Just curious because I am currently working on getting off the zoloft I have been on for almost 11 years (concerns about long-term effects, the fact that it doesn't seem to be doing quite the same thing it did in the past, weight gain, etc.) and even among those who carefully taper it still seems there are tons of withdrawal symptoms. Of course, everything I have read has been on the internet and usually people will not post an anecdote if they did not have issues. But it still seems like an enormous number of people have had problems, even if they carefully taper.


I've been on 200mg for all these years so i wouldn't be surprised if i had some issues. But i'm still wondering if anyone has been able to get off the stuff at any point without horrible withdrawal symptoms. I read some of "The Anti-Depressant Solution" which I found interesting and suggests reducing he dose by 50mg every 3-5 weeks to give the body sufficient time to adjust and get through any withdrawal before going to the next dose. I've been on 150mg now for about 4-5 days and doing ok. Thanks!

Well I'm only on 25mg of Zoloft in the evening, but going off it doesn't lead to any nasty withdrawal side effects, except of course the unsatisfaction with life and hopelessness.

I've tapered off Prozac (fluoxetine) twice over a decade, from 60mg and 40mg. No problems. Cut down to 40mg/day, then 20mg/day, then 20mg on every 2nd day, etc.

Of course Prozac is trivial compared to Zoloft, Paxil, etc.; the half-life is so much higher (that's why there can be a Prozac Weekly). I've read that one way to deal with SSRI discontinuation syndrome is to switch to Prozac and then taper from that.

Take it slowly and remember that sertraline has a half life of about a day.

Wikipedia actually has a well referenced article on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSRI_discontinuation_syndrome

Quite frankly if I were starting an SSRI I would be scared by the discontinuation syndrome; that's why I used Prozac instead of another SSRI/SNRI.

Well I might try again with a different approach, aka balls... seems then when I went to taking the zoloft every other day I felt that I Really really needed it that second day, and I Never made it to the every third day phase... I never looked into the half life of sertraline, silly me... that explains it... maybe if I tought it out, or use cannabis to help me, I can get off it this week...hmmm will have to consider if it's worth it or if I feel it keeps the depression at bay with the stimulant treatment.

Well I might try again with a different approach, aka balls... seems then when I went to taking the zoloft every other day I felt that I Really really needed it that second day, and I Never made it to the every third day phase... I never looked into the half life of sertraline, silly me... that explains it... maybe if I tought it out, or use cannabis to help me, I can get off it this week...hmmm will have to consider if it's worth it or if I feel it keeps the depression at bay with the stimulant treatment.

Don't! Not yet. you just got a workable combo. My doc said not to go off paxil (which I hate) until we work the ADHD or else we won't know if side effects are from new meds or going off old ones...!

I agree I want to stabalise first, but it, just as the benzos were early this winter, my priority getting off it.

I was taking 100mg of Zoloft and wanted to back down to 50mg. Talked to the doc about it and he said "no problem, just be prepared for a couple of days of weird feelings." Well, two weeks later I was still wigging out, so I went back up to the 100mg. I went back to talk to the doc about it and he gave me script for 50mg Zoloft, and told me to start off by alternating 100mg & 75mg doses every other day, for a week. Then stay steady on 75mg for a week. Then alternate again between 75mg & 50mg for a week, and finally drop down to 50mg.

A rather long process, but it worked.

I was taking 100mg of Zoloft and wanted to back down to 50mg. Talked to the doc about it and he said "no problem, just be prepared for a couple of days of weird feelings." Well, two weeks later I was still wigging out, so I went back up to the 100mg. I went back to talk to the doc about it and he gave me script for 50mg Zoloft, and told me to start off by alternating 100mg & 75mg doses every other day, for a week. Then stay steady on 75mg for a week. Then alternate again between 75mg & 50mg for a week, and finally drop down to 50mg.

A rather long process, but it worked.

thanks, very good to know. i just wanted to make sure SOMEONE out there had done it successfully. i know with some people it's hard, takes a long time and has to be done very gradually. but it can usually be done if done slowly enough. i should probably wait to start any ADD meds until i get completely off the zoloft. i'm down from 200mg to 150mg now and it's been almost a week. i will probably wait a good 2-3 more weeks before making another reduction. but so far no issues.

Good to know that your having success!:)

I have to admit, it surprised me, the kind of reactions I was having, and there intensity. Probably the worst reaction I was having was tinnitus, and balance issues. I have tinnitus all the time thanks to jet engines & generators while I was in the Air Force, but it got much worse when I was trying to back off on the Zoloft. The tinnitus seem to tie directly in with the balance problem. All of a sudden the ringing would get even louder, and then the world would turn upside down for a second. Not a great situation to be in when you work in a factory with heavy equipment.:eek:

did you start having side effects immediately, soon after your first decrease? or did it take a while

i didn't take it as long as you, but I dropped off of 50mg without issue.

I tapered off Wellbutrin and Lexapro. It took a few weeks, and it wasn't fun, but it wasn't that hard either. I just kept going for as long as I could before the pain and brain zaps became too much and I had to take another pill. Each break between pills was longer than the last until I didn't need it anymore.

My regular cannabis use for fibromyalgia may have aided the process.

well for me simple answer


NO

Back in 1989 or so, I stopped something called Pamelor cold turkey and had no withdrawal at all. It isn't exactly recommended, LOL! But I had a really high resting heart rate (about 90 bpm) and it freaked me out. I was 22 at the time and had only been on it for three months. My normal resting heart rate was below 60 bpm. After that, I didn't take anything for depression/anxiety until last year.

At the time I was exercising an hour or more on most days (I ran competitively) and that probably helped a lot.

