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Hello everyone, this is my first post. I want to start by saying that I am very grateful that this site exists, it has helped me and many others a lot to understand more about our subjective experiences with these drugs. I am 27 years old and I think I need help sorting out my sertraline experiences. It all started when I was 19 years old, I had a very bad, intense and emotionally overwhelming quarter life crisis. After a year and a half of being isolated at home, I was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward when I was 20 years old. My treatment with Sertraline began there (see my signature), without informed consent, as usually happens. When I started taking Sertraline I was already very confused and scared, after that period of isolation, so it became even more difficult for me to understand what happened to me. I more or less rebuilt my life for the next few years. I remember that in 2018 I told my psychiatrist when I could stop taking the pills and she told me that I had to take them for the rest of my life (I have had a psychiatric diagnosis of OCD since my involuntary admission). I told her that I wanted to stop because of the side effects or something, she told me to try tappering and give it a try, to see how I was doing without the pills. In the end, after a while, I went back to taking the pills in the same amount as before, 50 mg. Now it's summer 2019, I don't remember much or clearly about that time of my life and those years. I think at some point I started tappering in September or so, but I remember that the last months of 2019, from October to December, I stopped and went back on the pills several times by myself, because I stopped going to my psychiatrist (probably because I didn't trust her and/or felt betrayed after being told I had to take sertraline for the rest of my life, no one told me when I took the pills in February 2017). It was chaotic. I decided not to take them anymore, and I became more emotionally unstable, I think I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but I didn't know then, my psychiatrist just told me very briefly about the "rebound effect". April 2020, it's the COVID-19 lockdown, my anxiety is very high and I don't like how I feel, I feel unstable, so I go back to 50mg again. I was already in bad enough shape, mentally and emotionally. I also lived with my parents and they stressed me a lot. I stayed on that dose until the last days of August 2020, when I stopped taking them cold turkey after 4-5 months of taking the pills. Then in September my withdrawal kicked in. But it kicked harder in the following months and June/summer 2021. This time, at the end of 2020, it also coincided with the end and breakup of a very toxic relationship that I had, which ended very badly for me. I lost control of my emotions and got stuck in a fight and flight stress/trauma response. I think in the last few months of 2021 and the first half of 2022 I also experienced very bad withdrawal waves. Back then, withdrawal was not something that was on my mind, I didn't think about it. In Jan or Feb 2021 I also took Sertraline again, I can't remember if 25mg or 50mg, for a one or two weeks, maybe three but I don't think I reached week three. I also think in 2019 that dose of sertraline didn't work anymore because of how I felt, I was probably experiencing withdrawal before I even quit Cold Turkey and/or tapped. For the next 3 years I have been trying to figure out what happened to me and learning about sertraline effects, side and adverse effects and withdrawal. I'm still recovering from all this chaos, it was too much. For the last year I have been trying to stabilize myself, my mind, and calm my body. My mind is still confused and shocked by the experiences I had, especially since September 2020, I have a hard time remembering many things, emotions and feelings that I had. I would like to hear other people's opinions and advice. Thank you for reading.

Hello, this is my first post and I’m really looking for some help Here is my story, so for the past three years I have been on 50mg Sertraline/ Zoloft for Panic Attacks, Anxiety and Depression. I decided to come off of them from the beginning of this year and then had a delayed withdrawal symptoms three weeks from my last dose. I then reinstated on the same medication and for 2 weeks and 5 days experiences awful side effects even worse compared to the first time I went on it, the main cause for concern it making me have suicidal thoughts and feelings, which led me to CT with the advice of my doctor. From what I have found is that the medication may have exasperated my discontinuation symptoms. For a month after I experienced discontinuation symtpoms including Acute anxiety and dread Waking up anxious Low mood Depression Feeling extreme weariness (the worst) Nightmares Decreased appetite Mild insomnia - waking up several times throughout the night and early morning wake ups Confusion Brain fog - words and sentences seeming jumbled or muddled Intrusive suicidal thoughts Suicidal feelings Crying spells Mood swings Irritibility Racing thoughts Anhedonia Poor concentration - unable to read or listen to music Mild memory loss Derealisation / Depersonalisation Flu-symptoms Mild vertigo Tingling sensations Smelling things that aren’t there Diarrhoea Lack of labido Light sensitivity Eye floaters 5 weeks later and most of these are gone, I had a streak of 6 days where I felt fantastic, I felt like I could manage my anxiety and depression and I was just left with what I’m usually used to. However, I feel awful again, but I am unsure if this is a “relapse” to what my natural mental state is or if I’m still experiencing mild withdrawal. I noticed yesterday that I kept repeating a words that I was reading from signs I walked past, I have quite bad health anxiety and seeing as this is unrelated to anxiety and more OCD, it’s freaking me out thinking I might be developing it. But, when I read about OCD it doesn’t entirely relate to what I’m like, I’ve always been more anxious and depressed, I don’t perform rituals in my mind or physically. I do have worries about losing control and horrible instrusive thoughts but I always assumed that it suited my anxiety rather than OCD. I have had repetitive words happen to me a few times even while I was on the meds, but to a point that it didn’t concern me, probably a total of 5 days out of the three years. I also remember right at the beginning of my experiences with mental health that I did sometimes count things but could easily stop. But im unable to remember if this is when I started the sertraline or before. Now I’m off of them I’m unsure if this is a diagnosis that has been unnnoticed (as I did go onto AD fairly quickly) or if this is an effect of SSRI meds and the withdrawal? I also had about a 5 day bout when I recently reinstated my meds experiencing a compulsion to touch my nose over and over, however I resisted it to the point that it went quickly and figured that it was my brain confused coming off and on the medication and the effects on my nervous system, and that I had read somewhere that the end of someone’s nose also felt quite strange coming off medication and that it can be anxiety related. I do feel that as a person my anxiety fixates on health problems and then acts them out in hypothetical situations, so I used to worry about schizophrenia so when my anxiety was bad I would imagine voices talking to me, even though I was not psychotic. I think the same thing happens with my current worry of OCD, that my brain is acting it out playing on my worries, rather than the typical sense of OCD using those thoughts to neutralise worries. If that makes sense. Im also beginning to experience Earworms, parts of songs annoyingly repeating in my head. Has as anyone got some incite to how I’m feeling or if they have had similar experiences? Is it because of the medication, the discontinuation, or should I have something to worry about in terms of OCD? And most importantly, can people experience mild symptoms of OCD but mainly have anxiety? I.e can anxiety borrow tendencies from OCD without it being OCD. I feel a lot better without all the nasty discontinuation symptoms, but now I just feel awfully trapped between coming off medication or having to one day maybe reinstate because I’d be unable to deal with what I’m like off of them and this mental discomfort. All the stories on here scare the life out of me, however both options appear terrifying- being off medication and going back on them. I don’t ever want to experience being suicidal again, but I don’t want to be crippled with anxiety and new symptoms that seem scary to manage. So confusing. Hopefully I’ve been as informative and concise as possible. Would love to hear from you all!

