• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Sertraline/Ziloft Discontinuation

P

Paleoprimate

Greenlighter
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Messages
4
Hello

I would like to share my experience about Sertraline discontinuation and also hope to find experts, and other who have experienced the same thing. I have not taken sertraline in 3 to 6 weeks? I honestly can not remember, though I do have notes and video (I lost the days 2 weeks in). It started the first week with brain zaps, fog, and confusion (anyone who has listened to the track Ions (-) by tool knows exactly what sertraline withdrawl feels and sounds like) I also noted dark circles under my eyes as well as red dots. Sleeplessness started to take hold after the first week but I remained in a rather upbeat mood despite depressing events happening around me.

Now about 3 weeks in things start to scare me.

quick back story: I am (was) in extreme physical shape anyone familiar with Ross Enamite and his feats of strength,conditioning, and power will know of his exercise programs and the results that follow again I reccomend looking him up on youtube (as well as the tool song Ion (-) ) So here I am 23 years old in the best shape of my life and in better shape than any other combat athlete I know with a perfect diet, Paleo+carb backloading.

Ok back the 3 weeks. I lost all of my energy and stamina almost over night I could not workout or even do basic exercise or mma training. I was nearly bed ridden with sudden exhaustion. Now my theory is that after 3 weeks of not taking sertraline my CNS became heavily taxed resulting in physical exhaustion.

Another scary 3rd week discovery - Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) Basically I went from being Dionysus to someone with the sexual stamina of a virgin.... It blew my mind, intimate sex is important to me and something I pride myself on being very well at.... yet I can not even get more than 1 min in sometimes achieving orgasm before fully erect. Ok so its safe to say I am concerned but I become frightened when I read that pssd could last anywhere from 1 week 1 month 1 year or indefinitely...

the 3rd week seems to be the worst I also come down with a sinus infection something very uncommon to me which further backs up my burnt out CNS theory, after your cns becomes taxed the immune system get weak...

So hear I am in between 4 to 6 weeks off this nasty shit and I am irritable (which I forgot to mention in the 3 weeks part but it was BAD) I also feel lethargic as well as run down... now last week I was healthy and thought nearing 100% this week.... not so much.


So let me just close this with, does anyone else have any questions maybe something I missed? But more importantly is there an end to this long dark tunnel? Is more to come? Anyone else experience this (especially the overnight loss of physical fitness)?

Thank you
 
Initial does started at 25mgs then up to 50mgs for the last 3 years (i took it for 5 yrs total)

Absolutely no taper reason being I tried the taper 3 times and the zaps where too much this time i decided cold turkey and it worked and did not hurt nearly as bad.
 
Quite simple. Take a moderate dose of prozac (the SSRI with the longest half-life) for about a week or two tapering down. Then, get a small script of something like valium in case you experience and bouts of panic. After this, you should be in the clear.


Personally, I think low dosed quality SSRIs are great. Sertraline no more than 12.5 mg a day, and Escitalopram 2.5-5mg a day. Great for GAD and depression.
 
it will get better....
i was on 100mg zoloft for like 4 years or something....
i did a quick taper
i def felt kind of off for several weeks.... but nothing too severe however i was on a few other meds which may have masked the ssri withdrawl symptoms a bit
but yes just give it time :) i have a feeling you are almost there
 
I was taking Lexapro for about 4.5 years and, while I can't speak to the physical performance effects, I definitely noticed a huge effect on my immune system. I tapered off the Lexapro very slowly, over 5 months maybe, and even at that I got fierce withdrawals. But what was the strangest thing, was that about a month after I had come off them completely, and was not having any more withdrawals, I got the flu. This is common enough for me, but it turned into the worst bout of illness I have ever experienced. I was so nauseous I was actually terrified, it was like the withdrawal effects of Lexapro had been delayed or something.

I got a doctor out to the house after 24 hours, because it was either that or call an ambulance (and I was afraid they would think I was stupid and tell me it was just withdrawals and they could do nothing for me), and the doc gave me an anti-emetic, which did nothing. So this absolutely horrendous illness stayed for another few days, before winding down, and then left me completely weak for about a week.

The next month I went through the same thing, again it just started as a mild flu and turned into the sickness from hell. It then happened a third time, and I just knew I couldn't handle a third bout so I went to the doctor as I felt it coming on and asked for anti-nausea drugs and valium, to help me sleep through it. That's the last time it happened, thank god.

But yeah, there is absolutely something in your theory that it messes up your CNS function. I am so so glad to be off those terrible drugs. Keep the faith, it takes time for your body to get back to 'normal', but it will happen. It absolutely will. But there's no doubt it takes some patience, so stay strong and you'll get there.
 
Wow! Thank you all for sharing. I know its been awhile now so I feel I should give you and update. All of your advice and suggestions helped out very much. I am free and clear now and feeling better than ever now that I got off of sertraline. Thanks for all the help
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top