I now take 25 mg Luvox and that's it. Seems like I'm doing better without the stimulant medications if I can maintain an exercise regimen.

I've been on and off Prozac cold turkey a couple of times. It wasn't doing anything anyway. I didn't notice any withdrawal either - I figured it was all a scam. Course I was drinking daily, so who knows about that.

I've also been on and off Effexor a couple of times (tapered off) with no withdrawal - and boy to you hear a lot of horror stories about that one! All I noticed was the gradual return of anxiety, emotionality and "sharpness" to the world. Still I was only on it for three years and not a super-high dose.

So I don't know....looks like one of those things where everyone's different. I would just do it very very gradually and follow drs directions exactly.

Some people can quit SSRIs cold turkey and just feel a bit weird, while others if they skip a dose they'll lose it. Peoples' biochemstries are different.

My guess is that from your high dose and long term use, I'd say you're in for a long journy in weening off. If you take it slow you'll get there without too much difficulty. And as others have hinted: switching over to Prozac is one way of weening off an SSRI. Talk to your doctor about the best way of doing it.

Stopped taking Zoloft (150mg -> 0 cold turkey after six months) once, and never felt a thing.
Then Effexor after 4-5 months (recommended max dose - don't remember, how much it was, it's like five years ago) had one week on half dose and then stopped completely - no problems.

I think that's the only two SSRIs I've tried, but I'm not sure at all.
Common for those two is that I had no desired effect from them at all while taking them, only side effects (Effexor was bad for me on that front! Worst meds for me ever.), and those just seemed to stop when I didn't take the medication anymore.

My psychiatrist told me afterwards that I was the first patient she had tapered off Effexor, who didn't mess up to some degree - comforting, huh?:rolleyes:

Other medications I remember going off in that category (but they're not SSRIs, I think) are Remeron (45mg -> 0 cold turkey, no probs) and Wellbutrin 300mg/day (tapered out over two weeks, first week down to 150mg a day, second week (+ a few days more) 150mg every second day.
Experienced a bit of dizzyness, headache and nausea, but nothing unbearable.

Good luck with kicking your Zoloft, Driver. :)

About 4 years ago, I quit Prozac all at once with no problem.

I would not try it. I did that on Cymbalta and I was terribly sick on my stomach for days. I had severe mood swings. Please don't stop all at once.

Yeah, cold turkey is definitely not recommended, usually.

Good to see you, Driver!

I've never tapered off an SSRI and experienced a withdrawal. There was a time when I quit cold turkey and experienced withdrawal. You might ask your physician, but there are a couple of meds out there that can ease withdrawal symptoms of an SSRI.

Paxil & Effexor were the worst on the taper off.

Cymbalta was almost as bad.

I got off Celexa with only minor problems.

Prozac has never caused a withdrawal effect for me; in fact some people will jump from another SSRI to Prozac then off in order to avoid withdrawals (I have never tried this myself).

I drop everything cold turkey with no problems, even when I quit vicodin after taking it for months on end. Halflife of the drug matters a LOT for withdrawal, though. Zoloft and prozac have a long halflife so less withdrawl, but people on paxil or celexa can really flip out if they miss a dose.

Yes, and I am doing it again right now. I am tapereing myself off of Prozac.

Yes and I am doing it again right now off of Prozac. Why?

I drop everything cold turkey with no problems, even when I quit vicodin after taking it for months on end. Halflife of the drug matters a LOT for withdrawal, though. Zoloft and prozac have a long halflife so less withdrawl, but people on paxil or celexa can really flip out if they miss a dose.

I would like to see you "drop" cold turkey off of Morphine.

I find tianeptine useful from SSRI withdrawal
how or why ummm dont know

but it works dam well for me

I was on 200mg of zoloft daily and felt like I had to get off of it ASAP. My head felt so strange so I began lowering my script 25mg at a time. It took forever to finally break free... but I did it. I felt weird for a good year. It was the strangest feeling ever. I do not believe that zoloft is a good drug... at least it wasn't for me. Too many side effects. Good luck!

I tappered off by 50mg at a time(luvox), which is 1/4 of my total dose. I still had withdrawl though.

3months on it then just stoped. i had no withdrawls at all but i was using hydrocodon at the time so yea the hydro is prolly wat helped but then i got off the hydrocodone addiction and it was hell after that. i used doses of dextromethorphan to help ease the withdrawls. and i even told the doc i was addicted and he rites me a script to em anyways wtf?

I was on 20 mg of Lexapro, then went to 10 mg, then 5 mg, then off. I got severely depressed and went back on it, but only to 10 mg, which I had felt okay on.

After about 3 months on 10 mg I was depressed again so now I'm back up to 20 mg. I don't know if that's the Lexapro or just conditions in my life still needing an antidepressant, but so far I still need it.

Hopefully one day I'll be able to live life without it though. :)

If you taper correctly, you shouldn't have withdrawls. If you notice symptoms of what you think are withdrawls, it's more than likely your original condition returning.

For lexapro (which I'm on), doctors recommend reducing your dosage by 5mg every week until you're off. I was planning to taper myself off of lexapro last week but as per advice from my dr. I decided not to. However I had tapered for a week before the doctor told me not to, and I hadn't noticed ANY problems. I'm on 10mg QD right now and made my own taper schedule which looks like this:

7.5mg for 2 weeks
5mg for 1 week (I'm relying on my body to be used to down-regulation of my serotonin receptors at this point due to the 2 week dosage of 7.5mg)
2.5mg for 2 weeks
0mg

Should work great, I'll do it over xmas when I'm home again and let you all know how it goes.