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Thread: New to Forum and currently titrating off of zoloft-any words of wisdom?

  1. #1
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    New to Forum and currently titrating off of zoloft-any words of wisdom?

    Hi All,
    I've been reading your posts and appreciate the honesty and forthcoming information of your personal withdrawal experiences. I'm currently titrating off of zoloft after a year of med switches. Here's my history:
    12 years ago, I had my first panic attack while driving- it came out of nowhere and I was thrown into a spiral both physically and emotionally. By the time I had returned to my apartment, I was in full blown panic. I was so fearful that I was going crazy/losing my mind, that I went and sought therapy a few days later since I was starting to get depressed over the experience. At that point, I began therapy and was put on Celexa (20mg)- I was 24 years old. The depression and anxiety subsided and disappeared completely within three months. Unfortunately, I gained weight with Celexa (25lbs) and was switched to Lexapro (10mg), which worked just as well, but the weight stayed on. A couple years after being on medication, I decided to get off since I had been feeling good for the past two years. I titrated slowly with help from my doctor and got off of the lexapro successfully. I was med free for about 9 months when the anxiety and depression returned. I immediately went back on lexapro because I didn't want to experience what I had two years ago. The symptoms subsided again within 6 weeks. A few months after that, I switched to zoloft (75mg) to see if that would help with the weight gain. I dropped most of the weight on zoloft but felt flat. About six month later, the doctor switched me to a small dose of effexor (37.5mg). I was on the effexor for 1.5 years and it worked well. After a year on 37.5mg, I split the pill in half and was doing pretty well on such a small dose. Unfortunately, I had a major panic attack while traveling and over caffeinating. I didn't realize that my panic attack was probably brought on by sleep deprivation and too much caffeine. I started to increase the dosage of effexor per my doctor's advice and the anxiety just kept getting worse with each increase in dosage. By the time she had me at 150mg of effexor, I was a basket case- couldn't stop crying, shaking, crazy thoughts that were not me. I realized at that point that I was having and adverse reaction to the increase in dosage and told my doctor I wanted to get off the effexor and go back on the lexapro. So I went back on lexapro and it took almost 5 months to truly feel back to myself again. Two years later, I tried to get off of the lexapro by following a guide to getting off of lexapro with vitamins and nutritional supplements. I successfully got off of the lexapro with minimal withdrawal effects, but three months later, the panic returned (perhaps triggered by another upcoming travel?) Again, I returned to the lexapro and had remained on it until March 2012 when I, with the help of my naturopath doctor, titrated off the lexapro and onto 5HTP. That worked for about 2-3 months and then the anxiety returned. However, this time, when I tried to go back on the lexapro, I experienced worse anxiety and depression and two weeks later my primary care doctor switched my to prozac- that was a BIG mistake. She had me on that for 3 months telling me to be patient since prozac took a long time and I wouldn't feel its full benefit for about 3 months. I struggled horrifically on prozac with terrible anxiety, depression, intrusive destructive thoughts and felt like I was going nuts. During this time, I was taking a small amount of klonopin (.5mg) to sleep since my anxiety was so bad. After three months I went to a psychiatrist who tried to put me back on lexapro. That worked for a couple of months but when it was switched to the new generic form, it didn't have the same therapeutic effect. Needless to say, I am now on zoloft and have been for the past nine months. It hasn't been ideal, but much better than my prozac experience. I fired my psychiatrist and found a new one who has slowly been getting me down on my zoloft- I went from 150mg down to now 37.5! However she did add 50mg of lamictal as a mood stabilizer while I titrate. It's been a very frustrating and disheartening experience to say the least. The intrusive thoughts pop up randomly throughout the day, but I try to keep them in their place, continue on with my daily activities and remind myself that my body is trying to heal and it will take a while to recalibrate and return to homeostasis. I apologize for the long, drawn out history, but it's hard to give you the reader's digest version. My hope is that I can successfully get off SSRI meds for good and I am able to trust and believe in my brain's ability to heal itself. Thank you for listening and I appreciate any feedback.

  2. #2
    Founder Luc's Avatar
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    Hello, Buddingbuddha. Welcome to IAWP!

    Yes, indeed, it looks like in the past years you've been through an adverse reaction/s and then a series of withdrawals, which were mitigated by the reinstatements and switches between the drugs. It's very good you're determined to be ale to live without ADs, and it is absolutely possible to do. You just need to be patient and continue the Zoloft taper. How big are your cuts? We usually recommend the 10% drop every 3-6 weeks method.

