Zoloft Withdrawl Unbearable

[sflynnb]

I was started on Zoloft 25mg and Clonazepam 0.5mg about 6 months ago for GAD and PTSD. I had such bad side effects from the Clonazepam that my psychiatrist upped me to 50mg Zoloft so I could wean off of the Clonazepam. I am off the Clonazepam now and the withdrawl sucked, but was NOTHING compared to this. My doctor, therapist and myself discussed that it was time to start tapering off the Zoloft.The main reason for wanting to come off the drug is because one of the side effects I have is feeling like my life is in a dream world. We decided to go as slow as we could. Last night I took a 25mg capsule for the first time. My cat woke me up at 5am this AM and when I went to close my bedroom door I nearly fell over I was so dizzy.I was so dizzy I couldn't lift my head. The brain zaps started soon after. You know those electric fly swatters that kill mosquitos? It felt like one was being slapped into my brain. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I took another 25mg capsule within an hour to try to subside the withdrawl because I knew that's what it was. I had to call in sick because I couldn't lift my head up without feeling like I was going to faint. I called the Mobile Mental Health Crisis Service here and spoke to someone who assured me it was withdrawl and was very very common. I feel a little bit better now (about 8 hours later) but still do not feel alert or stable enough to drive. The medication only comes in 25mg, 50mg and higher capsules so tapering less than 25mg at a time is not possible. I really don't want to be on a medication that can effect me like this but the withdrawl......it's absolute agony.  Does anyone have any tips or tricks that helped them through this? For those of you who tapered in the same way I am and had withdrawl, how long did it take for the lower dose to stabilize in your system?

Any tips, responses or comments can be sent to babydoll_14***@****

[Jaquta]

If it were me I probably would have opened the capsule and just divided the contents.
It seems like you've thought it though and feel confident with your plan.  I think that's important and it should help you with the withdrawal.  Feeling in control is also another important aspect.

You're right, it's not a race.  The incremental changes will also help in the long-term.  If the changes are too great or affect us too adversely we can loss confidence and motivation.  Any decrease in dose should also help with that sense of unreality where you feel like you're living your life in a dream.

I think it's important to feel stable before you withdraw.  Withdrawing during periods of stress, etc can make the process a lot harder.
I think returning to the 50 mg and tapering from there at a slower rate is probably a good idea.  Especially as that is something you seem comfortable doing.

It's a catch 22 situation.  Staying on medication unnecessarily is not a good idea though -not if you can help it.

You can do it.  Don't forget you still have your doctor and others services you can access should you need support.  You should probably run all this past your doctor (and therapist) anyway.

Good luck!!

[sflynnb]

No the MMHCS rep didn't have any suggestions. Her opinion was that if the withdrawl was that bad to keep taking the meds at the normal dose until I could talk to my doctor about another option. She said it was very common from everything she has seen for people to have them symptoms even from just decreading the dose. I spoke with the pharmacies here and they only carry Zoloft in capsule.....so breaking them apart is not an option. However, one pharmacy carries it in a 50mg/ml oral liquid solution. So I'm thinking what I'm going to do is use that and take it at the normal dose for a few days just to make sure my body can handle the change of formulation. Once I know I can handle that and as long as I feel normal I will start tapering down 2mg- 5mg at a time until I'm off for good. I'm not in a race, I just want to do this safely as I can and to cause myself the least amount of symptoms/side effects as possible. It's been 3 days now and I still don't feel completely myself again. I'm not going to start the taper until I feel just as great as I did before I started this last taper! I know that after this I definitly DO NOT want to be on something that can do that to my body, but in all honestly, I would rather be on the Zoloft than have to deal with that withdrawl.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Obviously you are extremely sensitive to these medications which makes every withdrawal  terrible, and every side effect more likely.  You have received some good tips here about dosage and medication management and I don't have anything to add.

[Jaquta]

Capsule?  Tablet?  Tablets can be divided.  I sometimes have issues with swallowing meds and my GP has recommended I open the capsule and pour the contents on cereal, etc.  I don't know if that would be OK for that particular med.
The expert here has a taper he usually recommends.  He sometimes also suggests to get covered by klonopin.  As that is a problem for you I'm not sure if another med would be recommended.  It's an option.

I don't have any personal experience with zoloft.
Did your MMHCS have any suggestions or advice?

Hopefully tonight/ tomorrow will be less painful for you.  And fingers crossed the cat won't wake you.

[Paxiled]

First, you can use a pill cutter to cut the pills, but I'd be surprised if by now Zoloft didn't have a liquid version for slow titrating.  Maybe it doesn't, but most have developed one because withdrawal is such a common nightmare.  Some get it worse than others.  Go down as slowly as you need.  A book called The Anti-Depressant Solution by Joseph Glanville discusses this problem in detail.  You might want to give it a read and follow the protocol before you start tapering again.  And make sure you have a psychiatrist who knows how to do this and takes it seriously.  Stupid psychiatrists and doctors lacking curiosity are probably the main cause of most of the worst problems.  Also, try a good healthy dose of fish oil; it's said to help with the brain zaps.  Some also find barley or wheat grass effective to help get the stuff out of your system without running you down so much.  If you google withdrawal you'll find thousands of stories, including success stories, for those who have a hard time.  Good luck to you.