COLD HAM, I mean TURKEY-ing 150mg Zoloft after over 1 yr.

[justincorrigible]

I am 30 yrs old and male. I am familiar with the common side effects of sertraline (Zoloft) withdrawal being surges/zaps/shocks in the head, anxiety, low energy, lack of attention, sadness, etc...

...I have not refilled my prescription yet, and have been Zoloft-less for about 10 days now, where I was taking 150 mg for over a year.  I have all of those symptoms, including heart palpitations, sudden outbursts of anger (which do not seem to last), and of course sleepiness, which comes with sweating at some point during sleep (seems matched with palpitations).

Will I be DAMAGING myself physically?  I feel that I can deal with these symptoms at the rate they are occurring, though I'm not sure I can do much for a while, but is it bad for my body in a permanent way?

[Paxiled]

If you're determined to tough this out, some people have reported that a heft dose of fish oil every day helps with the zaps and some of the head stuff, and St. John's Wort has been reported to help some people as well, as has 5-HTP.  Me, I would have tapered, and if it gets really bad, go back on and taper off slowly -- just keep your head straight, know this is withdrawal, and don't condition yourself to the emotional stuff.  As to the person who said this is just depression coming back, that's possible, providing you were feeling depressed.  Which of course you are, but are also feeling a whole lot of other things.  A good book to read on this is The Anti-Depressant Solution by Joseph Glanville for a little more expert opinion.

[wellb]

Justin,

Wow, I'm amazed that you went off 150 mgs of Zoloft cold turkey like that (on your own) ! Yieks!  No wonder you have all these weird side-effects!

Just wondering: Why did you NOT go off Zoloft slowly, instead of cold turkey?

Btw, I was on 150 mgs for 5 yrs, so i know what 150mgs does to a person.

My Doc wanted me to switch to Celexa,from ZOLOFT, but before that ,here's what we did:

He dropped me down to 100 mgs for one week, then 75 mgs for  the next week, then 50 mgs for the next week, and finally I SLOWLY made a switch to Celexa,---- one week at a time, within slower increments.

Using this method ,I had absolutely no side-effects from going off of Zoloft and into Celexa.

As it stands now, you have already gone off Zoloft, by yourself , so I cannot advise what to do next, because ,obviously, you cannot go back up to 150 mgs in one shot, then back and forth.... or you will end up with the same (or worse) side effects that you've already experienced.

Call you doctor today and plz be truthful,  and plz tell him/her what you did. Don't be afraid to tell him/her the truth. This is your life we're talking about, after all!

Your Doc will then let you know how to get off Zoloft the proper way. (ie: slowly).
Then after that process,  you will need to talk to your Doc about why you chose to get off an SSRI.

150 mgs is not a low dose, so there must have been a reason why your Doc placed you on such a high dosage to begin with .
Were you going through a major depression or clinical depression?
If yes, then it's best to discuss your situation w/ your Doc and get on some meds that are better suited for your body.

Good luck.

[mammo]

Stopping cold turkey is tough on you and your body, tapering is always best and with the advice of your doctor. I think once you get thru this you will be fine.  You seem to understand why this is happening, and once the drug is completely out of your system, you should not have any permanent damage.  Some people say they still suffer from certain symptoms, but in my non-professional opinion, I think it is the depression returning and causing problems.