Hi Slowdown,

the pills stripped my sex drive completely. I was so used to it though and it became not important over the years. I then had to go back to a Psyciatrist who changed me to Wellbutrin. All off a sudden my libido came back! it was a pleasant surpise! One I welcomed with open arms.

The Wellbutrin however aggravated my insomnia for which I was put on Molipaxin. Now I sleep like a baby and my sex drive is fine. WB works great for me it got rid of my anxiety as well, completely gone!. I feel incredibly calm now, more so that I have ever felt.

Maybe ask your Dr about Wellbutrin as all SSRI's seems to effect ones sex life.




This post has been edited by Joanna: Mar 13 2008, 01:48 PM

Hi, new to these forums but they have already given me so much invaluable information - thank you all! Thought I would share my experience of withdrawing from Zoloft ( Sertraline in UK ), as i'm still in the throes of this horrible drug leaving my system, and from what i've read on this site I reckon my doc has completely mismanaged my withdrawal.

Well, i've been on 150mg Sertraline for about 6 months after having been on Prozac for 18 months previously ( good experience). Decided that you shouldn't really be getting as many suicidal thoughts as I was so went to the docs about withdrawing. He told me to drop the dosage by 50mg per week, which I have done, then when I was down to 50 a day I was to alternate days. This is the point i'm at now and the withdrawal effects are hideous - shaking, sweating, nausea, brain shocks, dizziness, almost constant diarrhoea (sorry!), bloated calves and cramps, pain so severe in my knees I can barely walk, migraines, blurred vision and palpitations. Whew! Big list there! Now realise that i've come off WAY too fast and my body has gone into shock.

Would just like to say to anyone withdrawing from this at the moment - good luck, and you're not alone.

Welcome figtoaster!

I'm so sorry to hear how your withdrawal's going - and I hope you feel better soon. Some doctors don't have much experience with AD's, unfortunately. I lucked up on a doc who seems to know quite a bit about them, and has done wonders with my treatment. I think the next time I have to search for a new doc, the first thing I'm going to ask is how much experience they have with SSRI's. I don't see anything wrong with interviewing a doc for the job, LOL!

Keep us posted on how you're doing, and I'm glad you've shared with us. You never know how many people you might help by doing so!

Take care,
Dewayne

I have been on Zoloft for over 3 years now and my Dr. thought I should try to withdraw myself from it. So I started to ween myself off slowly going from 100mg down to 75mg and about a week into being on the 75mg I felt so weird and out of it. I couldn't comprehend sentences and felt depressed. I finally went to my Dr. and she said that maybe because of my reaction I should stay on the meds until my life is a bit more stable.

Anyone else have this problem??

I have not had to withdraw from Zoloft. But I have had to come off Paxil. I had a very bad Dr. then. He just took me off. It was terrible. Maybe you need to talk to the Dr. some more if you think you want to come off. take you r time

Hi there,

So glad I found this site. I feel like I'm out to sea. I went on Zoloft following a severe postpartum depression; by Sept 2006, I was on 200mg of Zoloft daily. It saved my life. I became a happy, functioning person again. Recently I decided to try getting off of Zoloft because I've been feeling so well. My doc gave me a new dosage of 150mg. I took 3 days' worth of the new dosage and then returned to the 200mg. Those 3 days were very difficult... I felt like I was in a Tupperware container. It has been 2.5 weeks since I returned to the 200mg dosage. I feel like I'm in a nightmare. I get overwhelming black waves of depression, uncontrollable crying spells, and I can't concentrate properly. I saw my doctor again and was told that sometimes it takes a good month to restabilize... is this true? I only dropped the dose for 3 days! I have a small child and I need to be able to care for her, which is a huge struggle right now. I can't tell if this is because of a dose change or because the Zoloft stopped working. I'm really scared right now.

I really have no idea what I'm doing here, I have never been a part of any kind of message board, it's all so strange. Anyway I feel for you edamommy. I've been on Zoloft 150 mg, for several years. Then towards the end of May I had some pretty stressful work related things happening, and I was working about 17 hours a day for four days. During which time I got so busy I forgot/didn't have time to take the Zoloft. Well, on the fifth day all ____ broke loose. I truly thought I was dying, it was awful. I never had any kind of rational thought that it might be the sudden Zoloft withdrawal. I really thought something was seriously wrong. Well, to make things worse, this happened at work. : ( Truly one of the worst events in my life.

