Follow the journey of a woman quitting zoloft cold turkey.

Disclaimer

I am a writer and quitting zoloft my own way while sharing the journey with you, dear readers. In no way am I suggesting that anyone reading this blog decide to quit zoloft without a doctor's advice & supervision. Please see your doctor first. Ask them for advice. I am not a doctor, nor am I in any position to offer you anonymous readers advice. But I can share my story and that's what I choose to do. So please read on & share your thoughts in the comments section.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

End of Week 2 of Quitting Zoloft



I'm really grateful that my sister helped me in my first week without zoloft & then convinced me to go back on the antidepressant. If this is you're first time to this blog you might be a bit confused, so please read the previous post to get a better understanding.

Basically, I was prescribed zoloft by my doctor 4 years ago for PMDD and would really like to get off antidepressants completely. But you know what? It's hard. Really hard! I knew it would be, but I guess I thought I could just do it my way. Anyway, long story short & I've realized that this will likely be a long journey that I can't just do cold turkey.

So, I've reduced my dosage to 100 mg (from 200 mg) and I'm trying to keep focused on my goals & targets. PMDD is severe for me and it's hard to explain here. Here are a few of the symptoms I experience for 2 weeks of every month:
  • bloating
  • constant nagging thoughts about weight gain
  • trouble sleeping (I wake up at 3 or 4am every night worrying about something I don't need to worry about)
  • irritability
  • sensitive & a bit neurotic
  • breast tenderness
For the other 2 weeks I feel great! I'm focused, driven, confident, creative & an all round go-getter. So it's quite extreme for me to feel so low just because of PMS!

Anyway, I've mentioned before that I'm really into the whole Law of Attraction idea, so I posted the above video that I found on You Tube for you to see. I don't know how to make videos like the one above, but it would be very cool to have my own little video to watch every morning as I wake up. I think my video would focus on health, wealth & happiness but I guess that's what everyone would do isn't it?

Do you take Zoloft or another antidepressant for PMDD like I do? Don't be shy! Please leave your thoughts below.

8 comments:

  1. Hi I don't take any antidepressants but I was inspired when I read your blog that hopefully I can make some major changes in my life too.

    I hope you're still feeling positive about what you've done even if you haven't gone off Zoloft completely, which was your original goal. Often we have to change our goals once we realise what a project (for want of a better word) actually entails.

    I'm inspired because you had the courage to really go for something like this. I want to do something brave like this to beat my depression as it has caused lots of problems for me. Well done for doing what you have done even if it means you are on a reduced dose rather than off the drug completely - it is still an achievement.

    I wanted to post because you should know there are people who are rooting for you even if they are total strangers. Good luck with everything

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  2. I just found your blog because I decided to stop taking Zoloft (50 mg for about a year) cold turkey. Bad idea. I'm suffering from insomnia, restlessness, uncontrollable emotions (sudden crying, temper), and lack of concentration.

    I was feeling really stupid for going off cold turkey without my doctor, but I have read other sites where people shared that even when they weaned off under the supervision of their doctor, they still had side effects. It's only been about 2 weeks for me, so I'm going to see if things get better. Luckily I haven't had the weird seizure-like symptoms (scary!) that I've read about, and since my dosage was low, I'm hoping things subside over the next couple months.

    Anyway, just wanted to share. I look forward to reading updates on your progress. I'm glad you're doing what is best for you in getting off Zoloft. Best of luck!

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  3. Hey, I came across your blog while reading up on zoloft stuff. Did you ever come off of it completely? I noticed you haven't posted on here in quite sometime! Anyways, I've been on Zoloft (200mgs a day) for about 4 years now, thinking of coming off it, but want to do it slowly to at least try to avoid side effects. Hope you come back and write and update, would be great to hear how things went and if the weight dropped off over time. Look forward to reading more of your updates!

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  4. I was previously taking Lexapro for my major depression, but once I started having panic attacks, my doctor switched me to Zoloft. So far, the panic is gone, and my depression has similarly been suppressed. The only problem seems to be the side effects. I can't really eat that much anymore, and have succeeded in losing a fair amount of weight. I also have the "shakes" where my hands tremble. Though, as other people have said, the effectiveness of the medicine outweighs the side effects.

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  5. People often make the mistake of going cold turkey on Zoloft. Severe withdrawal symptoms happen which could lead to the person crawling back to the drug. It has been said that Zoloft could be addictive. Most physicians would recommend that tapering off the dosage is better than abruptly stopping its use.

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  6. This is a good cautionary tale for others. I see a lot of posts where strong-willed people quit Zoloft cold-turkey and end up with big problems.

    I'm slowly coming off of Zoloft myself. I was on 25mg for years. I either need more or less, not sure which, but I'm giving quitting a try. I've been struggling with migraines and want to get off all the meds I can to see if it helps.

    I started dosing every other day for a week, then every third day, and now I've been off about 6 days.

    The side effects haven't been intolerable, although I've been a bit emotional. As an example I'm not typically the kind of guy who gets choked up about songs on the radio -- or anything else for that matter -- but that has happened once or twice. Not balling my eyes out "Tommy Boy" style or anything, but just getting misty. Very weird. I wondered out loud to my girlfriend if this is what it's like to be female. She didn't answer.

    I've also been feeling frustrated. I have a few hard situations going on and feel generally overwhelmed. When the GF starts dropping loads of decisions on me or starts talking about "the future" I get uncharacteristically tense.

    I'm hoping to just ride out those side effects over the next few weeks, but I'm open to going back on Zoloft if necessary.



    ;o

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  7. I'm the anonymous poster above who commented on being a cautionary tale.

    ...forgot to mention, for those that are reading to find out what their side effects might be:

    The side effects seem to be much worse when alcohol is added, even if it's just a beer or two.

    After a beer I start to get the shakes and a bit of fogginess. When I move my visual focus too fast I feel blurry as if I had actually whipped my head in that direction, even if I didn't move my head at all.

    That part isn't too bad though. And I don't think I've had any headaches from quitting. The anxiety is the part I'm having trouble with.

    Good luck to those who decide to quit. Don't do it cold turkey, though.

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  8. I have been on Zoloft for PMDD for over a year. Now that I am getting a divorce I don't want to be medicated (long story). I was at 200mg. I have been slowly lowering my dose. I am down to 50mg and out of pills. I haven't had any in about four days. The side effects SUCK. I am dizzy, having headaches, hard to think, bloated, etc. I am looking forward to having this crap out of my system!

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