# zoloft withdrawal



## brandon is not taken (Mar 29, 2007)

Hi. I have been feeling relatively better lately. Last month i took myself off klonopin. It was tough, but i am now over the withdrawals from that and feeling OK.

The only other drug i am on right now is zoloft. I decided I want to get off of it to see how i feel drug free. If i have a relapse then i will just struggle through it and get on some meds again. I would rather really know if i need the drugs or not, which is why i want off now.

I have been taking 75 mg. I started taking zoloft about 4 months ago. A few days ago i cut back to 50mg and so far it hasnt been to bad. My anxiety has increased, but it is managable. However, I know that due to the half life of zoloft the worst is yet to come. I am still waiting to find out what exactly these infamous brain zaps are. I am planning on cutting back 25 mg every 2 weeks until i am off.

Can anyone tell my any personal experiences about SSRI withdrawal. I am curious to see how it was for other people. Let me know the good and bad. Thanks.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Never been on zoloft or any other ssri but i was on effexor which is a snri and has the same withdrawal symptoms only worse. Effexor is considered to have about the worst withdrawal out of any psych med on the market actually.

Those brain zaps are godawful the absolute worst withdrawal symptom ive experienced from any drug. But taking benadryl or dimenhydrinate does help with those for some stupid reason so you could try that. I also had severe mood swings coming off it even worse then when i was on the stuff lol. I also had insomnia, nausea, vertigo and on a few occasions vomiting.

But your coming off zoloft not effexor so you shouldnt have nearly as hard of a time as i did even though i was on it for less then 2 month's at a low dose. I also dropped it cold turkey which was very stupid but i didnt know it could produce dependence at the time.

All in all id say that if you taper you shouldnt have too much trouble. If it does get really bad you could also try the prozac taper. Prozac has a very long half life of about a week i think so that's why some people switch from another ssri to that to taper off. The longer the half life the easier it is to taper off.

Oddly enough benzos like klonopin are sometimes used to help with the withdrawal symptoms of ssri's. I think i used valium after the withdrawals kicked in really bad. I remember that it helped me sleep, calmed me down and helped with the brain shocks a little bit. I also smoked alot of weed and that helped alot to keep me sane during that hell. But i wouldnt recomend that to you as i don't know how you react to it.


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## spert23 (Oct 15, 2006)

I was on the highest dose of Luvox, 300, for about 5 months, and had to quit cold turkey because I had an allergic reaction to Lamictal. I was also put on steroids to get rid of the rash. It sucked for about 5 days, I was really nauseous, not to mention I had to quit all my drugs cold turkey, but I did actually feel better once I was off the Luvox. thats when I realized that SSRIs were not the drugs for me. As for side effects, nausea, a few brain zaps here and there, and a huge change in my mood (although most of it was probably from the steroids). After that, my doc put me on Zoloft 100 for about a week, and I told her I wanted off, so now I am cutting down too. So far, so good. Any questions just pm me


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## brandon is not taken (Mar 29, 2007)

How are you doing spert?

This zoloft withdrawal REALLY SUCKS!!!!! I was fine with all my dose cuts until the last and final one. I quit taking it earlier this week. Damn I feel super dp/dr all the time now, and i was relatively better before this. I feel like im walking in a dream, and i feel dizzy even when i am sitting down. Not to mention i have been super depressed and hating myself.

I hope this cant last to much longer.

I just met a girl two days ago and we got along really good. I am worried I am going to fuck up my chances with her because my head is such a mess right now from this shit.

err stupid meds


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## HalfAPerson (Aug 22, 2006)

brandon is not taken said:


> How are you doing spert?
> 
> This zoloft withdrawal REALLY SUCKS!!!!! I was fine with all my dose cuts until the last and final one. I quit taking it earlier this week. Damn I feel super dp/dr all the time now, and i was relatively better before this. I feel like im walking in a dream, and i feel dizzy even when i am sitting down. Not to mention i have been super depressed and hating myself.
> 
> ...


I've been doing the Zoloft dance for a couple of years. I take it...feel better...get complacent...stop taking it...feel like crap. I never had withdrawals (thankfully) but the anxiety and depression would creep back in. I've been back on it for about a month now and I feel better. No denying it. So, I have had a little chat with myself about just staying on the damn things even though I'd love not to have to take them.

Are you opposed to taking any meds at this point? Or would you just prefer to find something other than Zoloft?


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## brandon is not taken (Mar 29, 2007)

At this point i want to be med free. zoloft had some wierd effects on me. Id rather see how i feel med free. Maybe in a couple months if i am not better i will give them another chance.


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## HalfAPerson (Aug 22, 2006)

I understand wanting to be med free. It's an internal debate I've had for a long time. If I have any weird side effects from Zoloft--they're negligible. Maybe I'm groggier than normal. But, by the time I start taking them I am feeling beyond weird to begin with, and THAT anxiety trumps anything else.

Everyone's different, though. So good luck to you on finding what works.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2007)

My experience with sertraline (Zoloft) has been one of the most confusing ordeals of my life.

I am 17 years old and currently prescribed to take 75mg a day for panic disorder/mild depression/mild OCD but have decided to try and wean myself down gradually to see how I react. I began taking Zoloft at age 14 and stayed on 100mg for about 2 years. I am currently on 50mg (still prescribed 75mg) and have been on this dose for about 3 weeks. I initially felt very few withdrawal symptoms. However, I now feel a little derealization at moments and a tiny bit of anxiety. When I am on 75mg of Zoloft, I feel, as someone said earlier, very complacent and somewhat apathetic about my life, but I am content. I also feel like my environment is more clear to me when I am on these doses. Now, being on 50mg, I feel like my mind and body are separate entities and my environment is somewhat clouded. I am not sure if this is a withdrawal symptom or a relapse. However, I want to try and deal with my "disorders" in a more natural way because I have realized that my medication is merely trying to protect me from myself which is absurd. I should learn to deal with my problems without medication because I believe it is important for me to learn to deal with myself.

I'm just gonna play things by ear I guess.


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## brandon is not taken (Mar 29, 2007)

It has now been about 2 weeks since i quit zoloft. I am feeling much better. Sometimes i still get this wierd sensation that i am floating while walking and get kind of dizzy/lightheaded. But all in all it has gotten much better.

Zoloft gave me some wierd brain chatter while falling asleep, and that seems to be dissapearing now too.

I can honestly say i feel the best i have in a long time. 100% med free now.

Brainflakes: Obviously i am not a doctor and should not be giving out medical advice, but i think you should continue to ween yourself off zoloft. You should find out for yourself if you can cope with your problems without it. I was prescribed it pretty much for the same reasons as you.


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## spert23 (Oct 15, 2006)

That's great to hear Brandon. I too came off Zoloft and felt quite better for a while. There was probably about 3 weeks where I realized that I felt better than I had in the past year. Truthfully, I tried almost every SSRI out there, and the only one that helped was Luvox (helped my OCD, but made me extremely numb in the process), and that was at the maximum dose of 300. After a while though, I felt as if there was still something missing, something holding me back from feeling as good as I possibly could. That is why I have given Remeron a try. But if it does not work, then I am going back to no antidepressants at all, period. My personal opinion is that SSRIs just don't seem to work well for DP. Either way, it's good to hear that you are feeling better, and keep us posted on your recovery.


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