So, several days later I did see my doctor. I told him about what happened, and he put me through a battery of tests, all of which came up fine. Then he changed my medication from Zoloft to Wellbutrin SR 150. I also get 60 .5 mg of Ativan monthly, and take one 50mg Metoprolol daily. I started seeing a therapist, and she thinks I need something else to "piggyback" were her words with the Wellbutrin. Something that would help the anxiety. I'm going back to the doctor next week. I have no idea what might be best with the drug combination I'm on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong place, but like I said, this place is slightly confusing and I haven't figured it out yet.

Pooloftears,

I have heard of them "piggybacking" Zoloft with Wellbutrin. You didn't say if the Zoloft had worked for you or not. Just a suggestion.

Hi there...

I have the electric brain shocks. I stopped sertraline two weeks ago and this shocks appear to get worse every day, did they stop at once after four weeks or were slowly reduced till they dissapeared.

Please somebody help me, Im scared...

they just disappeared. hang in there

Hi there,
This is my first time EVER writing to any forum online and I have to say reading through the forum has helped me a lot to feel like I'm not a freak!

I've been on 50mg Sertraline for a year now (I'm mid-30's). I had extreme nausea for about 5 months (kept thinking I must be pregnant!) but then that disappeared. It wasn't unbearable though.

I couldn't have imagined what a difference it would make to my life (along with counselling). I hated going to bed and I hated getting up. The sense of dread and hopelessness I carried around with me was unbearable, but I carried on until I couldn't anymore and went begging for help. To wake up now without the (unexplained) pain in my chest is just wonderful. Although I still wake up each day checking and slightly fearing it will come back. I can never go back there. The more I've come out of my depression the more I realise how completely terrible it was. Going back to that is just not an option.

Nevertheless, I've got myself and my life going really great and I sometimes forget I'm on tablets. But then I remember and the feeling that I should come off them is popping into my head more and more. Which is what brought me to this forum.

I am scared of coming off but really want to. I know, cut down slowly, see my doctor etc.. I will do all that but I wanted to share experiences from people who've been through it. I'm starting an exciting new job in 3 weeks, should I wait until I'm really settled in? Part of me feels humilated though that I'm still taking them and I want to feel proud and in control.

The electric shocks forum made me jump a bit (excuse the pun ;-) but actually I missed a tablet last week and took the one the next day really late by accident (first time ever) and after showering I noticed this really bizarre electric shock feeling up and down my leg. Is that really from the anti-depressants?? Wow. Makes me think maybe I'm experiencing other things that are due to the tablets. BUT, am I perhaps better off not knowing ? I've also put on weight, I'm the heavist now than I've been in 12 years (which is not that heavy really but still more than normal). I think that's just due to eating too much though - could the pills be causing me to do this?

Know this is a long one, but it feels really good to share, so thank you to those who get to the end of this!!
Lots of Love to you all.

I was on a 100 mg (with 100 mg Wellbutrin) for 10 years. I went off cold turkey. Other than some brain zaps for a week or two, the experience was a little wild but positive. I could FEEL again - in technicolour! - after feeling like a robot for a couple of years -and sex was awesome. Unfortunately, after a month of rebound, the greyness came over me again. In retrospect, I'm not sure it was the Zoloft deadening me, or whether it had pooped out/the dosage needed upping. I'm on Cymbalta now.

This post has been edited by Maedhros: Sep 4 2008, 05:00 PM

My story seems so close to your CrazyCool. I know you posted a month ago but it touched me and I wanted to comment anyway.

I'm all for phasing it out IF following dr orders and taking it very slow. If I were you, I'd start the taper immediately and continue for as long as it takes. Maybe it'll take you 6 months to taper down, but hey, you won't have near the withdrawals which means it won't interfere with your new job.

