Lofty Expectations

rockchalk956 · April 2012

Zoloft, that is.

I'm in the process of slowly weaning myself off the **** after taking it for... close to six years now (started after four people close to me died and I'd developed severe anxiety and depression). I was just curious about what others have experienced when going off an anti-depressant.

I was cleared by my doctor to go ahead and stop taking it, slowly, of course. She was the one who prescribed it to me six years ago and has followed everything ever since, so I believe her when she says I would be ok to stop taking it. I love that tiny woman. She's 4'11" but has enough heart to fill someone double her size.

My dosage was 75mg every day. My doctor's advice was 75mg one week, alternate between 75mg and 50mg the second week, 50mg every day the third week, alternate between 50mg and 25mg the fourth week, 25mg every day the fifth week, 25mg every other day the sixth week, and then nothing. Right now I should be starting the fourth week, but I've been experiencing many of the symptoms I had before I'd even started taking this. They're much milder than before, but these would be growing anxiety, irrational fear of things (the worst was being afraid a building would collapse when I'm on the first floor or something), mild mood swings, short temper, and just a "weird" feeling.

Now apparently most of this is normal when coming off an anti-depressant. Withdrawal symptoms, if you will. I will be having a lot of stressful things coming up (most good, some not so much), like finally moving out of my parents' house to an apartment, a new job, a heavy course load (although that is normal for me), and of course whatever comes with this whole weight loss/getting healthier journey. That makes me second-guess my decision of going off the Zoloft right now. But, I'm not sure if that's the fear of withdrawal or a legitimate concern. My doctor said one time isn't really any better than another since there will always be stress in life, which I agree with, I'm just a little torn now, especially after she said losing weight will most likely be a bit easier without the Zoloft, and that's a big selling point right now.

So, I'd just like to know if anyone else has gone through this, or something similar, and how it went for you. Positive stories, horror stories, whatever you have, throw it at me!

rockchalk956 · April 2012

Bump bc I think I posted this too late last night. :P

faiga · April 2012

take it one day at a time your a lot stronger than you think you are. a few months ago i finally got serious about my weight loss than in december 2011 i suffered a misscariage i ended up gaining 26 pounds two months ago i got serous again and its comming off but very slowly just remember we did not put it on in one day and we wont take it off in one day youll do great if you wish add me

onedayillbeamilf · April 2012

I think mine doesn't really count. I was most recently on Celexa, then I decided to take myself off of it. I quit cold turkey and had bad dizzy spells, chills, and severe insomnia for a week. The doc put me on Ametriptalyne (sp?) which I've been on for a week now. So I don't really have a testimony for ya.

Janie5605 · April 2012

I too was on Zoloft for about 7 years. When I started easing off of it I was also in therapy at the time which i really think helped. I had some of those weird feelings and started to go back to how i felt before...but i also think I stayed on it too long. I would talk to your doctor and see if maybe you should slow down the process. Good luck! I know you can do this!!

Marig0ld · April 2012

I quit Zoloft cold turkey about two years ago. I had terrible mood swings, headaches. I had to FORCE myself to get up and go to work in the morning, but I started to feel like "me" again after a while. I still have my moments but I love living medication-free. I've also cleaned up my diet a lot these past few weeks, since the symptoms were starting to creep back up. Now I am trying to allow myself a "free" day once a week to have sugar and watch it on other days. There is something about sweets that make me absolutely deranged. So far, limiting it has helped. Best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:

rockchalk956 · May 2012

Thanks, everyone! Diet and exercise have already helped, so it's good to know I'll be able to use that.

So far, I've been able to mentally push aside most of the thoughts and feelings that were like what is experienced before. I think I've also learned how to better deal with them while on the Zoloft anyway, and I really hope that helps. I fully believe I can get through this so I can be med-free, I'm just kind of freakin out a little from remembering how I looked at things and thought about things before, and am not looking forward to that, even I'd it only comes back for a week. But oh well. Hopefully I'll be me, completely, shortly after that and won't have to worry about it.

Thanks for all of your input!

GardenFolly · May 2012

I understand titrating medications like Zoloft. It is not unusual to have some re-emergence of symptoms. I am sure you have developed many ways of coping and gained maturity since your loss. When I have decided to go off medications, I prefer to pick a time when things are relatively stable. Of course there is always stress! However, making a large move may be a tad more stressful than daily issues. Will you be living on your own? Do you have a good support network and someone you can call on when things are challenging?

If you delayed decreasing the medication by a week or so, it would not be the worst thing. I am considerably older than you, and lost 4 significant people (including my mum) last year. Despite having many tricks up my sleeve (means of coping) it still hit me like a ton of bricks. Luckily most of us do not have these profound losses often!

It takes a lot of courage to decide to move on ... my guess is you are a quite extraordinary young woman!

Should you ever need or want to chat about things, I am happy to listen.
Take good care. xx

Lofty Expectations

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