Zoloft withdrawl

[Amy F.]

What are the withdrawl symptoms of coming off of Zoloft?  I'm a 27-year-old female and have been taking 100 mg. daily for chronic depression for a year and a half, and decided not to take it anymore due to the side effects (anxiety, nausea, headaches, dry mouth, light wallet).  

I abruptly stopped taking it 10 days ago and am starting to feel crazy.  I'm lightheaded, dizzy, disoriented, sleepy, irritable, and more emotional than usual.  I'm having difficulty 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 withdrawl sympton I've noticed is that I'm losing my taste for cigarettes.

I haven't discussed stopping the Zoloft with my psychiatrist because a) I've been too lazy to make an appointment, and b) she gives me **** for being a daily pot smoker.

What should I do?

[megbubba]

After reading everyone's stories, I no longer feel like a leper. I have been so damn dizzy for the past week that I can't function unless I'm lying down. I have turned to alcohol to help me...not good for me. If I have to go thru another week of this like my pharmacist said I might, I'll go nuts.

Please, advice, anyone. I'm fuckin MISERABLE.

meg

[megbubba]

I have spent the past week thinking I have some kind of brain damage. Or maybe that I'm nuts. I have found out that I am going thru HORRIBLE, HORRENDOUS withdrawals from missing my 150 mg "fix" for the past week. I couldn't afford the meds, and certainly could not afford to see the doctor who would prescribe me the meds. I told myself this week, just deal with it. Nothin doin. I'm a girl who's pissed and i want to know who's with me.

meg

[archiebrooks]

I am going through a very similar experience to jennaluv and I strongly agree with lpeeler summary of the best practice, it has been reassuring to find someone who has been taking in the 3 figures of mg's!  In my experience my doctor over the past 4 months has ratcheted me up from 50mg to 200mg, at 200mg I finally noticed a positive natural effect and was my 'old self' for a few weeks then the affect wore off.... so the cons are the doc is happy to go as high as 300mg but my inbuilt alarm system (and my liver (i look dreadful, am piling on weight and have a constant strong desire to drink heavily and no desire for sex) so i am diy tapering off and have speant 4 weeks going down to 100mg in 25mg blocks. This has been fine until I reached 100mg this week at which point my symptoms are at least as bad as before I started taking it (low self esteem / insecurity) so i worry about takign the next step down€ and am tempted to creep back up again! I spent 20 yars refusing to go down the medical solution route, I am pleased I have now tried otherwise I would have always wondered, but with an addictive personality like mine I am better off not starting to take sometings in the first place and anti-depressants is certainly one of those for me. Good luck all and keep :-) life's too short otherwise.

[lpeeler]

I started taking Zoloft in 2000 i recently quit after weening myself off. I was taking 150mg daily. I must say the meds really helped me. Everyone is different. Depression is not an exact science. Doctors have to experiment with patients to find what works the best with minimal side effects. I got lucky with the Zoloft. I recently when through some major changes in my life ie. Divorce, retired from 22 yrs in the Army and I feel great. My girlfriend is wonderful compared to my X. I felt I no longer needed the meds, so I slowly started cutting back. About a week ago I stopped taking them cold turkey. I still feel happy. I only have one serious withdrawal that really bugs the **** out of me. Constantly throughout the day, I feel like I'm getting these jolts of electrical shocks throughout the body. This is the same feeling I got when I missed my pills for a couple of days. Only then they would go away when I started taking them again. I'm trying to tough it out though. Hopefully they will eventually go away. All I can say is I know how you all feel and I wish you the best. If your meds are not working, document the effects, pros and cons and present this to your doctor. This will help your doc find the right cocktail for you. Most importantly, find a doctor that is very well educated in mental behavior and chemical inbalances. This is a must. There are too many doctors out there that should not practice in this area of health. It could be dangerous. Please find a doctor that knows what they are doing. Lastly, research yourself. There is a vast amount of info on the internet and in the library.

[jennaluv]

PLEASE HELP!
I have been taking zoloft since may of this year and now it is september..i have been taking 75 mg a day..im ready to get off zoloft..it doesnt help me and i want to start a more natural way of helping my depression...i wont quit cold turkey because i know it could give me bad withdrawls..but i was wondering if anybody had to wean off zoloft and how did you do it?? is there a way to do it without getting withdrawls????

[Ljke85]

i have been on Zoloft for about five months for anxiety..my doctor recommended me to taking 25 mgs because im younger and there could be some serious side effects...about a week ago i stopped taking it cold turkey because i was experiencing serious insomnia..i even tried taking over the counter sleeping pills called melatonin which did not help at all and i started to get fed up with it..now i feel like im going crazy..sleeping is no better..anxiety is comming back..dizziness..weakness..confusion..and a hard time remembering things...i just dont feel like my normal self anymore..does anybody know anything about stopping all this..should i just start taking the zoloft again or is that not a good idea??? any answers will be great!!