I've been on 100mg sertraline for over a year and had reached the poop out stage too but I was just so relieved to not be heartbroken and depressed that I overlooked the fact that I had become a hermit and lost zest for the fun things. I finally shared this with my doctor and he was disappointed that I had not discussed with him prior. He said there's no reason to feel this way. Medicine is doing wonders for people. He said that cutting my sertraline to 50mg and ADDING 150mg wellbutrin xl would take care of it. One is for seratonin and the other balances out other xxxx (can't remember the terms but it made perfect sense).

He also said that people that take sertraline by itself tend to gain 2-3 pounds for every month on the mediciation. I'm very hopeful and excited about the sertraline/wellbutrin combo (for my well being and to lose the 20 pounds I've gained).

I can't wait!

Good luck to you. Don't be afraid of needing to depend on medication. The best thing you can do is confide in your doctor and let him/her guide you.

I couldn't get my Zoloft and was on 100mg for 6 years, came straight off. But I didn't even notice cause I was sick with other things anyway. But the brain shocks set in and were really annoying, had some visual disturbance, like blurr. The brain shocks are starting to fade at 3 weeks off now. I have recovered from the depression and anxiety completely and happy now. I didn't even know I was recovered, perhaps a gift from upstairs.

I found out the Zoloft was causing some headache troubles for me after 3-4 years of use. I began having migraines and now their gone, I would have them daily and since I've stopped use, they've gone away.

-Devin

Hiya all :)

First off, its always awesome to see a supportive bunch of people that are willing to provide assistance and a shoulder for those who are roughing it out. Top work on a great forum!

I just thought I'd share my experiences with Zoloft and the process of stopping the medication, a process that I've only just begun.

I was started on Zoloft and Xanax after suffering from fairly severe panic disorder and mild agoraphobia, and I have to say that the two drugs enabled me to get on with my life and put me in a position where I was able to practice coping mechanisms to effectively deal with my anxiety based hurdles. However, it took me a little while to really get my life back on track after it was completely torn down, and a number of stressful life events made me reluctant to leave behind the medicated safety blanket. So, I was on 50mg of Zoloft and 1.5mg of Xanax for roughly 3 and half years.

About 8 months ago I split with my partner of 4 years, hit a bit of a slump, had to re-evaluate my life. I decided to stop my post grad studies and start working again until a plan that didn't involve my ex-partner formed and I'd take it from there. Once I was working again, back to a normal non-student life, and once again on the market as a single man, I realised I'd let myself go, stacked on the pounds, so I decided I needed to get my s*** together and really take the last few steps in pulling myself out of a slump that began several years ago. I pulled out the weights and cardio gear, dusted them off, and began to shed the pounds.

I was feeling great and looking good. I really feel like I have some of the confidence back that the anxiety stole from me. I hadn't had a panic attack for about 2 years, was working again, and could fit into some of my old jeans again :D I couldn't really ask for much more; except to finally stop the meds.

I weened myself off the Xanax over a period of three months, from 3 x 0.5mg to 2 x 0.5mg, to 1 x 0.5mg, because I was aware of how addictive it is. However, everything I'd read and any information I'd received from my doctors suggested that Zoloft is not addictive, and nobody had ever mentioned issues with withdrawal. So, I weened myself off the Zoloft much quicker, probably over 3 weeks. 50mg a day, to 25 mg a day, to 25 mg every second day, to nothing. I timed completely stopping both meds with the Christmas holidays so I wouldn't have any interference at work.

So here I am 5 days after stopping Zoloft, and its not particularly fun. Apart from being a little more emotional, a bit giggly, a bit weepy, my mood is pretty good. I do feel a little fuzzy every now and then, and a little tired, but so far nothing to worry about.

However, the brain zaps/shivers really suck. They arn't debilitating for me, but they are very annoying and fairly constant. I found that they peaked yesterday and today. Well, I shouldn't say peaked, because they may well get worse tomorrow :D

I've been on an omega 3 supplement for a month or so with my weight training diet, but today I've doubled the dose on reading reports that omega 3's can help with the brain shivers so I'll see how that goes tomorrow.