Hi Everyone, I am just going to jump right into this. I developed anxiety 4 years ago after having several life crisis in a months time. My mom was diagnosed w Dementia. My little sister was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.A childhood friend died in his sleep from heart failure. I tipped over from the stress. I went to my GP and she started throwing AD's at me to help silence the anxiety. The AD's only made me worse. I went to the ER one night after experiencing my first panic attack The ER Dr gave me a script for Ativan. I took it for four weeks and then stopped because I was feeling much better. A few days later my world turned on it's axis. I didn't know what was happening. My anxiety was worse, I was pacing, heart racing, Panic attacks daily.... I went to my GP and she said I needed to see a Psychiatrist. To get in to see anyone was 3 months. I started to spiral. I had no idea I was in withdrawal! I ended up in the hospital to get help for my anxiety. I was put on Effexor (75mg)and Klonopin (.25mg). I stabilized and was sent home. I did really well on Effexor. After 4 months on Klonopin I started to slowly taper off. I tapered over 3 months. The taper went pretty well. I was cutting and weighing my pills. 8 months after that I felt good and talked to my Psychiatrist about tapering off of the Effexor. She strongly recommended to go slow and we did. I tapered for almost 7 months. To be honest, the Klonopin was easier to come off of than the Effexor. She put me on Prozac before my last cut of Effexor. Tapered off of the Prozac over 3/ months. I still had some anxiety but it was tolerable. It felt AMAZING to be free of AD'S and the Benzo....then COVID hit and my mom passed away. Anxiety came back w a vengeance. I ended up back in the hospital after a very bad reaction to Zoloft. My new psychiatrist kept telling me to "push through," the first 3 months. I was back on Klonopin but now it was.50mg twice a day.The hospital took me cold turkey off of Zoloft and started me on Remeron and Trazadone. The next day they added clonidine. The klonodine didn't agree w my system at all and I was taken off of that in two days. They released me from the hospital 5 days later. I lasted two weeks on Remeron. I was so disoriented, confused, high anxiety and felt like I could become violent on them so they weaned me off of that over 4 days and put me back on Prozac. Prozac didn't help my anxiety, I had constant headaches for months! I did get an MRI and it was normal. I started to feel more and more depressed on it. I was on Prozac for maybe two months when my psychiatrist took me off of that (tapered over 6 weeks) and put me on Lexapro. I had to have back surgery during this. I did NOT take a single pain med out of fear of making my WD worse. At first I thought the Lexapro was helping? I was still having breakthrough anxiety so he bumped it up. My Psychiatrist retired and a new woman came in to take his place until they could find a new one. She bumped my Lexapro up to 25mg when I told her I was having major anxiety rushes, my face would get bright red, I wasn't sleeping very well. That increased dosage was the worst! I was like a zombie but w heightened anxiety. I couldn't work, I would sit at my desk and space off for hours! I felt awful. So, she told me to start tapering off of the Lexapro (4 weeks total! I knew better...) and she wanted to cross taper me onto Effexor. I started that and boy....the depression was BRUTAL! I was not sleeping well, could hardly focus, anxiety was high, my legs felt like jelly, my head would burn, I felt my brain tingle all the time... I was nearing the end of my rope. I was desperate for a Psychiatrist that CARED. The interim Psych left and a new one came in. She wanted me off of the Effexor because she felt it was too hard to come off of and if it didn't work for me, I would be in for hell. I told her I was scared to switch AGAIN and she assured me that switching to Duoloxetine was it's "sister drug," and I shouldn't have an issue. I trusted her. The last 3 months have been.... (How do describe this hell?!) a daily battle to push through hell on earth. I am still working, I can still function, I take care of myself, my home, my dog. I am a divorced woman with a 22 year old son. I live by myself with my Rottweiler. Life is so friggin' hard when you are trying to get thorough this mess. I now have a WONDERFUL and caring Psychiatric nurse practitioner who truly cares. She is holding me on the last 10mg of Lexapro until the Effexor/Lexapro WD calms down...IF it calms down. I should tell you that I can't believe I have pushed through the last year. My symptoms have been Burning in my head, headaches, tingling in my head, mood fluctuations, burning on my skin, bloodshot eyes, pressure on my chest, sensitivity to heat, depression, sweat easily, joint pain, ringing in my ears, no motivation, grinding my teeth, feeling mentally off at times, at the beginning I couldn't sit still, short tempered, at times in the beginning of the Lexapro taper, I didn't want to talk at times...like I almost couldn't, buzzing in my body, feel like I'm going crazy sometimes, anxiety rushes...etc I am interested in this group for support and the combined knowledge from it's members. I know that NO ONE can tell me when this is going to end. What I am hoping is that someone can tell me what I am going through is normal for all of the med changes? I am honestly concerned if I am still having problems because of the Duoloxetine? My anxiety IS better since I have been on it. I get 8 hours of sleep. I don't drink. I don't use illegal drugs, don't smoke. I eat pretty healthy. I don't exercise. It's tough to get out for walks when you feel like hell and I guess I save my mental energy to work. I know I have rambled on. My mind feels like it's in a vice and also these drugs affect how well I put my thoughts into words. For the most part I am a happy and well adjusted person. I feel like the last few years have been stolen from me because I faithfully followed Dr's instructions and thought they knew best...I was so wrong. Thank you for your time. Blessings to all of you.

I am reluctantly writing this as I feel very little hope. Back in 2009 I was diagnosed with GAD for really bad anxiety and panic attacks. I was told this might be permanent and was prescribed Ativan. Over the next year or so my dose was bumped all the way to 7mg of Ativan daily. I was also prescribed Ritalin 80 mg daily at some point with no diagnosis. I told my doctor I had a hard time concentrating after plowing snow for 3 days straight and that was his response. I drank very heavily from 2005 until I finally saw a problem in September of 2015 which is when I sobered up from alcohol. At this time I also entered into therapy. We started realizing that taking 7mg of Ativan daily was keeping me from being able to access and process my old issues. At this point I had no idea I had childhood trauma. At some time in my recovery from alcohol I decided I wanted to get off the Ritalin probably 2016. One day I stopped cold turkey and dealt with some extreme fatigue and exhaustion but was able to power through with will power and the fact that I was in my “prime” at 30. I was also very motivated to be substance free. Back to the Ativan. I worked very hard from 2017 to 2020 to drop my dose of Ativan with help from my doctor. I made huge progress as she would say and went from 7 mg down to just 0.5mg. Then I got a job working as a County Park Ranger. A free months in I worked a really traumatic car accident and started having PTSD symptoms. I started doing EMDR for this and after 6 months was %90 free of this hell. During the time I was processing that trauma I met my now ex November 2018. I believe she could sense the distress on me and acted as a savior but has now revealed herself to be quite the opposite. We had a kid together in June of 2021 and I left in June 2022. My son means everything to me and has been the main reason I survived the hell of living with a narcissist for almost 4 years. We are In a custody battle at the moment where she is trying to take full custody and move to Idaho (we currently live in Colorado). During the time I was with her I was having such bad anxiety that I was having a hard time dropping my Ativan any further. As a result of this my doctor recommended I take Zoloft to help with the anxiety and give me something to lean on while finishing my termination with Ativan. This is where I believe my brain was damaged. From the moment I took my first dose of Zoloft 50 mg the world seemed darker, quieter, and further away. It was like a dark vail was placed over my eyes and ears. Over the next year my doctor bumped my dose all the way to 200mg off Zoloft where I stayed for roughly 2 years. Sometime in there Fall of 2022 I realized my genitals were almost completely numb. I panicked and started doing research. That ultimately led me here. I realized I needed to be in a more stable living situation before getting off the Zoloft so I busted my ass to get back on my feet and into my own place. In May of 2023 I moved into my own place. I started tapping the Zoloft very quickly on my own from 200 to 100mg and held for a month. Then from 100 to 50mg for about a month or two. Then 6/4/23 I stopped taking Zoloft altogether. The first three weeks were no big deal just emotional breakdowns and such. After week 3 the low mood started selling in. It was also at this point I realized that my emotions were quickly leaving me as well. That is the part I’m most concerned about. I feel almost like a robot that has hardly any thoughts in my head or emotions in my soul. The love of my life, my beautiful 2 year old boy, is getting a very different dad now. I struggle to connect with him and I don’t feel the same powerful attachment and love I did with him only a month ago. I don’t know what to do as I am in an extremely difficult situation with work and custody and I feel almost nothing. The terror and outrage of my situation with my ex is now only a blip on the radar. I have no emotions or motivation either way to fight her although deep down inside I know how devastated I would have been previously to lose my son to her and her new fiancé. I don’t know what to do and I want to have hope that this is just temporary. Did my emotions crash temporarily and will eventually return with time? I’m feeling defeated and hollow. Thanks for reading this.