    How long have you been on Lamictal? Do you still take Klonopin or some other benzo? Also, are you experiencing any other symptoms apart from intrusive thoughts? Talking of intrusive thoughts and emotions in general, you may want to have a look at this thread, It will help you a lot: http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info...-Neuro-emotion

    Your body will heal. It just needs time. Stay strong.
    Keep walking. Just keep walking.

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    Founder Sheila's Avatar
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    Welcome, BB! Whew, that’s a lot of med changes. I, too, am glad you are aiming for a drug-free life and I am certain you can achieve that.

    It looks like tapering off has been very doable for you. The problem comes some months later, and you wonder if the trigger is a stressor.

    Did you know this is very common? That some people do OK for some months after tapering off. But their nervous systems are more sensitive than they realize, and it’s just a matter of time before something comes along that will trip the switch.

    So, tapering more slowly than necessary might be the answer for you. Allowing your system more time to re-equilibrate even though you *could* taper faster.

    Also, have you done some good psychotherapy work on the original anxiety?
    Meds free since June 2005.

    "An initiation into shamanic healing means a devaluation of all values, an overturning of the profane world, a peeling away of inveterate handed-down notions of the world, liberation from everything preconceived. For that reason, shamanism is closely connected with suffering. One must suffer the disintegration of one's own system of thought in order to perceive a new world in the higher space."
    -- Holger Kalweit

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    hello Buddingb,

    i would stop slowly and quickly the lamotrigine lamictal which is for epilepsy and dangerous(no need mood stabalizer), i would continue to taper, very slowly, know i will suffer more because of meds iatrogenic anxiety depression, and in the future only take natural products; it will not be easy but it is worth to challenge this
    12 years paxil(9 years only 10 mg) - cold turkey(1,5 month) and switch celexa tapered 1 year 20 mg
    62 years old - for GAD - 4 years 3 months meds free [since april 2009]

    vegetables soup - orange (vit C) - curcuma - some meat or fish

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    Thank you, Luc. You are very kind to offer such support. I will stay strong! I've been on lamictal since the end of March. I don't take any benzos. I've only taken them in the past for a couple of weeks while I started a new med to ease the anxiety. I try to stay away from benzos as to not add another thing to the mix. I went from 50mg. zoloft to 37.5 about a week and a half ago. Prior to that I was on 50mg zoloft for 2 months.

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    Hi Sheila,
    Yes, a slow taper seems to be the best option for me as my system is super sensitive. Yes, I have been in psychotherapy since the get go working on the anxiety triggers. We uncovered a lot of stuff- codependency, over extending myself, doing too much for others not enough for myself, speaking my truth without fear of hurting others, etc. Still working on it:)
    I also have been doing yoga and receiving massage and energy work for years. I've been lucky to have been introduced to alternative healing modalities since I was 18yrs old. I read some wonderful self-help/self-discovery books and am open to any recommended reading.
    Thank you!
    Last edited by buddingbuddha; 07-12-2013 at 02:08 PM. Reason: forgot to add more info..

  7. #7
    Founder Luc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by buddingbuddha View Post
    I also have been doing yoga and receiving massage and energy work for years. I've been lucky to have been introduced to alternative healing modalities since I was 18yrs old. I read some wonderful self-help/self-discovery books and am open to any recommended reading.
    That's great. If you were interested, we have this Alternative Healing methods sub-forum: http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info...ealing-Methods Maybe you will find something that interests you. You can also share your experience you have with these methods.
    Last edited by Luc; 07-12-2013 at 04:49 PM.
    Keep walking. Just keep walking.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Moui's Avatar
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    Hey budd..ugh sorry to hear you had to go through all that. I too wish I had not tried ADs as a first line treatment when I had those few panic attacks. There should be a law not allowing people who have been in a panic state to make such choices within a certain period of time until they settle down..
    My panic attacks came at a time of stress and some other issues, too much caffeine and after I had lost weight recently and was underweight. I'm absolutely certain had I addressed these issues then that would've been the end of it. Slow wean (I mean really slow, think months&years) does seem to have the best results especially for long termers. I hope the more experienced people here can give you some idea.
    Acceptance. Time. Habit.

  9. #9
    Founder Luc's Avatar
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    BB, if you had enough energy, you could start your own journal in the journal section. This way we will be able to monitor your progress better. Or I could move this thread to journals. Let me know what you think about it.
    Keep walking. Just keep walking.

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    Hi Luc,
    That would be great if you moved it to journals...will it be easy for me to find...still trying to figure out how to navigate the forum site. Thank you!

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