Zoloft withdrawal.. help :/

[JanaeAshley]

After many months of no improvement with my anxiety  on zoloft [100mgs] , I decided it was not worth taking  the zoloft which gave me terrible sexual side effects and honestly made me feel next to nothing about everything. Along with the lack of improvement to my anxiety it actually made me WORSE. I started having panic attacks nearly everyday. These were so bad I have 3 ER visits only to be given ativan for the panic.

Now that I am completely withdrawaling from the zoloft the feelings I am gettting are throwing me into panic even worse. I get the waves of adrenaline, the numb tingly feeling almost as if Im going to faint, along with a complete feeling of doom. I am more scared of why I am feeling all this dizziness and tingly feeling than anything. Is this normal and will it ever go away this day 10 of NO zoloft.

Like I said I am now taking sinequan[10 mg] which is a different kind of antidepressant. Not a SSRI. It helps me sleep a lot better. It is not however taking care of these withdrawal symptoms I am having..

Anyone have some advice to get through the withdrawal symptoms? How long will this last?

[Paxiled]

We need to know more, most importantly, did you quit cold turkey, or do a slow taper under the care of your psychiatrist?  And I mean a good psychiatrist who listens and monitors, not some hack who takes you off the medication and says see me in three months.  Going on another medication, especially one of a different class, will do nothing about withdrawal from a prior medication, but it can add side effects.  Some anti-depressants, for example, are very stimulating and can increase anxiety, especially in the beginning.  What you can do if the withdrawal is very bad and isn't going away is go back on the Zoloft at the last dosage at which you felt fine, and then taper more slowly.  Sometimes psychiatrists will add a benzo for a short time to ease the anxiety, and some natural remedies have been used successfully by some people to cushion withdrawal.  There's a book on this called The Antidepressant Solution by Joseph Glanville which might give you more armament for this now and in the future.  Good luck.

[JanaeAshley]

I did stop cold turkey.
100 mg's to nothing-- my doctor "forgot" to tell me what to do with my zoloft after switching me to a new anti depressant.
this is day 10 of no zoloft.
i feel i have made it this far i do not want to start it again.

my main complaint is the tingly and adrenaline rush i experience every evening. im starting to believe maybe the new medication is just such a low dose that it doesn't quite take care of my anxiety and is wearing off by evening. i take the medication right before bed..


i just want to feel better. i feel going back on zoloft will just start the cycle again :(

[Paxiled]

Again, a new medication won't stop the withdrawal from the old.  It just doesn't work that way.  It might mask it, but it won't end it.  Withdrawal is a physiological process of the body.  It's complex and not completely understood, but basically, you're serotonin receptors that turned off when you were on Zoloft are turning on again.  How long this will last is completely individual.  For some it's very easy, for others it goes on a very long time and is very severe.  I have no idea where you fall in this spectrum.  If you wish to tough it out, then try taking some fish oil.  It's been said to help with some of the physical symptoms of withdrawal.  But since you're on another med already, there's not much else I can tell you to try.  Well, there is one -- you talk of adrenaline rushes.  If you have no blood sugar problems, you could try an herb called holy basil, which helps control cortisol levels in your body.  Maybe it'll help, I don't know.  And don't quit cold turkey again.  Lesson learned.