Hi! I used to be on 50mg zoloft, and started to tapper down 10% every four weeks, and when it came to 6 mg I tried to go to zero. Didnt work, got a LOT of strong symptoms. I went on it again and have taken a quarter of an 25mg. And this tablets have no score in it for splitting. This I have been taking for about a year. So I have alfeady been through a shakey period with no concistansy, and symtpoms a long the way. However, I stopped taking it two weeks ago, and havent got too mutch symptoms. I have a hedaiche, nightmares, anger and sadness, a bit anxiety and strange feelings in my eyes. So what do you think? Should I prepare for worse or stronger symptoms or is this ”it”? Because this ”it” I can handle, Im so used to this that it feels normal. For someone that felt good and then got all my symtoms at once would feel a lot different I think. best reguards, Rebecca

Hi all. I have been on 20mg of Lexapro since 2021 for extreme physical anxiety symptoms. I could not sleep. The Lexapro helped me significantly and I experienced no effects except when upping my dose. However, everything changed March 2024. I have been suffering stomach bloating and other related issues since the falls, so I decided to try a probiotic. After a few days, the probiotic seemed to be helping, but then I suddenly had an adverse reaction to Lexapro and am unsure if it is related or not. Because of this I got worried and only began taking 15mg for the next two weeks but experienced the same symptoms: increased heart rate, headache, nausea, muscle spasms, leg twitching, emotional bluntness, inability to be sexually aroused, chills, etc. My doctor wanted me to cross-taper to Zoloft, starting at 25mg while dropping down to 10mg on the Lexapro. I took them together for two nights in a row and had horrible symptoms, like those listed above but my hands and legs were shaking badly and my teeth were chattering. This obviously concerned me so I stopped taking the Zoloft completely and was only on 10mg of Lexapro for a few days until one day I felt horribly numb, like I got crippling depression overnight. I felt so unhappy and suicidal, I decided to try the Zoloft again to stabilize me. So, for three days I took 25mg of Zoloft in the morning and 10mg of Lexapro at night. My symptoms were not as bad as they were when I took them together, but I still suffered reactions to both of them. Last night, I took 25mg of hydroxyzine which I have been taking for the last week to help me sleep due to insomnia and anxiety surrounding my symptoms. I had the same reaction as I usually do when I take Zoloft or Lexapro, and I read that hydroxyzine can influence serotonin, so this concerned me. Because I had a reaction from the hydroxyzine, I wanted to be cautious and skip my dose of Lexapro for risk of further toxicity. Today, I feel horrible. I am super nauseous, have had some chills, and have a very intense headache like pressure in my face. I am lost.. Should I reinstate the Lexapro at the lowest tolerable dose for me and try to stabilize from there? I don't know what to do anymore, if I am suffering from adverse reactions plus withdrawal. I am so scared of beginning this journey because it seems like it will be a long road of unknowns and suffering.

Hi all, 3 months off Sertraline. Now feeling like my brain is a bit drunk, vision a bit blurry...but now experiencing random involuntary head twitch (for lack of a better term). Is this common. Wondering if I should see a neurologist. Any thoughts?

I took 25 mg Zoloft about 12 years ago for just a few weeks. Decided it wasn’t for me. “Officially” started Zoloft 7 years ago for the first time for post-partum anxiety. I was a mess. Jumping at every little movement of things, miserable and anxious. I actually had an elevated TSH with my first pregnancy so that definitely could have contributed to my anxiety/arousal post partum. Now I have been on and off Z throughout those years to some degree or another for anxiety that is triggered by health-ocd. Feeling good this year during a busy work season, I reduced my 100 mg dose to 75 in October. Didn’t feel any different. Until I started getting low iron symptoms or so I thought (weak and shaky legs, shortness of breath, cheat pain). These were anxiety symptoms that I took for iron deficiency. So instead of getting anxiety under control, I took a BOAT LOAD of iron. I had had iron definitely in the past so I thought I knew what I needed. Also increased my Zoloft back up to 100 in November. But had an anxiety relapse on 100 mg (Dec 2023). Had iron levels tested. They were beyond fine (even highish ferritin). Looking back, it was likely side effects from upping from 75 to 100 that caused the anxiety. So naturally, didn’t feel well, so I increased to 125 and never got better. Started therapy during this time. Went up to 150 after 125 didn’t work. Each increase made me horrifically worse. Boarderline psychosis (this was in February). Started buspar 2.5 mg 3x per day. Thank heavens, I never went up on the buspar. (my GP confused side effects for anxiety) Reduced to 125 for a week the same day I began buspar. Then down to 100 one week after 125. Sat at 100 mg for 4 weeks. Started to feel more stable after 2 weeks at 100. But then became erratic with my buspar dosing (it also likely just starting to “work” which was likely too much medicine with the 100 mg Zoloft). Started getting withdrawal from buspar, but confused it for Sertonin syndrome. Then stopped the Buspar cold turkey approx. 2 weeks ago today (March 22). Had 3+ days of INTENSE withdrawal. Tremors, extreme anxiety, and feeling blank in my head. Had a few “normal days” then was having random bouts of anxiety and bad days, so I thought my Zoloft dose was still too high (stupid). Thankfully only went down to 87.5. Currrently tappered down to 87.5. Most recent taper was from 100 to 87.5 5 days ago. Many of my psychosis-like symptoms went away after coming down from 150. But then the withdrawal hit. Ive been experiencing many severe withdrawal symptoms intermittently throughout dose these past med changes including waves of brain fog, fatigue, exaggerated fears, feeling “flat,” intense anxiety over daily tasks, tremors, twitching and dizziness. Doing the work for my health OCD in therapy. Planning to come off with a slow taper in the next year or two. Tips welcome! I haven’t begun tapering as I just officially this week have been “saved” by SA. I have no idea where to begin even after reading the tapering guide. But I’m off to go read it again.

