quitting zoloft cold turkey

What was your specific weaning process off Zoloft and how long did you wean until you were totally off?

I think I am going to have to go back on and wean myself off. I could not get my prescription filled in time and my insurance change which caused a 5 day delay so I decided the next couple days to just stop taking. It's only been a week. And a crazy week of total dizziness, freak out moods, cold sweats, etc

Thank you

All anti depressants are creepy stuff. I was on Zoloft for 14 years. I had to quit cold turkey. Horrible, no sleep for a weeks +. I have been off for 3 years now. Last year was okay I suppose, but my anger just grows. I got them for my cancer neck dissection when I was in hospice. Yet I survived and thought it was over and was taken off of Zoloft. It is never over it seems. I tried Zoloft again, it caused panic attacks. I have tried a couple others, Amitripiline etc. All bad. I will just be angry for ever I suppose. Sure wish it weren't that way. My VA Psych isn't there when I need him. There has to be better something. If not.... I live , but watch out if you see me. I
back to the old Harley club life again with lust...

For the past two years I have been on:

 

 

200mg Zoloft

450mg Wellbutrin SR - (300mg am and 150mg pm)

0.5mg Risperidone

 

 

I went on these wonderful drugs after my best friend killed himself. I do think that these drugs saved my life, but I think using them is like making a deal with the devil. When you make a deal like that a time comes when you eventually pay, and I have paid, still am paying, and for the rest of my life well pay.

 

Almost immediately after starting these drugs I developed bad habits, for example shoplifting. I never, ever in my life shoplifted before these meds. But after a month or so on these drugs I had no fear, and no shame. I told my doctor about it and he thought it was funny. This last November I was finally caught. Now I well forever have on my record that I was charged with shoplifting. My attorney tells me that even if I get it dismissed or I am found not guilty it is going to be there on my record. Because of this I am likely never going to be able to get security clearances, and this is a going to be a problem for me in my line of work.

 

I decided towards the end of December that I could not go on like this. I could not live continue living in a drug induced fog. I could not continue having what I call “temporary blackouts” which cost me three cars in two years, including two roll-overs accidents. I cannot continue to have these uncontrollable urges to just take things from the stores.

 

So I decided it was time to quit. I quit cold turkey on Dec 27th, for all the drugs. The first week, was not too bad other then I had the flu. Then sometime during week two, a freight train came and ran me over. The flu was a wonderful experience compared to the withdraw. I could not eat anything, I had zero energy, brain shivers, itching, night-sweats, my eyes just hurt, I just wanted to die. It sucked.

 

Fast-forward to today, Jan 25th. My energy is low, maybe 20% of normal but is improving. I still cannot drink milk without getting sick, never had this issue before this month. I have good days where I think that I am all better, and my eyes now allow me to use my laptop and smart phone without causing nausea. I am having some anger issues, some noises really bug me, I cry all the time now, and have a lot of anxiety.

 

Even with the hell of the last few weeks, I will sooner be in a casket then ever take an SSRI again. These drugs are poison and have ruined my life.

I found that the "weaning" didn't help much, but I tried. I went to 1/2 dose then 1/2 again etc. a week for each level. But then it is cold turkey from then on. The worse is when you think it's over. and it's not.

Wow Im sorry to hear that happened to you. I was on 100mg zoloft for about a year and I quit cold turkey myself. While I was on the meds I was very angry all the time to the point where I wanted to beat someone up if they even looked at me. I also felt the need to do drugs or get high anyway I can which I have never felt before in my life. At one point I was smoking weed and taking perocets to get high which is something i've never done! I felt numb like nothing mattered to me and thats when I realized that I wasn't myself and quit cold turkey about 6 months ago. I havent had the urges to punch anyone in the face or do drugs since. It was also easy to wean off I didnt have any side effects or anything.

i was on citalopram 40mg for depression and anxiety, for 2 years. I stopped cold turkey, and felt fine... UNTILL roughly 6 weeks later, during christmas time, i started feeling so achy depressed and anxious,waking up in the night heart racing / sweating. and the worst was the paranoia, thought everyone was out to get me, felt like i was losing the plot! this lasted for about 10 days, the worst being the 10th on new years eve. the next day i started feeling more human!my advice is never stop , wean your self gently off, otherwise, it really is a horrible feeling!

again though I was on 400mg for 14+ years...

Hi am new to this to. I have only been on sertraline for 3 months al together and iv been put up to 100 mg but decided wean my self off it so went down to 50 to 25 was bril even on the lowest dose but completly stoped n feel dreadful what can i do or take to help with the withdrawls? X x x

Actually Becky I would have stayed on my Zoloft and felt fine when i got my dose down to 50mg from 400. The only reason I quit was I am a Veteran and when you can't get an appointment for refills for weeks at a time, it messed me up often. I chose to stop going through the withdrawal every other month. If 50mg keeps you feeling good and you CAN get it, it is probably better to remain on it. I would have.

