quitting zoloft cold turkey

I was on the generic brand of Zoloft for about 9 months. I came off it slowly....or so I thought. I went from 50 mg to 25 mg for 5 weeks. Then I went from 25 mg every night to every other night for 2 weeks. Then I stopped. I felt fine for the first couple of days, and then everything began. The dizziness, nausea, felt like the room was spinning...this continued until yesterday, which was my full 5th day off of the Zoloft. Yesterday I felt depressed and had a bad panic attack at night. After reading some of the other horror stories, I have hope that this will all pass. I guess I'm wondering how long others had to deal with these symptoms...and does the sun finally come out again?? I have no interest in going back to my doctor or any other doctor for that matter. I have come to believe that they only do what the pharmacutical companies want them to do....it is all about $$$$!! I may be more moody and melonchaly then the average person, but I know there is no reason why I can't live and function just fine without an antidepressant. These withdrawl symptoms are difficult to deal with. Any post-withdrawl success stories would be appreciated!

Just smoke weed to alleviate the symptoms then you'll be good too go in about two weeks

I am a 62 year old male, and have been on Zoloft for ten months, 125 mg/ day. I decided to stop the medication two days ago and here are the results.

Overall, I feel good. Settled, objective, stable. Tinnitus is much more prominent than before ( have had this background symphony for as long as I remember). Not dizzy at all. I feel different than the medicated me, perhaps more relaxed, willing to be patient with daily little gotchas, like my PC.
Will continue to monitor and report back.

I quit zoloft cold turkey about 3-4 months ago and had the same side-effects as most of you, but after a while of being off it now, I feel sort-of emotion less, not able to be happy with anything :/

I started taking Zoloft 50mg 4 weeks ago, for depression and Bipolar disease. I was taken off Celexa as they found it caused heart problems? Had to STOP Zoloft cold turkey as I suddunly became allergic to it (NOT FUN!!!). Now that I have delt with the rash and lip swelling, there is a lot of other stuff I'm dealing with not making me feel very well! Low blood preasure (we have a cuff at home), sweats, dizzness, vision problems...like I'm drunk! I have been off it 7 days today and with each day comes a new problem to add to the list...today I'm sick to my stomach and my chest feels heavy? Mood....very on edge, short temper! I have had a long history of allergies to meds! Always hard to find something I can take. Question...when will I stop adding to the list of problems, and how long before they start going away????? I just don't feel well......

What is "5-HTP"?????

iv been taking zoloft for a year 300mg and now iv stoped iv been dizzy , out of place i cant take it no more. i just dont want to take it no more, i dont know what to do.

Those who have experienced quitting Zoloft have reported severe withdarwal symptoms that have made it hard for them to quit. They are now trying to file Zoloft lawsuit against Pfizer. Some have even reported experiencing brain zaps and worsening of symptoms.

Ive been on 50mg and have postpartum depression as well but zoloft is the worst pill ive ever taken! And i was a drug/pills/meth addict before so quitting shouldnt be as bad, its been 5 days and im feeling dizzy, headaches, nausea, tired, anxiety at times and irritability but this too shall pass right?!!!

I am quitting starting a few days ago. I started out seeing a therapist that ended up flaking out on most of my appointments, then another therapist nurse practitioner, first thing she said to me is I can see in your eyes that you are depressed and did not hesitate to write a prescription, I was so desperate I agreed. I told her that I was not excited about the idea and wanted to work through it but she convinced me it was the right thing to do. Over the last year and a half, she kept raising the dosage. I felt like every three to six months the depression was coming back and I felt hopeless. I ended up taking 150mg, well it has been about six months and I still want to kill myself and everyone around me. (that is except when I am feeling on top of the world). It is that up and down. I asked her how long will I be taking them and was very unhappy when she told me for at least five years or the rest of my life. I also seem to have a magnet for people that flake out, because her office never returns my phone calls. Therefore it seem almost impossible to get into the office to tell her that they are failing. I am just over it. I do not want to be on pills for the rest of my life, especially if they do not work. I am going to have my thyroid tested next month, and trying to find a dependable therapist. Ironically I started seeing a therapist to work on some abandonment issues along side others. I would like to see someone more than once every three months and really get to the root of the problem. I know that I am sick of taking pills and I am tired of not being able to get in touch with my therapist. So far the only withdraw symptom that I have felt is insomnia, but since feel that the pills were not working anyway, I feel hardly any difference. I am however scared. I do not know what else there is to do. I just hope that my boyfriend can deal with the real me. Everyone says that you should ween yourself off, but why when they do not work anyway. I wish all of you luck with your depression, anxiety and withdrawal symptoms. I am hopefully going to be better off now because of this. I want to be happy and healthy. So please send out some prayers of support. I would appreciate that!

I realized I had forgotten my pills when I left for a short vacation, so I've accidentally stopped cold turkey. I have been on 25mg for about 4 years, but I haven't had it in 4 days now. I'm feeling so jittery and dizzy and my body keeps twitching. It's the weirdest sensation, I feel like my brain has been hitting a wall and then starting itself up again. Luckily, I will be able to get my medicine tomorrow, so I will hopefully be back and steady on my feet. I'm not worried any more because I see that lots of other people have had the same experience!

