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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 163. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mirandakdj on March 1, 2005, at 23:45:14
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by JohnL on June 5, 2000, at 3:21:01
Geez! Am I glad I found all of your comments in the internet today. I've been taking 50mg of Zoloft for about 4 months for panic attacks and depression. I decided to go cold turkey, and do I regret that. Dr.'s or pharmacists really don't know about the withdrawal symptoms and if they do, they are denying it!
I feel like my head is changing channels every 2 to 4 minutes. I feel dizzy, aggravated and easily provoked, not to mention I feel like I'm in a dream land. I am constantly tired and can't seem to get off my bed. My attention span is back to when I was a 5 year old.
Now that I read your comments and your experiences, I suppose I better get myself off this drug slower. So I am going to call my doctor tomorrow and tell that bastard to give me a new prescription. I feel worst now than when I started taking this drug.
Good luck to all of you!
Posted by SLS on March 2, 2005, at 8:51:31
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Mirandakdj on March 1, 2005, at 20:22:37
Hi.
> Now that I read your comments and your experiences, I suppose I better get myself off this drug slower. So I am going to call my doctor tomorrow and tell that bastard to give me a new prescription. I feel worst now than when I started taking this drug.
Get the 25mg tablets to work with. If it were me, I would cut them into quarters and use a flexible dosing strategy. I would start at 37.5mg taken as 25mg in the morning and 3 quarters at night. I would then wait until any withdrawal symptoms disappear or wait a few days to a week and then drop down to 3 quarters twice a day or 2 quarters three times a day and see how that works out. Again, I would wait until any withdrawal disappears or wait a few days. I work down this way to 1 quarter three times a day. I then begin to wait longer between doses and allow the withdrawal symptoms to appear. I wait no longer than an hour and then take another dose. The withdrawal symptoms should disappear for hours. I repeat this cycle over and over. I take the minimum amount that will cause the withdrawal symptoms to disappear. Ideally you should find that you can last longer and longer between doses. At some point it will make sense to stop taking the drug. You might do this once you reach the point where the dosing period hits a plateau when the length of time between doses no longer increases. The final withdrawal will very likely be mild-moderate and last no longer than a day or two. I have successfully discontinued SSRIs, Effexor, Cymbalta, and benzodiazepines this way.
There are other strategies that I'll let someone else suggest.
- Scott
Posted by xytzca on March 7, 2005, at 0:35:51
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » Mirandakdj, posted by SLS on March 2, 2005, at 8:51:31
hey.. i am getting off zoloft. wheni got on it initially i was going home to japan and we found out they do not have this meds in jaoan. so i have some months supply with me. during that time i broke a tooth grinding in my sleep. apparently one of the uncommon side-effect, I found out from my old counselor, was grinding. i was grinding before i got on the med so i guess i should have been more careful but still, now i have lost half of a tooth. oh well. now getting off, i do experience tiredness, maybe a bit depressed moods, DIZZINESS, and other stuff that you all been talking about. at one point it was real bad and my friend even asked me if i was pregnant (and no, i was not). I am running out of my medication and i will be getting off completely pretty soon. wish me luck. and good luck to yall!
Posted by Heather99 on March 17, 2005, at 10:44:58
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by xytzca on March 7, 2005, at 0:35:51
I recently changed from Zoloft to Wellbutrin. I LOVE the Wellbutrin but the Zoloft withdrawal is unpleasant. My worst symptom is the pain/jolts behind my eyes. Every time I move my eyes even just a little bit, there's this yucky buzz that shoots through my head. I was taking 100mg for about a year and tried a two week taper - I've been off it for 6 days, but I can't take it. Luckily I still have some samples from my MD. I just took 50 mg and hope to be able to open my eyes without pain soon.
Posted by Heather99 on March 17, 2005, at 14:07:25
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Heather99 on March 17, 2005, at 10:44:58
Well it's been a few hours and my head/eyes are fine for the first time in days! It was definetly Zoloft withdrawal....
Posted by SLS on March 17, 2005, at 16:03:15
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Heather99 on March 17, 2005, at 14:07:25
> Well it's been a few hours and my head/eyes are fine for the first time in days! It was definetly Zoloft withdrawal....
Why don't you try a flexible dosing strategy?
- Scott
Posted by Jasmine25 on March 18, 2005, at 21:15:43
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » Heather99, posted by SLS on March 17, 2005, at 16:03:15
Wow, I had no idea that what I've been going through the past 3 days was withdrawal symptoms. I thought I had the stomach flu! I forgot to take my meds one morning, and I was only halfway to work when my stomach started feeling really nasty. By noon I could barely sit up straight. I left work early, and 4 hours later I had the worst diarrhea I'd ever had in my life. Several hours later I'd puked up everything I'd eaten that day, and yesterday I couldn't go to work. Today I went to work, but had to leave early again; I felt so dizzy that it felt like I had the world's worst hangover. Now it doesn't matter if I'm sitting or standing, the room keeps spinning.
