Zoloft Withdrawal Experiences - Part 2

Guest wrote:

I too have been going thru the same withdrawals...YUK...  I have tried highest dose of EPA in fish oil and Benedryl..  It did help.  It has been a week of these terrible symptoms and they are getting better.  Hang in there!!!

SSRI's includin zoloft tend to make people gain weight.  Get down to your ideal weight and you'll feel SOO much better.  Your ideal weight is anything when your BMI is normal.  Google your height with the words how much should I weigh and you'll find your ideal weight number.  Get to it.

I quit Zoloft cold turkey about 2 months ago after being on it for several yrs. and before that I was on other SRRIs for a total of 16 years. It is the WORST feeling ever! I feel like I'm going insane...the electrical pulsing thru my body, esp. in the legs and arms; the zingers people talk about, the brain zaps. The ringing in the ears is so bad I cannot hear normal conversation. I break out in cold sweats and have cold, clammy hands and feet. Also headaches, dizziness, and just a feeling of unreality. I know that going off this stuff cold-turkey was not a good idea but I was not ready for these withdrawal effects. At the same time I quit I ran out of the Valium I always have on hand but now that I really need it I can't get a refill until I see my Dr. and I can't go see him cause I can't drive cause am a nervous wreck. It isn't good to see all these people go thru these miserable withdrawal symptoms but at least I don't feel like I was alone, esp. reading about the pulsing sensation in the body..I thought I was having a stroke/heart attack cause I also went off my blood pressure meds..and yes, I can't get a refill for that either unless I see the doc. Never taking damn anti-depressants again!!!!!

I've been on generic Zoloft for a month and a half now. I went from 50 mg-> 25 mg-> 50 mg-> 100 mg-> and just went to 50 before I stopped. Two days in, and I'm already feeling worse than ever in my life. Depression, drowsiness, mood swings, diarrhea, insomnia (worse than it was WITH the medication), headaches in my temples and back of my head, nausea, the works. It's terrible, and I'm not going back on any antidepressant (SSRI or otherwise) just because of this. Hard to believe it's only been a month; I've had withdrawals from Codeine, Cyclobenzaprine, even Benadryl (believe it or not) But this tops them all; and only a month? Wow, this sucks.

I feel bad that you are feeling so terrible. I thought that after a few months of going off Zoloft it would be out of my system and I would feel OK. Wong! I just kept getting worse and worse. I was ready to go to the ER so they could shoot me up with something to slow me down. I just wanted to die and I'm not a suicidal person but the anguish and the symptoms were never ending. I ended up going back to the Dr. about a week and a half ago and I told him what I had gone thru and asked him to put me back on the "Z". I didn't want to do it and I swore up and down I wouldn't but the emotional pain and physical and psychological symptoms were like nothing I have experienced in my life. The doc also gave me the valium and blood pressure and cholesterol meds. Someone mentioned about losing weight and getting the BMI under control. I am in the obese range and I've totally changed my diet. I was using food as a drug too and it would be nothing for me to put away a large pizza and an entire pie in one sitting. Not too bright. I've been eating healthy stuff. Salads, fruits, lots of smoothies (love 'em), whole grains and no meats or fried stuff. I've lost about 13 lbs and feel better already. I don't have any recommendations for you. When you start taking these damn anti-deps they really screw around with your brain chemistry and that is dangerous territory indeed. The only thing I can suggest is to get back on it...I know it sucks but I almost died coming off it. Good luck to you.

I've been on 200mg of zoloft for 3 years now. I have been tapering off since last January, a LONG time. I just recently sped up the process and not too long ago dropped from 100 to 50. Not long after that I forgot to take my dose one night and still haven't taken it after 3 days. I thought I was ready to finally get off of it. It's been 3 days now and I've been feeling nauseous every night around 11 pm and cant sit still. I have times where I crave food and other times where I can't eat anything. I also had heart palpitations one night that wouldn't go away. I started to think i was pregnant at first, but realized after reading all this that I'm not the only one. I've been having nightmares, and I usually never even dream much. Just reading all this is freaking me out. My body has been aching really bad and the usual hydrocodone I'm prescribed to doesn't help. The depression is worsening, and I feel restless and empty. Hopefully this gets better... 

