Switch To Zoloft - Withdrawal Symptoms

Yes - please let us know how it goes...

"Is that what you were saying takes about 4 days to build up in my system?"

Yes give it time. By the way, a little confused. 25 mg every 6 hours (standard starting dose) is 100 mg a day.


"Also, sorry 'hat, but when you say "GI problems," what does GI stand for?"

GI - gastrointestinal - stomach and intestines.


"Also, I take a very low amount of xanax whenever I take it. I took 1mg yesterday, but usually 0.5mg will do the trick for me. The doctor recommended that I take xanax while I am going through a tough period transitioning to Zoloft. Is this the worst idea? I am petrified of going through a benzo withdrawal, so I do not want to become dependent on xanax, even though I'm not really close to that point at all yet. On the other hand, yesterday when I took 1mg was the best day I have had in awhile as I was actually able to slow things down, concentrate, and get work done.

'Hat I know you said 2-4 weeks on a benzo is typically when people begin to become dependent. Any input is appreciated yall."

You are not taking it regularly (eg. 3 times per day) so at this point the xanax is not a big concern Your drs approach and your approach is sound.

25mg 3 times a day....I will not take it during sleep. So typically around 8am, 2pm, and 8pm.

 

That is very refreshing to hear about the xanax - thank you so much.

 

Just went to get the blood work done and couldn't get it done because I wasn't fasting. I was told I didn't have to be fasting originally. So frustrating but I will go back tomorrow.

What a nightmare for you to get the courage of going to get the blood work done, only to have to go thru it again. My anxiety is through the roof at the moment because I had a load taken yesterday after not eating and drinking for 12 hours. 

It is annoying, especially when I am so irritable with all of this anxiety. I will just go tomorrow morning though to get it done.

 

Has anyone ever done the blood work testing to help determine which antidepressant will work best for them? 

I have not but this is a fairly new method. From what I have seen from other members it has been sort of hit and miss with the results. I hope this helps you. Keep us posted as this is how we all learn.

Yes - I have read another post you put on the forum a while ago where you said that the science is based on genes? And that whilst there may be something small in it, there is a lot of ground to cover before results become anything close to significant.

 

As I have said somewhere as well. Your arm is the same as 'hat's arm, whose is the same as my arm. Our muscles, bones, nerves circuitry is all the same - more-or-less. But brains. Not a chance. Millions (if not billions) of variables to consider when looking for healing processes. We all have two hemispheres, an "old-brain" (amygdala), various cortexes and thats about it as far as similarities between people go

Hey All,

 

Just checking in. Took 0.5mg of xanax yesterday morning and that was just enough to calm me down a little bit and clear the mind enough to get work done. Doesn't last all day, but enough to calm me down for most of the day.

 

This morning was good. I didn't dry-heave like I have been in the past. Was able to get a lot done in the morning, but now my mind is becoming clouded with thoughts. Hard to concentrate, etc. Might take another 0.5mg of xanax.

 

I have the following 4 days off. Going to try to keep busy so that I do not just sit around being anxious and overthink things.

Hi Pobes

 

Good to hear that the xanax is working, and that you have been productive whilst benefiting from the effects. Keeping busy with your 4 days off is a good plan. The last week I have found as soon as I stop doing anything for just a few minutes, there it is.

 

So, with the Xanax, you take this as and when you feel you need to? And this is purely for your anxiety?

 

I was doing so well with very little anxiety (but working on my depression) until this last week. After the hospital on Tuesday having thrown up in front of loads of people, nearly passing out after bloods and now having a tight upper chest 24/7, I really cannot contain the anxiety. I will give it a little longer, but I worry that the more it prevails, the worse I will get, and the longer it will be to overcome.

 

My depression/anxiety has been all about the Duloxetine for the last 3 months. It has just given my brain a permanent excuse to wreak anxiety and depression on me as and when it wants to... Grrrrrr.

