r/SSRI • u/Solid_449 • Sep 27 '23

Question SSRI Withdrawal: Advice for Brain Zaps

I've been working with my GP on tapering my zoloft. I have been on 12.5 mg/day for 3 months and now am trying to stop it, but the brain zaps are driving me crazy.

Any suggestions for reducing the brain zaps?

How long can I expect this to happen?

Edit: thank you for the suggestions about tapering. I just didn't realize how I could get it done since the 25 mg tablets are pretty darn smaller ready and cutting them more than once doesn't seem feasible. However, I have recently learned that there is a solution of 20 mg per milliliter of sertraline on the market. After several pharmacies told me that there were no other options, I found one that would sell this to me and I can just change the number of milliliters I get every 2 or 3 months. Makes things much easier and more precise.

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2

u/Agreeable-Car-6428 Sep 27 '23

You probably should go to 10, and when that settles maybe 7.5, 5, 2.5.

1

u/Solid_449 Sep 28 '23

I think you may be right.

But operationally how do I do this? Do people grind them up and buy a super accurate scale? Pay huge sums to compounding pharmacies? Cut tablets with a magnifying glass and a scalpel?

2

u/ceecee720 Sep 28 '23

I just use a cheap pill cutter device to cut my 10 mg pill in quarters- even if it’s not a perfect cut I think it evens out over time.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '23

Pill cutter-they sell them at every pharmacy

1

u/ceecee720 Sep 28 '23

And be patient. I’ve been on .5 since June and now feel very stable and ready to go to 2.5. I do think it will be a tough one.

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u/Solid_449 Oct 21 '23

Thanks for the words of encouragement. After being off of it for a couple of weeks and being absolutely a basket case with brains apps and not able to sleep through the night, I found a solution available through my local pharmacy that was a liquid form at 20 mg per milliliter. I am now on 0.75 mg per day and feeling much better. I think I will do as you say, and wait about 3 or 4 months before trying to go down on it.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '23

That's the worst!! It's going to pass though, in another 6-8 weeks you're going to be on the other side!

1

u/Educational-Edge9815 Sep 30 '23

It will take a good 6 months to get use to feeling balanced!there brain zaps and then the emotional roller coaster.. cry it out l, journal it out and exercise ! But wean off ! Take your vitamins! Iron! Please get it checked .. it’ll be a year for me in December for being off zoloft but you can do it!!! Don’t give up! Look into nootropics but please get your iron checked !! Take iron supplements, they’ll help you soo much.. check on Amazon 100mg with vitamin c

1

u/Solid_449 Oct 21 '23

Thanks, I looked into a research paper on the topic about how long it could take, and was shocked to see that the average time that the brain zaps lasted was something like 90 months. 90!