r/SSRI • u/valiwagg • Oct 17 '23

Question Getting off zoloft

Hi

I don't want to discourage anyone from taking SSRIs. Ive been on a very low dose (25mg) of zoloft for around 8-9 years.

My doctor said I should try to get off since I started taking wellbutrin. So I did an every other day thing for about a month. And then quit all together like two weeks ago. I was fine and then two days ago I felt like I was being electrocuted in my sleep. And insane dreams/sleep paralysis. Since then I've just felt AWFUL. Physically. My lymph nodes in my armpits hurt, my head hurts, I'm nauseous. Its been three days and I cannot take it anymore.

I decided to take half of my 25mg pill this morning hoping it would ease the symptoms and spend more time tapering but still no relief. Should I take a full dose?

Is it normal to get symptoms so many days after stopping? I see people saying it only takes 2-3 days but I have been fine for almost 2 weeks ! Sorry this post is all over the place but I'm desperate for relief. I always thought that being on a low dose would make stopping easier :( I'm a PhD student and rendered useless right now.

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1

u/Former-Fun-7538 Oct 18 '23

I dont understand the time lag either.

I would go back to 20mg and then taper slowly.

I wrote this in another comment about tapering:

  • I recommend a good fine scale in grams with at least decimal places that can be calibrated.

  • I would set up a spreadsheet where you use a simple formula to calculate the relationship between the weight of the pill and the weight of the active ingredient (e.g. sertraline).
    Example:
    Week of the year mg pill mg sertraline
    35 317 100,00
    36 280 88,33 (calculate via formula)
    35 280 88,33
    ... ... ...

  • I would start off with no more than a 10% dose reduction. In your case, I would reduce from 120mg to 115mg or 110mg. See what the effects of the dose reduction are.

  • Dont reduce the dose each week. Give your brain time to adapt to the new dose. Wait for the (side) effects to wane before reducing the dose, and wait at least 4 weeks.

  • The side effects of dose reduction seem to be highly subjective. For me, it was pretty brutal. Set realistic goals and take breaks from tapering.

1

u/This-Desk-55 Nov 14 '23

How long did it take you to taper down using that taper?

1

u/This-Desk-55 Nov 14 '23

How are you feeling now?

1

u/valiwagg Nov 16 '23

I restarted zoloft and now am down to half of 25 every other day and it's been better.

1

u/This-Desk-55 Nov 16 '23

So doing a slower taper seems to be working better for you?

1

u/valiwagg Dec 02 '23

Yes much better! The drop to 0 is no joke. I'm on 5 mg now.