Zoloft withdrawal?

Hey everyone. I was just wondering how many of you have been on Zoloft (sertraline) for years and then tried going off of it for a while. I've been taking between 25mg-100mg of setraline a day for about the past 7 years. In March '06 I had to start taking 175mg a day of Imuran which is an immunosuppresent drug used to treat ulcerative colitis. I found that with taking that medication as well, I felt really drousy and dizzy most days. Anyways I stopped taking the Sertraline in January '07 and had been doing farely well but I did feel a little more anxiety and I felt like my mind was more clouded than before. Then in the middle of June I went to stay at a friends cabin near a lake in B.C. with some friends and felt pretty anxious for most of the trip and I felt more depressed the week after. I'm sure the drinking that weekend didn't help either! Since that weekend though, I've noticed that I see these small micro fuzzy dots on a daily basis. Almost like what you see while in the dark only all the time I notice them. I had my eyes checked out and they were fine. So I'm wondering if it's my brain's way of adjusting without the Sertraline or something. I've been contemplating going back on it since I haven't really felt myself lately and I've been feeling more anxious at work and going out with friends. It's hard to organize my thoughts at times and concentrate on things too which are all things I've had before taking the Sertraline back when I was 16. Does anyone know if it's possible for it to take around 5 months before getting withdrawl symptoms from Sertraline? For some reason I fear that going back on it will only add to this dizzy sensation I've had as of late but I'm sure it would start feeling better after a few weeks. It'd be great to hear if any of you have noticed similar symptoms from trying to stop Zoloft treatment.

Thanks!

           Kyle

I was told I might be experiencing zoloft withdrawal - 3 months after stopping zoloft. i am back on it now and the side effects are awful! much worse than the first time around! I was told cause Im also dealing with withdrawal at the same time!!

sounds like visual snow, though it's just a guess. could also be blue field phenomenon. i have the VS myself. you can look it up on the internet but there isn't a whole lot of knowledge about what causes it. anyway, a lot of people get it some time after using drugs (usually illegal drugs but not always). sometimes people have had it for as long as they remember but have never done drugs. i also have 'floaters' which a lot of people with VS have, too. of course, floaters are a very normal thing that most people will see to some degree at some point in their lives. what's interesting is both of these things are often found in people with anxiety problems. i think it's maybe an overactive or oversensitive visual cortex or something but not sure what triggers it. it's like anxiety-prone people are just extra sensitive and see these things that others don't.