All this makes me wonder though; I've been off my meds for 3 days now, would it really be worth it for me to go back on a low dose of this crap or should I just stick it out? I've got a 3 day weekend ahead of me now, will this last longer than that?
Some advice for anyone who is thinking of going on this medication for depression; try going to a psychologist first before you go on the pills. If anyone had told me that the withdrawal would be this nasty, I would have avoided it like the plague.
Posted by SLS on March 18, 2005, at 21:44:10
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Jasmine25 on March 18, 2005, at 21:15:43
I replied to your post here:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050228/msgs/472667.html
- Scott
Posted by Andreadrea on March 19, 2005, at 15:25:54
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Mirandakdj on March 1, 2005, at 20:22:37
Wow it is a relief to see others have had similar experiences. I feel like I have attention deficit disorder since reducing my zoloft, can't keep focused (and usually this is not an issue for me). My sleep is very restless. The GOOD thing is, my appetite is way down. I gained 170 lbs on zoloft, lost some before this taper started, but I used to be hungry 24/7. Right now its been 4 hours since eating breakfast and not hungry...its a miracle! It'll be interesting to see how much weight gets lost simply from reducing my meds. Assuming I can put up with these symptoms and not just go back to my old dose.
Posted by SLS on March 19, 2005, at 15:51:46
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Andreadrea on March 19, 2005, at 15:25:54
Hi.
> Wow it is a relief to see others have had similar experiences.
How do you take your Zoloft during the day?
- Scott
Posted by Andreadrea on March 19, 2005, at 16:30:57
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » Andreadrea, posted by SLS on March 19, 2005, at 15:51:46
I was taking 300 mg every morning. So now 275 in the morning. If I took any later in the day I wouldn't sleep at all at night
Posted by SLS on March 19, 2005, at 16:46:38
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Andreadrea on March 19, 2005, at 16:30:57
> I was taking 300 mg every morning. So now 275 in the morning. If I took any later in the day I wouldn't sleep at all at night
When was the last time you had difficulties taking Zoloft late in the day? It would be nice if you could split up your doses during the day and not allow for such deep troughs in blood levels. It might help to prevent withdrawal symptoms.
- Scott
Posted by Andreadrea on March 20, 2005, at 16:30:54
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by SLS on March 19, 2005, at 16:46:38
Well I'm on day 5 of reduced Zoloft dose now, a little less freaked out. Managed to make it through work yesterday, told a few of my friends there what was going on and they are supportive. I seem to do better at work cause I have things to keep me busy and keep my mind off my symptoms. Still a bit twitchy, mood swings from almost manic to almost depressed (and I was never manic, always just depressed), occasional whooshing in ears. Today is a lot better though, slept ok last night and it is good to know that other people have these symptoms.
Scott: I've had problems with zoloft keeping me awake at night in the past year, so I think I'm going to stick to the single morning dose. I really appreciate your input though :)
Posted by SLS on March 20, 2005, at 20:50:59
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Andreadrea on March 20, 2005, at 16:30:54
Hi AA.
> Scott: I've had problems with zoloft keeping me awake at night in the past year, so I think I'm going to stick to the single morning dose. I really appreciate your input though :)Oh well, it was worth a shot.
Have you tried splitting your doses recently? Perhaps the insomnia isn't as robust now as it was before. I think it might be very important to reduce the peaks and troughs by dosing more often than once a day (except for Prozac). I'm tugging at you a little bit here, I know.
Baby steps. Remember, you have control. You can taper as slow as you feel comfortable with. Maybe each step can represent a 10% reduction. Let your body provide the feedback that helps you set the pace.
If you really get "stuck", there are a few options that I think might be worth considering. In the meantime, it sounds like you have things under control. You might want to try using Benadryl to help mitigate the withdrawal symptoms that you do have. I have no personal experience with it, but perhaps you can take it once at bedtime. It tends to be sedating. Some people are now using Claritin, another over-the-counter antihistamine. I don't know how it works. It is not supposed to cross the blood-brain barrier. However, the people who reported success used the "Claritin D" preparation. It adds pseudoephedrine, a stimulant used as a decongestant. I don't know if this property is important to the effectiveness reported. I am hoping that the "D" is unnecessary.
Maybe you can split your doses of Zoloft and use the Benadryl for sleep? Tug?
One step at a time. You are definitely not a turkey.
Good luck.
:-)
- Scott
Posted by ladydee54 on March 21, 2005, at 5:07:55
In reply to SLS reply to Ladydee, posted by gardenergirl on March 20, 2005, at 23:57:00
I was on no other meds, Scott, I am generally a healthy person.
Posted by SLS on March 21, 2005, at 7:20:00
In reply to Ladydee's reply to SLS, posted by gardenergirl on March 20, 2005, at 23:56:09
Hi LadyDee.
I have one more question about your discontinuation of Zoloft.
How many times a day would you take Zoloft throughout the taper period?
Thanks for your input.