Hey IUN,

 

So yes, although the doctor recommended taking it every day until my Zoloft starts to kick-in more. I am so hesitant to take the xanax though because I don't want to become dependent, although 'hat's words were comforting to know that the doctor's plans are sound. So for right now, I am taking it as needed. 2 out of the last 4 days. If my anxiety is very high in the morning, I will take one. Days like today when it was lower, I tried to push through.

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles. I can't say I know exactly what you're going through, but my anxiety is through the rough, and that is causing my depression to sky-rocket as well. Every day I overthink too much at least once and feel as if I am going to have a panic attack or get a serious headache from it. It's hard to clear the mind at time's like this, but I just try to push through as much as I can.

 

I don't know if my symptoms are Cymbalta-related or not anymore. Going off Cymbalta and still in the early stages of upping my Zoloft dosages, it is hard to tell where the anxiety and depression comes from. Possibly still withdrawal, possibly because my body has been on anti-depressants so long that it is not used to not being on anything, possibly the zoloft is not working or is not a high enough dosage in my system.

 

So much to think about - see how easy it is to overthink things? It's terrible. I just hope that it gets better for the both of us soon. I got my blood work done today, so hopefully that can lead to some insight about which anti-depressant is best for me.

Good to hear from you Pobes...

 

I think you are right in taking as you are. On the plus side, the xanax won't make me drowsy like Valium making it accessible during the day. The down side being that Xanax can be more addictive as you say, and can have its own withdrawal. However, as 'hat has said, this should only be the case when taken regularly (4 x day for a few weeks). I agree totally that one should try to push through where they can. Benzo's are a last resort, but there comes a point when the level of anxiety is detrimental to your progress.

 

It does sound like you are going through something very similar. My anxiety started Tuesday last week, just a couple of moments of it giving me a warning. That then turned into full on withdrawal with headaches, twitches, dizziness - the whole nine yards. The anxiety has been present throughout. I tried my best to eliminate any stress, but they just managed to find me all the same. So trying to cut myself some slack, but days like today, it just doesn't cut it.

 

Don't want to pull down any defenses, but I really don't put much stock in tests bearing out much information on which AD is better for people - far too many variables. As 'hat has said, you might as well flip a coin. What worries me is similar to what you say; being on an AD for too long. I had been on Citalopram for 13 years. I was fine after 18 months after being on it, but the doctor told me to stay on it. Then when I told him last Summer I wanted off, he told me to wean over 2 weeks and stop. That is when I relapsed. Since then, my condition has been up and down and I really don't think it is working as well as it once was. 

 

I have been back up to 30mg of Citalopram for almost 3 weeks. It should be kicking in now. I just need to be patient. But if there is nothing tangible shortly, I will have to consider a switch I think.

 

So you are now on your 50mg zoloft for last 4 days? This is the recommended therapeutic dose for depression, but it will take a while to get there. Always recommended to allow at least 6-8 weeks since starting a new AD, and 2-3 weeks to allow for any dose uppage.  

Totally agree.

Yes - on 50mg of Zoloft for about a week now. Going to bump up to 100mg soon.

 

Had a good morning today - second day in a row with no dry heaves and lower anxiety. Tried to think positive thoughts all morning, but finally some anxiety/depression kicked in after awhile. Still a step in the right direction.

 

I get the doubt in the blood work testing. I've read up on it and understand it's not going to give me a 100% definitive fix. Still always good to get routine blood work done, though. Who knows - something else could show up.

True about the blood work. I never really think of it that way. I am just glad to have it over and done with. But yes, I am a picture of health in every respect i am pleased to say. Just my grey matter that needs fixing...

 

Glad that you are seeing a positive step in where you are going. But I often find that the fight in me can be overtaken at some point. I know we are meant to accept and not fight.... and I am still working on that.

 

Friends also tell me to stop counting days. This for me is impossible. Even if I didn't document it, my brain would store this information all the same! But given that I am self medicating, I think it is important to see the progress of what has happened and when. If I ever get to see someone qualified over here in the UK, this "diary" will be worth its weight in gold. 

Hi Pobes!

So happy to hear that things are going in the right direction.  Also glad that the xanax helps.  It helped me sooooo much.  I was taking it every day for the first couple weeks and I didn't develop a dependancy.

