Quitting Zoloft...again. On to Viibryd.

Diagnosis: generalized anxiety/panic disorder. aka Being an adult woman/mom.

Good Morning!

This is probably a little redundant because I am sure it's been posted before but I'm on a quest to quit Zoloft...again. I was first prescribed Zoloft about 8 years ago because I had gone into a downward spiral. I was under 100 lbs (at 5'4"), I was indifferent and about to lose my job, I was making self destructive choices (ie: showing up at my ex boyfriends house and not leaving until he let me in...while he was in a new relationship), panic attacks, drinking a lot, sleeping all day because the thought of actually getting up and adulting was literally paralyzing to me, etc. Once I got my life back on track (saw a therapist, got on 50mg of Zoloft), things started going right again. I put my weight back on, was being productive, got a promotion at work...after being demoted (as opposed to getting fired) during my self-destruct phase. Zoloft was a miracle to me. Within a couple of weeks; after the yawns went away and my system was comfortable with it, it was like I could feel dark thoughts trying to make their way in but the Zoloft gave them a swift kick and I was doing well. I felt like the medication offered me genuine emotions but I was not extreme in any direction. After a couple of years, I felt like myself again. I hadn't had a panic attack since starting the meds and I genuinely felt happy! I stopped the pill. Cold turkey. I just didn't go to my follow up appointment to get my script refilled...it was awful. I remember the brain zaps and the nausea and the headaches but I looked it up, this was normal so I fought through it. I believe it was a full month before I felt "normal" again.

Fast forward to 2010 (3 years after I quit cold turkey). I started having panic attacks again, I felt like my "motor was revving up" often and that I was about to go into severe breakdown mode. I was snippy, people at work were telling me that I'd changed and not for the better. My attitude was stinky and I was flying off of the handle more often than excusable. At this time I was also going through some female issues and the doctor decreased my estrogen level in my birth control so it was advised that I go back on Zoloft-50mg. I agreed. I could feel it working and me going back to my "chemical normal". Things were good again. UNTIL my insurance switched me to the generic brand of Zoloft. My withdrawals started. The brain zaps and nausea and all of the fun started although I was still taking my pill. The last several years, this is the timeline of events:

2012-50 mg of Sertraline was no longer working for the full 24 hours. I felt the withdrawal within 12 hours. Doc ups me to 75mg of sertraline.

2013-75mg Sertraline starts wearing off quickly like the 50 did. Doc ups to 100 advising to take 50 in the morning and 50 in the afternoon.

2014ish-Same as before...it's wearing off. I can feel my withdrawal start during my workouts in the evening...could I be sweating it out? Doctor decides I need to switch to Buspirone. Stopped Zoloft cold turkey.

A week later than the above post-I called the doctor because I felt AWFUL. My PCP is a very nice man and seems very knowledgeable about infectious diseases. He is an indian fella that is very educated. However, when I would see him about my anxiety, I felt like he was very skeptical and a little dismissive. So this time I asked to see his NP, which ironically ended up being who gave me Zoloft in 2010. I handed her my bottle of new meds and said "this is terrible...I can't even stand up without feeling like I am going to throw up and I can't think straight through the zaps". She immediately put me back on sertraline 100mg and told me not to take the Buspirone.

2015 I'm having the withdrawals from the Sertraline 100mg quickly again and I've gained weight (also, I've had a hysterectomy by this point so there's that) and although I work out regularly (I was running and doing High Intensity Training), I can't drop the weight, and I'm entirely disinterested in sexual activities with my man friend. She adds Wellbutrin to my sertraline. I notice NO difference.

2016 we decide to drop setraline try Cymbalta. The transition was smooth. I loved it. I dropped my excess weight and then suddenly it stopped working. The withdrawals were just like that of Zoloft when i quit. Back on the Sertraline 100mg.

