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Hello, I have been taking Zoloft 25mg for 3 months and decided I do not want to continue taking this medication since my body is not tolerating it very well. Can I stop it cold turkey since it is a low dose? or should I taper? So far I have been taking 12.5mg daily (today is the 3rd day) for 2 weeks, is this the safest way to taper?

I don't know how to improve my symptoms. Two months ago I stopped citalopram after taper over two months from 20mg. After 3 weeks I got slight blurred vision and dizzy I reinstated 5mg after 5 weeks with no improvement I went up to 10mg 2 weeks later After 2 weeks I started getting ringing in my ears (doctor says it's drawn in eardrum probably after an infection and will get better in a few weeks) A week later my symptoms seem worse not better Doctor says I should go up to 20mg.

As a 60 yo woman I took a hard look at my past life of various antidepressants since 1981 inevitably winding up with a 40 year RX drug habit, over weight and in pain. I'm active and eat health following an anti inflammatory diet w/ very little dairy or gluten and was just stuck physically. June 6th 2023 I made the decision to do a hard reset and stop My high dose Paxil and Deseryl and Xanax, not taper. As you'd expect the following week was of your typical physical drug withdrawal response, insomnia, loss of appetite, diaphorsis etc. What I didn't expect was that in the second week I started to feel an undeniable amount of strength returning, muscle coordination improvement and lack of pain. A high akin to a mushroom trip with heightened senses of pleasure, euphoria and an overwhelming sense of calm. I feel awake for the first time in decades. No unwanted thoughts or emotions, I have 40 years of coping skills and cognitive behavioral therapy in my arsenal. My gut health was the first to return to normal - there was No more bloating , constipation or abdominal pain. The chronic pain I'd been suffering with limiting my ADLs was GONE! And remains that way. I now have the flexibility of my teenage self and am back to practicing yoga on the floor with relatives ease. It's almost as if every cell in my being is undergoing a rebirth and is new again. The only side effect I have found unpleasant is scattered facial numbness which I'm hoping will ease its way back to normal as well. The 'electrical shocks' were an interesting side effect , it feels as though the nerves in my body are awaking again for the first time and I feel great. It's only been 20 days and I feel newborn and loving it... Finding this site has been a relief. There is No Support available for Antidepressant Withdrawl. It is not even discussed in the Healthcare industry. To entertain this thought process is considered non complainant , a 'behavioral' abnormality. I am in control of my mind, my body and my senses for the first time in my life ❤️

Hello, I've been reading this forum since I started having horrible trouble with withdrawal symptoms. But this is the first time I write here. You can see my history in my signature. Right now I'm not sure if I'm in protracted withdrawal or relapse. Depression runs in my family. My mom has depression with psychotic episodes and my brother is diagnosed as bipolar. I don't know why this happens in my family, also extended family. Both my mom and brother are on medications and are stable and doing well. However, I haven't been well since I started the withdrawal journey first from going off Effexor 8 years ago, and then from Pristiq 3 years ago. I can't tolerate antidepressants now, and still have many debilitating withdrawal symptoms. So I'm not sure, if this is a combination of relapse and withdrawal. I know it has to do something with withdrawal, 'cause I continue to have brain zaps, akathisia, confusion, fatigue, nerve pain, and the list goes on and on. I am really confused right now. I had a window during the summer and I thought I was healed, but now I have a bad wave. What makes me most depressed is having to interrupt projects and plans that used to be my dreams and passions. I'm a singer/songwriter. Haven't been able to be creative for over a year, which really frustrates me. I still sing (though sometimes I do it without pleasure) since it's part of my job, but only at weddings, restaurants, etc. I recorded an album over the last year and a half (with songs I had written before withdrawal), it took me so long to finish this project due to depression and withdrawal symptoms which have been extremely debilitating. The album is done, the art of the album is ready. Now I'm faced with having to promote myself here in my country (Mexico). I don't have the energy, the mind clarity or the confidence now, since I don't know how my body and mind will do in a week, or tomorrow, or in a month, or at anytime. So my life is interrupted and I don't know for how long. I also was about to get married 3 years ago and that's when I decided to go off Pristiq. My body and mind went into chaos, turning me into someone I know is not really me. So wedding plans have been postponed (until I heal or at least get better and stay that way). The relationship has not been easy, we've broken up many times when I have waves. I just wanted to know if someone could give me some advice on how do you deal with hopelessness when dreams and plans that once excited me and gave me happiness are now on hold without knowing when I will be able to resume without fear of committing myself and then having a bad wave? Thank you

