Hi, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice or relate to my post… I have been taking Sertraline for almost three years now and prior to this was on citalopram for 2 years. Apart from the odd bouts of depression and anxiety I am a fit and healthy 28 year old woman. I have decided that I would like to go it alone and come off sertraline and I feel as though now is a good time in my life to do so. My doctor has supported my decision also. I was on a 50mg daily dose so, as advised by my doctor, I began taking one tablet every other day (1 day on, 1 day off). I have been doing this for just over six weeks now and have not found it to be too bad although have felt a lot more tired than usual. Last week I began to reduce my dose further and started to do 2 days off followed by one day with a 50mg tablet. Since doing this I now feel like I am beginning to stumble. I feel ridiculously emotional and find myself in tears over very trivial things. I also lack energy, motivation and have lost interest in hobbies ect. I am finding this very worrying. Has anyone been here? Do these side effects go away? Is it possible to come off sertraline? If anyone has any advice or words of wisdom they would really be appreciated.
Just side effects, and also, perhaps, a little bit of expecting such symptoms. For me........ Just stick on 1 every 3 days...... Leave it at that forever....... Until you naturally stop taking them........
I guess it could be that I am expecting these symptoms a little bit. I just need to start thinking about it so much and hope that it eventually passes. Thanks for the advice.
Hi, my GP also advised me to take Sertraline every other day when reducing but having read other people's posts, they seem to do better taking half a tablet every day, then a quarter etc until they stop completely. This would make sense as Sertraline levels are highest for 24 to 36 hours after taking it, so by missing days you are not keeping the levels in your body stable. I have been cutting my tablets in half so that I can take a smaller daily dose and so far, so good. I have reduced from 150 to 50mg so far. I have had withdrawal effects at first when reducing the dose but once my body gets used to the new dose - a few days later - I start to feel better and am starting to feel like myself again. Good luck!
Thank you :-) I'm now trying 25mg daily as opposed to
2 days off one day on 50mg. So far so good. Few dizzy spells but on the whole it's not going too bad! X
I too am experiencing the withdrawals of coming off sertraline, and it couldn't be at any worse of a time. I'm 31 and have been on 50 mg daily since July 2013. After speaking to my PCP, he said that it should've reached its maximum effectiveness and reduced me to a 1/2 tablet of 25mg for the final two weeks, following my request. I've always been a naturally upbeat, happy, funny person, but after my parents' divorce last year, it became a little harder to be everyone's cheerleader. I began weening a week ago and became engaged 4 days after that. We are trying for a June wedding and I feel like I'm about to lose it. I realize it's petty but the dress shopping frustrating. I gained an extra 15 pounds in the immediate 3 months after starting the meds. When you're 5'2", 155 pounds is significant. Not only that, everyone's workload at work has increased by at least 8% in the last month. All if these coupled with the headaches, wooziness of the head, irritability, and now the bursting out of tears, I'm wondering whether to stick it out or not. The swimming of the head and the headaches are the worst., but the doctor said that's a normal neurological change. I'm hoping that all of this passes soon and I can go back to "the way I was before" but it's already a tough ride.
Hi, I really do sympathise with you. I'm still taking 25mg daily but I'm going back to my gp next week to see what my next steps should be. For me it's the tiredness and bursting into tears over the smallest things that I'm particularly struggling with. I wonder if I can ever get back to my old self. I guess we need to just ride it out. Sounds like you have a lot going on so try and stay focused on the positives of your wedding. Keep going! Good luck x
Hi all. My fiancee is on 150mg, has been for almost 3 years.
I am hugely concerned of what affects they're having on him, I would like to know if any of you are familiar with weaning off that high dose?
I've read some but mist people are on less than what he is.
Thank you for taking your time to read this.