I am brain zapping as I write this!
I Was on Zoloft for two years due to depression, anxiety, and bulimia. The symptoms I am experiencing now are those of the same I had when I first got on the pill. Today will be my 10th Zoloft-free day and it's been a bumpy ride!

Day 1: felt happy, excited and calm
Day 2: very hyper and happy
Day 3: happy but annoyed with people
Day 4: irritated - annoyed - hyper
Day 6: Annoyed, I insulted a guy I liked
Day 7: a.m yoga, followed by bed all day
Day 8: fevers, nausea, minor depression
Day 9: fevers, cold hands, laughing to myself randomly and loudly: felt crazy
Day 10: head zaps, nausea, headache, unfocused vision, mood swings, cold hands, jealous of everyone around me (not me at all), almost cried 8 times today

I'm glad I found this forum because right now I feel like I'm near my death. I was on 150 2 years ago then 100 a year ago then 50 end of 2011 and 25 since march. My psychiatrist told me I could take 13 and wee off, cold turkey it and bare the side effects, or stay on it! So I decided to quit and I'm sticking to it. If I feel like things will get out of hand I'll take 25mg BUT I will not be on t again! I think Zoloft over stayed its welcome! On it, I was extremely hyper and still anxious because I was getting too much of the chemicals needed to balance me out. I appreciated what it did for me in the beginning but now I need to face life on my own. Even though he past 10 days have been complete chaos, I have back some sexual desires, I am being more progressive with things I want do accomplish and no longer feel stuck. I would suggest to you all to take the med if you never felt it worked its magic on you, you probably need more time to get the effects. I knew that after a year it had done wonders for me! Tomorrow I have therapy and hopefully sharing my thoughts will make me feel better! Sorry for the novels but I feel really shitty and needed to voice it. Goodluck to you all. (I didn't proof read, this was written through my iPhone while feeling dizzy and having 10000 thoughts cross my mind).

my doctor put me on zoloft for post partum after having my first son. He is now 14. So it's safe to say I've been on this ride for quite some time. However a couple of weeks ago my husband forgot to reorder my prescription zoloft (we have to mail order it) and I feel like I'm going insane. I want to cry off and on (any time there is a threat of stress). I haven't slept well in nearly 2 weeks. I feel exhausted all of the time. Sex drive has returned full force but usually in the night when my family is all asleep (including hubby who would be p**o if I woke him in the middle of the night). I eat constantly and every time I eat my stomach feels like I'm in so much pain (like someone is stabbing me). I feel like I need to eat yet when I do I instantly want to puke. I honestly feel like I am only wide awake between 2 - 4 am and like a zombie the rest of the time. I cannot function like this. Everything I have enjoyed in life seems mundane and not able to hold my focus for more than a few moments at a time. Not to mention when I do get some sleep my brain switches on and I have these horrible and detailed dreams. I started researched how to alleviate the symptoms that I am clearly experiencing and found this forum. I know my family is suffering from my being a total donkey's butt lately. I just want peace but I have no clue as to when the meds will arrive. Hubby can't remember the exact date when he ordered them. So now I am afraid that things will NEVER get better. I know it sounds psychotic but I feel like my emotions have me out to sea in a small dingy that is quickly filling with water due to the maddening large and then small waves that take me by surprise. I am doubting now as to whether or not I have just been masking (rather than actually treating the cause) these issues I seem to have. I don't know if I feel well enough to stick to seeing the total detox and then taking something that will honestly work for me. Any organics that are non habit forming or symptom causing would be greatly welcomed. Quick question...why can't I be the person who can't eat when they are nervous rather than the one that grabs anything edible and preferibly junk food?

I've been taking Zoloft for about 3 years and I stopped cold turkey for about a month and some days now and its the worst feeling ever. But I started to feel a lot better once I made it past the first 2 weeks. I still have frequent brain zaps, and my mood is awful. So a good way to balance the side effects out is weed. See I quit smoking, just because I got tired of being high, but after quitting Zoloft, weed actually helps a lot. Just don't smoke to get super high, think of it more as a relaxer. The best weed is exotic, so stay away from regular. Just take a few hits to mellow yourself out, but continue doing the things you would usually fear the most. And you will overcome, side effects and the fear, and the reasons for taking any antidepressant. Also make sure you get plenty of sleep and don't wake up, and just move around too fast. Getting off, isn't easy but it can be done. I'm so sure, if you're not convinced give me a call (713)245-0759 I will tell you myself.

Ive been taking Zoloft for a couple of years, and I just want to be done. I feel so apathetic, and I can't stand it! Recently, I stopped taking My Zoloft for a week or two and didn't experience any obvious symptoms. I decided to take it one night and my crazy weird, vivid dreams came back! Anyone else have weird dreams on Zoloft? Anyway, I'm quitting cold turkey and hope I survive!