Hello to all. I have been on a low of 50mg of Anafranil for 25 years for Pure OCD. This is the 4th time I'm tapering of this medication. I mainly rely on the therapy, i.e.: CBT, ERP and insight for managing my OCD condition. I've had no clinical depression for over 20 years but the anxiety is always there. I'm fairly convinced the medication has hardly any benefit apart from an anxiolytic effect which does help anxiety a little although I've had enough of sleeping 12 hrs a day for all this time. I decided to taper down very slowly as I rushed a little in the past and have had to restart the original 50mg dosage. I cut the small 25mg tabs in 4 and started with 43.75mg for 2 months. There was no problem. Then I started on 37.50 for 2 months. There was no problem. Next I started on 31.25 for 2 months and there was no problem. About 1 month later which was 1 month ago and after feeling somewhat triumphant I started 25m. 3 weeks later as of just over 1 week ago my tinnitus has doubled in volume and my anxiety has increased which is also amplifying my OCD condition. Its difficult because its relentless but tolerable. I haven't seen any small window of abatement and this is what is a little scary. The question I ask is, what if this goes on for months or is even permanent? I also start thinking that maybe I could reinstate the extra 6.25mg which is where I felt stable at this last dosage for at least 2 months and then decrease by an even smaller amount like half of that? Ideally I would like to carry on the way I have been and hope that soon I shall see some improvement. Obviously there are no garuantees but how long should someone continue experiencing these side effects before making some type od decision one way or another. I understand that being on medication for 25 years and expecting no withdrawal symptoms when tapering off is a lot to ask for which is why I decided to taper off 25mg over 8 months. Unfortunately stressing about the side effect of anxiety probably perpetuates it but these thoughts come instinctively through years of experiencing them. I'm trying to stay aware of this. Hope you're all doing better, what a ride this is! Any thoughts you may have will be appreciated and I thank you in advance.

Hi. This is my first post. I have been on imipramine for 6 years (clomipramine before that for 22) and am also on aripiprazole. Am reducing imipramine atm and have over 2 months come down to 100mg from 150mg. Tonight have had a glass of wine and am wondering if should avoid a second as had slight palpitations earlier after drinking it. Is this normal when reducing off imipramine? Is it safe to have another glass of wine? Thanks.

Hi everyone , I'm new to these forums as it is only through my recent on - going suffering that I have been googling sites searching for help . I have been taking the trycyclic antidepressant Dosulepin for about 3 years at a dose of 150 mgs every night . My doctor informed me mid February that this tablet was being withdrawn and I would have to taper off it . He wanted me to completely stop the medication within 4 weeks but when I asked my pharmacists advice she said no way could this be done without horrendous withdrawal symptoms . I went back to see my doctor and he agreed to a 6 week taper . However I am now stuck at a 50 mgs dosage and am really suffering with massive anxiety , nausea and exhaustion - is this normal and will it ever go away ??

Hi all, I have been on AD’s for approximately 3 years. I have tried a lot of different meds in that time with varied success. Most recently I have switched straight up from 125mg of clomipramine to 100mg of notriptiline as all I wanted to do was sleep on the clompiramine though everything else was fine. After 5 days of the switch I have severe brain zaps, dizziness and horrible dreams which lead me to wake up in a state of panic. These withdrawal symptoms (at least I hope that’s what they are) have been going for 7 days now. Hoping I could get some advice as to how long these symptoms will last as I’m starting to think maybe I should revert back to the previous meds.

Hi everyone I have been on antidepressants for 20+ years and most of that time on Dothep. I have tried many times to come off but never been entirely successful. I now realise from reading through information on the internet and now this wonderful forum that I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms every time I tried to reduce. I was interpreting these symptoms as a need to stay on the medication and because a psychiatrist once told me to never expect to come off them I just gave up. I have done a massive amount of work in therapy and a huge amount of healing and I genuinely feel I don't need to be depressed anymore. I'm determined to be free of antidepressants and the devastation they reek on my body. Before reading about tapering by 10% I began by reducing from 100mg to 75mg. One week on, so far so good ( and usually I'm suffering from insomnia and rages by now). So I'm feeling really hopeful but realistic too. From what I've learned on this forum I understand I should continue to taper by 10% from now on and to try that on a monthly basis first. My question is have members in Australia (I'm in Qld) been successful in getting support from GPS to taper by 10% and then found pharmacies able/willing to do that with Dothep? Thanks in advance! And thank you for providing this awesome resource! J

Tapering elavil

I'm 73 and have suffered chronic depression and anxiety throughout my life. Have taken most of the antidepressants out there at one time or another. Only one that really helped was Anafranil but I was unable to hold down a job with it because I couldn't stay awake! In 2014 I felt hopeless and decided to try Doxepin because it had worked miracles in my daughter's life. She warned me about side effects but that's another story. I get my psychiatry at the VA and my doc there wanted me to take 200mg of Doxepin at night but I couldn't sleep after hitting 100mg. So I switched the timing to the mornings but when I hit 200mg in a single dose I slurred my words and really could barely function. So I dropped to 150mg and stayed there...but my mood did not improve. So I added 100mg at night for a total of 250mg/day. Stayed on 250mg from May 2016 to Sept 2016 when I told the VA doc that it wasn't working. Not only was I depressed but I had lost quite a bit of strength. VA doc wanted me to drop 100mg/week but I feared going off too fast and we settled on 50mg/week. I am at the end of my third week of tapering so am down to 100mg taken in the morning. BTW, the doc wants to start me on Bupropion as I taper the Doxepin but I have said no so far. But I feel w-a-a-y down...not suicidal but having difficulty with daily functioning. I wake up several times a night with a start and I dread the morning wakeup. Also, am feeling flu lilke symptoms and have loud ringing in my ears. So I need help. Where do I go from here? I already decided I am not dropping another 50mg tomorrow...but should I go back up? I should also mention that I have decided to work on my depression with mindfulness and somatic work. At my age it is no fun to play with meds!