Hi, I’ve taken zoloft 50mg 14 years non-stop. Later years felt numbed, disinterest, vision problems, inner shakes, burning weird headache etc. First doctor wanted to increase dose but I felt so bad we stopped it. Later on decreased dose with 12,5mg. In few days had symptoms and got advised to go back to 50mg - adverse effect and became worse. Muscle twitching, heart palpitations, aggression, intensive suicide thoughts, burning in head felt like electricity. Went to clinic first time. They said stress. Then another doctor said it could be serotonin syndrome or akathisia. Months went by with severe side effects. Difficult position having side effects from taken zoloft but also from reducing it. Went into clinic to get help to reduce. 25mg cut ”your on observation”. The fifth day I didnt get anything and said - Stop, you cannot do this in five days!!? 50mg to zero 😕. I left. Was told by doctor ”you can't go back now because then you'll get really sick”. Its 10 weeks since cut from 50 to 25. At first felt ”ok” but third week came most of the hard WD. Mostly in bed for weeks: weekness, extreme fatigue, cognitive memory, difficulties to walk, palpitations, buzzing electric sensations with headache, pain in body neck shoulders, blurred weird vision diziness disoriented. Few times also feeling little more presence than zombie-feeling. But it feels like senses are overwhelmed to take in impressions. Been taking Zoloft for so long I don’t know how it is without. Think Im breaking down Zoloft slowly and sensitive but haven’t checked it out. Right now my worst WD is severe headache in different places, pressure in head, eyes down my neck and in general feel week and lost. Some days been unbearable. Brainfog, cognitive (to write this). No energy, electric buzzing head, achy, stiffness, feeling behind and sensitive to noise and light. Tried few walks but body mostly says No. I know it's a too big reduction but was hoping. Had severe side effects and heard that the last 25mg is the hardest, would do it very slowly. Worried that maybe WD will be delayed and could be worse... Is it common for Zoloft (short half-life)? Thinking about long time effects and if I made a to big cut for the system. Also worried how tough 25mg reducing is for my heart, female 50 year. Could it be dangerous? Its 10 weeks since cut, is it even possible to reinstate and how small amount? I dont know…trying to hold on, wait, and just feels good to be here…

Hey everyone, I’ve been meaning to post here for a while. i was on zoloft from 2011, was prescribed 50mg but shortly went up to 100mg after a few months. I started to taper around April 2021 and did so over a whole year, reaching 0mg by April 2022. The withdrawals started to appear around a month later in May, it was literally hell on earth. Waking up at 05:00 every morning in an anxiety attack which would then keep me in a state of constant anxiety and depression until around 7pm where my nerves seemed to just drop from the stress and the cycle would repeat itself the morning after. This went on for about 5 months and this forum is one of the few things that kept me going, if there was a light at the end of the tunnel, I was going to stand my ground until then. I could not be alone, I would use every chance I could get these 5 months to run, I ran and ran hoping it would give me some respite since my soul already felt like it was burning. I coped by talking to friends and family about what I wasgoing through, a lot, I cannot suffer in silence since it makes it infinitely worse so I felt compelled to, it helped and they were supportive. I thought that if I get even 0.5% better each day, I would get better eventually. I broke down many times crying, wanting to end it all instead of living in this hell but then there came a day where I noticed a tiny improvement and thought to myself that I could keep scaling that improvement. In September I started seeing real results and I kept taking care of myself emotionally and physically. No tobacco, drugs or alchohol at any time. Fast forward to summer of 2023 and I’m better than I ever have been. Fall 2023 and I am way better than I was on medication and genuinely happy for the first time in such a long time, and it’s all just me, no medication or SO. Hang in there, cope and strive with healthy methods and you will make it. Link to: Kiro: hit by WD 8 weeks after quitting Zoloft

Hello, Please can you provide some advice, I am reluctant to follow advice received off of my GP to lower to 25mg for two weeks then stop upon carrying out a lot of research. I have been looking at the hyperbolic taper and the 10% method, which is more effective and could you recommend an example tapering schedule based on being on sertraline 50mg for 3.5 months and best way to carry it out? Will enquire about liquid solution availability at next appt next week to discuss again, currently only have access to 50mg tablets that can be split in 2 (two 25mg halves if split) Started due to an anxiety episode which was getting no better, now on sertraline have been at pre-anxiety levels for quite some time and looking to taper off as agreed with doc. Also weening off omeprazole 20mg for another week, unsure if this will make a difference. Many Thanks.

Hello, I'm glad I came across this forum because since I started having withdrawals after quitting Zoloft I've been looking for information about people who have been on the drug for more than a few months, all I can find are studies about people who withdrawal after a short trial period. I'll try to keep this as short as possible because I probably don't need to regurgitate my whole life story into this text box here but I'm also procrastinating homework right now so maybe I will do a bit of that... (TW: mention of suicidal ideation) I've struggled with anxiety for as long as I can recall. I had severe OCD as a child along with what I was eventually told was generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. I silently suffered for years until at 15 I realized I didn't think I could go on living if nothing changed so I told my parents and then one day I was sitting across from a psychiatrist prescribing me my first bottle of Zoloft. At that time for whatever reason, Zoloft was the change I needed and within about 6 months I was living in a way I wouldn't have conceived as possible beforehand because of how free and happy I felt. I had never experienced life without crippling anxiety and the depression that came with it. I thought of Zoloft as magic, I was soo thankful that I was on it. It enabled me to live a pretty normal high school life without having panic attacks in the bathroom every morning and constantly being afraid that my body was racked with parasites (a long term obsession and fear of mine). I never thought I would be able to leave home for college either, and I attributed that success to Zoloft as well. I had been on 150mg comfortably for years and eventually I decided I wanted to come off of them. I made it down to 50mg over time before the pandemic hit. Then at some point my life deteriorated rather quickly. I started have horrible panic attacks again, I sunk into the worst depression of my life, was severely derealized, I could barely eat, and I was utterly terrified because at that time I felt that there was no part of me left that wanted to keep living if I didn't feel better. Thinking that this was all attributed to my medication changes, my doctor increased my dose back to where I was before. Unexpectedly, for me, there was no change. On top of this, I felt the Zoloft was giving me side effects that it had not before, like constant lightheadedness. I kept waiting for the Zoloft to kick in and do its same magic, but it never did. Instead I started going to therapy, changing my lifestyle, mediating, etc. (Very fortunate to have access to these things and a support system). Pulling myself out of that hole was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do, and I didn't think I would ever feel better. But over the course of a year, I've felt progressively better and more myself again, all the while I'd been decreasing my Zoloft very slowly and for the last two months I've been at 25mg. I am certainly not anxiety free, but I feel more confident in my ability to cope with it than I ever have. I am also confident that Zoloft does absolutely nothing for me anymore. I had always been told by my old psychiatrist that I would be easily able to come off of it whenever I pleased. Once I was down to 25mg, I thought that was basically nothing so I wouldn't even notice a change when I stopped taking it. So one night I figured I'd been tapering long enough and I stopped taking pills. I knew withdrawal was possible but I figured I'm tough I can handle a couple of days of feeling weird. So here I am now, coming to this realization that Zoloft is not in fact a drug that will just leave your system without having any sort of impact...yeah... I feel incredibly lost and scared right now because I can't decide if I should try to push through a couple weeks because so far the withdrawal hasn't been horrible, but it is uncomfortable. I'm very lightheaded, nauseous, can't stop crying and am having wild mood swings like I've never experienced and its only been a few days. I'm thinking what if I go back on them and all I would have needed to do was go through a few more days? But the thing is there's no way to know how long I'll be feeling like this. And based on what I am reading, for someone who's been on them for so long, my brain may need a while to reboot the systems and make new receptors and figure out how much serotonin to make after years. My main problem is that I'm a college student, I can't afford to stop doing school for however long this takes. I can barely think or comprehend what I read and I'm terrified that my grades are going to start suffering for it. But if I go back on, I'll be disappointed in myself. I feel trapped because I don't even need this medication anymore for its intended purpose, but now I need it to have brain function? I've wanted to be free from it for so long, and I'm coming to the realization that I might not be able to do this right now, in this way. I feel almost betrayed by this drug I used to consider my savior. I feel betrayed by my doctor that told my mom when she asked him if it would make any long term changes to my brain chemistry, he told her "no, it will not." I don't know if I should go back on it and try a longer, smaller taper, or if I should try to push through (which is what people who have never taken antidepressants keep telling me to do of course). I'm also scared now that the longer I'm on it, the more difficult it will be to get off of it in the future. I had no idea that I would have to deal with this, and it seems that there is very limited literature on the subject. At this point I don't know what my next move is, I'm so determined to get off of it, but I also need to be a functional person right now. I don't know if these things are mutually exclusive.

