A friend of mine is planning on talking to her doctor about coming off the anti-depressant, Zoloft. I was hoping to get some Doper perspective on the subject. She is doing it under close supervision of her doctor. I would like to hear about some experiences from those who have done it so we have an idea of what to expect. So…If you, or someone you know, have come off anti-depressants (especially Zoloft) what were your experiences? What advice would you have for someone coming off anti-depressants?
I am fairly new to meds, but in June I was put on 10mg of Lexapro. Alot of things were just going so wrong in my life that I could not cope.
Things are a bit better lately and I dont think I will need meds forever, so I have been taking half a pill instead of the full.
I am going to see my doc soon though to discuss this, and eventually stop taking them I hope.
But I have heard it can be rough to come off of them so I am not particularly looking forward to it.
I had a hard time adjusting to them in the first place so, I am guessing I will have symptoms when i stop too.
I took Paxil for a little over a year after my Dad died. I weaned off of it by taking half the dosage for a week, then a half every other day for a week. This is what my Dr. told me to do, of course. I had no ill effects and everything’s fine, I haven’t needed it since then.
Yes, I took Prozac years ago. I decided after nearly a year that I’d had enough and came off them without my doctor’s help. I took one every other day, then after two weeks, I cut down to one every third day. By that point, it was too difficult to remember what day I was on so just stopped them cold turkey!!! 
I had a weird sensation in my head. Hmmm … like my body was going forward but somehow my brain was lagging behind a little. A bit of a time disorientation thing. This is of course, very difficult to describe to you as it was ‘in my head’ but I’m trying.
I didn’t have any more side effects at all, apart from this weird ‘head’ thing.
Here’s a good one - I’d climb a flight of stairs, and as I got to the top, there was a feeling of slight ‘disorientation’ or that my head was following me up slightly later. Almost like a slightly ‘buzzing’ or ‘dizzy’ feeling in my head, like a slight lack of oxygen for example.
It lasted for about 4 weeks actually and just at the point where i was beginning to think it was permanent, it went, thank goodness.
I know of people who’ve had horrid withdrawal so I think mine was pretty slight and possibly mediocre! :rolleyes: I would do a bit of internet research too and see if there are supplements to take. For sure, some antidepressants leave you depleted of some minerals and essential vitamins, so it’s good to take a good strenth multivit, eat really well, fruit and veg and get plenty of exercise.
I did have moments of the ‘wrong thoughts’ coming back on occasion, but I’d just say to myself ‘nope, that’s just the depression talking, it’s not right, it’s not real, just let it go’ and I did …
I think a little NLP tactics will help you with that. Check it out on the internet.
For sure, it’s good she’s doing it through a doctor. That’s very sensible and safe.
Hope that helps?
Ahh Zoloft. I loved zoloft. I took it for about 6-7 months to help me get through post partum depression. It was a miracle to me.
I decided to go off it once I was really feeling back to my pre-birthing self, and I went off cold turkey. I had no noticeable side effects.
Yes. I did it on my own with both Effexor and Wellbutrin, and I did both of them cold-turkey. I did this even though I was under a doctor’s care at the time. My body was telling me that these medications were bad for me and that I needed to stop. I talked to my doctors and they said, “Stick with it.” I knew they were wrong, so I quit. Conditions improved, and the doctors got a tad indignant, but life goes on.
I had no negative symptoms at all with the Wellbutrin. With the Effexor, I felt like I had the flu for a week. I was dizzy and miserable–but I was also coming off a very high dose (300 mg). Then all was good.
I take 300mg Effexor every day, and while I haven’t gotten to the point of giving them up yet, I have accidentally skipped a dose here and there. After two missed doses, symptoms of what I assume are withdrawal start to kick in. Dizziness, muscle spasms, and this nutty thing that happens if I turn my eyes sharply to either side; I get this weird rush that starts at the bottoms of my feet and kind of waves up my body to my head. Sounds fun, I know, but it’s actually kind of scary.
Not to scare you, or anything. This could just be the way MY body reacts. I definitely recommend being under doc’s care, though.
I’ve quit about seven or eight different SSRIs cold turkey (in addition to several other non-SSRI antidepressants) and had absolutely no side effects. Then again, none of those drugs did a damn thing for me in the first place, so that could have something to do with it…
I’ve been off since February. I took Zoloft for almost a year for situational depression. I wrote this while in withdrawal. From what I have read, my experience was/is normal, if not typical:
"I have been taking Zoloft for about a year. I’ve decided to wean myself off of it and boy am I suffering. I did one pill every other day for a week and then stopped. Here’s what I got:
Dizzy - even if I just move my eyes I feel like my stomach is dropping.
Insomnia - I can sleep about 3 hours at a time.
Electric Shocks - This is the worst. I feel like I’m sticking a battery on my tongue, but on my entire body. I’ve had these feelings when I was late taking a pill, but now there seems to be no end to these jolts.
Rage/sadness - mostly when I think about the withdrawls. Most of it comes from frustration with these symptoms. I got a bit weepy just thinking about how hard this is!
