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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 8 to 32 of 163. Go back in thread:
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
Posted by SLS on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:36
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » SLS, posted by ladydee54 on March 20, 2005, at 9:49:23
Hi LadyDee
Would you mind following this link for me on the Withdrawal board. Thanks...
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050228/msgs/473489.html
- Scott
Posted by gardenergirl on March 29, 2005, at 7:49:37
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » ladydee54, posted by SLS on March 21, 2005, at 7:21:43
Posted by Riss on March 29, 2005, at 7:50:06
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » ladydee54, posted by SLS on March 21, 2005, at 7:21:43
Thank God! I stumbled upon this website when trying to understand what was happening to my body!
I started taking Zoloft a year ago, for panic attacks and anxiety. It helped me out and I recently moved to the UK. In Australia I was on zoloft at 150mg and once settling into the uk I dropped my dose down to 100mg. I started running out of Zoloft and so dropped down to 50mg for the last 2 months and for the last couple of weeks down to 50mg every other day. I ran out of them and have since not taken any at all. It has been 2 weeks since coming off them and I am deciding whether to start taking my UK prescription of them by the name Lustral. After reading all of your stories with the withdrawals I can totally relate. I have had the zap feeling that all refers to, as well as fits of crying and depression.
I really want to know if anyone can recommend going on Lustral again or whether i should ride out the withdrawals now that i am off the drug. Can anyone say how long they will go on for???
Posted by SLS on March 29, 2005, at 8:56:26
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Riss on March 28, 2005, at 15:53:30
Hi.
> I really want to know if anyone can recommend going on Lustral again or whether i should ride out the withdrawals now that i am off the drug. Can anyone say how long they will go on for???
Can you describe the intensity of what you are experiencing? Is it tolerable?
It is difficult to predict how long withdrawal symptoms last for any one individual. It often takes 3 days after an abrupt discontinuation or large dosage decrease to feel the effects of withdrawal. When did you take your last dose of the drug? Is there any trend toward the symptoms lessening?
I wouldn't want to suggest anything to you at this point without having more information. Restarting the drug is certainly one option. There are others.
- Scott
Posted by Riss on March 30, 2005, at 6:18:30
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » Riss, posted by SLS on March 29, 2005, at 8:56:26
Hi Scott,
thanks for responding - yes it is tolerable - now that it has been going on for 2 weeks and I see it as being wat it is - as a withdrawal symptom. It has been 2 weeks since I last took the medication - and the intensity of the zapping is easing slightly - what do you think??
> Hi.
>
> > I really want to know if anyone can recommend going on Lustral again or whether i should ride out the withdrawals now that i am off the drug. Can anyone say how long they will go on for???
>
> Can you describe the intensity of what you are experiencing? Is it tolerable?
>
> It is difficult to predict how long withdrawal symptoms last for any one individual. It often takes 3 days after an abrupt discontinuation or large dosage decrease to feel the effects of withdrawal. When did you take your last dose of the drug? Is there any trend toward the symptoms lessening?
>
> I wouldn't want to suggest anything to you at this point without having more information. Restarting the drug is certainly one option. There are others.
>
>
> - Scott
Posted by SLS on March 30, 2005, at 8:12:22
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft » SLS, posted by Riss on March 30, 2005, at 6:18:30
Hi.
> thanks for responding - yes it is tolerable - now that it has been going on for 2 weeks and I see it as being wat it is - as a withdrawal symptom. It has been 2 weeks since I last took the medication - and the intensity of the zapping is easing slightly - what do you think??
I have a theory that posits that the withdrawal syndrome can exert a kindling effect on the brain such that the longer a withdrawal syndrome is allowed to continue unabated, the longer it will last and possibly the greater the intensity if an SRI is discontinued abruptly all at once. In other words, it is a bad idea to go through any withdrawal at all if possible.
You are sort of in the middle of things. I am having a difficult time developing an opinion one way or the other regarding you restarting any kind of medication. If I were in your position, I think I would take Prozac 20mg for a few days. It will serve to make all of your symptoms disappear and give the brain a chance to settle down. The half life of Prozac is VERY long - about a week. Prozac substitution thus acts as an automatic gradual taper. I doubt you would need to take Prozac for more than a week. I would try it for 3 days or until the withdrawal effects disappear.
If you decide not to restart the original drug so to taper more slowly or substitute it with Prozac, you can try taking Benadryl (diphenhydramine), an over-the-counter antihistamine. People report that it makes the withdrawal symptoms more tolerable.
If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. I guess you can try the Benadryl first and then move on to the Prozac substitution strategy.
Good luck! Keep posting.
- Scott
Posted by nuthinbutcats on April 2, 2005, at 21:13:07
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by xytzca on March 7, 2005, at 0:35:51
I have been taking 50mg of zoloft for the past 2 years and my dr has recently taken me off it and started me on 150 dosage of Wellbutrin XL. She had me take my regular 50mg of zoloft the first week with the wellbutrin then down to 25mg the second week and then nothing starting this week which the first day without it was monday (today is saturday) i've been getting EXTREEM DIZZY SPELLS throughout the entire day and headaches usually follow by a good bout of nausea and vomiting once a day usually around dinner time. I've talked to my doctor twice this week (i actually work in the office so i've been trying my very best not to be a complete pain in her butt) and was told that this was normal "due to the change in medication" but was never told which medication change was causeing these symptoms. my husband and i where both convinced that it was the wellbutrin and my plan for tomorrow was just to stop taking it cold turkey and see what happens. But all of the symptoms that have been described here have really helped me understand that its not the wellbutrin but withdrawl symptoms from the zoloft. i'm so glad i found this site! and i'm not the only one feeling like i'm going crazy.
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