2017 as things went before, the dosage was no longer enough. I feel like my body is immune to it. I wasn't getting withdrawals but I am anxious again, stressed out, feeling blah, brain fogged, disinterested, and ridiculously pissy about everything. Up to 150 mg.

2018, now-panic attacks are back. My brain is foggy, I'm clumsy (I have 5 staples in my head as I type this because I fell and busted it on a doorknob), I'm still disinterested in work (I have a new job, that's not good), sex, life. I want to just lay on the couch under the covers with my dogs and stay there. I'm at risk of losing good things (like my job, my boyfriend, the respect of my son). I went back to see the NP this week and asked her if there was something I could add to the Sertraline as the titrate up only seems to be a temporary fix. She said that she just wants me to quit the Sertraline 150mg and start on ViiBryd. She told me that I will not feel good for the first several weeks and that's to be expected but to stick with it. I'm on day 2. I skipped my Sertraline yesterday morning, felt like crap all day. This morning, I decided that I literally just can't work my new job with the withdrawal so I took 50mg of the Sertaline and the ViiBryd.

All of the articles I find online say to ween off of the meds under the direct advice of a medical professional. My medical professional says to quit cold turkey and just embrace the transition. I just don't feel like this is the productive way to go about it.

Any words of encouragement on supplements to help (aside from benadryl)? Has anyone made the transition from Zoloft to Viibryd? I try not to read the side effects on medication until my body gets used to it because I manage to look for symptoms making myself nuts in the process.

Hello CT and welcome!

I am sorry to hear that your Rx has started to become less helpful to you again. Inefficacy (pooping out) is a fairly common issues with A/D's/SSRI's...so know that you are not alone in this challenge.

The good news is that you are reaching out to try and get the help that you need...the not so great news however, is the fact that you are being advised to make an abrupt stop of the Zoloft. Switching from one med to another within the same family is usually advisable...but from an SSRI to an atypical A/D is not something I would think would be as successful.

However, I am not a medical professional, so I think your best move would be to try and get a consult with a psychiatrist. This specialist will have the best knowledge of psychotropics...and best be able to advise you on your transition.

For now, I recommend using as many coping skills as you can in order to feel your best possible. At the top of the main forum page you'll find great material in our Resources that could help.

I am sorry we can't be of more help. We can however offer support and encouragement...so post with us anytime if you need it. Best wishes and update us when you can.

Scaredy Cat

Oh geez. My insurance is not awesome.

I've not tried Lexapro. I really just want to feel good again. In the past SSRIs are all that have worked. I see that Lexapro is in that family. I wonder why it's never been suggested. I see the NP again on Monday for a follow up on the samples and to take the staples out of my head. I will open up that discussion.

Did you have trouble with the transition to Lexapro from Zoloft?

Thanks Minnesota. I can't take any sort of Adderall or ADHD meds. It makes me feel like I'm going to have a panic attack. I can't even take daytime cold medicine (the kind with the "d" in the title that you have to get from the pharmacist behind the counter). It's safe to say that Methamphetamines will never be a problem for me. lol.

Right now I am taking a cognitive health supplement with Cognizin in it and krill oil. It's going to take a bit to kick in so I'm just riding the wave right now. It's the brain zaps that scare me the most.

Thanks a bunch! I'm going back to the doctor today for a follow-up. The transition from Z to the Viibryd has been TERRIBLE. I had a full on panic attack this weekend after I'd had felt like I was on the verge of one all week last week. I do not think Vy is for me. I'm going to discuss Lexapro with her. I've had wellbutrin but it was in addition to the Z and I've had Cymbalta which I really liked until it switched to the generic brand. On top of that, Vy has given me terrible digestive woes, which actually kind of helps with the weight I've gained lol.

I've been steadily on 100mg of Z so I feel like a higher dosage of Lex will be okay...I just can't deal with the 'zaps' and the nervousness that I was experiencing. I added back a quarter of my Z pills until I can get things under control.