I  am sitting here with my prescription of Zoloft and a water bottle after stopping 3 days ago because my side effects are making me feel awful.  I am feeling all of the side effects that everyone else is.  I am desperately trying to find information on how long these side effects will last to decide whether or not to get back on and ween or just continue with withdrawing.  This is horrible and if I would have known I would have never started taking any SSRI. :-)

 

Hello Mellow Fellows, (I)

I have been taking Zoloft (100mg) everyday for about 2 years. It was given to me as an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication. It made me feel okay about my situation (when I was taking it) but it didn't help me to solve my problems. I decided to quit cold turkey about a week ago. The withdrawals were enlightening as to how profoundly sh*t this drug is to the human nervous system. I couldn't stand to be in a room with other people, my mental state was almost a constant (painful) agony for the first few days. I found that stabilizing my appetite was the most difficult thing to do (which is really weird, and kinda hard to think about) but eventually (5-6 days later) I've become "normal" again.

P.S. It's very hard for even a strong willed individual to quit cold turkey.Many of the symptoms are very similar to heroin withdrawal, except the constipation. (It's the other way around!) %-)

The thing that got me through - was not really craving the drug, because I knew it wouldn't provide any euphoria or longstanding effects.

Also, drink plenty of Hydralite - that got me through some tough times. :-)

Thanks for listening to my story. I hope more of you can overcome this test of endurance and epic epicness.Peace!

:-|

i have been on this stuff for 5 yrs, 200mgs a day. had hand tremors like MJ Fox, became impotent, And bled from my nose every time i hit the can. i cut dose in half two weeks ago, then half again last Friday. today i was like a sailboat in a hurricane. heroin w'drawl is easier in some ways. the curious thing, having complained to 4 or 5 drs about this serious bleeding (and the anemia i seem to have), the day i slashed my dose was the last drop of blood i shed.

imo, Zoloft is some very bad s**t. i know a thing or two about w'drawal, but this is one of The worst. period. and not one dr ever linked bleeding to this drug, but if you read the side effects very carefully, by God it's there.

I've been goin through the exact same thing as what every one says, the worst for me is the "brain shocks" I get in waves which make me was to cry every time it happens. I was on 100mg a day and decided to quit because they were giving me anxiety during the end of my day ( my theory is that I was relapsing until I got my next pill ). So I stopped, cold turkey. It's been horrible and I literally feel like I'm insane with all the emotional outbreaks. But it's been 8 days and I feel like if I can just go another 8 ill be fine :) I think if you want to get off of them you should. 5htp worked for my brain shocks. As for still feeling crazy. Yep I do :( but ill get better ! Good luck to you all.

I was on Zoloft twice in my life.

The last time I quit cold turkey, thinking things were great now.

I ended feeling like sh*t, or I might have possibly had mono...

Now I think I'm in full blown depression again, and need to go back on it.

If you ever do want to quit Zoloft, NEVER go cold turkey. It's a shock to your brain chemistry.

I want to get off this zoloft c**p.  I have been taking 100 mg's a day for 4 years.  I never had to take antidepressants before, and the only reason I take zoloft is because they put me on Gabapentin for the neuropathy I have in my feet and lower legs, due to working on concrete for 22 years.  Gabapentin made me pissed off all the time and depressed!  I told my (Old) doctor this, so he slapped another med on me! >;) Great!

 

I recently asked my doctor about helping me lose some weight, (Which I have gained since starting zoloft) and I also want to quit smoking.  He put me on Bupropion (Wellbutrin) along with the zoloft.  I just did a little reading on wellbutrin, and am surprised at what I found! I want to share it with you.  Now I want off the zoloft...lol! I have not had these awesome effects, and I think it may be due to the zoloft.  I feel that zoloft crushes my emotions so I feel like a freakin' zombie, and is making me FAT!!  It's got to go!

Check this out...and I hope it helps!

§1.  Wellbutrin Pros: :-)Low chance of sexual side effects, unless you consider making you hornier with or without spontaneous orgasms or premature ejaculation sexual side effects. None of the weight gain associated with SSRIs & SNRIs. Often a very effective and relatively fast-acting antidepressant, as dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibition are frequently part of, if not the answer for a lot of people.

§2.  Wellbutrin Cons: :-| Wellbutrin can be used recreationally, so it can be abused. It has to be avoided by anyone with an eating disorder or other addictive behaviors. The abuse potential is a serious problem, as Wellbutrin is one of the few modern antidepressants that can kill you if you take too much.

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