Nay: Oh my dear....I know the misery of withdrawal all too well. I am quite stubborn when it comes to myself and once I make up my mind to do something my way there is no other option. I went thru sheer hell and thought that after a few months I would feel OK. WRONG. I didn't even taper off (stupid!)...I cold-turkeyed, as you've read. I got so bad that the only solace I found was to just go in the pool and look at the trees and the clouds and the sky. I even started talking to a little bird that was hanging around in the trees (I thought he was hurt) and must have spent hours one afternoon just keeping an eye on him until he finally flew away. I was really losing it. I was finally able to get some valium from my brother and took it very sparingly since I had made a Dr.'s appt for the following day and had to make it last. Once I got to the docs and told him I was flipped out I asked him if he had any tranqs there at the office....the nurse brought in 4 Xanax in a cup and I just grabbed it as she walked in and downed all of them. The doc didn't flinch...he knows I'm nuts normally anyway. Well, I got back on the Zoloft (the same 100 mg I have been taking for a long time) and a script for the diazepam. Within 3 days of going back on the routine I began to relax. I swore I would never take Zoloft again but I really wanted to die. I have been OK ever since and guess I'll have to stay on these drugs until they come up with something better (or a brain transplant). It sounds like you were weaning yourself off just right until you went from 100 to 50. Your body probably wasn't used to that little amount and then you didn't take it for a few days. I suggest you get back on the 50 mg and hang in with that for a while then go down to 25 for a while. Little baby steps. The brain doesn't like it when you yank these meds off suddenly. I had heart palpitations too and thought I was having a heart attack. That inability to relax and rest is typical of the withdrawal. You mentioned taking hydrocodone for pain. Just my 2 cents worth here. My husband has a script for it for his degenerative disc disease and on occasion I've taken it and it makes me feel like I'm on speed so I don't like it...so if you're already shaky from your Z withdrawal the hydrocodone may just make it worse. I hope you feel better..like I said, got to get back on it. It's the only thing that worked for me. Next week I'm going to the doc cause I want to up my Z dosage to 150...I've hit a plateau at 100mg. Can't believe you were taking 200 mg. How did you feel on that dosage? Please let me know how you are feeling...I'm always here if I can help in any way. Good luck.

Zoloft lawsuit has been filed by several others who have experienced severe withdrawal symptoms after quitting Zoloft. Indeed the drug has different effects on people, for some it did work while for some it didn't. Brain zaps even happen to some of those who were using it. 

Is it a class-action lawsuit? Pls. give me more info. I'm ready to jump into it. Zoloft shouldn't even be legal!!!!

Is it a class action lawsuit? Pls. give me any info you have on it. I'm ready to jump into it. Thnx.

This is so helpful. Thank you very much! I'm 10 days off after 7 months and I feel pretty awful. Glad to know it will pass...

Man, there is a lot of heartbreak here. I understand why I (and others) generally avoid reading forums like this.

I don't want to possibly bore with the details of my story, but I recently (55 days ago) went 'cold turkey' off of Sertraline (50 mg a day). I had been taking Sertraline (i.e. Zoloft) for most of two years to aid recovery from a stroke.

Cut to the quick, I am very happy that I quit the Sertraline.

I have recently had a palpable shift from 'dark mind' to more 'constructive mind'. But I had a period (for about 50 days) of varying levels of hell (mentally and physically). And, yes, it was hard on my wife and children. 'Cold turkey' is probably the id**t's way to quit Sertraline, but I am still glad I quit (in any way) Sertraline.

Yes, Sertraline helped my mood and it helped me to cope with my chronic pain. But I now understand that it would be better to deal with my negativity w/o the Sertraline. I wasn't suicidal or anything, so I should never have taken Sertraline. The 'positive fog' that Sertraline put over me kept me from really dealing with my issues. And if I forgot to take my daily dosage, the dark thoughts would soon dominate my mind. When I started getting really dark at work, I would then realize "Damn! I forgot to take my Sertraline this morning."

I fully realize that my experience with Sertraline is not the 'be all, end all', but I can't help from speaking out against its widespread usage. I consider Sertraline to be NASTY STUFF and should be taken only in desperate situations (suicidal or 'just can't cope at all').

Many members (doctors, nurses, etc.) of the medical community started pushing Sertraline on me very early after I had the stroke. There was just a lot of momentum to get me on Sertraline. I have a cool 'family doctor' now (i.e. a doctor that doesn't believe in covering problems with meds). I am thankful that I found him. He thinks that I tapered off of Sertraline (as he asked me to), but I lied to him. Oops!!