Hi everyone, I’m new here, (22 y/o Male) and I have been reading all your threads on this forum for quite a while and it gives me great hope. I have a story off my own that I would like to share with you. It’s a long read and I would really appreciate your feedback back on it and where I can go from here. My story starts in 2021. To start I struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and have done since I was 11 years old, I am now 22. In 2021 after 8 years of suffering and sweeping my problems under the rug they finally blew up in my face and I had to deal with them. This included horrific intrusive thoughts, rumination and anxiety all day everyday for about 3 months straight so much to the extent that I had a nervous breakdown and couldn’t do anything. It affected my eating, sleeping and work life and I don’t even like talking about it to be honest. I had heard about ssri’s for many years but never considered them until my back was against the wall and I had no other choice. With much hesitation I started Sertraline in August 2021 (at age 20) and to be fair it did provide a lot of relief. I went from 25mg to 50mg and was on the medication for roughly six months, August 2021 to February 2022. Somehow or other the first time went alright and I successfully cold turkey’d off 50mg in feb 2022 because my prescription ran out. I didn’t have any prolonged withdrawal symptoms or sexual side effects. I also once took 25mg for a day or two in August 2022 but stopped because I didn’t like the spaced out and drowsy side effects. Now this is where I’m getting round to the not so great part. In January 2023 I was resuming my college degree after working for six months. I was anxious being in a new house with new roommates, and was looking for something to help me calm down and settle in. I knew I had left over Sertraline from the year prior. And while giving it some thought I foolishly decided to reinstate by myself and treat them as if they were benzodiazepines. This is where trouble began. I started 25mg again in late January 2023 jumped to 50mg and quit them cold turkey again roughly in around mid April 2023. The reason for doing so is because I was having severe headaches which very well may have been an adverse reaction. I feel very foolish about this because I unintentionally did this to myself when I really, really didn’t need to take the medication. And because I successfully quit cold turkey the first time round I thought I could do it again and was completely unaware of withdrawal symptoms. I was quite wrong, I guess this is what I’m getting to now. I have most the textbook PAWS symptoms I.e. poor to no emotions, anhedonia, lack of motivation/drive. Not to mention the sexual side effects numb genitals,watery semen, no real effect on libido however (thankfully). It’s now roughly 12 months since I last took Sertraline and while I see small windows there’s not much real improvement. I guess what can I do now?. I have heard about reinstating small doses of the drug to alleviate withdrawal symptoms but to be honest I’d rather not touch it with a ten foot pole after what happened. I’m probably outside the reinstating period anyway but I am open to suggestions. So what should I do, I’m no stranger to hard times and I know that this is just another bump in the road and will pass as it has for many others, but it’s starting to drag on a bit. I have often heard that it takes between 12 - 14 months for your dopamine receptors to reset so that gives me hope. I know I am slowly healing as I am getting very small windows but it’s still slow, is there anyone else who was in a similar situation as I am currently?. How long did it take you to recover and is there any feedback you could offer me. Considering that I only took it for 2 - 3 months shouldn’t that mean that I should recover a lot quicker and more linearly?. Can I 100% recover from this, and be even better than before?. Like said I’m hopeful and optimistic and know I will get there. I would just like to know where to go from here. Thank you for reading my story and I look forward to hearing your responses.

Hello everyone my name is kym I’m new here and I’m hope I’m doing this right . Short story about my situation. In my teens (now 37) i was diagnosed with depression and anxiety but i was always able to handle it . My symptoms was a mind thing not physical. Fast forward to the end of FEB 2024 . I was struggling with gastro issues and i got really down . I felt myself getting depressed so for some reason i asked my doctor for a picker upper and she gave me Zoloft 50mg . At first i was hesitant to take it ,but I decided too . Within 3 days of taking it i noticed something wasn’t right .i felt jittery like i was gonna jump out my skin . So i stopped ! I was ok for 5 days then boom hell broke loose. I was starting to feel physical panic or anxiety attacks (don’t know the difference) , i couldn’t sleep , i cried all day long .chest was pounding . I even went the hospital because of the chest pain and was told i was ok and was given Ativan which helped .I stated to keep a journal and i noticed my symptoms was going up and down . Example : 1 week I’m doing bad , next 4 days I’m back to normal , next 5 days I’m doing bad etc . Fast forward again to Friday March 29,2024 i started feeling shortness of breath. Today will make day 5 i have shortness of breath 24/7 . I can’t take a deep breath and my chest hurts . I went to the hospital twice this week to be told my lungs is perfect ,o2 is perfect and no respiratory infection and was just sent home . I am now bed bound because when i walk im out of breath. I am a very active person i strength train 6 times a week ,i dont drink or do drugs . I didn’t have these issues until i took that pill . I’ve tried to be positive and pray , but i just want to know has anyone else experienced this ?! Am i going crazy ?! The doctors cants find anything ! Also , i am in therapy as of 6 weeks ago and i have a psychiatrist i see for the first time next week . Will this go away on its own ?! I really don’t want to be put on another antidepressant . Please any advice will help . I just want to know I’m not alone . (also i will add : years ago (2016) i was put on Prozac i only took a couple of times because i didn’t think i needed it and in 2019 i was put on lexapro i only took a couple of times (4) cause it made me sleepy ) I only took it because my sister thought it will help me from feeling down after my granny and mom passed . But those pills didnt do any harm . i hope this helps and i hope someone can help me understand i will be ok and this shall pass.