It has been a week and 3 days and I want to know when this will end! All I can find for info is the half-life so at least I know that it will eventually leave my body. I hope to hell this feeling goes away. That this is not permanent. I try to remind myself that I’m taking control of myself. Though, it is hard to build yourself up when you are throwing up just from turning a corner too fast. I tried Dramamine to try to combat this and it did seem to help a bit."
BEST OF LUCK TO YOUR BUDDY! Do keep a watchful eye on anyone stopping medication…
Same drug, same amount, same temporary BS in life. Mine lasted 6 months. I went to half a pill a day for over a week, then half pill every-other day until I forgot and noticed that I hadn’t had any for over a week. Never talked to my doc about quitting, I just felt it was time.
Life got much better after I stopped. The pills helped me through a rough time, and did their job. But the side-effect for me was an inability to orgasm…mechanics worked fine, but I just couldn’t get ‘there’…So when I stopped the pills I started to enjoy sex a heck of a lot more…as the pills were reduced the libido increased. I had no withdrawel symptoms, or at least if I did I couldn’t tell because I was horny all the time. 
-Tcat
I was on 60mg Prozac (I think it was) for about 6 months, and quit them with minimal side effects. I think I did it cold turkey but to be honest it was a few years ago now and I can’t remember.
I started on them at the same time I became teetotal, and, well, quitting smoking was a walk in the park compared to quitting drinking (for me). I had minor side effects from starting on the anti depressants, but I don’t remember any from quitting.
I felt a lot better once I’d stopped - it was self-esteem that was the problem for me, and realising that I could live without Prozac really boosted me. Best of luck to your friend!
I was on this for a year for post partum and had similar side effects. I could get “there” but it took forever and wasn’t as satisfying as I knew it could be.
When I went on the pills the doctor and I outlined the plan for coming off of them before I took my first pill. I’ve been off of them for a few months now and have weathered the stresses since pretty well. For a while I kept asking my husband "Am I allowed to be this pissed/stressed/whatever about this or should I be going back on my pills? Now I think I’m normal - or whatever passes for normal for me.
I didn’t have any side effects that I can remember coming off of them. Going on them was a trip - week 2 was amazing! I felt like I was on speed and could conquer the universe.
I was on a few different things (Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac). Weaned myself off Paxil because I was defiant and decided I didn’t want to be on drugs any more (it’s **always ** a bad idea to do this without a doctor’s advice). Just didn’t refill my prescription.
Took my last pill on September 10, 2001. That was also a bad idea. :rolleyes:
Zoloft is one of the SSRI’s that seems to give people the most grief coming off of. I took it for over a year, and the same symptoms I got when I started it came back when I weaned off of it. A weird sense of heaviness in the back of my cranium. A feeling of being in slow motion. Muscle spasms at night, and slight insomnia. All of this subsided after roughly 3 weeks, but I titrated much longer than the doc recommended. I was taking only 50ml, so I went to 25 for 10 days, then 1/2 of a 1/2 for another ten days. I’m happy to be off it now.
I can’t miss more than 1 dose of Paxil (one day) without getting bad withdrawal symptoms. Dizziness, that feeling of disorientation, almost like I’m just floating around physically. Maybe like being out of my body, like my mind isn’t attached to it anymore. I also get numbness.
I might attribute it to having started taking it when I was 10 - it isn’t recommended you take it before age 18. Maybe it messed my growth up or something so it is worse than with others.
I’ve come off of Topamax just fine, but I’m currently taking Clonazepam and Risperdal and one of them gives me insomnia when I cease taking it. I’m not sure which - I’ve always run out of them at the same time.
I’m another Lexapro survivor. Used it for 8-12 months. Tried stopping cold turkey a time or two. Got chewed out by the doctor, did a gradual weaning just before lat fall (to avoid Seasonal Depression) and haven’t looked back.
If anything, it’s allowed me to handle MORE stressful situations that happened after that by teaching me that the little stuff just doesn’t matter.
I’d like to thank everybody who shared a little bit in this thread. I really appreciate the stories & perspective I’ve gotten here. My friend’s appointment with her Doctor is this week and she is very much looking forward to coming off her meds. I believe this will be a weaning process & as I said earlier, under her Doctor’s watchful eye every step of the way.
Thanks again for sharing on what must not be the easiest subject to discuss.
That’s what we are here for Tootie! Glad to be of some help
Posted before I thought, but here is a link that may help: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8769536/site/newsweek
I’ve been taking Zoloft for about a year and a half now. I took Prozac for about 2 years some time ago, went off it cold turkey with no problems. Then I started taking Zoloft last year after a depression relapse, and I’ve been pretty sane ever since, but I’ve experienced a bit of sexual dysfunction. For anyone who’s heard that term thrown around and wonders what exactly they mean, I’ll tell you that for me it means: it’s very difficult to ejaculate during sex…I have little trouble doing it while masturbating, and I have no trouble getting an erection…so, whatever that means, I don’t understand why one but not the other… That’s the only side effect I’ve noticed on a regular basis. Anyway, I’ve thought about going off it at times, but I haven’t tried to yet.
My psychologist told me Wellbutrin (which is not an SSRI like Zoloft, Paxil, et. al.) is about as effective, and they market it with the proclamation of no sexual side effects. Has anyone here taken it, and if so, what experiences have you had with it?