Posted by DDTTBB on May 27, 2005, at 10:45:43
In reply to Re:withdrawal from Zoloft - thanks! » DDTTBB, posted by missred on May 25, 2005, at 10:21:08
> what time period did you take? did you stay on a dosage until symptoms subsided? How long overall has this taken you? How long have you been completely off? Are you having vivid dreams? Are you in "the dark place" at all? are you experiencing much "emotional liability"? I have envy that you have the courage to go off! good job!!
I used a four (five?)-week taper. One Thursday, I cut it to 150 mg (from 200), then to 100 exactly a week later, then 50, then 25, then 0. I have been totally off since last week Thursday. I did not worry about what symptoms I was having before dropping the dosage...I just wanted to get off Zoloft. I have not shaved off a little bit to counteract the withdrawal symptoms. This stuff will not be in my system ever again. The withdrawal effects have been much, much milder with the taper. I have had dizziness and rarely the "zaps," and some stomach upset, but overall I feel great. My personality has re-emerged out of nowhere. My in-laws said I have talked more with them the past two times I've seen them than in the entire year and a half prior I had known them. I am energetic and just damn happy. People are mentioning it. I am happier at work, and I get out of bed in the morning raring to go. It is amazing. I literally feel like a kid again.
Yes, I have had a few vivid dreams, and some were bad ones, but that's minor, and everyone has some bad dreams. I have been taking a couple Unisom pills before bed and they have helped with the insomnia a great deal. I can honestly say that I have not had one depressed feeling at all during this whole taper. I have not been in "the dark place." Quite the opposite, actually. I must mention that my life situation has improved dramatically. I moved from a very bad, depressing marriage to a controlling wife and a debilitating divorce to a new marriage that is the way marriage should be, so I think that contributes a lot to it. I am also a teacher with only two more weeks of school until summer vacation, so I'm riding that wave of good feelings too.
I really think everyone reacts to the withdrawal differently. But people, please taper! It was awful quitting cold turkey. Just know that life without Zoloft can actually be better than with it. I will always make the disclaimer that I do think Zoloft works, but it's not something to be on for life.
Also, for those with significant weight gain, you can lose it all. When I quit Zoloft two years ago, I started excercising a lot, and a couple months after I quit, I was literally 15 pounds lighter. Some people thought I was sick because I lost the weight so fast. It will take some time before the pounds start to come off, but it will happen if you exercize regularly. Of course, since I went back on Zoloft in late 2003, I have gained back about 35 pounds, mostly in my gut, but I am psyched to lose the weight again, hopefully for good. This was the main reason I quit it. I hate having this gut when the rest of my body is very slender. It looks almost like I'm a pregnant man!
poster:DDTTBB
thread:465261
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050519/msgs/503635.html