Hi--I'm so glad this site exists. I took my last dose of Prozac on December 15, 2018. 3 days later, what I call the Horror, began. I had been on ssri's for over 20 years during which time I had become constantly sick. It never occurred to any doctor that my illnesses were medication related. Eventually I began to link studies of the ssri's to my problems. I tapered over a 6 month span, and now realize with the discovery of SA that it was probably too quick. I'm frightened because I still don't sleep well, suffer from akinesia, bone-crunching depression, suicidal ideation, especially in the night and mornings, tinnitus, extreme weight loss, blurred vision, and obsessive ruminations. This mental state is a million times worse than anything I experienced before starting on Zoloft. At that time, my husband had been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, and during the first 2 years Zoloft did seem to help me cope. After that, it never worked the same, though the dose was consistently increased. Eventually my doctor had read that Zoloft was associated with an increased risk of stroke in those over 60, and he switched me to Prozac. Over these years I lost my hair, had an oophorectomy for cysts on my ovaries, had appendix removed, two heart attacks, and was put on Enalapril for HBP, Metformin for diabetes. I always had digestive problems during this time--including hiccups! And terrible sweating-- Three days after my last dose of Prozac, I was admitted to ER with BP of 250/150ish. Administered clonidine. Back to ER again about a week later with same high BP which had never gone down. My urine was pink. My body and mind could barely function. I was given a diagnosis of Serotonin Syndrome by the ER toxicologist. Since then I have tapered off the Ace inhibitor in 2019, and Metformin, the last dose being in March 2020. About 8 months in, it seemed I might be improving somewhat, but the final withdrawal from Metformin has set me back again. A couple of months ago, the mental nightmare had become so unrelenting I considered reinstating, but haven't. I still can't watch movies, read novels, or enjoy music the way I did. But the good news is that my blood pressure is now normal. This month I've slowly returned to my job part time after nearly a year away. Thank you for all that you all contribute here. I hope I can offer support as well. Your journeys mean a ton to me--life rafts, in fact. Zoloft: 1995 - 2015 Prozac: 2015 - 2018 (tapered from July to December) Gabapentin: 2016 to 2019 Enalapril: 2010 - 2019 Lipitor: 2017 -2017 Metformin: 2000 - 2020 Liothyronine: 2007 - 2019 Levothyroxine: 2000 - Happy to be here, Arbor

Hi everyone, I’m really suffering with unbearable anxiety. I’ve got a long history with Zoloft and akathisia when I’ve reinstated once I found withdrawal symptoms, I’m bearable. Of course, the akathisia was worse than the withdrawal symptoms, and all I can’t do it again, even though in the end, I’d reach stability on the Zoloft. I’ve always wanted to be of these drugs, but it’s just been way too hard. I’m 54 years old. For the last four years I’ve been really well but I had some health anxiety. Some health issues come up and I’m now feeling just terrible. I’m in a state of continual movement and agitation and anxiety. It’s not full blown akathisia but it’s got some part of it. I feel so worried. I’m wondering if this is like a late onset withdrawal. I tapered from 50 mg of Zoloft down to 25 mg by reducing my dose by 2 mg every three months until using a compounding pharmacist until I was 25 and I’ve been there for nine months, but now after nine months I’m feeling like I’m in withdrawal and it’s horrific. I’m trying to avoid to marzipan, but some nights I just feel I need relief. sometimes I’m using a little bit of Carver and some herbs from the naturopath. I just want to know is this is this possible that stress could bring on a late onset of withdrawal? Has anyone had this happened to them before thank you

I have been off Sertraline for over four months now, after having been on it for about 3 and half years. Previous 4 years or so I had been on other medications. Is diffcult to comprehend and explain in words all that is going on, but my whole psyche has been completely overturned in these years, and I do not know to what extent the various medications have caused me this. I suffer from the severest OCD,and anxiety, and now I think depression, and sheer terror at all my subsconscious thoughts which have completely taken over my whole mind. I have been imprisoned and castigated in my own mind. It is beyond explanation what is occuring on a millisecond basis. I seem to have entered some moral vortex, whereby I feel as if I am always doing wrong. Constantly confronted with "Heaven and Hell". Constantly feeling compelled to undo things, which for example I have written like here. Damned if I do or if I don't , this doesnt explain 1% of what is going on. It has brought into the fore the reason for everything and existence. I really have no idea what is going on, terrifies me the idea that no-one can have any idea of what is going on in my head. Yet on the other hand everybody is in my head, I don't know who is in my head and who isn't. Everything I say in my head is being judged. I will not go any further for now as I am terrified of writing, and also it may not be entirely pertinent to the subject. Unfortunately it only comforts me to a certain extent to know that others are experiencing their own hell, and I feel guilty in turn for the fact "that others suffering should comfort me', as I have entered some abstract Universe which seems to have its own laws. the ridiculous thing is that in the end what seems "right and wrong" seems to be determined by feeling and not some sort of formula, and I feel guilty in turn for thinking that, and also "convinced" on the one hand that it should be formulated and on the other "know" that it isn't. One of the main reasons for writing this post was the guilt and fear of punishment, or fear of damning others, especially close ones for benefitting from reading others stories and not contributing my own. To clarify alot of this stuf was going on when I was still on the Sertraline, and perhaps, in a different way when I was on other medication, difference now is that I am that so much more fragile.

Hi I'm Moe. I'm a 29 year old male. I work as a neurology RN. I never would have thought that a reaction like this could come on from taking a medication for 4 days but here I am. I have about a year long history of health related anxiety. I had a pain in my throat that would not go away. Everything checked out and it was safe to assume it was anxiety induced, but my mind wouldn't accept that because the pain was still there. I took Lexapro in increasing doses up to 15mg over 6 months. My anxiety stayed and I became tired throughout the day so I stopped it. This was February 2023 to July 2023. February 2024 The anxiety was annoying but under control. It did not effect my daily life. The throat pain persisted. I decided to try another medication to see if it would help with the throat pain. I started Taking Zoloft mid February. I was to be on 50mg. The first day I took it I noticed no difference. The second day, I felt nauseous. I then realized I had forgotten to take half tablets. The third day I started taking 25mg. I became so depersonalized it was nothing like I have ever experienced. Later that night I started having intrusive thoughts that I needed to harm myself. I pushed it out. The fourth day the nausea had become way worse, and I was getting thoughts of harming myself throughout the day. This was not me. I have never had that issue. I decided to stop the medication then and there. The following days everything became much worse. I felt so nauseous I could not eat or drink. I was shaking, I had chills, I had thoughts I needed to die to end this, I could not enjoy anything, I could not focus, I could not work, and I could not sleep. After 2 days I went to the ER. They gave me fluids and Droperidol to help with nausea and calm me down. I had a dystonic reaction and left the ER traumatized after it was resolved. For the next week and a half, I experienced the worst thoughts, nausea, despair, and hopelessness that I have ever endured. I truly thought my life was over. I had family over every day. Without them I have no idea if I could have survived. After a week and a half, this went away. I felt like I was back to my normal self. One night I awoke at 1am to the same chills, despair, panic, hopelessness, sweatiness, sadness, that I remembered from the first week. Since then, I have been dealing with waves of despair and hopelessness, trouble concentrating, nausea and loss of appetite, lack of motivation, general weakness, and anhedonia. It has not been as bad as the first week, but many are the same feelings. I feel overwhelmed by simple tasks of the day at times such as dropping off things at the post office or thinking about what I have to do in the day. It has been 43 days since I took the last dose of Zoloft. I have started therapy, I exercise daily, I am taking fish oil and multivitamin, I keep a journal of my good moments, I make sure to plan my days out, I am meditating multiple times a day, I am reaching out to family, and always looking for new things. The last 3 days in particular have been better than the previous days. I feel more in control. I have had one wave each day 1-2 hours long. I will likely regress and have a really bad day, but you can't dwell on it. Its easy to have a really bad day and think you're regressed. I think I am making progress, but it is certain that this experience and medication has changed my life. I'm here to get better. I want to work this out. I am not losing my inner peace and life due to some medication reaction. I am stronger than that. If you're reading this, you are too. We will break through the waves. Positive outlook is how to beat this. Of that I have no doubt. Don't stop looking for healthy ways to get through the day. Meditation and exercise made all the difference for me. Medication breaks the cycle of "Am I feeling bad" or "when will I feel bad" thoughts. Exercise can give the boost you need. Power through the weakness, you're stronger than you think.

