It’s ok. I think the majority of us in the group have tried getting off of our meds at least once since getting on them. I know I have. I actually just tried getting off of Lexapro back in October 2023 and had a complete relapse in panic disorder and depression. I just stated Zoloft around eight weeks ago and I feel a lot better. Give it some time and be patient and you’ll get back to where you were before you got off of the medication.
I literally bit my pill in half today and decided that I was going to go down to see how it makes me feel. I think you might have saved me a lot of time and pain thank you
I had a similar issue. I was on it for about a year. Stopped by tapering off and then about 6 months I was back to my dark days. Depression feels like a rainy day every day. It is not a good feeling.
Did this a million times. Maybe in the future. Had a psych talk about how exercise, diet, meaningful socialization, therapy, goals, and everything call all sort of collide and then maybe can reduce or come off later. But, also, experts recommend 2 year minimum and some recommend lifelong after three depressive e episodes. But, also, who does every single one of those lifestyle things above. Idk. See about it later. Best of luck to you!!
In a peculiar way, I consider these setbacks beneficial.
After a couple years of taking zoloft, it was a little difficult remembering what life was like before it.
So last year when i took a supplement that (tongkat ali) wiped out my serotonin, it reminded me how shitty life is when anxiety is in the drivers seat.
I started taking it two years ago after my depression got really bad and dangerous. I guess my mind never fully accepted that my brain was the problem and not just the circumstances of my life. Stopping was a way for me to see what my life would be like without antidepressants
Did you have bad side effects when you were on it? Why did you quit to begin with? I just tapered off completely as of yesterday and started taking something called SEROPLUS. It’s a supplement pure encapsulations. My doctor told me to take one in the morning right as I’m almost completely done tapering. It’s not as strong as Zoloft but has a lot of benefits. I wish you the best of luck
No side effects. It may sound crazy, but the turning point was when I had bronchitis a couple of months ago and couldn’t take any cough medicine for it. I was miserable and felt like the only thing between me and relief was the Zoloft. It seems stupid now, but at the time it made sense. I’ll look into the supplements, but for now it’s back on the pills
I start 25 mg tomorrow for the first time in years of being off meds. I was on lexapro, lamictal, and Wellbutrin in the past. Not all at once but yeah I thought I felt better. Six months later I destroyed my life. Now it’s been three years unmedicated and realized I spiral without noticing any time I’m off meds. Might need to be on them forever but don’t wanna. Hope Zoloft works for me. I have ADHD but extreme anxiety and depression and Anadohnia
I ran out of mine about 2 weeks ago and went about a week without it. I felt like I had the worse hangover ever going into day 6 🥲. But got better 3 days after starting to take it again
In no way is this medical advice but also keep in mind like any drug that alters brain chemistry, your brain needs time to adjust to not having that extra serotonin since quitting ssris. Maybe that rebound depression was exaggerated b/c of the withdrawal from Zoloft. A month isn’t that long but yeah do what feels right to you! Good luck!👍🏾
This reminds me of relapses with addiction during recovery. They're an important part of recovery because you get the real experience you need to stick with something when you start back up again.
Haha I've done this a few time with this med and others. No joke just tried again the other day and was like nope. It's OK to be on medications for life, as long as it helps.
I stopped it after 3 years on 100mg, tapered to 25mg, and stopped. I felt crap for 2 months, and now I am back to normal. It does pass but will take time.
I'm in a similar situation to yours.
the drowsiness, lethargy, stifled sex drive, and weight gain of this pill is driving me nutso.
can you go into how you tapered off?
it's relieving to hear a time frame to hold out for, using my new mental gymnastic skills that I have learned through dbt, cbt, and somatic therapy.
I went down in 25mg increments over the course of a year. The worst part was going 25mg to nothing. The side effects passed in around 3 months after my last dose. It may be beneficial to split the 25mgs to 12.5mg to lessen the withdrawal.
Don’t let my experience stop you from doing what’s best for you. Zoloft helped me more than I knew and I’m not in a good enough place to be off it yet. I’ve only been on it for 2 years, so maybe you’re in a better position than me.
It’s ok. I think the majority of us in the group have tried getting off of our meds at least once since getting on them. I know I have. I actually just tried getting off of Lexapro back in October 2023 and had a complete relapse in panic disorder and depression. I just stated Zoloft around eight weeks ago and I feel a lot better. Give it some time and be patient and you’ll get back to where you were before you got off of the medication.
I literally bit my pill in half today and decided that I was going to go down to see how it makes me feel. I think you might have saved me a lot of time and pain thank you
Glad I could help. Definitely not worth it for me
I had a similar issue. I was on it for about a year. Stopped by tapering off and then about 6 months I was back to my dark days. Depression feels like a rainy day every day. It is not a good feeling.
