Has anyone had withdrawal from reducing sertraline dose?

[nh_user_382232]

Hi, I am just wondering if anyone has had withdrawal symptoms from reducing the dose of sertraline.

I have been in sertraline for depression and anxiety for around 3 years. I started on 50mg and worked my way up to 150mg which I have been taking for a year. I saw my gp who recommended reducing my dose to 100mg. This is only day 2 of my reduced dose and i am already feeling more anxious. I'm not sure whether this is a side effect of my dose change or whether it is just because i am scared of experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Two days doesn't seem long enough to suffer from withdrawal, but I was in a social setting this evening and felt my heart racing and felt very close to a panic attack which I haven't experienced for a while.

What are your experiences of reducing your dose of sertraline?

[nh_user_687348]

Hi Jess,

​Do you think that reducing by 50mg in one go might be a bit too much, after all you are now taking two thirds of what you were taking? Although I do take you point that how can your body know this after only two days.

​I have been taking 125mg for four months and am trying to reduce to 100mg but have only got to about 120mg on average and am feeling more edgy and unsettled, it's not too serious but it is making me think whether I am doing the right thing.

​(Psychologically, I wanted to get to 100mg as it is half the maximum dose.)

​It's been 5 days since you posted so I would be interested to see how you are getting on now.

[nh_user_1054454]

What you are experiencing is possible. Rather than going straight from 150 to 100 you could try 125 as an intermediate step.