I am relying on 'my pain management skills' (that I am sure that I would not have developed if I am still on Sertraline) to get through the work day (and even the weekend day). But I am in a good period now. My past five days have been the BEST five days since I resumed work (after my stroke). I do realize how complex our minds and how complex our bodies are, so I am taking it one day at a time. The 'dark thoughts' could return. They are scary and they are powerful. And the physical pain is real. If you are having physical pain, don't listen to anyone who belittles what you are going through. The same goes for mental pain. It SUCKS !!! It is NOT FAIR !!!! But I do have faith that there is a WAY for all of us. It is ongoing process for me to quit being angry with everybody that is not going through what I am going through and seems oblivious to it. HATING is easy for me. This HATRED is at the heart of my DARK MIND. Sertraline didn't make it go away, it just eases this HATRED a bit but also made it harder for me to deal with this HATRED (because I wasn't feeling it like I should). Sometimes (I think) you got to go to HELL to get to HEAVEN.

Iv been off Zoloft for 1 week now and I have experienced mood swings, minor depression , and loss of appetite . I got off of it because I was starting to become depressed . I actually feel better now that I'm off but I didn't go cold turkey . I was originally prescribed 50mg , I took it to 25mg for 5 days and quit .

Brain zaps and the mood swings got me too. They can last a few weeks, but I have found physical activity that ranges from running, yard work, house work etc . . . make them so much better. When I don't stay active/busy, I notice the same things you do. That being said, I found as the weeks progressed, I was getting up so much easier in the morning and my short term memory improved. Prior to going off zoloft, my generic packaging had changed and I noticed brain zaps. I honestly don't think it was as powerful as the real thing. I started looking more closely at the manufacturer and discovered my generic was coming out of India which did not settle well with me because I don't know if their standards are the same as our FDA. Bottome line: there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there!

nedley71 wrote:

Quote:

Regarding Zoloft Withdrawals..IT GETS BETTER!! I began taking zoloft 50mg about 4 months ago for anxiety/depression. I began to have severe heartburn during the night so much that I would lose about 3 hours of sleep every other night. It also made me so incredibly sleepy during the day that I could not function at my job. I saw my doctor after the 4th month and let her know the issues I was having with the medication. She suggested that I taper off of the Zoloft and get on Wellbutrin 150mg. She told me to taper to 25mg and follow up with her in 2 weeks. I made the mistake of taking the 25mg tablet for one week and then stopping altogether without following up with my doctor. About 3 days after my last Zoloft pill I began to have really shaky hands. When I would go to pick up a glass of water my hands would shake so badly that I would almost spill the drink. The 4th day after my last pill I began to get a crazy shock feeling in my brain which I now have learned the terminology of "brain zaps" This scared me so badly! I had no idea what was going on and I did not once associate what was happening as being a withdrawal sympton from the Zoloft. I went online and googled 'brain shocks' and came across quite a few healthforums where people were describing the exact same thing I was going through. (Explaining the best they could that is) I tried to explain what was going on to my fiance and he had no idea how to understand what I was saying. I explained it as when you get really scared and that quick panic feeling that comes over you - it feels like that only instead of in my chest it is in my brain. I called my doctor this past Tuesday and scheduled an appt for the next day. (This was yesterday - about a week and a half of being off the Zoloft) I told her what was happening and to my surprise she said that she had gone through the exact same thing. She had taken Effexor for post-partum depression a few years ago and the withdrawal symptoms for Effexor are the same as those for Zoloft. She new exactly what I was talking about when I said 'brain zaps' I asked her how long the symptoms lasted for her and she told me about 2 weeks. She prescribed me a very small dosage of Xanax to basically calm my brain down when the 'zaps' got too much to handle. I had horrible frequent zaps the night I got home. The next morning I woke up and didn't have any at all. (I had been having at least one zap every 15 minutes for the past week and a half) That day I had my first zap about 3 hours after I had been awake and only had a very few more throughout the day. I have not picked up the Xanax yet so the symptoms have subsided without any medication. For those of you who have said your doctor thought you were making up the brain zaps - have them get online and do their research and they will find it out there and become educated for the future. Everyone is different. Everyone will have these symptoms subside in their own amount of time. Be patient. The day will come for you when you will not have these horrible withdrawal symptoms anymore. I pray for you all. From now on I will make sure and do extensive research before taking any prescription medication. I urge you to do the same!! I hope this post was helpful/comforting for those of you suffering from what I did. I know that I wanted answers fast!

This is so helpful. Thank you very much! I'm 10 days off after 7 months and I feel pretty awful. Glad to know it will pass...

I was in similar boat and found staying active and physical (gym, running, yard work, house work, walking etc . . .) SIGNIFICANTLY improved my withdrawal and brain zaps. Slept better at night and woke more easilly in the morning. I agree with you . .. do your research before starting/stopping a prescription drug.