Posted by JanB on September 18, 2000, at 13:57:23
In reply to Re: withdrawal symptoms coming off zoloft, posted by Merv on April 8, 2000, at 14:50:01
> > >Has anyone come off Zoloft successfully? How long did it take before you felt "normal" again? And did you feel any better once the withdrawal symptoms went away?
> >
> > Please help...I'm experiencing terrible symptoms after stopping the drug, and I need to know there's a light at the end of the tunnel!
>
> I came off Zoloft successfully, once I learned what it's like to stop cold turkey! The Dr. prescribed a one-month supply. The day after it was gone, I began to experience "waves." It felt like a wave of energy passed through my head, from right to left, lasting about a second, and kind of scrambling my neural pathways. No kidding, it was like a momentary short circuit, where the power goes out and back on, real fast. By the time I got to the Dr. the next day, they were hitting me every 30 seconds or so, and I thought I'd go crazy. He wrote me a presecription for five more months worth, and I immediately got it filled and popped one (50mg). It didn't take long for the symptoms to go away, but I used the last month's supply to wean myself off it. At first, I alternated 50mg/day with 25mg/day, for two weeks, I think. Then, a week of just 25/day, then 25/day followed by none the next day, back to 25. When i ran out, I had only one minor side affect for a while.I can totally relate to the power surges! Yuck!! It feels like an electrical zap all over my body. I have been cold turkey for a week and just got off the phone requesting a refill. I've always loved my zoloft and it has improved my life in leaps and bounds. After 5 years I thought maybe I would try without it. If I decide to go off zoloft again I will take all of this wonderful advice about lowering my dose as I go. Thanks again for validating this wierd feeling I'm having.
poster:JanB
thread:5582
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000905/msgs/44876.html