Zoloft withdrawal, some odd side effects...

[Jessica]

I recently began experiencing some really crazy symptoms and this was within the same week that I went off Zoloft, kind of weaning myself off. I came on here and discovered someone else who had posted exactly what I was going through. I am going to quote it here word for word because I want input, I want to know how long it took Amy F. to feel better:

"What are the withdrawal symptoms of ZOloft? I'm a 27-year old female and have been taking Zoloft for chronic depression for a year and a half and decided not to take it anymore....

"I abruptly stopped 10 days ago and am starting to feel crazy. I'm light-headed, dizzy, disoriented, sleepy, irritable, and more emotional than usual. I'm having difficutly concentrating. Today I didn't feel "together" enough to drive my car. My nightmares have worsened in terms of intensity and violence (I have them every time I sleep) The strangest symptom withdrawal I've noticed is that I'm losing my taste for cigarettes."

"....I haven't discussed stopping with my psych... b) she gives me **** for being a daily pot smoker."

This is almost exactly a description of me, except I've only been on it for about six months, I took a week to wean myself off, and I am supposed to start a new presciption for Prozac, but these synptoms are terrible, (it's also starting to affect my breathing) and I wondered if anyone else has experienced this.

Thanks

[stephanie]

I just want to say that I too have gone through the withdrawl symptoms of Zoloft.  When I am on Zoloft I am completely great I have no side affects as far as I can tell.  
I could not get my prescription for 4 days once, they were the days from hell.  I could not stand up or turn my head without getting dizzy. I felt like I had the flu. I had to call out of work, I thought I was going to lose my job. The worst thing is that my doctor had no idea what I was talking about, I couldn't even get a doctor's excuse. I just hate having a drug in control of me, I don't know if I will ever be able to go off Zoloft.

[Kirsten Dietz]

I've been weaning off zoloft for about two weeks now and I am experiencing some scary symptoms. The reason I've given up zoloft is because I was waking up in the middle of the night feeling really anxious. I thought it might be a reaction from the zoloft. The first week I would wake up extremly nausea and fluish. I had diarhea, dizziness, and a feeling of disorientation. It has now been two and half week and I'm still experiencing these symptoms. From reading all of these replys it has lead me to belive that I am having side effects from zoloft.

[Laura Gonzales]

I have been on Paxil in the past and have currently stoppped taking Zoloft because I found out recently that I am expecting my second child.  

When I came off Paxil, it was because I was pregnant with my first child.  I weaned myself off extremely slowly, going down from 30mg to 20mg to 10mg to 5mg and then off.  Two days after I went completely off I experienced the worst vertigo.  I could not change positions or turn my head quickly because I would become very dizzy suddenly.  I missed two days of work and ended up having to crawl around my home, the dizziness was so bad.  

This time around, I am off of Zoloft and am experiencing similar dizziness but not to the severe extent that I did with Paxil.  It is crazy that doctors do not conduct more studies on possible withdrawal patients go through.  If anyone out there is taking themselves off their medication without a docs guidance, be careful and go very slowly.  Quitting cold turkey can leave you begging for help.  If SSRIs do not cause withdrawal symptoms as doctors claim, then why do they always stress weaning off the drugs?  

Also each time I have taken a SSRI (Paxil and Zoloft), I have gained weight both times.  My doctor thinks there is no connection, but it seems way too coincidental.  My mother, sister, and brother have also taken SSRIs and each has gained weight as well.  Coincidence, I think not!

[Emily]

I went off my 50 mg zoloft dosage one week ago, after taking it daily for just under 3 months. My doctor prescribed it to me for bulimia, anxiety, and major depression, all of which diminished while on the drug. Things were going well until I started noticing inexplicabe weight gain, and after reading on the web about people's weight increases while on zoloft I decided to stop before i gained any more. Basically quit cold turkey, without consulting my doctor, and since then i've been experiencing similar withdrawal symptoms. At first I thought it was related to the flu, but it's lasted too long at this point. I feel extremely light-headed, disoriented, unable to focus or concentrate, and increasingly emotional. I also feel that at times it's unsafe for me to be driving. I am surprised b/c i was only on 50mg for less then 3 months and didn't think i would have trouble coming off it. I finally called my doctor who said my symptoms weren't related to the zoloft...hard to believe after reading everyone else's responses! Why don't doctors know about the withdrawal effects of the drugs they're prescribing? I would love to know how long this is going to last and if there's anything i can do to alleviate the dizziness in the mean time!

[gretchen]

I am currently withdrawing from Zoloft, and my main effect is an odd perceptual feeling, almost a feeling of being under a strobe light.  I call this a "ping-ing" feeling, and someone above described it as an electrical shock feeling.  And I can't think of words.  And rather severe diarrhea.

[scscscs]

cscdcdzx