Hi Rachael - I too have been on Citalopram and was then changed to Sertraline. Have been on Sertraline for nearly 3 years and have been trying to come off it for the last 9 months. I started off on 50 mgs then went to 100 mgs. I gained lots of weight but the medication definitely helped and kept me more balanced. Last summer I decided to cut down to 50 mgs. I did this gradually with no real side effects. I then got a bit too confident and tried missing out more days in between which turned out to be not such a good idea. I had some really bad days - very emotional, lethargic, no energy and just feeling like I wanted to stay in bed all day and not see anyone. I went back to taking my 50 mgs a day. I then made a concerted effort to try and lose some of the 2-3 stone I'd put on over a 5 year period of being on anti-depressants. I lost a stone and a half before Christmas and I felt so much better. After Xmas I then started taking 50 mgs every other day again and felt fine. Then I had some significant problems with a colleague at work which was causing me huge amounts of stress and I could feel myself sinking back into depression again. I've had to take time off from work due to this and am sadly back on 100 mgs of Sertraline. Since upping my dose to help me with my mental health I have piled on the weight again because I'm just eating and eating all the wrong kinds of food - I have absolutely no energy and am so lethargic. I've been here before so know these are the side effects of the medication. To me it now seems like a vicious circle. You get anxious and depressed so need the medication which then makes you feel more lethargic and generally crap!!! I'm so fed up of feeling like this and have decided to try and get my act together by going on a sugar detox, re-joining the gym and getting out and about more in the fresh air in general and slowly cutting down on the Sertraline again. You can't ever just stop taking the medication without expecting any side effects - you also have to be in the right place in yourself emotionally before you can even think of cutting back on the meds. My best advice to you would be to do it very slowly and also look at making healthy lifestyle changes if you need to - it all helps but sometimes it's easier said than done. Good Luck
Hi
I have been on Zoloft for a long time. I am also decreasing it and was on two full tablets at a time. Now I am down to 1/2. However when I feel emotional or anxious I drink 5HTP. This really works. My brain can now learn how to manufacture seretonin by itself. Get yourself some 5HTP 50mg or 100mg and start using it instead of Zoloft. It really works for me. My sister is also using 5HTP and I also give it to my teenager when she becomes very emotional with mood swings. I wish I found 5HTP before I started the Zoloft.
Hi, I too would like to wean off of Zoloft on my own. I have been taking 50 mg for about 3 years, I have about 6 weeks left of the pills Can you give me some advice ?
Hello, I can only share what I am going through right now but the symptoms you describe, feeeling apathetic, tired, lack of motivation, lost interest in hobbies ect are all the things I attribute to taking sertraline......for the first few months I seriously thought this was a wonder drug for me, it stopped my anxiety and for the first time in years I could think properly. However the side effects , particulary apathy and not being bothered to do things is not me, I am at a loss what to do and plan to go to the docs, good luck with your struggle, I know this probably won't help but I think this drugs side effects are confusing x
I'm trying to wean off 50mg of Zoloft. I'm seeing a counselor, who I know plans to do this, but I'm not seeing him again for a few more weeks, so I'm trying to get a head start. I've gained nearly 50 pounds in the last year and a half, and basically feel worse than I remember when I started taking it. At my last appointment, he told me to begin taking Fish oil. He said that studies have shown fish oil to be as effective as Zoloft, without the negatives. Since he didn't give me a wean off schedule yet, I'm just here to see what others have done and their experiences. I've only taken 1 pill, every other day, for the last week. I feel great, BUT, it's only been a week. I'm also trying to remember to take the fish oil everyday. I just wanted to put this out there for those that are really wanting to get off Zoloft, and avoid the potential viscious cycle of getting off and on this medication. I'm not going to say how much he suggested to take, because I don't want to sound as if I'm advertising something, but DO ask your GP or PCM about the fish oil as an option.
Hello, so I oringally started this thread over a year ago. I got pretty close to coming off setraline but then went through a rough patch and had to go back to my original 50mg dose. I understand this is usual and happens to many people. However, I'm trying to give it another shot now. I have always taken 50mg so to begin my taper I have been taking 50mg one day and then 25mg the next. I have been doing this for about three weeks now. At first it was fine and I had no problems. However, I am starting to feel more anxious and stressed out as the days go on. I also feel extremley tired and lack energy and motivation. I don't want to blame these symptoms purely on trying to taper off sertaline as I have just taken on a new role at work and am not enjoying it too much so this may also be contributing to how I am feeling. I think I will stick with the 50/25mg combination a bit longer and then my next progression will be 25mg daily. I am going to take it very slowly though to help minimise possible side affects. I wish it had been made clearer to me by doctors just how difficult it can be to taper off this drug. Good luck to all out there going through something similar :-)
Did the sirtraline work for u ?
Yes it very much did.
So why are you coming off them ?
Good question. I've been on them for 3-4 years now and feel that I want to try and cope without medication. I'm 29 and will want to have children in the near future and know that sertraline poses risks in pregnancy. Also I have recently been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease which may lead to me needing to take medication to control it. If I can manage without sertraline (who knows only time will tell) I'd like to think thats one less drug I need to put into my body unnecessarily.
That makes sense good luck for the future x
Many thanks x