Wow, that was a lot longer than expected. But hey, so many other people have contributed to this forum by sharing, it would be rude of me not too.

And the main point of me posting here is this:

Many people seem to come to these forums when they need support / answers, but never hang around afterward. During my reading on Zoloft withdrawals I'm always left wondering, "Has this person never returned because they are though their withdrawal, and if so, how long did it take them? Or have they gone back on their meds? Or have they eased they anxiety over their experience and simply disappeared?".

My intention is post here over the next few weeks to let people know how I'm going with the withdrawal, and maybe leave some answers from my own personal experience, as opposed to more questions.

Thanks for listening!!

Hi there. Good to meet you and I wish you lots of luck with your meds. Keep posting its very therapeutic...

Hi, I've been on sertraline for 4 yrs now, have looked at this site before but never signed up. I am now cutting my dose down, very slowly. It scares the hell out of me !! I'm on 150mg, been on that for 18 months, started that dose after a real bad spell. Wont go into that - still painful, but I'm doin ok now. Now on 125, cutting 50mg tabs in half ! Since cutting down, even by a small amount my head feels dizzy. Had a permanent splitting headache, feel like l'm getting flu all the while, like aching all over. Is this normal ?? Its tough enough trying to cut down with out the added pressure of feeling like poo !! any advice ?

Thanks, Sam Sad



I'm glad I found this thread so I can add in. My doctor just reduced my dosage from taking one pill everyday to one every other day. By the way, I have been in the medication for 2 years now and July last year, I hit the rock bottom of my life and I feel much better now about myself and my life in general. I used to experience panic attacks, anxiety, confused and really tough mornings and not enough sleep. But things are really improving; finally I've got my life pretty much sorted out: new job, found a new place to live (moving at the end of this month...yippie!) and able to take my dogs with me, self confidence, until last week...I started feeling rough mornings again.

The feeling is not as bad as before, but compared to the weeks before, I can feel that I am going backwards. Depressing mornings, difficult to focus, lost a little bit of a grip in my daily life (i.e. more temperamental). I discussed this with my doctor earlier this day and he said that it is normal. He wanted to stop Zoloft but I asked him if it was a good idea considering that work is pretty stressful at the moment and I have to move to a new place. So he kept the once every two days dosage and told me to come back in 2 weeks. So I am being monitored pretty closely.

It is not really good, a bit scary that I'm starting to feel down in the mornings again, waking up too early and a bit afraid listening to the birds chirp, but I think the body needs to adjust slowly with Zoloft because within a week, I can feel the difference.

It is also important to surround ourselves with just good things (sounds selfish, but who cares...) and not expose ourselves to potential depressing situation. I avoid hard to not go there and I don't care what my friends and family say about me. My doctor told me to not be afraid of the symptoms, I'm not going to be in the bottom again. So lets see what happens.

It is scary, though, the thought of stopping the meds, afraid that my depression will come again. It is like a worry whether I will survive the world after being in meds for so long. I hope I can get through this.
[/quote]

Hi, I've been on sertraline for 4 yrs now, have looked at this site before but never signed up. I am now cutting my dose down, very slowly. It scares the hell out of me !! I'm on 150mg, been on that for 18 months, started that dose after a real bad spell. Wont go into that - still painful, but I'm doin ok now. Now on 125, cutting 50mg tabs in half ! Since cutting down, even by a small amount my head feels dizzy. Had a permanent splitting headache, feel like l'm getting flu all the while, like aching all over. Is this normal ?? Its tough enough trying to cut down with out the added pressure of feeling like poo !! any advice ?

Thanks, Sam Sad



I'm glad I found this thread so I can add in. My doctor just reduced my dosage from taking one pill everyday to one every other day. By the way, I have been in the medication for 2 years now and July last year, I hit the rock bottom of my life and I feel much better now about myself and my life in general. I used to experience panic attacks, anxiety, confused and really tough mornings and not enough sleep. But things are really improving; finally I've got my life pretty much sorted out: new job, found a new place to live (moving at the end of this month...yippie!) and able to take my dogs with me, self confidence, until last week...I started feeling rough mornings again.