Hello everyone, I am hoping to get some feedback from someone and possibly some hope. I am attaching my medication history: Celexa 20mg January 2014- June 2019 Tried to stop cold turkey for a few days in February 2015, resumed normal dose Zoloft 38.5mg June 2019-August 2021 Weaned to 25 mg Started Wellbutrin 150mg November 2021 Stopped Wellbutrin cold turkey February 2022 Started Trintellix March 2022 Stopped taking Zoloft after decreasing to about 8mg in June 2022 Discontinued Trintellix July 2022 after having crippling panic attacks Restarted 12mg of Zoloft July 2022 (panic subsides for a few weeks, then BOOM, right back) Increased to 18.5mg of Zoloft August 2022, followed same pattern as above. Panic attacks gone for a few weeks and now back full force I have been having horrible, crippling panic attacks for the last few months. I have NEVER had anxiety! I wanted to stop taking Zoloft because of the sexual side effects and I am not even sure I actually needed to be on antidepressants in the first place. I blindly, and ignorantly, agreed to take Zoloft initially because someone said it would help me sleep through a difficult period in my life. 9 years later and here we are. I feel so alone. My doctor thinks I am crazy if I mention post acute withdrawal and wants to put me on more meds. He even offered me benzos knowing that I am in long term substance abuse recovery. Does anyone out there have any experience with developing panic attacks after trying to decrease/stop ssri's? I am desperate.

I had been on some form of anti-depressant and mood stabilizer/anti-psychotic since high school, 2002 or 2003. Initially I was put on Zoloft for depression which caused me to become "manic" which lead me to be put on Lithium, Abilify and Risperdal (not sure doses or when). Starting around 2008 I was put on Cymbalta and Lamotrigine/Lamictal. I got off the Cymbalta & Lamictal cold turkey on my own in 2011 and it resulted in brain-zaps and then a deep deep depression. I reluctantly got back on my meds. Beginning in 2020 (exact date I'm trying to find), my psychiatrist agreed to help me taper off my meds. I was able to get off the Cymbalta it seems fairly easily, which I have been off since the end of the Summer 2020. After getting off that I began tapering off the Lamictal ... I'm trying to find information on how much I lowered initially, etc., and don't have it right now. I do know I got down to 100mg by November 2020 and had to go back up to 150mg over the winter due to debilitating depression. Starting in ~March 2021 I began tapering again (again don't have exact dates/dosages as of now). I have detailed records of my tapering beginning in May 2021 when I began using the 25mg tabs to taper: 5/18/21 (May 18) - 6/13/21 (June 13): I alternated daily between 87.5 mg one day and 100 mg the next day (87.5mg/100mg/87.5/100) 6/14/21 - 6/21/21: 87.5mg each day 6/22/21 - 7/11/21: 75mg/87.5mg/75/87.5 7/12/21 - 7/26/21: 75mg each day 7/27/21 - 8/8/21: 62.5mg/75mg/62.5/75 8/9/21 - 8/30/21: 62.5mg each day 8/31/21 - 9/12/21: 50mg/62.5mg/50/62.5 9/13/21 - 9/26/21: 50 mg/day 9/27/21 - 10/10/21: 37.5mg/50mg/37.5/50 10/11/21 - 10/24/21: 37.5mg/day 10/25/21 - 11/7/21: 25mg/37.5mg/25/37.5 *On November 1, 2021, my dog and best friend of 10+ years, the Big Guy (110lb. half boxer/half mastiff), died after a brief fight with cancer... in retrospect I should have ceased tapering at this point; instead I continued my tapering in earnest and began to self medicate excessively with alcohol and cannabis 11/8/21 - 11/21/21: 25mg/day 11/22/21 - 12/5/21: 12.5mg/25mg/12.5/25 12/6/21 - 12/20/21: 12.5mg/day 12/21/21 - 12/31/21: 0mg/12.5mg/0/12.5 January 1, 2022 - Present: Off Lamicital Completely I had no idea about this site or a couple days ago. I have been realllllly struggling this whole year but especially the past couple weeks. Some days I am so depressed I can hardly get out of bed. Some days I am "functional." I have major brain fog where I can hardly think most of the time (which is not good for my job!). I can't hardly make even the most basic decision. It is bad. I am desperate. I do not know what to do. I really don't want to get back on the Rx. I'm looking for suggestions on how to cope with the withdrawal symptoms. I have been sober (no alcohol or cannabis) since January 1st as well. I workout, do Wim Hoff breathing, garden, meditate/pray and eat mostly organic. Supplements: EMPowerPlus Lighting Sticks, 5-HTP, Vitamins C, D, B-complex (6&12) & K2, Magnesium Glyinate, Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract; Just started taking St. John's Wort a couple weeks ago I don't really recall withdraw symptoms (depression) prior to my Dog being diagnosed with cancer in September 2021 (which coincides with me getting down to 50mg/day)--since he was diagnosed and then passed Nov. 1st, I have been mostly depressed. The brain fog didn't really start that I recall until ~January of this year when I was totally off -- but I could be wrong. Since November of last year, it has kind of been a blur. On another note, while not directly related to withdrawal, I am very unhappy with my current career and have been for some time. I think doing something that goes against my values and not really knowing what my purpose is has a big impact on me feeling depressed. However, right now with my brain fog and depression, I am having a really hard time doing any work whatsoever. So my purpose now is to get past these withdrawal symptoms so I can find my purpose in this world and what gift I can offer to other people. I am VERY wary of getting back on any RX and do not want to go that route if at all possible. Thank you if you read this far and I appreciate any advice on how I should proceed!! -Will

Has anyone ever felt like there neck is heavy (harder to hold it up) and their body too (slower movement)? Is that a symptom? Thanks

Hi there, Been using antidepressants for nearly 20 years. Started with Prozac, then citalopram, escitalopram, Zoloft, Cymbalta, amitriptyline, Remeron, tried Lyrica and some others as well. Nice years ago I tried to stop cold turkey (I was taking 20 mg citralopram back then) and had the worst year of my life after that decision. Had conflicts with everyone, had terrible back pain, living was Hell. Now I'm back a tapering, because at some point it was too much: I was drinking alcohol, drinking coffee, needed 20 mg melatonin to get asleep, took L-theanine, Remeron that knocked me off, 20 mg amitriptyline and 60 mg Cymbalta. I had ED from Remeron and the others, and felt really bad. Enough was enough. So I changed things. In the last month, I eliminated everything except for the Cymbalta. I stopped alcohol, caffeine, amitriptyline, Remeron, L-theanine, and melatonin. And I started tapering off Cymbalta, going down 3 mg each week for 10 weeks, which is my objective, to be at 30 mg for winter and maybe try to taper off again next Spring. So far it's difficult. Anxiety is going through the roof, sleep is only marginally better, feel anger all the time. I take magnesium, D3 and K2 to help me, but it only helps a bit. Is my tapering strategy too fast? Any advice? Should I keep going or stabilize first, and any way to manage anxiety? Any supplement that could help? I think I was vitamin depleted from so many years of AD... Thanks