I do not know differentiate clearly, the withdrawal symptoms, disease, drugs and supplements I took no supplements because Altostrata warned us that no commercial program is good. The best is to do so slowly and patiently removed. I was doing the supplements list TBR to buy, but I suspended it. Currently 1/2 comp clomipramine (Anafranil) 50mg and 10mg Valium middle of composing. It's the first time I try WD reading survivingantidepressants. Always I did on my own. Today the symptoms are weak but sometimes are accentuated. I have symptoms as if anything was a big scare that spreads in seconds, until becoming a huge wave of the sea. Many things become disproportionate for me to bear, but without panic really. Today I travel alone, I submitted myself to surgery without problems,etc... but I have many emotional pain. I feel small, bad thoughts,etc... dizziness, wheezing in the ears, as if listening to the "silence the noise" (beginning two months), and more symptoms that I describe in my signature...and more many, many others symptoms I am very confuse with me and as i sad in Topic Title: i dont know diferenciate bettween those kind of symptoms and dont know if i am right with my WD

Hello Tapering Warriors, I haven't been on this site in a long time however I am very active in multiple support groups on Facebook and am a polydrug tapering veteran who helps many so I pray I get support here. I am running into problems tapering amitryptaline using a combination of pills that my body is used to and compounded liquid suspension. For example, right now I am taking 1 10mg tablet and then 2.5mg in compounded liquid. I microtaper the liquid. My body doesn't seem to be registering the liquid compound the same as the pills though. I am curious if others have experienced this problem with compounds. The challenge with amitryptaline tabs in their minute size and the coating they have. I know I have to work with these tablets for the duration of my taper and I need help from anyone with experience tapering amitryptaline tablets. I briefly soaked a tablet in water to remove the coating and am prepared to order a gram scale and start microtapering that way. I am badly kindled so microtapering is key for success here. Is anyone else tapering a drug with a coating? Is anyone else tapering ami tablets? Thank you kindly, Heather

Hello I am new to this place and found it when looking for an answer as to why i am in the situation i am in now. I have been married to my wife for 3 years and known her for about 5. This woman is everything to me and I was everything to her. I was in the military and we got married when living with her family in NY state. When i was medically discharged from the military i wanted to move back to my home in SC. She came with me but it did affect her. I expected as much a big move like that is hard on anybody. She was depressed and just sad for a few months. She started to have these headaches and went to the doctor about it. she was perscribed Nortriptyline HCL 10mg capsules taken once a day for the headaches. Well when they didnt go away the doctor increased the dose to 3 pills at night all at once. She was still depressed and the headaches still happened but she never went back to the doctor for them. As time moved on i noticed small changes in her attitude and behavior being confrontational and easily agitated. At first we thought it was her birth control because she had issues with it. We switched the birth control and it fixed the issues associated with it but the behavioral changes stayed there. i thought it was still about the move and the stress of it all but it just kept going. She wanted to move home so bad and after a year of living in SC on a trip to see her family in NY i decided we can move back because i just wanted to see her happy again. We started making plans to do so and everything seemed fine. A week or so after we where talking about having a baby and this is something she has always wanted but i said lets wait till we are back in NY to do that and she said she didnt want to move back she wanted to stay in SC. She hounded me for a whole year about moving and all of a sudden she wants to stay. After the argument we made up like usual we never go to bed angry with eachother. She has been the kind of person to always say divorce was never an option that we will always work through it. at the beginning of the August she said she wanted a divorce out of nowhere. The days before there where no signs of this she seemed normal like everything was ok. But she asked for the divorce and said she would pick up the papers a day or so after. Come to find out she didnt even know the laws surrounding it she thought she could just get a paper and sign it and boom we are divorced. She didnt have any place to go and to this day still lives with me. She told everybody she had been planning it for months but her actions prove otherwise. I have been trying to find out what is going on and what caused all of this but every person she tells the story to it changes she isnt telling the truth and she never lies especially to her parents. She has this new interest in other men and posting pictures on facebook she shouldnt be and constantly talking about how i ruined her life. I did some more digging and decided to look into this drug. I have read over 40 different storys and articals on this reaction and its so alike to whats happening to me its scary. I called the doctor and told her my concerns about what is going on and she said without her coming in herself they cant stop the medication. I need help i cant lose my wife to a pill. an addition to this i want to make is it seems she has these small moments of clarity and she talks to me like everything is fine and normal then a bit later it back to one word answers and silence.

Hey there. I'm new to this. I am thinking about discontinuing my antidepressants. I am currently on Tofranil been taking it about 7 months. I feel like it doesn;t really help. and every time i speak with my psychiatrist she just ups the dose and i feel like it really doesn't make a difference, I really need supoort on what i should do or suggestions. thanks.