The feeling is not as bad as before, but compared to the weeks before, I can feel that I am going backwards. Depressing mornings, difficult to focus, lost a little bit of a grip in my daily life (i.e. more temperamental). I discussed this with my doctor earlier this day and he said that it is normal. He wanted to stop Zoloft but I asked him if it was a good idea considering that work is pretty stressful at the moment and I have to move to a new place. So he kept the once every two days dosage and told me to come back in 2 weeks. So I am being monitored pretty closely.

It is not really good, a bit scary that I'm starting to feel down in the mornings again, waking up too early and a bit afraid listening to the birds chirp, but I think the body needs to adjust slowly with Zoloft because within a week, I can feel the difference.

It is also important to surround ourselves with just good things (sounds selfish, but who cares...) and not expose ourselves to potential depressing situation. I avoid hard to not go there and I don't care what my friends and family say about me. My doctor told me to not be afraid of the symptoms, I'm not going to be in the bottom again. So lets see what happens.

It is scary, though, the thought of stopping the meds, afraid that my depression will come again. It is like a worry whether I will survive the world after being in meds for so long. I hope I can get through this.


I have been on "Z:" for almost 3 years. I am on it for Panic so I really don't kow if I will ever be off the meds. make sure you talk to your Dr. alot while coming off the meds. i have heard that you need to come off VERY slowly. Make sure you drink a lot of water. i have heard of Dr.'s giving a med like Xanax to help with start up and withdrawl symptoms

Ok, my turn to share. I went to therapy about 10 years ago, with some mild depression. I had some family issues and was newly married, and had just miscarried my first pregnancy. I really liked my therapist, and trusted her. She suggested antidepressants, and I thought, why not. So I have been on them for about 9 1/2 years. Mostly zoloft, but switched to wellbutrin for the last trimester of both my son's pregnancies. I have tried to quit several times in the past, but the symptoms were pretty bad, lots of dizziness, brain zaps, and just all over exhaustion. My dr wanted to know what my motivation was for wanting to quit the meds. And she attributed the symptoms as either returning depression or my body just not producing sufficient serotonin. I know now it has been withdrawal. Kinda pi**es me off. My babies displayed what I now think were some withdrawal symptoms too, considering she told me I could begin taking the zoloft again at full strength immediately after giving birth, even thought I breast fed them for 2 years each. If I knew then what I know now...... Does she really believe I need to be on this drug for the rest of my life??? I strongly disagree. I am a daycare provider, and my sons are 5 and 7, there's no such thing as a good time to go through hell for a few months, ya know? But I am determined to get this junk out of my system for good, and maybe fire my therapist for good. I think she has had a pretty willing patient, and customer for a good long time. I even had some symptoms after the birth of my first child she attributed to postpartum depression. But I'm not so sure. I would be asleep next to my son, and would kinda be awake in my head, I could hear things outside like passing cars, and birds, etc. I could hear my son breathing, but I could not open my eyes, or move my body at all. The only things that would wake me fully would be my son waking up and crying, or a telephone. During these semi-awake moments, I would also imagine someone breaking into the house, coming up to my room. It was quite frightening. Maybe these were hallucinations. I don't know. And I would sometimes have what my dr described 'intrusive thoughts', like tossing my baby down the stairs, or throwing him against a wall. Just a flash in my head of doing something horrible, and I would have to shake it off, and it scared the crap out of me. But I had been on the zoloft for quite some time when all of these things occurred. Just makes ya think. I have recently e-mailed the director of the department of pharmicology at KU med to see if there is anyone who can help me, maybe suggest some methods of handling the withdrawal symptoms. I don't just want to start trying things I've read, I think I've learned not to take my health for granted. Has anyone else talked to a professional they feel they can trust, and I don't mean the person who prescribed this poison in the first place?? Just want to hear some success stories I guess. I've seen some posts suggesting brain chemistry can be permanently changes because of these drugs, and I want desperately to hear otherwise.

I don't ever think I will be with out my Zoloft. I have come to terms with it. I am sorry to hear the troubles that you have been having, I have been really pleased with this med and have great results. The hardest point for me was that I had to take it at all. Once I came to terms with that I was good to go. I do hope you feel the effects that I have.

