Posted by JaneB on April 29, 2005, at 16:36:03
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by laurab on April 26, 2005, at 22:09:10
What helped me with the dizziness, nausea, etc. was to shave a bit off the Zoloft tablet and take it as soon as the dizziness was too annoying. The time span between "shavings" became longer and longer. Now I have no dizziness at all. Doctors don't always know what our bodies are experiencing. But many people have experienced extreme withdrawal from the "non-addicting" antidepressants. I have had success in coming off by using the shaving method. Try it--maybe it will work for you. But as you see new specialists and get more tests you may experience "dizziness" just from the anticipation of tests and test results. Maybe you just need to give your body a touch of Zoloft to get you over the withdrawal a little more.Are you discontinuing Ativan also? I was advised to discontinue Zoloft and then Klonopin. However, I found that it worked better for me to decrease each at the same time equally by the same split and shave method.
I am no expert. Just sharing what worked for me. Good luck.
Jane
> I have been on 200 mg Zoloft & .5 mg of Ativan for 2 1/2 years for panic/anxiety attacks. My psychiatrist told me that they were mainly caused from the stress of my old job. A short time after being on the Zoloft and getting a better job the attacks stopped.
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> My Psychiatrist told me to start coming off of the Zoloft. I dropped 25 mgs every 2 weeks. I did fine until I got down to 0. Then wham! I was dizzy, off balance, sick to my stomach, getting these weird feelings in my head as if my brain had gone numb for a second, crying spells, and insomnia. Talk about a medical nightmare!
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> I called my Psychiatrist to see what was happening and he blew me off. He said that the symptoms I am having is not from coming off of Zoloft and asked, "Well which would you rather have? Panic Attacks or what you're going through now?" and told me there were no after effects from Zoloft. So with that, I went on the internet to see what was going on. I was releaved to find out that this was normal (if that's what you would call this). I saw many threads about trying benedryl or tylenol cold and sinus for vertigo relief. I tried them and nothing improved. I went to see my PCP and she gave me a prescription for motion sickness...which made me feel worse and very grawgy.
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> It has been almost a month since I have been off of the zoloft. I still have dizziness,numb feeling in my head and I can't sleep at night without taking tylenol pm.
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> I am on Medical Leave from work and I haven't been able to drive since 3/28/05. My pcp is familiar with the effects of coming off of Zoloft however my psychiatrist isn't? Go figure. Anyway, my PCP is concerned about the numbness I am getting in my head so she referred me to a Neurologist. I have an appointment in a few days.
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> In the mean time I am going stir crazy. I am so frustrated because I cannot function like I used to. I am so used to being on the go all of the time and now I just sit around because I am too dizzy to do anything. My question is does anyone know how long does this typically last? Has anyone found anything that works to help?
poster:JaneB
thread:465261
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050424/msgs/491599.html