Hi folks, TLDR: Too fast taper off 50mg Zoloft July/August 2023; withdrawal became intense in Nov 2023 and continues to today. Wedding is in early May so stress isn't stopping. Should I reinstate or keep going? Ok so, I've been creeping on the site here for a couple weeks, and was very excited when February 1st rolled around so I could register myself. I'd love to hear any advice or input on my situation. I've summarized my med history in my signature but here's the full story of where I'm at: In 2010 I started having panic attacks during sophomore year of college. These panic attacks were coupled with anxiety and severe gastric distress so I ended up dropping about 10 pounds and going to a Gastroenterologist because I thought I had IBS. The doc informed me it was not IBS, but that I had anxiety, and he prescribed me 20mg of Celexa which I began taking in November 2010. I also did exposure therapy through the university, and was diagnosed with panic disorder. With the medicine, my symptoms got better and I finished college in 2013 thinking "if it ain't broke don't fix it". In 2014 I made a random med change from Celexa to Lexapro, I don't think I had a real reason other than maybe thought I had gained weight from the Celexa so I switched? I continued on with 20mg Lexapro from 2014 until February/March of 2020. At that time, I was in really wonderful and healthy relationship, had just received a new job offer and felt really stable and content in my life. I hadn't had a panic attack in years and had always wanted to stop taking the meds, so with the help of a NP at a psych office, I weaned (far too quickly), taking 10 mg for 2-3 weeks, and then 5 or so every other day till I was at 0mg in the end of April 2020. Withdrawal aside, there were a lot of reasons this was stupid and I was ill prepared but I didn't realize that at the time. From May-July 2020 I experienced flu like symptoms, a plethora of brain zaps, SI, and some of the worst anxiety and depression I've ever experienced, much worse than my original condition. With no end to the pandemic in sight, and thinking it was just me, and I couldn't handle life without an SSRI, I went back to my NP at the psych office and reinstated with 50mg of Zoloft. We chose Zoloft because the physical symptoms of withdrawal from the lexapro were so bad she thought I might react better to the Zoloft instead. Ok, so I took 50 mg of Zoloft from July 2020 to June of 2023. The entire time I was on it I knew I wanted to try weaning again but wanted to take steps to make sure I was in a better place. I began heavily limiting my alcohol, caffeine, and sugar intake (things that were very high during the first attempt), made a lot of progress in therapy, got off of hormonal birth control, and started seeing a functional medicine doctor (FMD) to test my hormones and make sure those were as stable as they could be since we suspected I deal with PMDD. I worked with both my FMD and my GP to get a taper schedule together, and I thought I was doing it much slower than the first time. I tapered to 25mg during July 2023, and immediately had so much more energy and emotion than I had had for the last 12+ years. I cried a lot and often out of no where, but that and energy seemed to be the only side effects I noticed. In August 2023 I took 12.5mg daily for ~ 2 weeks, and then 12.5mg every other day for ~2 weeks after that. During this time I was also in the thick of training for a marathon, so I was running around 30 miles a week, the sun was out, I wasn't really drinking and life felt pretty manageable! After talking to some folks I really trust, I also had begun micro dosing ~125mg Psilocybin for a few days a week (~July-January) to help bridge the gap of coming off the Zoloft. I had some possible mild akathisia during this time, but I thought it was just from the running, and I also would get really nervous and have gastric distress before I went out on runs, but again - I thought it seemed normal to have a little panic before running 15+ miles 🤷‍♀️. I completed the marathon in the first week of October and slowly started consuming a bit more alcohol here and there, I don't think I ever actually got drunk at any point, but maybe 3ish drinks in a night every couple of weekends max. End of October /beginning of November 2023 was around when the anxiety and insomnia started. Which then after a trip to Mexico for a wedding, and drinking ~1 drink a night for the week + more the wedding weekend, I felt like I completely regressed with my anxiety and depression symptoms. Everything "came back" like it had in 2020 with a vengeance, I was 10x more anxious, suddenly depressed, incredibly irritable and annoyed by my partner, living in a pit of comparison, going through awful waves of gastric distress and nausea, crying all the time (though that had been there since tapering started), could get 0 pleasure, excitement or hope out of life and waking up with panic out of nowhere at 4 and 5 in the morning. This continued in what I called a "roller coaster" (waves/windows) From Nov 2023 to now. I didn't realize this was still withdrawals or that it even could be until the middle of January when I found this group by way of another facebook group I'm in and felt like it was an answered prayer. Just even to have a name to put to what I was experiencing, and seeing so many other people share the same issues I was experiencing. The constant crying, the waves and windows of anxiety and depression etc. I couldn't believe we all had been given such short taper plans by doctors, and was kicking myself for not finding out about this hyperbolic taper concept earlier, but alas... So! What I'm seeking is advice. My partner and I are getting married in early May 2024, and I am terrified of being in this depressed/agitated state (where often he is getting the brunt of my mood) on our wedding day. Stress isn't really able to be lowered at this time, with the wedding coming up, being understaffed at work, and us moving states this summer. My partner is incredibly understanding and supportive, and I've taken steps from what I've learned here to lower the stress on my CNS as much as possible: I'm not drinking or indulging in THC, I stopped the micro dosing mid January, I try to get 8-9 hrs of sleep every night, I exercise daily, take morning walks, eat a whole foods diet, go to therapy weekly, meditate and breathe daily, do cold exposure 4x a week, you name it I'm probably doing it. I track my waves and windows, but at this rate I don't see an end to them in the near future. I'm around 5 months into 0mg, should I reinstate at .5mg Zoloft and see if that curbs my waves and windows or just continue to push through? Thank you so much for reading, any advice is appreciated and valued!

Hey all, From original topic title: 8 months of hypomania, increasing irritability, two major manic episodes, then CT Wish I found this site before. Prescribed 50 mg in October 2018, reported immediate response, eventually asked to cut the dose to 25 mg when symptoms were arising more frequently. Doc said go up to 100 mg, thankfully I disagreed and we went down instead. Kept having increasing symptoms and eventually started taking 12.5 mg twice a day thinking I was a fast metabolizer. Then: suicidal ideation and one hell-ish manic episode (with a good 50 mini-episodes over a months time). Quit CT once I learned what was happening. BP2 diagnosis came, but now a month removed from sertraline, I don’t see it. I’m dealing with some crazy withdrawal symptoms... mostly headaches and irritability. I sometimes blink really hard, kind of like a brain zap. I’m on intermittent leave from work, and didn’t burn all the bridges I have, but came damn close. now I’m learning healing takes months/years. Why is this a drug prescribed so frequently? What a nightmare it has been.

I was on antidepressants for 16 years - mostly SSRIs and Wellbutrin. Today I am celebrating being off of them for 5 years. It was a very difficult road, but I am, for all intents and purposes, recovered. My life is normal now. What few symptoms I have are almost nonexistent, brief and passing, bearable. So many times through the dark tunnel to today I thought I was damned forever, but I made it out. My first answers came from this site, and I am thankful. If you are in that horrible dark tunnel, hang on. Know that even if you don't see the light now, it will come. Keep walking.