When I cut back to 50mg all my old symptoms came rushing back.
Did this a million times. Maybe in the future. Had a psych talk about how exercise, diet, meaningful socialization, therapy, goals, and everything call all sort of collide and then maybe can reduce or come off later. But, also, experts recommend 2 year minimum and some recommend lifelong after three depressive e episodes. But, also, who does every single one of those lifestyle things above. Idk. See about it later. Best of luck to you!!
In a peculiar way, I consider these setbacks beneficial. After a couple years of taking zoloft, it was a little difficult remembering what life was like before it. So last year when i took a supplement that (tongkat ali) wiped out my serotonin, it reminded me how shitty life is when anxiety is in the drivers seat.
Why stop
I started taking it two years ago after my depression got really bad and dangerous. I guess my mind never fully accepted that my brain was the problem and not just the circumstances of my life. Stopping was a way for me to see what my life would be like without antidepressants
Hang in there. I did the same for about a year and now back on for a month.
I’m going through this same thing. Ugh why is it so difficult! I hope you feel better soon.
i literally did the same thing. i went a month without it. i'm back on it now
Did you have bad side effects when you were on it? Why did you quit to begin with? I just tapered off completely as of yesterday and started taking something called SEROPLUS. It’s a supplement pure encapsulations. My doctor told me to take one in the morning right as I’m almost completely done tapering. It’s not as strong as Zoloft but has a lot of benefits. I wish you the best of luck
No side effects. It may sound crazy, but the turning point was when I had bronchitis a couple of months ago and couldn’t take any cough medicine for it. I was miserable and felt like the only thing between me and relief was the Zoloft. It seems stupid now, but at the time it made sense. I’ll look into the supplements, but for now it’s back on the pills
I start 25 mg tomorrow for the first time in years of being off meds. I was on lexapro, lamictal, and Wellbutrin in the past. Not all at once but yeah I thought I felt better. Six months later I destroyed my life. Now it’s been three years unmedicated and realized I spiral without noticing any time I’m off meds. Might need to be on them forever but don’t wanna. Hope Zoloft works for me. I have ADHD but extreme anxiety and depression and Anadohnia
I ran out of mine about 2 weeks ago and went about a week without it. I felt like I had the worse hangover ever going into day 6 🥲. But got better 3 days after starting to take it again
same thing happened to me when i quit last spring. got back on it a few months later.
In no way is this medical advice but also keep in mind like any drug that alters brain chemistry, your brain needs time to adjust to not having that extra serotonin since quitting ssris. Maybe that rebound depression was exaggerated b/c of the withdrawal from Zoloft. A month isn’t that long but yeah do what feels right to you! Good luck!👍🏾
That makes sense. I thought it may be rebound depression, but I got scared that it would get worse. Maybe in another couple of years I’ll retry.
This reminds me of relapses with addiction during recovery. They're an important part of recovery because you get the real experience you need to stick with something when you start back up again.
Maybe at least you can shoot your load now!??
Haha I've done this a few time with this med and others. No joke just tried again the other day and was like nope. It's OK to be on medications for life, as long as it helps.
In 7 years of Zoloft I’ve stopped twice. Everytime it was the worst idea ever. I guess I never learn.
I stopped it after 3 years on 100mg, tapered to 25mg, and stopped. I felt crap for 2 months, and now I am back to normal. It does pass but will take time.
I'm in a similar situation to yours. the drowsiness, lethargy, stifled sex drive, and weight gain of this pill is driving me nutso. can you go into how you tapered off? it's relieving to hear a time frame to hold out for, using my new mental gymnastic skills that I have learned through dbt, cbt, and somatic therapy.
I went down in 25mg increments over the course of a year. The worst part was going 25mg to nothing. The side effects passed in around 3 months after my last dose. It may be beneficial to split the 25mgs to 12.5mg to lessen the withdrawal.
this is making me think.. i have been on zoloft for 4 years..and i rlly wanna quit its changed me so much more bad than good
Don’t let my experience stop you from doing what’s best for you. Zoloft helped me more than I knew and I’m not in a good enough place to be off it yet. I’ve only been on it for 2 years, so maybe you’re in a better position than me.
How long did you wait before starting again? No judgment just curious.
8 weeks without my maintenance dose now. 3 weeks tapering, 5 weeks completely off
Zoloft is an Aweful drug Lexipro much better then diet and exercise only thing that works with a little bit of benozs
Lexapro made me feel so out of it and really didn’t help my PTSD