- Scott
> Post from Ladydee54 copied from Psychobabble board
>
> Hi Scott,
> I was on 100mgs and my MD said to cut back to 50mgs for two weeks, then 25 mgs for two weeks, then I was given 12.5 mgs for two weeks, then nothing. By the time I got to the final dose, I was having the infamous "head zaps" like crazy. I thought for sure I was going to stroke out or something. But I didn't.
Posted by ladydee54 on March 22, 2005, at 5:31:40
In reply to To: Ladydee's / Zoloft withdrawal » gardenergirl, posted by SLS on March 21, 2005, at 7:20:00
I never took Zoloft more than once a day, whether it was the regular dose or the taper dose.
as per doctors instructions.
Posted by Phillipa on March 23, 2005, at 20:50:23
In reply to Re: To: Ladydee's / Zoloft withdrawal, posted by ladydee54 on March 22, 2005, at 5:31:40
Sounds like a good taper to me. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by Andreadrea on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:27
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by JohnL on June 5, 2000, at 3:21:01
I've been on Zoloft since 1992 or 93. Started at 12.5 mg, worked amazing, frankly it saved my life I think. But I had to deal with 170 lb weight gain, and loss of libido for 5 years. Also had to up the dose many times over the years. Now I'm at 300 mg, and when I went from 275 to 300 mg, there was no change in mood at all, so I decided it was time to go off. 3 days ago (with dr supervision) I reduced the dose to 275. I had hoped I wouldn't feel much different, but I've got occasional diarrhea, I'm crying over little things, and I woke up after 5 hours sleep and couldn't get back to sleep. I usually sleep 8 hours a night and nap 2 hours a day, which i think is too much and caused by the zoloft, but its weird waking up early like that. I'm scared that I won't be able to do this without affecting my job and my whole life, but I'm going to stay at this dose for a week and reassess. Damn this is scary. I used to think I'd be on Zoloft for life, but it isn't really doing what it used to, and I think it is time to get off it. I'm also on neurontin now, which was added to kinda augment the Zoloft when it stopped working so well. After so long at a high dose, even a small change produces a lot of symptoms!
Posted by SLS on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:30
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Andreadrea on March 19, 2005, at 12:52:41
You might find some useful information on the Withdrawal board.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/
- Scott
Posted by ladydee54 on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:31
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Andreadrea on March 19, 2005, at 12:52:41
I'm so sorry that this is happening to you.
I was only at 100 mgs for a year and had a terrible time coming off, so I'm guessing that you must be having it a lot worse.
I was so angry at the doctor for not knowing what this stuff really does to us.
The good news is, these side effects eventually do go away, but given the dose you were on, you need to really back off very slowly. If I were you I would stay at the same dosage coming off for weeks, I did a week at a time and I still think it was too fast. The crying is absolutely normal as it will take much time for your emotions to even out, I will tell you that I took my last dosage in April of last year and didn't feel right for the whole remainder of the year. So for me it was at least 6 months of feeling like crap, but today, almost a year later, I feel OK, pretty much as normal as I get! lol.
Yes, I even got my sense of humor back!
So you will live thru this, you just really gotta be slow about it, don't rush to get off, as no good can come of that kind of withdrawal.
Good luck to you!
Posted by SLS on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:32
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » Andreadrea, posted by ladydee54 on March 20, 2005, at 6:37:44
Hi LadyDee.
I'm glad to hear that things have reregulated themselves.
How did you go about discontinuing Zoloft?
- Scott
Posted by ladydee54 on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:33
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » ladydee54, posted by SLS on March 20, 2005, at 8:10:51
Hi Scott,
I was on 100mgs and my MD said to cut back to 50mgs for two weeks, then 25 mgs for two weeks, then I was given 12.5 mgs for two weeks, then nothing. By the time I got to the final dose, I was having the infamous "head zaps" like crazy. I thought for sure I was going to stroke out or something. But I didn't.
I also had wild mood swings, OK one minute, way depressed the next, and I had never before been manic, so this was clearly another withdrawal symptom.
Also had a lot of whooshing noise in my head, which to some extent I still have, although it's decreased a lot, and I only really hear it now when I wake up in the morning and it's very quiet.
Like I said, a good 6 months is what you are looking at for complete return to "normal".
Don't let those first few weeks get to you too much because I was soooo tempted to go back to the zoloft, just like any other addictive drug.
Posted by SLS on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:34
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » SLS, posted by ladydee54 on March 20, 2005, at 9:49:23
All I can say is YUCK.
I'm sorry you had such a difficult time of things.
:-(
Glad to hear that things settled down for you.
:-)
What other medications were you taking while you were tapering off the Zoloft?What are the withdrawal symptoms that persisted during the first six months?
Thanks for any input.
- Scott
Posted by gardenergirl on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:35
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Andreadrea on March 19, 2005, at 12:52:41
I redirected your post to the Withdrawal board, and here is a link to it.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050228/msgs/473412.html
Regards,
gg
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