New here ~ starting to wean off of Zoloft

Hello. I've been on sertraline 50 mg for 9 years now. I was able to wean off and stay off for almost 6 months a few years ago ~ until the job I was in became so stressful that I had a panic attack that ended in the ER. Needless to say, the doc put me back on Zoloft 100 mg with Trazadone to sleep. My husband hated me taking the Zoloft because it made me a "zombie" and left me with zero sex drive. So I weaned from 100 mg to 50 mg in a week...and then, cold turkey in May 2014. Not the best and brightest idea I've ever had. It was terrible!! I went back on just the 50 mg of Zoloft and honestly.... I've not felt the same since. I struggle to get a handle on my anxiety and panic. My ob/gyn added another 25 mg so that I'm on 75 mg now. She also put me on progesterone (bio identical) for 14 days of each cycle. During those 14 days, I feel pretty good! The others... anxiety ridden. I'll be 45 next month so I know I'm entering the peri menopausal years. Anyway, since I truly don't feel like the Zoloft is working for me anymore. I'm exhausted, have put on 15 pounds over the last 9 years, had severe anemia, heart palps and still have panic and anxiety! I'm going to start weaning off. I've been reading a great book, Don't Panic, by Reid Wilson, Ph.D, that has given me some great coping tools. I'm so grateful to find this forum...to know that I'm not alone. Any advice or comments are very welcome.

zoloft is horrid to get off as many here can attest. however i found a easy way to do it. i had my dr switch me over to prozac and after 60 days just stopped it cold. no problems . been ssri free for 2 years now. zoloft stopped working for me after 6 years and i got withdrawl symtems while still taking it daily. horrid stuff. so glad to be rid of it

Hi

Welcome to the forum good to meet you.

Sorry to hear you have been having anxiety we understand what you are going through so don't feel alone you are part of the HW family now and we are here to support you.

When stopping any antidepressant it is best to do it slowly over a couple of weeks or in some cases months to reduce the withdrawal effects. Medication will only help ease your symptoms so I always suggest members look into doing some type of talking therapy such as CBT or Mindfulness Meditation as it is these which will really help you. Have a look in our resources thread for some useful links to self help and keep posting here we are here for you.

Hibee

I'm going to take months to wean off.... every 6 weeks, I'm going to reduce the dosage. Even if it takes 6 months, I'd rather do that than have major withdrawal symptoms. After doing a bunch of research on natural ways to help reduce anxiety, I'm supplementing with ashwagandha and magnesium. I'm using ReMAg magnesium drops...again with the slow dosage so that I don't have the laxative effect.