My spouse has been on Zoloft for over 4 years and 3 of them have been at the 200 mg daily dose. He decided a week ago that he felt as though he didn't need the higher dose and wanted to try going down to 100 mg dose. He's got PTSD, major depression, mood swings, and extreme highs to lows. His anger issues were horrible before and the past 3 years have been a breath of fresh air. I have been thru every kind of medicine with him thanks to the VA and him getting hurt in the military.I absolutley think he needs/needed to stay at 200 mg. He went from good to extreme irrability this week, anger, I can tell he anxious- I'm not liking it and wonderif anyone has had or went thru this dosage decrease with someone?? I noticed he's very hungry and constantly wanting to eat compared to before of not wanting or needing a lot.
Hi I was on 200mg myself and I was feeling good. I decided to stop them big mistake I done. Slowly everything started to come back. My advice stay on them if you feel good. I have a friend taking them for over 10 Yrs and she refuses to stop. You can read my story here on this forum.
Regards Ilda all the best xxx
so do our recommend staying on them forever, I'm. scared of coming off them , but don't like the thought of being on meds for ever? ?
These are withdrawal symptoms he's experiencing. Go into the link on this site does sertraline withdrawl ever go away. You will see the nightmare many of us experienced. If he's feeling well why go off them? I have a friend that has been on them for 20 years..
Basically he's sent his nervous system into chaos by halving his dose abruptly. He needs to reinstate to his last dose to stabilise his system again for at least a month. After that he could start tapering down but only by 10% off the last dose each month.
These are powerful Meds and not designed to be taken long term, it's also dangerous to taper too quickly. To prevent withdrawal and lasting damage the 10% tapering is recommended.
all the best
I've never heard A.D.'s are not designed to be taken long term. Do you have a reference? I know several people that are under a psychiatrist's care and have been on them for years due to a chemical imbalance. Please enlighten me, I know they were lethal for me, but have certainly been imperative to others well being.
Better on medication for ever than feel the way I was. My point of view. Keep us updated xxx
Generally They are meant to be used short term in conjunction with CBT or similar, they have powerful mind altering properties and without worrying people with long term use the side effects can be life changing.
for a lot of people the withdrawals are significant and long standing and can be permanent if tapering is not closely controlled and monitored, you know this just look at the posts on this site. I took them for two years, they got me through a very difficult time in my life but it was artificial and even though I came off them over six months i still didn't get off Scot free.
some doctors are quick to prescribe them as the first line of treatment without using the many alternatives available which is unfortunate
yes yes I agree. gosh I'm sooo scared to go back to that. but what if they stop working one day?
I hear you Tezes they did nothing for me, and ruined two years of my life.I
I do know however that they can be life changers for people. Effexor has brought my son out of years of depression and enabled him to function normally again. My son says it's a relief not to experience suicide feelings every day. We are all different as are our experiences. I had a very negative experince, but his has been positve the past three years.