Hi all I was on sert for a Year max dosage 100mg for anxiety, I came off it almost three months ago, I used the slow taper over a few months and it seemed to be ok a a few side effects but ok. when I was Finely off it I was doing ok not 100% but about 60% or 70% low mood very spaced out and pretty high anxiety but just put this down to the withdrawal and hoped it would pass in time. Then I felt myself kinda getting better a small bit every week not much but a bit better and then out of blue the last week I seem to be going down hill big time. Anxiety through the roof, extreamly low mood to the point of depression, the fun seems to be gone from my life cant stop thinking Im going mad. I find it hard to do anything and every day is a struggle at the moment. I could do with some help am I getting protracted withdrawal and has anyone out there gone through this, any bit of advice would be a help.
I went through this. I did a slow taper from 200 mg over 4 months. About 2 months after stopping my anxiety went through the roof and I was having numerous panic attacks. I went back on Zoloft on July 18. Just this week I am starting to feel like myself again. I have accepted that being on sertraline is just going to be something I have to be on life long. I am okay with that. It's a safe drug and I figure if I had diabetes I would treat it, same as with a chemical imbalance like GAD.
So sorry for what you are going through , ive been on it for 10 months now almost a year . It's a great med it helped me so much that I'm afraid from tapering off it one day .
My Doc told me that I will have to be on it 2 years then start tapering off slowly . I don't know wether you followed your doc advice or you did it by yourself ?
Just want to remind you that this med took a very long time to get you feel better I think you can give it some more time to be flushed out your system , if you can't beat this so my advice to you is go see your doc.
Try to think of what used to make you happy either your kids or shopping or exercising etc ..
Don't focus on the med and what you feel without it bec probably monitoring your feelings brings anixiety .
Good luck dear and keep us updated , hope you feel better soon .
Hi anniem, I upped my dose on July 11th. You say you're just starting to feel better? Did you have a variety of feelings right up until you felt better? I ask because I have had good days where my anxiety is minimal and my intrusive thoughts are non existent and I'm still having days where my anxiety is pretty bad.
hey dodo81786, you have been on sertraline same amount of time as me. ibe seen you on here since i started. glad to hear you are doing well. i also am so far.
and like you im too scared to ever come off. especialy after reading michaels post 😕
i havnt even seen my doc in at least 6 or 7 months, becauae im scared she will tell me to start coming off.
but deep down i would like to be off.
but am petrified of going through depressiom and anxiety again.
wish more people that are well would stay in touch here and people who have succesfuly come off.
just wanted to vent my concerns
Yes, I've gone through the withdrawal process, but I didn't taper, which made everything worse. Eventually, I got to a place where I felt evened out, but the anxiety would creep back in a little at a time. Now I'm back to feeling like I did before starting the medication. I've been off of it for 5 years, so it is possible. Have a chat with your doctor, because it's possible that you may have needed to be on the medication longer, or something else that's helpful. Hang in there.
Why would your doctor make you come off if it's helpful? I'm curious because I was never given a time limit when I started.
Did you have to go through the start up side effects all over again?
Yes I just started feeling better the past three days. I upped my dose to 100 8 days ago. I did have lots of ups and downs. But yesterday and today I feel like myself again.
Oh yes very much. The first 12 days were hell, but I stuck with it because I knew it would work like before.
Thanks so much. I really should go back on them, and stay on them for life, but I'm so afraid of the start up side effects.
thats really positive storet to hear and aomthing a lot of us need to read. Thank you soo much.
can i ask how severe was the withdrawel? and how long untill you felt back to how you did before the medication? did you do anytbing with your diet at all??
sorry for all the queations.
xx
I totally understand. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It's a terrible feeling to feel like you are going insane. It's awful. But seven weeks later and I am finally getting some relief.
Sorry for all the questions but you said you had ups and downs. Did your ups feel the same as your past three days or did those past three days feel like a different good. The reason I ask is because I had 3 good days a couple of weeks ago and I thought was the end of anything bad. I'm just wondering if it's the kind of feeling where you know you're actually getting there
My withdrawal was really bad because I went cold turkey after taking the meds for many years. It was a really stupid thing to do, but I felt that I didn't need them anymore, and pride was also an issue. If I had known what I was in for, I would have tapered down slowly.
It took a couple months before I felt okay. The anxiety and panic attacks were horrible, but I had xanax to help me out. Thankfully, I never went back to how I felt before taking them. I say that because before the diagnosis and shortly after, I was really bad off. I was constantly "sick", and had been put on so many antibiotics, went to the emergency room too many times to count, had all the scans many times, a couple lumbar punctures, and even a couple of surgeries all because of anxiety and panic attacks. So, after the meds I felt like I was in more control of everything, and knew the difference between truly being sick, and anxiety making me think I was sick. The anxiety never fully went away, but I was able to handle it. It was pretty much a "older and wiser" type of thing. I never changed my diet, but I probably should have since I eat like crap. lol
I was 23 when diagnosed, and I'm 45 now. Unfortunately, anxiety and depression run rampant in my family, and many of my symptoms have returned. Considering my age, hormones possibly changing, and hereditary factors, I'm probably going to go back on the medication. It would probably be best if I stayed on for life rather than yo-yo on and off. I'm afraid of the start up side effects, because 20 some years ago there was no Google in every home, so side effects weren't very known. You got the paper that came with the prescription and that was it. I think in many ways that made taking any medication much easier, because there wasn't a huge list of side effects or people talking about bad experiences. Ah, the pros and cons of Google. lol
No worries I don't mind the questions. I spend a lot of time googling for answers! No my 'ups' we're still not me. I had underlying anxiety but could talk myself through it. The past three days I haven't had any anxiety. I actually had several hours of not even thinking about it! I felt like myself again.
Thank you for sharing. i wish you all the best.
you can get through it again , its the 1st 10 days that are the worst. come on you can do it. you are string enough, we are hete to help you. sorry its just a forum on line , but we are in tbis together hun. just post on hete if and wen it all gets too much.
xxc
Awww, thanks! I always say that we're all in the same boat, just using different oars. 
Thats what my good days are like now, underlying anxiety, but cope able. I'm really looking forward to days like yours. I'm happy you have a successful story and I thank you for sharing it. Wishing you all good days ahead.
It is my first time in my life taking AD med , so I guess my doc doesn't like to tell me that I might be on them longer or so bec of my anixity I had was so bad . Also he is that kind of docs that don't prefere to give meds a lot if I don't really really need it .