I see this is an old post but I NEED HELP! I was having terrible anxiety and so my doc said to up my 75mg to 100. I have done that for 4 days now and am crawling out of my skin, keep thinking about suicide, shaky, sick to my stomach, and am out of it. Do you think the 100mg is just too much for me? Is this my bodys way of telling me this is too much?

I know it sounds odd to tell you to try to hold on as long as you can, but really its the best thing to do. Your body needs time to adjust. Now if you feel you are in serious crisis, call one of the numbers that scroll at the top of the page. Call your Dr. and let the Dr. know what you are feeling. It is a terrible thing you are dealing with but it will pass.

i had flu like sympton for 1 week and thats about it. could been a reall flu hahah. don't worry i been on it for a year and got off it and now back to it grrr,

I am in no way saying,"Glad your back on Zoloft.". But I am glad to hear that it is working for you again. you were brave for going off it. i admit I am afraid for when the time comes that I would have to consider it. But that being said, I am ok with having to be on Zoloft for good.

Hello people

I must say that I don't really know where to get help now. I was on 150mg for one year minimum. I dropped zoloft by 25mg each 3 weeks and I'm at 0 since a month. In fact, it's my 5th week right now. No problem for the first 2 weeks, then I got anxiety, insomnia, well almost everything in the side-effect list. But it was nothing compared to the 4th week and right now. I've panic attacks, huge depressive waves, and both seem to be happening most by evening (maybe because I always taken it at this time). I was forced to start college at the same time. It's just hell...It's only the second day and I really wonder how I will face the next days. I cry for nothing, even if I have reasons to do it (but I feel it's clearly out of my control). I hate to eat now, even if I can be hungry, to eat is like a work now for me. I'm afraid to take decisions like to trash some courses of my schedule or the term entirely if nothing change. I thought one month would be enough to have peace from zoloft...

How long to wait? How long before to escape from this hell...Time has never been so long. I could take xanax to help, but then what? Will I have problems with this too? And if I feel bad I will not know if it's because of zoloft or xanax...So I doubt any meds to be a solution right now. It seems like I just have to wait, but I even don't know for how much time! I can just hope to not go crazy before it really ends...

Hi Blue
I wish I had some answers for you, but since everyone is different on how meds work ont hem I can't. I have to ask though, did you do this with the help of a Dr.? I know that the meds can be very hard to ween off of. That's why I am asking. Also, maybe you weren't ready to be without the med? I would make an appointment with your Dr. discuss all the things you have been feeling and the Dr. will be able to answer better. Good luck1

Actually my doctor wanted me to drop more fast...so I think I acted the good way. I thought -25mg by each 3 weeks would be ok. I don't really know if it would have been different by cutting more...Some people seem to say that it's never easy, whatever the method is (except cold turkey of course, we all know how bad it is). And you know, zoloft has always been a pain anyway. It never worked for my anxiety (I had panic attacks anyway), I was a zombie with no emotions, and sometimes old side-effects were coming back...It was obvious that I would have to stop it. I know it wears off differently for each person. But I hoped to find a kind of range, or something like the most common range.

I have not gone off Zoloft but I did go off Paxil..cold turkey...ya so won't do that again. It would think it would be better to go slowly. Listen to your body.

Oh, you are not alone! I am trying to get meds under control. I had a family doctor that just piled it on, and I did not carefully research things. Be careful taking prescription sleep aids (just research the interaction). I have gone from 100mg of Zoloft (Sertraline) and dropped to 50, but switched to taking it in the morning rather than at night. I'm nervous during the day, but I slept better. As long as I can get sleep, I'm going to stick it out with 50 for a week then go to 25. Been on this for 5 years.
Just know you are NOT CRAZY in your thoughts. Let's hang on and our bodies will adjust!

Hey Inkblot



You are absolutely right about prescription sleep aids. OTC meds, too. Researching the med and its potential side effects with meds you're already taking is crucial. Sometimes docs and pharmacists miss potential hazards. We've got to check things out ourselves, just to play it safe. Thanks for the reminder!

-Bean