worry about it, but something just didn't feel right and the more research I did the more I felt that I really did need to find an alternative, it's when I realized the Zoloft was doing more harm than good that I put my mind to working out a way to overcome everything.
Last year with the help of my girlfriend I changed my diet, cutting out many sugars and fatty foods. I started taking many fish oil supplements complimented with Magnesium,B12 and hydrating with water as much as possible, within a few weeks I was starting to notice less body aches, better focus and a more positive outlook, I started to come down in 12.5 mg increments on the Zoloft and even though a tiny bit bumpy I was feeling so much better, the fact I am now feeling things again, having emotions , being able to remember things has convinced me I'm going in the right direction.
Fast forward 2 months and I'm going down to my final 12.5 mg this week and I feel really good, I do have bad days but now know that I'm going to be okay and it's going to pass.
I can't stress enough about how much diet has helped me , combined with exercise like walking or swimming it's like I feel normal again. I've had arguments with my doctors about why I'm coming off the Zoloft, they find it hard to understand I don't want this drug controlling my life and making me feel like a Zombie and even more horrifying is the fact that I've tried again and again with 3 doctors to explain to me the side effects of Zoloft on my digestive system, muscles and brain chemicals and been smugly talked down too like a child but always the same response "you don't need to worry about that"
I don't want to scare anyone because I did find many years of benefits from Zoloft but the more I research and see the long term effects the more I know coming off it when I felt ready was the right choice and not to rely on it as a long term medication.
One final point, this weekend I was introduced to something that has already helped me more than I could imagine.....I was recommended by an alternative medical doctor to look into the use of Medical ********* when I decided to come off the Zoloft, this weekend I got my license and I now self medicate and just love it. I know this is not for everyone but it's worth letting you all know that is really does work as another alternative.
I aim to finally come off the rest of the Zoloft in the next 2 weeks and will let you know how it's all going and wish everyone of you the best of luck and reiterate it is easily achievable to be Zoloft free with no side effects as long as you eat well, cut out as much sugar as you can and put your mind to a bit of exercise, and if you do get those bumpy days just remember it will pass, normally quicker than you think.

Post Edited By Moderator (Scaredy Cat) : 2/28/2013 8:31:26 AM (GMT-7)

Hi everyone!

I read through I few of your stories and thought I might as well share mine!

I was put on zoloft when I was about 11 for OCD depression and anxiety. I don't really remember much before I went on zoloft because I had "fuzzy brain", but zoloft really helped me to have a clearer mind. I am now almost 23 so have been on zoloft for almost 12 years, and I have started cutting down my dosage (I would like to be completely off it as soon as I can manage). I was on 200mg through high school, and eventually worked my way down to 75mg. Within the last few months I decided to slowly cut it out of my life completely because I was always tired and lethargic, felt sick most of the time, had absolutely NO sex drive, I was thirsty a lot of the time, and didn't feel anything (good or bad). I never really cried and the most I felt was if I was excited about something, which just turned into a kind of overbearing anxiety instead of a good feeling! I recently cut down to 50mgs (I am cutting down a quarter of a 100mg tablet at a time).

At first I noticed some nice feelings, things I haven't felt for a long long time like happiness and love! I also had what I call "brain skips" which feels like a weird kind of jerk in my brain where I am almost kind of unconscious for a split second (I used to get this when I forgot to take zoloft and skipped it for a day). I think I also might be getting my sex drive back extremelyyyyy slowly, but at least it is almost existent now! Then came the crying! I am extremely emotional at the moment. I never used to cry that much but now I do daily and anything can make me teary, even if it's happy tears. I switch between that, and angry at everyone around me, and then a kind of overly inspired hopeful feeling where life is too good to be true, then back to crying. I don't mind this so much it's kind of nice to feel something. What I don't like is the restless sleeping, tossing and turning the whole night and restless legs. I keep waking up exhausted. I also don't like the dizziness. Yesterday at about 5.30pm I was reading, and when I sat up I felt so ridiculously dizzy that it felt like I was drunk. Everything was spinning, and that didn't stop until this morning some time. I even woke up in the night feeling like everything was spinning. I also felt really sick when I stood up.

Thank god my boyfriend found this site for me and showed me. I am really excited that this seems to be a normal thing and that I now know why this is happening. I read Scotty dogs post and couldn't believe that it was all of the same symptoms. I don't know what zaps are but maybe it is the same as my "brain skips"? Anyways, all of these posts have really helped and I am excited to know that I am normal!


I also wanted to say.... I realise that everyone should listen to their GP, but at the same time I caution to be weary of the dosage that the doctor prescribes. They haven't experienced the strength of these drugs, so please just be wary of large dosages if you haven't taken anti-depressants before! Also, I think that taking a larger dosage every few days rather than a smaller dosage daily might not be the best idea for some people, and please be cautious with this as zoloft can really have some strange effects when taking it sporadically!

Hi Lemaigeo,

I can related to all of what you are saying. I have been weaning off zoloft for 3 weeks now. I have been getting very dizzy, brain zaps and so emotional. I cry at the drop of a hat and also get very edgy. I also see a difference in my sex drive for the better. Like you said, you can feel again. To me that is what life is about! Have you had any stomach issues? How long do these side effects last from the withdrawal??

Hi Lemaigeo and welcome!

I am glad that you have found us, and it is good to see you posting and getting support...and offering some insight as well.;)

Have you done therapy to help you to be prepared for coming off of your Rx all together? I ask because it is so helpful...and I do believe that you would benefit from having something to stand in place of the meds that you will know be going without.

Therapy such as CBT is very effective in treating OCD and A/D, so if you haven't already looked into it, I encourage you to...or I even think a refresher course would be good if you have done this in the past, but it's been awhile.;)

We also have a great Resource Guide here on our main page that is full of really good self-help ideas. You may want to have a look...especially at the breathing and relaxation exercise videos if anxiety manangment is needed. There is also a great site called 'the road back' which is very informative regarding weaning off of SSRI meds (as well as other A/D Rx's)

Post with us anytime! We are here to understand, listen and support.;)

Scaredy Cat