You will be back to your old self in no time.

Juli

Hey All,

 

Checking in here. Things have continued to get better with time here, and I am on 100mg of zoloft for about a week and a half now. General anxiety is down as well as the doom type feeling that I've had. Dry-heaving in the morning has subsided. I have been able to handle a cup of decaf coffee each down.

 

Feeling a little down and depressed today - could just be Monday blues. Also tinnitus hasn't been subsiding and am noticing it more often. Have a follow-up doctor's appointment on Thursday so hoping I can get some insight. Also dealing with some depersonalization/derealization.

 

A couple of things that have helped me: fish oil, hydroxyzine, occasional xanax, the Headspace App/meditation, and keeping busy. 

 

Hoping things continue to get better for all of us.

Oh also the 10% Happier podcast is pretty good for anxiety in general. It's led by Dan Harris, a news anchor that had a panic attack on the air before. He has a lot of good guests that struggle with panic disorder, anxiety, depression, etc. Gives a good outlook on everything and I would recommend.

A good report Pobes. The depersonalization/derealization and some depression indicagtes that you have probably reached your optimum dose. Once you have been on it a couple more weeks you should not yoyo so much and be more stable.

Good to hear of your progress Pobes... and just looked up that podcast - link for those that cannot be bothered to Google

 

https://www.10percen...er.com/podcast/

 

Thanks very much - it really looks very interesting.

Great news Pobes!  I am so glad you are feeling better.  You are in the home stretch now

Thanks for the kind words all. 

 

Here is a link to the story on 10% happier: https://www.youtube....h?v=4sXBEfIXUno. Very interesting and can help with anxiety!

Hey Pobes

 

Haven't heard from you in a while - hope things are still progressing in your favour

Hey IUN,

 

Thanks for checking in! Things have continued to progress with the zoloft. I had had a relapse in severe anxiety in the past few days as I return to work from the Holiday Break, however. Hoping things calm down soon for me.

 

Hope things have been getting better for you as well!

Good to hear from you Pobes.

 

I think most of us will have gone, or are going thru, the return to work anxiety. For me, it started a couple of days before. Courtesy of some new meds that I was being trialed on, I was in bed for a few days last week, so didn't get out much. Still, I soldiered on and got back to work. 

 

I am sure that things will calm down as time progresses, but for the meantime, I will be sparing a thought for you. It is so difficult to give yourself a break, especially when all the reasons are given to us!

Thanks for the kind words IUN. How are you doing? I see it says you went cold turkey off 10mg back in November. 

Things have been very much up and down. Details are all over my forum post. This week did show signs of significant improvement, but as it has gone by, it has gone down again. Very frustrating!

Hang in there!

doing all I can!!

Hey Everyone - wow, I almost completely forgot about this forum. Only 2.5 years since I posted on here but it feels like 10!

 

The last 2.5 years have really been great. I’m still on Zoloft and Buspar everyday. At some point around 2-2.5 years ago, I flushed the rest of my Cymbalta beads down the toilet. Eventually exhausted my Xanax, but really I only used it to help get to sleep if I had an early tee time every so often!

 

Shortly after my last post, I began going to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help with anxiety and I STRONGLY recommend you look into it. Initially I was going weekly, then bi-weekly, then monthly, then every few months, and then eventually stopped. I occassionally do self check-ins/personal sessions on my own, but it really changed my life. I still deal with anxiety, and of course there is always a fear of slipping back into some sort of depression/severe anxiety, but the tools and skills I learned from CBT have really helped stop those thoughts in their tracks.

 

I know many are here because of their Cymbalta Withdrawal, so keep fighting and battling. It does get better. But please consider CBT as well - many of us got on Cymbalta because of depression/anxiety and this is another way to deal with that.

 

End of rant. Things do get better even if it seems like they won’t. Keep fighting, life is great.

Great post Pobes15!!  I fully agree with your evaluation of CBT. It has helped me tremendously as well. Best wishes and enjoy life.