Yikes! Mine didn't get too bad but I hate those zaps and the terrible feeling of withdrawal and I really didn't think going up on the dosage every 6 months was going to be a permanent solution.

I saw the NP yesterday and she basically told me that Vii will take until 40 mg to work effectively. I can't wait it out. She also said that my panic attack may have been brought on by all of the things I'm taking on at age 40. I've got this new job, I'm going back to school, and I have a teenager. I still requested a switch to Lex. She wasn't really happy about the request and told me that I'd probably gain more weight on it and still have to transition. (It made me wonder if she gets a kick back for recommending Vii, is that a thing?). Then she called it into the wrong pharmacy...I'll be making a switch to a new doctor before my follow up.

I will say that I took the 10 mg Lex at 5 yesterday after I picked it up from the (wrong) pharmacy and I already feel less panicky and flickery. I feel sleepy today but a little bit less on the edge. Maybe it's all in my head, but at least the zaps aren't happening.

I have read up and have a question...Lexapro in the morning or night? It seems to be a good debate. I always took the Zo in the morning before work.

Not to make this post about the NP, but she was pretty adamant on me sticking to it. She also was sort of huffy when she said that they give you a savers card to not pay more than $20/month for a lifetime. I may have been being sensitive given my mental state at the time but I feel like I know my own head...and my head was not liking Vii.

I hit my withdrawal crash around 4:15pm yesterday so I went ahead and took 25 mg of the Zo. My goal is to keep pushing the Zo back by an hour every day until my system no longer needs it. I went to my workout class yesterday (despite the tiredness I'm fighting) and I felt like crap the whole time because I was having the zaps and nausea the transition calls for.

Hopefully my process to ween off will work!

Thank you. I do plan on looking for a Psych. I haven't seen one since my younger/worst days. I am not sure if there is a lot of quality options in my area but I will look around for sure! Thank you!

Yesterday I made it the full day without adding any Zoloft to my lex. I'm hoping that I'm finally adjusted. I'm on my 11th day of trying to transition off of the Zo but on my 5th day of the Lex. I'm thirsty a lot and also I am SO tired. Like I can't sleep enough. And I'm sleeping hard at night...I feel like I weigh 10000 lbs when I try to pull myself out of bed in the morning. I'm hoping that I will adjust accordingly. I am back to exercising a few times a week, next I just need to get back to eating right so I can lose my excess weight. I feel like physical and mental anguish work off of one another and I know that when I'm exercising, I feel better so I'm going to keep trying to muddle through this exhaustion and hope for the best. So far these are the only side effects I am experiencing. Again, I try not to read the script side effects because I don't want to pscyh myself out.

be thankfull you are sleeping. its much worse going tru this when you cant sleep. a good caring dr who listens is a godsend. I am so gratefull I found one and hope you do too craz.

Dan,

I fortunately rarely have insomnia. If I do have it, it's related to female hormones and only lasts a couple of days. I did suffer from insomnia a long time ago but I credit it to a highly stressful retail management job that I had. My brain wouldn't shut down when I needed it to...I was given Ambien for that. In recent years, if nothing else, I sleep too much. It's not the going to sleep that affects me negatively, it's the getting out of bed. Some days I feel like I'm paralyzed and can't make my brain and legs have a conversation about putting my feet on the floor and getting upright. And it's not a 'just 5 more minutes' snooze. It's a "I am sewn to this bed" situation.

I could see where that would be an issue. On the rare occasion that I can't sleep, I am very unpleasant.

Ahhh thank you very much! I haven't had to fall back on the Zo for around a week now. I still have a quarter of a dosage sitting on my desk just in case but so far, so good. As a matter of fact--when I lay down at night with my dogs, I'm blown away at the level of elation I am feeling. I literally feel like my heart is going to burst from happiness. Most everything is going so well in my life right now, I can't help but turn over to wondering when the other shoe may fall. But in the meantime...I'll soak it up.